Opinion My new book might surprise some people. Truth be told, it surprisedme somewhat and, if you’d told me 10 years ago that I was the author of something called “Epiphany: A Christian’s Change of Heart and Mind over Same-Sex Marriage,” I would have thought you were mad. But there it is. I have, yes, changed my heart and mind. When I told my publisher, Signal/ Random House, that this was the next book I wanted to write, they were mildly surprised; which is my attempt at gentle euphemism. They were incredulous. “We’ve published four books in a row from you written from a conservative Christian point of view and they’ve done very well. Now you want to write this?” But they were extremely understanding in the end, and I did. I’ve been very fortunate in that the author, actor and international celebrity Stephen Fry wrote me an entire letter of support and endorsement, concluding that, “Michael Coren’s Epiphany is a wonderfully revealing read – an epiphany in itself. I urge anyone interested in the conjunction of faith and free thought to read this engrossing and fascinating book.” In that I have revered the man for many years, this was praise indeed. But there have been the usual type of attacks as well, of course. I reversed my position on equal marriage more than two years ago but as soon as it became public that I had, as it were, come out, I was subject to the most venomous abuse. I was accused of being a liar, an adulterer, of having a gay lover, of supporting the gay community for money. In fact, I’m way too unattractive to have an affair; I’mboringly heterosexual and as for money – I wish I could work this one out. Whenmy views became known, I lost newspaper and magazine columns, speeches and a regular guest host spot on a television show. If I were doing it all for money, I’m even more stupid than I look. More seriously, however, members of my family were attacked and some of my new critics trolledmy children’s Facebook pages and accused them of all sorts of things. There is none so angry as a fundamentalist scorned. I can joke about it now but, at the time, it was nasty, worrying and bewildering. I don’t have the space in a single column to outline my reasons for this reform of opinion, which is why I’ve written an entire book about the subject. Let me emphasize, though, that it’s not in spite of my Christian faith but precisely because of it. I could no longer reconcile the life and teachings of Jesus with the harshness and even anger of so many churches. Not that all Christian opponents of equal marriage and full gay rights are bad people – far from it – but I now believe that they are wrong on this particular subject. I changed because I realized that my faith was based less on laws than on love. I suppose I am late to the game and for that I apologize, but I am not as late as are many churches. Because what we have seen in mainstream Western society, from conservatives as well as liberals, is a total, complete and absolute acceptance of gay men and women and thank God for that. Most of us have realized that we should be judged not by what we are, but by how we behave; not by our sexuality, but by our character and that if at all possible, we shouldn’t be judged at all. That’s what the churches need to grasp. It’s partly generational of course, and our four children, ranging from 18 to 27, can’t even comprehend opposition to same-sex marriage, let alone homophobia. It’s more challenging for older people and definitely for a middleaged Englishman like me. But it’s worth it, because I have never felt more grounded inmy faith. I have met so many magnificent and kind people, have grown through having to questionmyself and have also matured by standing up to the criticism and the attacks. The world needs more inclusion and tolerance and not less of it, and those who fear change – and this was me for the longest time – usually discover that the fear was misplaced and the change was beneficial. So, my epiphany is something that I would not change for anything. Let’s hope the people who read my book agree with me. with Michael Coren CSANews | SPRING 2016 | 15
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