Actually, one cannot be an "ex-Catholic". It's a membership for eternity and he'll be judged accordingly when his time comes. One can be a dissident, heretical, or schismatic Catholic, but once you've accepted the Truth there is no denying it without damning consequences. The saddest part of this scandal is Coren knows this and more.
In 1994 Christopher Ovsenny informed Coren that another writer had called him a 'literary prostitute'. In the same article Ovsenny quotes Coren's wife as saying "Who is this man I'm sleeping with?" in response to a cheap shot at Mother Teresa. I'm told Bernadette Coren is a practicing, orthodox Catholic so I wonder what she's thinking now.
In his social media platforms Coren accuses anyone sticking to Church teaching on homosexuality as, of course, homophobic. Anyone who has challenged his defection or new 'beliefs' is angry, mean, bigoted, etc. So either Mrs Coren has changed her mind too or Mr doesn't think well of his wife anymore.
On his Facebook page, Coren ridicules Father Shannon Collins who emailed him in an apparent attempt to save his soul. Fr Collins asked why he would join the Anglican 'Church' of Canada, "where everything changes except the bread and wine." What is sadly obvious now is that it's indeed the perfect place for him. He's 'opened' his mind all his life, the way prostitutes open their legs.
For cradle Catholics catechized in the Ontario 'Catholic' school system, it's not hard to understand why they would leave the Church. For the most part, unless one seeks the truth elsewhere, students leave the school system ignorant of Church teachings. For someone as well read as Coren, for someone who wrote "Why Catholics Are Right" it's hard to believe an informed Catholic can suddenly change his mind. Coren either never believed in Catholicism or he still does but will join a schismatic Christian community and embrace heresy anyway.
It begs the question, why? In my opinion the old adage provides the answer: Follow the money. Coren needs a job. One wasn't available in the Church but an offer was to be had elsewhere. It would however require a renouncement of certain moral teachings he once promoted (whether or not he believed in them is anyone's guess). Coren has never been a man of conviction so it should come as no surprise he made the choice he did.
Consider these passages regarding Protestantism from "Why Catholics Are Right":
"What we can say with confidence is that there are some inherent problems in the Protestant approach. If the Bible is the final word of God and the only guide to salvation and life, why are there tens of thousands of competing Protestant denominations and why are so many of them mutually exclusive?"
"To put it bluntly, knowledge of Jesus is available to all people but to know Christ is available only to Christians in communion with the [Catholic] Church."
"Through the Pope and the teaching authority of the Church, the truth of the Bible is guided and guarded through the ages. Interpretation is not left to individuals but to those given the authority and the ability to interpret by Jesus Christ while He was on earth present here among us."
He goes on to make a solid argument in defence of the papacy albeit such isn't difficult. However, what this proves is Coren is well aware the "Church" of England is in fact schismatic and does not have the authority to convey Ordination. He can wear a collar and call himself Reverend but he won't be able to convey the Sacraments nor the miracle of Transubstantiation. Again, he knows this.
Coren also knows of the papal encyclical, Apostolicae Curae, by Pope Leo XIII in 1896 nullifying any assumed ability of the 'Church' of England to convey ordinations. King Henry VIII broke from apostolic succession.
It is not reasonable to think one could believe the argument he makes against Protestantism only to join it in good faith a few years later. He was either lying then or now and if now probably for financial gain...the equivalent of thirty silver pieces.
"Christianity is about salvation and a moral code and belief system that leads to that salvation. The Church exists to save souls, not to make people feel good about themselves. Therefore it's vital to defend the truth and defend the Church that preserves it." "Why Catholics Are Right"
So Coren has left the truth behind for money. We should pray he repents and if not then may God have mercy on his soul. Eternity is a long time to be wrong.
Reasons to Believe in Jesus
ReplyDeleteReasons to believe Jesus is alive in a new life with God can be found in quotes from two prominent atheists and a biology textbook.
Thus the passion of man is the reverse of that of Christ, for man loses himself as man in order that God may be born. But the idea of God is contradictory and we lose ourselves in vain. Man is a useless passion. (Jean-Paul Sartre, Being and Nothingness: A Phenomenological Essay on Ontology, New York: Washington Square Press, p. 784)
Among the traditional candidates for comprehensive understanding of the relation of mind to the physical world, I believe the weight of evidence favors some from of neutral monism over the traditional alternatives of materialism, idealism, and dualism. (Thomas Nagel, Mind and Cosmos: Why the Materialist Neo-Darwinian Conception of Nature Is Almost Certainly False, location 69 of 1831)
And certain properties of the human brain distinguish our species from all other animals. The human brain is, after all, the only known collection of matter that tries to understand itself. To most biologists, the brain and the mind are one and the same; understand how the brain is organized and how it works, and we’ll understand such mindful functions as abstract thought and feelings. Some philosophers are less comfortable with this mechanistic view of mind, finding Descartes’ concept of a mind-body duality more attractive. (Neil Campbell, Biology, 4th edition, p. 776 )
Sartre speaks of the "passion of man," not the passion of Christians. He is acknowledging that all religions east and west believe there is a transcendental reality and that perfect fulfillment comes from being united with this reality after we die. He then defines this passion with a reference to Christian doctrine which means he is acknowledging the historical reasons for believing in Jesus. He does not deny God exists. He is only saying the concept of God is contradictory. He then admits that since life ends in the grave, it has no meaning.
From the title of the book, you can see that Nagel understands that humans are embodied sprits and that the humans soul is spiritual. He says, however, that dualism and idealism are "traditional" alternatives to materialism. Dualism and idealism are just bright ideas from Descartes and Berkeley. The traditional alternative to materialism is monism. According to Thomas Aquinas unity is the transcendental property of being. Campbell does not even grasp the concept of monism. The only theories he grasps are dualism and materialism.
If all atheists were like Sartre, it would be an obstacle to faith. An important reason to believe in Jesus is that practically all atheists are like Nagel and Campbell, not like Sartre.
by David Roemer
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http://www.newevangelization.info