Heresy: Ten Lies They Spread About Christianity

by Michael Coren

Bestselling author Michael Coren explodes popular myths about the history, beliefs, and culture of Christianity.
 
Michael Coren explores why and how Christians and Christian ideas are caricatured in popular media as well as in sophisticated society. He takes on, and debunks, ten great myths about that it supports slavery, is racist, sexist, homophobic, anti-intellectual, anti-Semitic, provokes war, resists progress, and is repressive and irrelevant. In a climate that is increasingly as ignorant of Christianity as it is good at condemning it, Coren gives historical background, provides examples of how these attacks are made, and explains the reality of the Christian response, outlining authentic Christian beliefs.

Genres: Christian, Christianity, Nonfiction, Philosophy, Catholic

256 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2012

About the author

Michael Coren is an English-Canadian columnist, author, public speaker, radio host and television talk show host. He has been the host of the television series The Michael Coren Show for six years. He has also been a long-time radio personality, particularly on CFRB radio.

He has writen more than ten books, including biographies of H. G. Wells, Arthur Conan Doyle, and C. S. Lewis. His latest book, Why Catholics are Right, will be published in 2011.

Reviews

[Luke · Rating 1 out of 5]

I have never written a review (only just done star-ratings). But this one rustled my jimmies so much I had to. So please, bear with me.
It was an attempt, albeit a not very good one.
Chapter 2: Problem of evil, does the dance around with the free-will defense. With an omnipotent God this creates a problem because if He is omnipotent then He knows what we're going to do. You get the picture. The talk of a future life is unfalsifiable and really doesn't prove anything, more so just skirts around the question of why things are happening right here, right now.
Chapter 4: Rather silly wasting an entire chapter on a silly ad hominem that no one in a serious debate would like evoke as a serious argument. It's a superfluous chapter and helps serve Mr. Corens ever-growing ego.
Chapter 5: This one drifts more towards the Nazi-party as a whole rather than just strictly Hitler. But simply, reading chapter 1 of Mein Keimpf would likely give you the answer for this question. For those that are too lazy: http://www.nobeliefs.com/hitler.htm
Chapter 7: See Bertrand Russell's entire "Science and Religion" for a nice counterargument against this chapter.
Chapter 8: See nearly anything said about social issues by Rick Santorum.
Chapter 9: Again, see Mr. Santorum. Though this one does seem a bit feasible. Though I think the word selection of "obsessed" makes this already a load-question. I would not so much say "obsessed" rather more, "concerned" seems more appropriate (but hey, that would be giving the other side a chance wouldn't it Mr. Coren).

All in all, if you're a believer you'll likely enjoy your confirmation bias.
If you're a non-believer or agnostic, then this book may be a bit harder for you to swallow, as some of the arguments are a pretty shaky grounds.

Final thoughts: I'm still wondering who this "They" are, that is referred to in the title...guess we'll never know...

[Stephen Heiner · Rating 4 out of 5]

While I commend the author for his earnestness, I feel that this is a book that was written for an earlier era or which may be appreciated in the future. He writes with a desire to persuade that seems misspent on people who look to "fact checks," rather than broad historical reading, to verify "truths."

His ten chapters are by no means a full catalogue of the accusations thrown at what he refers to as "Christianity" broadly, but they are an interesting collection, including:

Jesus Didn't Exist (we have numerous non-religious historical records that refute this)
The Da Vinci Code (blasphemy dressed up as exciting fiction)
All the Clever People are Atheists (Coren goes to great lengths to show just how much of science, both in the Middle Ages up to the present day, is driven by believers who believe in an ordered universe, designed by God)
Hitler was a Christian (refuted by anyone who has read more than 10 pages on the nature of the Third Reich and has read 10 pages more on his persecution of Catholics and murders of priests)
Christians are Obssessed with Abortion (yes, strange to be the friend to those who cannot defend themselves)

For those actually open-minded to hearing that "Christianity" (another problem: Coren groups all forms of Christianity together as an amorphous blob) isn't the source of all evil and darkness in society today, this book is a good starting point to do some further investigation. For those who are convinced that there is no God (and Lenin is his prophet), remember that for those with faith, no argument is necessary, but for those without faith, no argument is possible.

[J.T. Therrien · Rating 5 out of 5]

I found this book helpful in my spiritual life and I also found it intellectually thought-provoking. I admit that I picked this book up more to learn about Catholic apologetics than because it was written by Mr. Coren. The last time I heard of Michael Coren, he was a talk-show host on CFRB, a talk-radio station in Toronto. I was not impressed with his rhetoric. That was years ago, and to the best of my knowledge he is no longer there, but I haven't bothered to verify this.

Since then I have heard that he has, or had, a Toronto-based television show, and that he has become an advocate of homeschooling. And that he is a Catholic.

These were all reasons why I decided to invest the time to read Heresy. I liked his premise: Catholics (and Christians, in general) put up with a lot more lies, venom, and misdirected hatred than any other religion in the world and it has to stop. I agree.

In Heresy, Mr. Coren discusses a variety of topics that we Christians regularly have to defend about our faith. To quote from his website: Christianity "...supports slavery, is racist, anti-intellectual, anti-Semitic, provokes war, resists progress, is repressive and irrelevant, that Jesus didn’t exist, and that there are contradictions in the faith."

I'm a cradle Catholic, and I have never had anyone tell me that Hitler was a Christian. So I found a few of these topics to be, quite frankly, inane, the Hitler one in particular. I cannot take anyone who says something that stupid too seriously. I have taught logic and argumentation theory and since learning about arguments back in university, I've always asked myself this question before jumping into an argument: Do I realistically have a chance of changing this person's point of view? If not, then I would rather save my breath for a more intelligent conversation with someone else. And anyone who would be stupid enough to attack my religion based on such a claim would not get a defense from me.

But Mr. Coren is up to the challenge. He proves himself to be a great arguer and he resorts to good arguments to state his case, most of the time. He does, however, fall into "talk-radio" mode once in a while. For example, in the chapter where he argues about the lies told against Christianity in The Davinci Code, he begins by quoting a scathing review of Dan Brown's writing abilities. Talk about ad homonym! I don't believe that personal attacks help to defend any cause, so that tactic failed to do anything more than annoy/disappoint me. I write fiction, so I guess I rarely take any claim made within a fictional story seriously. But... and this is where Mr. Coren gets someone as cynical as me, in the same chapter he takes Tom Hanks to task for acting in such an anti-Christian movie as The Davinci Code. Mr Hanks says that it's just fiction and we shouldn't take it too seriously (my claim exactly). Mr. Coren's reply: would Tom Hanks act in a movie that claimed the holocaust never happened? And again, I agree with Mr. Coren, Tom Hanks probably wouldn't. But, "they" would argue, The Davinci Code is just an attack on Christianity, so it's fair game. What are Christians going to do, besides turn the other cheek?

Overall, I found Mr. Coren's writing clear and his arguments cogent and persuasive. The topics are barely touched upon, as he mentions. There is so much one could say about each issue, but he does a very good job laying out the central claims, explaining why the topic is offensive to Christians, and he pours as much historical proof as needed to at least make someone think that they may be wrong. And that's all we can ask for, isn't it? For people who don't know what they're saying to stop spreading false beliefs about Christians, and to take the time to understand Christianity's position before attacking it.

In this secularized world, I'm glad someone is standing up for Christianity and for Christians. Next on my reading list is Mr. Coren's previous book: Why Catholics Are Right.

[Paul Wallis · Rating 1 out of 5]

I was actually very excited when I first learned of this book being offered at my local library, and I was looking forward for some engaging arguments against the atheist position. Being an atheist I love to have my view points challenged. I have been challenged several times by several Christians and I was able to rethink my positions on various issues, unfortunately it wasn't to be the case here.

Chapter I
It does not matter if Jesus existed, only matters if Jesus was actually divine, and not just a simple man. A position Michel Coren states we can only take on faith alone, so the point is moot, weather or not Jesus existed as an atheist I'm willing to grant such a position outright. I see nothing impossible about a man named Jesus who was born and was crucified by Pontius Pilate near the turn of the century.

Chapter II
This was the chapter I was really hoping that would really challenge my worldview, but alas it's as dismal as most Christian apologetics. How can god allow for such suffering in the world (and in the afterlife). Well merely stating that it's more a problem does not solve the original problem. He then goes on to state how much better a Christian worldview is than a atheist's worldview, because of the infinite reward of heaven. We are evaluating truth claims here not which worldview feels better. I've heard this such argument before it's a terrible way to discern what is actually true, try again Coren.
Another point made was that the suffering is ok if it leads to something better (heaven) later. This really downplays the real suffering that people are going through. Also what of all the people in hell? What better things do they have to look forward to.
By far the worst point Coren makes is that gods existence needs to be shrouded for us (humans) to have freewill. If we knew conclusively if god existed it would rob our freewill to choose to worship him or not. This makes no sense at all. Just because I know my wife exists doesn't mean I no longer have the free will to remain married to her or not. I find it a very strange quote when Michel states "if he made himself entirely obvious only a fool or a masochistic would purposely reject him". So is the devil and the former 1/3 of the angles (assuming Michel believes in the fall) in heaven imbeciles or masochistics?
Three very refuted premises within a very short span of the opening of the chapter. All three would be cut to pieces on any atheist message board or in any essays written by atheists. It's very dishonest scholarly work to resort to straw-man arguments outright without actually looking to see what your opponent is actually saying. A dismal attempt at apologetics. I cannot fathom how this book actually has a 4+ star rating.

[Nikki in Niagara · Rating 5 out of 5]

Reason for Reading: I'm a fan of Michael Coren both in print and on TV, I enjoyed his last book and the topic is of interest to me.

Reading this book is like sitting down and having an intelligent conversation with someone who shares all your interests but happens to have quite a bit more knowledge on the subjects than you do. Totally fascinating. Awe-inducing. I have basic information on these topics to begin with but Mr. Coren goes deep into the historical background of Christianity on many varied aspects and this book is a goldmine of inspiring information. Coren proves all his conclusions with samplings from the words of great thinks throughout the ages and my list of authors to read in the future has multiplied: from ancient sources, to saints, theologians from the middle ages up to scientists, newscasters, medical professionals and so on.

Coren's purpose in this book is to provide the Christian with "logical ... self defence." "A handbook for followers of Christ who want to intellectualize the instinctive and provide a solid response to the increasingly malicious anti-Christian propaganda campaign...." This book is certainly for the intellectual but also for the person wanting to put their thoughts together more intellectually with the right materials. It's all here, everything you could possibly want to know to defend ten common misconceptions about Christians (regardless of denomination), but it is also simply terribly informative to someone who doesn't know his own Christian heritage, our heroes, how we shaped the world, how we changed the world, what the world would look like today without the advancements made by Christians whose Christianity made them seek out to better the world. Fascinating reading!

[G · Rating 4 out of 5]

Heresy is a book that should be kept handy by almost all Christians, today. Too many of us today do not have a solid base in knowledge of our own religion. While we may read the Bible, some, and listen to the preacher when we go to church, often we are inundated with media that we accept as fact about Christianity. The media is often not well researched, and possibly even anti-Christian, and since our own base is fragile, we have nothing with which to rebut the information. We watch movies that have vague connections to Biblical facts, and we believe they are true, or someone challenges us about our beliefs and we can only give enigmatic statements that may allow others to loose interest in Christianity or even shake our own beliefs. Michael Coren has completed the research for the top ten challenges of non-Christians to Christianity.

Coren, the best-selling author of fourteen books, as well as an award winning print and television journalist, uses his research ability and capacity for argument to defend Christianity on such topics as Jesus is a myth, Christianity supports slavery, is racist, anti-intellectual, and others. Coren gives historical background, and explains reasons for such attacks and presents information that solidifies defenses with facts other than the Bible. While Christianity is based on the Bible, history holds information that supports the Bible, and often Christians are unaware of the historical facts.

This is a very interesting read and I would recommend this book for anyone interested in furthering their knowledge of the Christian faith, and all Christians to strengthen their beliefs and their arguments for those beliefs.

[Zaak Robichaud · Rating 2 out of 5]

I was interested to see what rebuttals to such accusatory statements about Christianity like:

Christianity is against science
Christianity supports slavery
Hitler was a Christian
Christianity is anti-intellectual
Christianity resists progress
Jesus never existed
Christians are overly concerned about abortions

There are ten chapters each addressing one of these lies. I personally did not take any issue with any of his arguments to the contrary of these lies. Nearly everyone of his arguments were made in the affirmative. For example:

Lie: Christianity supports slavery
Rebuttal: Christians led the fight for abolition, therefore Christianity does not support slavery.

or

Lie: Christians are anti-science
Rebuttal: Here are a dozen examples where Christians were the leading scientists in their fields.

While I appreciate the rebuttals, many of which are nice 2 page bios on important Christian activists or intellectuals, Mr. Coren rarely lends any credence to the origins of the lies and therefore never really counters what would be the honest statements by Christianity's detractors. For instance, I would have appreciated an acknowledgement that there were Christians at one point who profited greatly from slavery, but why those Christians were not living out a historical Christian faith. Or acknowledging that there continues to exist an anti-intellectual segment within the Christian population and simply explaining why that is and why it should not colour the entire faith as anti-intellectual.

It was an easy read, but not entirely helpful as an apologetic text or even as a contemporary analysis of how Christians ought to be viewed.

[Teresa · Rating 2 out of 5]

Some positives; he chose good misconceptions to tackle and I thought he did a pretty good job with "was Hitler a Christian" in particular. But instead of directly tackling each misconception as the boom went on, he veered more and more towards direct Christian apologetics, rather than an actual interaction with the cleverer aspects of the "heresies". by the final chapter he just descended to soapbox preaching of social and fiscal conservatism, not even bothering to represent a range of Christian belief but rather making arguments on why homosexuality is wrong and so forth (not very good ones either, at least in part because he tries to deal with them in a page each). He tried to do too much....and ended up not doing very much at all. An easy read, not a total waste of time, but wouldn't begin to convince somebody on the fence even. A few useful apologetics tidbits was all I gleaned and it baffles me why people speak of Coren as an intellectual giant or brilliant writer when he can't even hold his thoughts on topic unless they just enjoy confirmation bias. Even sharing Christianity with Coren wasn't enough for me to give this book more than two, maybe 2.5 stars if you pretend the final chapter never happened.

[Ellen Dark]

I found this book to be instructional to me, a Christian, in that it gave me many points to use when discussing my beliefs. Coren begins by giving examples of how the media,and people in general, have misrepresented Christianity and Christians, and then proceeds to give examples of how Christianity and Christians have made significant contributions to society, and are not as portrayed in the current culture.

In many ways Coren is "preaching to the choir" because those who are extremely anti-Christian will either not read the book, or will discount everything in the book. Christians who read the book may find their faith reaffirmed, and they may learn some things they didn't know before about Christians from the past. Some of Christianity's critics will take the book to heart, and that means that Coren will have succeeded in his intent.

[Lynne Mclaughlin · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book. I have been picking it up off and on since I attended a conference in October where Mr. Coren was the speaker, and this book was the main topic. If you find yourself frequently at the dinner table with people who want to argue about religion, this is a great book to have in your back pocket. I am not much of an apologist, and I wouldn't say this book is on apologetics exactly, but more fodder for informal conversations. It was accessible yet thought provoking, and had so many interesting points that I think I would recommend it to anyone who is interested in intelligent, unemotional discussion on faith, regardless of beliefs. Well done, sir.

[Daniel Anderson · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was a delightful read! Heresy is chalked full of handy material all Christians should appreciate. Coren tackles topics such as slavery, atheism, Jesus, science, progress, abortion and more, all from a Christian point of view. The only down side for me was the book is not indexed, and referencing is a bit tiresome. However, the author will wet your appetite for a more engaging discussion in the anti-Christian war that is being raged around us. This book will help to give Christians confidence in their faith and ammunition for the battle ahead.

[Beth · Rating 5 out of 5]

I found this book to be very interesting and even instructional. I borrowed it from the library but am seriously considering purchasing it for my own bookshelves. There are many things in it I know I will want to refer to again.

[Carter Johnson · Rating 3 out of 5]

Coren's prose is efficient and clear, and much of his research and thinking will be found helpful to those who are wrestling with Christianity. However, the ten-chapter format prevents a thorough digging on each subject, and he could develop an even more convincing apologetic approach.

[Dwayne Harapnuik · Rating 2 out of 5]

While Coren present information in a very easy to read format, he really doen'st offer anything earth shattering or that hasn't already been covered in many other places. Great writing but old content. I did learn a bit more about a Catholic perspective.

[Christine Norman · Rating 5 out of 5]

Rather than formal apologetics, Mr. Coren addresses the popular myths and lies that are propagated by the media and other liberal, cultural entities in the West. His arguments against them are both interesting and spot on.

[John · Rating 5 out of 5]

Coren is fearless and a hero to anyone who loathes the consensus media. A must read!

[Dianne · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent read.....deserves a re-read.

[Donna · Rating 5 out of 5]

Michael Coren is becoming one of my favorite authors. He explains his positions clearly. He covers the topics I'm interested in. I appreciate the research he includes. I highly recommend this book.