Forgiveness is divine, but what Michael English really wants is for people to forget.

“I’d kind of like to go somewhere where no one knows who I am, what I’ve done and what I’ve gone through,” says English, 34, who not long ago was one of Christian contemporary music’s most promising artists.

A matinee-handsome singer and songwriter with a soaring, gospel-trained voice, English took home six Dove Awards (Christian music’s Grammy) in 1994, on the strength of songs such as In Christ Alone.

A week later, it all came crashing down.

English, who was married at the time, revealed he was having an affair with another Christian recording artist, Marabeth Jordan. Disgraced, he turned in his Doves and turned his back on a promising Christian music career.

To hear English tell it, Christian music responded in kind.

“There was the day when Michael English could make the call to any gospel business in the world and the head of the company would take my call,” a subdued English says in a telephone interview. “Today, I can’t even get the secretary.”

But English found somebody else willing to take him on faith – and take his calls. In July he released a pop album, Freedom, on Curb Records, a Warner Bros. imprint. The first single, Your Love Amazes Me, hit No. 5 on the pop charts.

Unfortunately, singles don’t always sell albums. Freedom has notched a paltry 19,000 copies to date, according to SoundScan. A second single is out, but things are “kind of slow,” English says.

Today, the singer occupies a kind of purgatory between his old and new worlds. He has produced gospel recordings in the last two years, even winning another Dove – for production – in 1995.

“A lot of record companies won’t put my name on the record because it would hurt the soloist’s record or its chances,” English says.

Divorced, he still lives in Nashville, to be close to his daughter, and says he talks to “a few” of his old associates. Sometimes, he still performs the religious-themed hits that endeared him to Christian audiences.

“I told the people the other night it’s like I’m missing an old friend, singing some of these songs,” he says.

But his troubles did not end with his public confession. In June, an ex-girlfriend charged him with assault and theft after a scuffle outside a Nashville nightclub. The woman subsequently dropped the charges. But the incident landed English in the press – again, for all the wrong reasons, and on the eve of Freedom’s release.

Freedom has helped English get on with his life. He is looking forward to opening several dates in Las Vegas for country star Wynonna Judd. He also has a child to support.

But “forgiven” in God’s eyes and “recovered” in one’s own estimation can be different things altogether.

“It’s still tough to think about it,” English says. “There are times here lately – I don’t know why, it’s coming back up in my dreams. To think of where I was, where I am now and where I may never be again. …”

He trails off.

“But I understand. … I have to move on and try to find some peace.”