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"While we're best friends and thoroughly love doing life, parenting, and pursuing our dreams together, ending our marriage is necessary because I am gay."
Noted Christian author Matthew Paul Turner dropped a bombshell on the Christian community today when he revealed he is gay. The author of When God Made Light and Our Great Big American God shocked followers when he made the announcement on social media, and then added he is divorcing his wife, Jessica M. Turner.
"Dear friends, I have difficult news to share," wrote Turner. "After much thought, prayer, and counseling, Jessica and I have made the decision to end our marriage. While we're best friends and thoroughly love doing life, parenting, and pursuing our dreams together, ending our marriage is necessary because I am gay."
Turner's wife Jessica made clear that she still loves her husband and father of her children, but that the news "does change our relationship."
"We are moving forward with ending our marriage, while remaining deeply committed to our family and each other," she revealed on her Facebook page.
"Being gay isn't a new discovery for me," Matthew explained, telling of his "30+ years in fundamentalist/evangelical churches" living in "fear, shame, and self-hatred."
The couple have three children together, and Jessica said they "have taken the news remarkably well."
Turner indicated he does not intend to discard his faith, but instead live as an gay Christian man. It's something he approaches with optimism.
"Though my own faith evolved long ago to become LGBTQ+ affirming, my journey toward recognizing, accepting and embracing myself took much longer," he said. "But for the first time in my life, despite the sadness and grief I'm feeling right now, I can say with confidence that I'm ready to embrace freedom, hope, and God as a gay man.
