Coren - Epiphany: a Christians Change of Heart and Mind Over Same-Sex Marriage

Hatred: Islams War on Christianity (2014)

The Future of Catholicism (2013)

Heresy (2012)

Why Catholics Are Right (2011)

As I See It (2009)

J.R.R. Tolkien: The Man Who Created the Lord of the Rings (2001)

Setting It Right (1996)

The Man Who Created Narnia: The Story of C.S. Lewis (1994)

The Life of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle (1993)

The Invisible Man: The Life and Liberties of H.G. Wells (1993)

Aesthete (1993)

Gilbert: The Man Who Was G.K. Chesterton (1990)

The Outsiders (1985)

Theatre Royal: 100 Years of Stratford East (1985)

Copyright 2016 by Michael Coren

Signal is an imprint of McClelland & Stewart, a division of Random House of Canada Limited, a Penguin Random House Company

All rights reserved. The use of any part of this publication reproduced, transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, or stored in a retrieval system, without the prior written consent of the publisher or, in case of photocopying or other reprographic copying, a licence from the Canadian Copyright Licensing Agency is an infringement of the copyright law.

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ISBN: 978-0-7710-2411-5

eBook ISBN: 978-0-7710-2412-2

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v3.1

To my daughter Lucy. So wise.

A book is always far more than its words and in this case particularly so. In the past three years, I have met with and spoken to so many people in the gay community, to gay Christians, and to liberal Christians that I could never name them all. I have also spoken to many people who are dramatically opposed to gay equality and to a more progressive understanding of Christianity and I am sure they would rather they were not named. Thats fine with me. I am and will continue to be immensely grateful to those men and women who gave me their time and knowledge, especially when they werent entirely sure of my intentions. Because there are so many people whom I should thank and acknowledge, any list will be by its nature severely inadequate and even disappointing. Please forgive me. My thanks are not just for those who spoke to me about the actual subject of this book but also for those whose own life and experience bled its way into my life and my soul. Some of these people are gay, some are not; some are Christian, some are not; some are gay and Christian, some are not; some are journalists, priests, activists, and academics or a combination of the three, some are not. What unites them is that they enabled me to write this book, a work of which I am extremely proud. My thanks to Reverend Brent Hawkes, Travis Myers, Emma Teitel, Reverend Tom Decker, Michael McKenzie, John Mraz, Shaun Proulx, Andrea Houston, Reverend Professor Diarmaid MacCulloch, Bishop Alan Wilson, Fr. Pearce Carefoot, Canon Susan Bell, Dean Douglas Stoute, John Moore, Reverend Bruce Myers, Don Beyers, Archbishop Colin Johnson, Maurice Tomlinson, Stephen Hayhurst, Adam Goldenberg, Mary Conliffe, Robert Turner, Grant Jahnke; to Jonathan Kay at The Walrus and Andrew Phillips at the Toronto Star for publishing my writing on this issue and thus bringing so many new people to my attention; and to Douglas Pepper and those at Signal McClelland & Stewart and Penguin Random House who agreed to take the chance to publish a very different book by a very different Michael Coren.

THIS BOOK IS NOT IN any way supposed to be the last word, certainly not the first word or even the best word about such a profound, important, and public as well as personal and emotional issue as equal marriage. But it is certainly my word, and as such I stand by it totally and proudly. It is the account of how a heterosexual, married man, a Christian author and broadcaster who was well known for opposing same-sex marriage and was in Canada arguably the institutions most high-profile opponent, came to be not only a passionate defender of marriage equality but also a champion of gay rights and an outspoken campaigner for full acceptance of gay people into the Christian church. Because of that fact, the first chapter of the book is my personal story of what happened, how I came to change my mind and my opinions, and what I experienced positive as well as negative when I did so. Its a story not only of a change of view and politics but of a change of life and belief. Its also an intensely Christian story, and that is something I wish to emphasize. I changed on this issue not in spite of being a Christian but precisely because I am a Christian, and my faith has deepened and broadened as I have come to appreciate the need for a new understanding of same-sex love and gays relationships within the Christian church and the Christian world.

The rest of the book is diverse and rather different from other works on the issue. It presents the Christian arguments for gay equality and equal marriage and thus looks at the traditional and well-versed reasons for the opposing point of view; it devotes an entire chapter to recounting the testimonies of people who are Christian and gay. I also speculate on the future of the Christian response to equal marriage. Not all of it is new territory, of course, and I am certainly not the first person to re-address the alleged Biblical opposition to homosexuality or discuss what may be evidence of scriptural tolerance of same-sex relationships but I hope I can bring a fresh perspective to all of this and, if not, can stand on the shoulders of those who have gone before me. Without any risk of hyperbole, I can say that the issue of homosexuality is one of the most perhaps the most significant and pressing challenges facing contemporary Christianity. Unless and until we can establish a new understanding of same-sex attraction and of gay people, we cannot and will not be listened to by the new generation of people living in the Western world, who simply cannot comprehend opposition to the aspirations and relationships of their gay friends and neighbours. And I dont blame them for reacting in such a way and congratulate them for their empathy and compassion. Relevance and appeal cannot and must not, naturally, dictate theology or shape truth, and if I thought that scripture and Christianity opposed full gay membership of the church and marriage equality, I would say and write so, whatever the consequences. But I do not. It is my sincere belief that there is absolutely no need to compromise Christian orthodoxy or absolute truth as we construct a new Christian conversation and understanding about homosexuality and I hope I can convince others of that reality.

This book is not in itself a sociological, political, or secular argument for marriage equality. Frankly, those debates have already taken place and for the most part in the Western world have been won. When I do touch on sociology, politics, and general questions of sexuality and social discussion, they will be in passing and be used to qualify or explain the greater theological point. Christian opponents of equal marriage tend to mingle secular homophobia with what they regard as moral and religious objections when they make their arguments. There is an abundance of general material out there concerning homosexuality and same-sex marriage in its various contexts but, again, this book is specifically Christian, albeit written for all people whatever their faith or lack of one. The church is part of society, those within the church function in society, and the relationship between church and society is a vital one. I realize that some people, especially those hurt by Christians, would prefer it were not so but the church will continue thank God and I feel I owe it to my faith and to gay Christians who wish to be accepted and to secular gay people who are still so hurt by Christian hostility, to try to put matters right. This book is not a Christian excuse but a Christian explanation, a plea for a revolutionary understanding of Christs love and Gods grace.