The Rebel Christ

Author Michael Coren
Publisher Canterbury £12.99
Format pbk
ISBN 9781786224798

This is a very personal book. Coren is an Anglican priest in Canada, a journalist and former broadcaster. Once a Roman Catholic, he was a vocal advocate for the religious conservatism of the Christian right, particularly in North America. After a dramatic change of heart, he now opposes what he once supported, abhorring it as a distortion of Christianity. He portrays the ‘religious right’ as insular, intolerant, legalistic, triumphalist, fundamentalist, judgemental and nationalistic, arguing that the radical, inclusive, egalitarian, socially liberal, forgiving, inherently loving message of Jesus is by contrast revolutionary, hence the title. Fearing an emerging parallel between political and religious conservatism, his analyses of economic justice, marriage equality and abortion provide the main illustrations of his argument, but assisted dying, gun control and capital punishment are also discussed. Much of the background and context is North American, particularly the USA, so that some issues have less immediate relevance for the UK. Nonetheless, written with passion, wit and well-placed bluntness, this is a readable and stimulating contribution to the state of contemporary Christianity in the light of the gospel.

Reviewed by PETER WRIGHT

Political theology