Rev. Irene Monroe: Pastor Donnie McClurkin's Gay Church

by: Pam Spaulding

Wed Nov 18, 2009 at 13:00:00 PM EST

Pastor Donnie McClurkin's Gay Church

Rev. Irene Monroe

The Church of God in Christ (COGIC) is the largest African American and largest Pentecostal church in the United States.

And as the largest denominational black church in the country it is also the loudest in rebuking homosexuality.

With many of the gospel music industry mega-stars from COGIC, the church's charismatic worship style shouts to a black gay male queer gospel aesthetic every Sunday. And the church is conflicted with itself.

Unfortuantely, these black gay male mega-stars are always forced to go back into the closet denouncing publicly their sexual orientation at the church's annual convocation.

Case in point: Speaking at the COGIC's 102nd Holy Convocation International Youth Department Worship Service on November 7 held at the Memphis Cook Convention Center, Pastor Donnie McClurkin, the poster boy for African American ex-gay ministries, was one of them.

"God did not call you to such perversions. Your only hope is Jesus Christ.  Were it not for this Jesus I would be a homosexual today. This God is a deliverer," McClurkin told his audience.

McClurkin attributed his homosexuality to being raped twice as a child, first at age eight at his brother's funeral by his uncle, and then at age thirteen by his cousin, his uncle's son.

Confusing same-gender sexual violence as homosexuality, McClurkin misinterpreted the molestation as the reason for his gay sexual orientation. McClurkin  "testi-lies" that his cure was done by a deliverance from God and a restoration of his manhood by becoming the biological father of a child.

Insider report: Evergreen Int'l's ex-gay propaganda for Mormons conference

by: Pam Spaulding

Thu Oct 01, 2009 at 10:00:00 AM EDT

Evergreen International's Queer Science

Attendees seek to balance sexuality, religion & psychology

By Jesse Fruhwirth

Utah author and social worker Kim Nordyke Mack joked that her maiden name doomed her to a lifelong struggle with same-sex attraction, a challenge made more difficult because of her Mormon faith. To deal with that ongoing battle, she writes the “How I Deal” blog, which is about “a faithful LDS woman’s experience in dealing with being gay and remaining true to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.” She had three children with her previous husband, but she now lives a celibate life, which keeps her in good graces with her church.

She also considers her own story, and many others like hers, as proof that therapies to change a person’s sexual orientation can have some benefit. That is counter to a study released in August by the American Psychological Association, which drew the conclusion that such therapies are “unlikely to be successful and involve some risk of harm.”

“Even if all of the studies said after 10 years that I would be miserable, I would still do it, because my experience tells me I won’t [be miserable],” she says.

Nordkye Mack was one of several long-term sexual-repression role models at the Evergreen International conference held Sept. 18-19 at the Joseph Smith Memorial Building in Salt Lake City. Evergreen, a nonprofit that offers members of the LDS Church help and support in repressing or “diminishing” homosexuality, celebrates its 20th anniversary this year. The conference attracted about 400 people, most of whom were searching for a remedy to same-sex attraction either for a child, a spouse, or for themselves. Others, like Nordkye Mack, show anecdotally that some homosexuals’ behaviors can change, even if, as in Nordyke Mack´s case, same-sex attraction is still present and she has no sexual interest in men.

Taking place at the same time was a conference for members of Affirmation, a group of gay and lesbian Mormons that believes homosexuality is a special gift from God. Among that group are former Evergreen clients, some of whom say their Evergreen treatment included electro-shock aversion therapy and being told to marry as a means of avoiding homosexual behavior.

Despite the close, albeit unofficial, ties to the LDS Church, not all the attendees at Evergreen follow LDS doctrine so piously or dismiss the APA’s conclusion.

Two sides: black teen exorcism victim tells Tyra he's no longer gay; gospel singer Tonex comes out

by: Pam Spaulding

Fri Sep 25, 2009 at 09:00:00 AM EDT

Talk about unbalanced coverage about something that needs in-depth discussion. A few months ago there was a YouTuibe that made its way around the internets that showed a Connecticut teenager being put through a fundamentalist exorcism to rid him of "homosexual demons." In a "whatever happened to" moment, Tyra Banks featured the young man, who claims the Holy Spirit cast out that demon and that he is now an "ex-gay." (Rod 2.0):

"Jeffrey" tells Tyra: "I am healed by the power and authority of the Holy Spirit that came into me that day .. and removed the unclean spirit from me. Because I do not want to live the homosexual lifestyle. I have nothing against them if they want to live that way but they have a choice to serve ... the Lord."

The teen says that he has been struggling" with his "sexuality since [he] was five years old" and adds that in his teens he began to "cross-dress" and wear women's clothing.  The teen also defends Patricia McKinney, the self-proclaimed "prophet" and pastor of Manifested Glory Ministries in Bridgeport, and explains the convulsions and vomiting seen on tape: "That is the unclean spirit moving ... out of our body. It tends to shake and move in ways that are not natural."

The boy appears unsure of himself and coached. He is also concealing his identity and wearing a "beard". (It probably won't be the last time, either.) Why did the parents allow the minor to appear on national television?

It is, however, important to expose how fear of ostracism within one's faith community for minority gays is so powerful. It's common for many to go back into a padlocked closet than risk social rejection. After all, a black man is not a man, unless he is heterosexual and with a woman. The bible-beating goes on and on, so I'm not surprised at all by this young man's decision to say he's cured. Of course some may see this as "curing" works, but all I see is a sad case of a teen whose high-profile exorcism in an oppressive church left him with no other decision in his mind but to comply. But that's just my 2 cents.

Rod also reports that the teen, after the exorcism, went to a LGBT-affirming church, but then returned under the thumb of Manifest Glory, the family's church. They were pleased with the results of the exorcism. This is so sick.

***

In the world of black gospel, you won't find any closet doors kicking open, but you know the genre is full of talented brothers and sisters who are padlocked in tight professionally. One did make the decision to come out strongly in support of his own identity and for LGBT rights. Tonex sat down with Darian Aaron of Darian Out Loud to tell his story.

Gospel Artist Tonex Opens Up About Sexuality

Stellar Award winner and Grammy nominated gospel recording artist Tonex has dealt with rumors regarding his sexuality for almost his entire career.  The son of the late Rev. Dr. Anthony Williams and a minister himself, the accusations of homosexuality have been an enormous threat to his livelihood, ministry, and future as a respected leader in the black faith community in his native San Diego, California.

In 2007 with the release of The Naked Truth and the infamous YouTube video (that has since been pulled) where Tonex's use of profanity and secular posturing shocked gospel music fans; it seemed  inside this talented singer was a ticking time bomb ready to explode. In that video Tonex emphatically denied being gay, but that was two years ago.

In a recent interview with The Lexi Show produced by The Word Network, Tonex' boldly opens the closet door in a way that I could never imagine anyone else in the gospel music industry having the courage to do. As a childhood victim of molestation, Tonex' refuses to blame his same-sex attraction on this experience like many of his colleagues who "struggle" with homosexuality (i.e. Donnie McClurkin) and corrects the interviewer when she attempts to frame the discussion in this way.

"It wasn't a struggle. And then people like to blame the struggle on molestation. No. Just say you were attracted to men and be honest and quit blaming it on that experience", says Tonex'.

On homophobia in the black church: "The church has completely faggotized everybody who's gay, sends them to hell over the pulpit and the church literally screams hooray and are happy about that. And yet, we celebrate the pastor who has a clean record and a clean look, but yet he is still doing the same thing that the same gender loving people are doing. I believe that there's holy ghost- filled fire baptized gay people."

The Scientific Problem With Sex And Gender Dichotomies

by: Autumn Sandeen

Fri Sep 11, 2009 at 16:00:00 PM EDT

The Intersex Society of North America (ISNA) has disbanded since I originally wrote this piece, so I updated the links to archives of their previous pages. Same with a few other articles that now are not longer at the URLs I originally used for this piece -- just wanted to make sure the current links to the original information were active, and the original information found in the original links was still available for view.

And too, because I wrote this piece for the Ex-Gay Watch as a response to conservative "Christian" commentary, this piece speaks a lot to intersex and trans issues in terms of Christian faith.

Some of the information in this piece below may not be as up to date as it would be if I write this piece from scratch now (again, I originally wrote this piece in February of 2007), but if anything there is more fresh data to support the conclusions -- the conclusion that there is a scientific problem with the concept of a rigid sex and gender dichotomy.

Perhaps an update to this piece is a diary for another day.
~~Autumn~~

P.S. My views on sex and gender constructs has changed, somewhat. I now believe in a rainbow of sex and gender experience, just as there is a rainbow sexual orientation and sexuality experience. Believing in genderqueer and other sex and gender contructs doesn't tear down any male or female contructs, but I've instead embraced the diversity concept that all of these are just part of a sex and gender rainbow of human experience.

Recently, I wrote a piece on Mike Ensley's take on gender fluidity. He responded in his personal blog with an article entitled What do I know about gender? In the entry he states:

...I can see how in a different circumstance (different city, family, influences) I might have gone down the road of transgenderism. A lot of people have backgrounds similar to mine, but didn't end up struggling with same-sex attractions like I have. We're all different and broken in different ways--but we can still understand one another.

Furthermore, transgenderism represents to me one of the biggest loopholes in the new sexual ethic of our society. We're told gays can't and/or shouldn't change because people are supposedly born gay, but then the T segment of the LGBT community is encouraged to do everything--therapy, drugs, surgery--to change the way they truly were born.

Anywho; I could get into the whole why-I-believe-in-male-and-female thing, but that's a whole new post.

Ensley's faith in a two-sex dichotomy is shared with other religious conservatives. As a recent example, Sonja Dalton on the Americans For Truth about Homosexuals website responded to the San Francisco Chronicle's Shaking up transgender assumptions with her piece Shaking Up Gender Assumptions Destroying Teenagers.

Dalton makes a statement in her short commentary that appears to verify what appears to be her conservative Christian model -- there is only one way to be female and one way to be male:

"Real women" have two X chromosomes, and they do not have a male sex organ.

However, I can believe -- and should believe based on the evidence -- that there more ways to be biologically sexed than XY - male and XX - female. Eric Vilain, (Ph.D., chief of medical genetics at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA) seems to agree in a piece he wrote for the Los Angeles Times:

Sex should be easily definable, but it's not. Our gender identity our profound sense of being male or female is independent from our anatomy.

[Lots more below the fold.]

Ted Haggard's now 'a heterosexual with very few issues'

by: Pam Spaulding

Wed Sep 09, 2009 at 18:00:00 PM EDT

APA Says Insufficient Evidence That Sexual Orientation Change Efforts Work

by: Autumn Sandeen

Thu Aug 06, 2009 at 06:00:00 AM EDT

The American Psychological Association adopted a resolution Wednesday stating that mental health professionals should avoid telling clients that they can change their sexual orientation through therapy or other treatments.

The "Resolution on Appropriate Affirmative Responses to Sexual Orientation Distress and Change Efforts" also advises that parents, guardians, young people and their families avoid sexual orientation treatments that portray homosexuality as a mental illness or developmental disorder and instead seek psychotherapy, social support and educational services "that provide accurate information on sexual orientation and sexuality, increase family and school support and reduce rejection of sexual minority youth."

The approval, by APA's governing Council of Representatives, came at APA's annual convention, during which a task force presented a report that in part examined the efficacy of so-called "reparative therapy," or sexual orientation change efforts (SOCE)...

Well obviously, Focus On The Family disagrees. Through their "news" arm CitizenLink piece Psychologists Consider Treatment of Homosexuality, they give us the scoop:

...The guidelines do allow for difference in religious beliefs, but Jeff Johnston, gender issues analyst for Focus on the Family, said they don't go far enough.  He said the APA is starting with the false assumption that homosexuality is normal and positive.  

"There are a lot of people out there who haven't just changed their sexual identity or behavior, but their attractions have also changed," he explained.  "I'm one of those people."

The document also ignores many pathologies associated with homosexuality, which provide motivation for some to seek change.

Ah. So you gays, lesbians, and bisexuals all have a case of the abnormal and the negative, and apparently many of you have pathologies associated with your homosexuality. We trans people therefore must be the normal, positive ones here at The Blend, er....right? Oh. Darnit, Focus On The Family/CitizenLink lumped us in with you darn homosexuals:

...We are deeply concerned about the hearts and souls of those who identify themselves as gay, lesbian, bisexual or "transgendered." We want those men and women to know that God loves them with an everlasting love. Through salvation and the work of the Holy Spirit, He can empower them to live according to His design and standards for sexuality. He offers the grace to accept their true identity - not as gay, lesbian, or gender-confused - but as His sons and daughters, embracing their biological reality as male or female.

We are also concerned about homosexuality's impact on families, the church and our culture. There has been a growing and very successful effort to gain not just acceptance but approval for homosexuality and "transgenderism" in many areas, including the church, the media, business and education. Society and families always do best when individuals follow God's created intent for humanity...

Darn. I was so looking forward to lording my normalcy over you homosexuals, you.

But on the serious side of things, the APA stated it believes that "reparative therapy" won't work. In the non-Bizarro world most of us in the reality-based community live in, what the folk at the APA say about reparative therapy matters a heck of a lot more than what the folk at Focus On The Family say on the subject.

~~~~~
Further reading:
* Truth Wins Out: Commentary: The APA Says 'No Evidence' In Support of Ex-Gay Therapy
* Warren Throckmorton Blog: APA sexual orientation task force report: Analysis

Exodus International's Alan Chambers pens new tome, 'Leaving Homosexuality'

by: Pam Spaulding

Sun Jul 26, 2009 at 09:00:00 AM EDT

Schneeberger: Now, I’ve heard it, and you’ve heard it: Gay activists are going to read that and say, again, “Alan Chambers is living a lie. He’s suppressing who he really is.” You make a great point in the book that is very applicable to anyone who struggles with any temptation -- and that is, self-denial isn’t a bad thing. How do you respond to those who say you’re just living a lie?

Chambers: For so long I’ve heard gay activists say to me, “You’re just in denial. You’re not grasping the reality of the situation. You’re just denying who you really are.” The truth is, I am in denial, but it is self-denial. I’m not in denial of who I used to be. I’m not in denial of the temptations that I could still experience. I am denying the power that sin has over me.

Sin does not have any power that we don’t give it, and what I’ve found is that my freedom – and the freedom of others I’ve known who’ve left homosexuality -- was centered around denying what might come naturally to us regardless of how it got there. And once you deny sin’s power, you can live a free life.

The most authentic part of my life is first and foremost my relationship with Christ, but sitting here where I’m doing this interview in my back yard -- with my kids and with my wife -- this is who I am. This is who I want to be. This is the truth of my life. This is who I was created to be. And this is what brings me happiness.

I don't have a problem with Chambers and his personal desire to identify as heterosexual or celibate or anything of the sort. He can deny the natural sexual orientation that he believes God mistakenly gave him. He clearly sees same-sex attraction as a "biological error" of some kind that he has to deal with in the context of his religious beliefs. That's his worldview. At least he's true to himself.

The problem I have with Chambers and Exodus is that they profit on this point of view, only adding to the suffering of those who are struggling with their sexual orientation because of homophobia in our society. This is particularly onerous if the questioning people are of faith -- in the world of the ex-gay movement there is no religious affirmation that being LGBT is not sinful or a roadblock to heaven.

It is a movement that takes its disinformation around the country in roadshows like Love Won Out, where parents of LGBT youth who are in denial about their child's orientation, are told that they can send their kid away to a camp to be de-gayed by prayer and receive "gender-appropriate" coaching on how to be a masculine man or feminine woman. Chambers is aware this is a huge PR problem, so to sell his book, he blunts this fact with the soft sell:

Schneeberger: Some parents and friends of those who identify as homosexual are going to see this book and think, “I’m going to just drop this off for so-and-so.” But I know that’s not the ideal way you see this kind of resource being used. How should those who have a loved one living homosexually use the book? Why is it a bad idea to go just drop this off if someone may not be in the place where they can receive it?

Chambers: Certainly parents or family and friends are well-meaning in their desire to help their loved ones dealing with these issues. But it goes back to the premise that leaving homosexuality isn’t the point. If they have a loved one who doesn’t know the Lord, homosexuality should be a very back-burner issue. The most important thing for someone who doesn’t know the Lord is that they know Christ, not that they leave homosexuality.

So for a parent or a loved one who sees this as, “This is so good; I’m going to send this to my kid,” you may alienate them, turn them off. If they pray about it, if there’s a conversation about it, if it’s done in a respectful way, maybe that could be the right thing. But we have to really respect, regardless of whether we like it or not, where our kids are at in their journey. And if they’re not in a place where they’re looking to leave homosexuality, it might just send them further away or alienate them more if we continually make this a priority issue in our relationship.

OK, talk about walking the tightrope on that one. Clearly Chambers wants to have it both ways. He wants parents to buy the book, and then the onus is on them to be ones to decide if it's appropriate to pass on the propaganda to the kids. The mothers and fathers most likely to buy this book are ill-informed about homosexuality and or the process of coming out to begin with; that are already negatively predisposed to the issue and the kid's only going to end up confused and alienated no matter what escape hatch Chambers tries to create to ensure healthy book sales.

Anglican bishop: Gays must repent

by: Pam Spaulding

Mon Jul 06, 2009 at 08:00:00 AM EDT

The Bishop of Rochester, Dr Michael Nazir-Ali, has defended traditional biblical teachings on homosexuality and said the Church should not be "rolled over by culture".

Dr Nazir-Ali spoke as tens of thousands of people, including Sarah Brown, the Prime Minister's wife, joined the annual Pride London march to celebrate homosexual culture. A war of words broke out between Labour and the Conservatives over the issue of homosexuality last week after a minister accused the Tories of having a "deep strain of homophobia" running through the party.

..."The Bible's teaching shows that marriage is between a man and a woman. That is the way to express our sexual nature. "We welcome homosexuals, we don't want to exclude people, but we want them to repent and be changed."

...The Rev Dr Giles Fraser, the president of the Inclusive Church, a liberal grouping in the Church of England, said: "Homosexuality is not a sin. It is the way many people love each other and is a gift from God. Ordinary people in the pews know this. And they are a lot more theologically aware than the handful of narrow- minded bishops who want to play politics with the Anglican Communion."

Truth Wins Out condemns church exorcism of gay teen in CT

by: Pam Spaulding

Fri Jun 26, 2009 at 23:30:00 PM EDT

Wayne Besen of Truth Wins Out had this to say.

Truth Wins Out condemned Manifested Glory Ministries in Bridgeport, Conn., for practicing child abuse in the name of religion, after a video surfaced where the church tried to exorcize demons from a gay teenager.

"This video reveals the underbelly of the ex-gay ministries and shows the medieval mindset of such organizations," said Wayne Besen, Executive Director of Truth Wins Out. "We call on all such ministries to immediately stop the child abuse, which is harm in the guise of healing. As an organization that helps victims of such barbaric practices, we can attest to the psychological trauma that can result.

The exorcism video shows a teen writhing on the ground as adults implore so-called "homosexual demons" to get out. The leaders yell at the boy on the ground saying, "Right now in the name of Jesus, I call the homosexuality, right now in the name of Jesus." This scene unfolds for 20 minutes with the boy in a near seizure, even vomiting.

American Family Association's "Speechless: Silencing the Christians" Is Back

by: Autumn Sandeen

Tue Jun 23, 2009 at 05:00:00 AM EDT

Back in February,we blogged about partnering with LGBT community members and leaders in several local markets who were responding to an anti-gay infomercial titled Speechless: Silencing the Christians, which was produced by the American Family Association. Local expressions of concern led stations in Grand Rapids, Michigan and Columbus, Ohio to either decline to air the infomercial or postpone airing it indefinitely.

Just this week GLAAD has received three more reports of constituents spotting the anti-gay paid program on their local affiliates. One person saw it in West Hollywood, California on Independent Cable Channel, KDOC on Sunday, June 21, where it aired from 7 to 8 p.m. Another GLAAD constituent alerted us that the infomercial aired on WJZY the CW Channel 46 in Charlotte, North Carolina on Saturday, June 20 from 9 to 10 p.m. And we heard from other GLAAD constituents that the program aired on KMPH Fox 26 in Fresno, California on Sunday, June 21 (Special thank you to these twitter users for the heads up on Fresno: Gayrainarmy, k8cch14 and jace78).

GLAAD's Senior Director of Media Programs Rashad Robinson wrote this in a Huffington Post piece about this issue last February entitled As Seen on TV:

The infomercial was created and financed by the anti-gay American Family Association and features interviews with anti-gay activists who make a series of predictable, breathless, fear-mongering claims about LGBT people and equality.

As you would expect, the video is propaganda, pure and simple -- manufactured to perpetuate a climate of hostility toward our community and to create a culture where lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people are less safe, less secure, and where our families are put in harm's way.

The glaadBLOG post Anti-Gay Infomercial Resurfaces in North Carolina and California has a "take action" component if this infomercial should show up in a television market near you.

I guess the AFA thought they could silently reenter this anti-gay infomercial onto the airways again without anyone noticing. Well, they were wrong.

~~~~~
Related:
* 'Victimized' AFA launches anti-gay 'Silencing Christians' web site and video
* The American Family Association's fascination with fraudulent documentaries
* Exposing the moral bankruptcy of the unraveling professional 'family values' crowd

Full copy of the breathlessly anti-LGBT video included below the fold, for those of you who are interested in watching this "interesting" video.

LDS fringe mulls chemical castration as 'cure' for homosexuality

by: Pam Spaulding

Wed Jun 10, 2009 at 06:00:00 AM EDT

[I]s chemical castration an option for LDS gays? I mean, if you're faithful LDS & accept that for whatever reason the Lord has put you on Earth as a "eunuch" (best case, if you can stay strong), why should you have to struggle with incessant thoughts that are not just inappropriate now, but will be inappropriate in the next life, too, only serve to pervert any desires to have children in a celestial relationship in the next life. There is zero point to having homosexual thoughts, it's not as though they're a normal part of the procreation process - they're just an annoying, perverted form of biology, entirely worthless.

I have considered this dilema for years, but don't think much of it these days. "What is, is; what ain't ain't." Persons with sever mental illness do take medications, necessarily so! They take them with informed consent, voluntarily, and with increasingly greater success. If there are medications, which there are, that can help an alcoholic check his/her drinking should we suggest that the alcoholic not take the medications based upon the idea that it robs him of moral agency? What about the diabetic? I have seen diabetics, craving sugar, eat themselves into various stages of neuropathy. Medication can help stave off those cravings. Can we possibly suggest that because it would rob them of moral agency a diabetic should not take medications? In my view it would be immoral for those responsible not to do everything possible to get the person so sticken to take the medications that will provide the help they desperately need. If there is a chemical solution to help a chronic adulterer or a gay man acheive sexual sobriety, and worthy entrance to the temple, I AM ALL FOR IT. I don't remember questions on the temple recommend interview asking the kind of medications I take or why I have to take them. Do you?

Pepsi faced with shareholder protest by ex-gay fundies

by: Pam Spaulding

Fri May 08, 2009 at 09:00:00 AM EDT

Greg Quinlan, a member of the conservative American Family Association affiliated group Parents and Friends of Ex-Gays & Gays, presented a motion asking  stockholders to stop donating money to groups that he said " aim to discredit the ex-gay community."

In his speech to shareholders, Quinlan described the Human Rights Campaign and Parents and Friends of Lesbians and Gays (PFLAG) as "gay organizations that hate people like me."

Over the past two years, Pepsi has given $500,000 to the Human Rights Campaign and $500,000 to PFLAG.

"By funding PFLAG, PepsiCo promotes fear and hostility against the ex-gay community and our supporters, and spreads lies about ex-gay organizations. Diversity does not mean funding one organization so that it can attack another," said Quinlan.

All someone has to do to shoot this nonsense down is show the folks at Pepsi the tennis racket, pillow beating "therapy" of ex-gay-for-pay Richard Cohen:

A sample of his "therapy" from a report on CNN, via Truth Wins Out. You can see the hilarious CNN segment here.

Related:
* Work of 'ex-gay' therapist Richard Cohen vanishes from NARTH, PFOX sites

Exodus International Applauds Board Member Schmierer's Part in Uganda Conference

by: Autumn Sandeen

Sat Mar 14, 2009 at 18:00:00 PM EDT

Kinkaid found an article in the Christian Post, entitled Sexuality Expert: Uganda Anti-Gay Seminar Takes Wrong Approach. In the article, Dr. Warren Throckmorton expresses his concern, and...

...finds it troubling that the American Christian leaders spoke at a conference that supports the criminalization of homosexuality and that none of them had reportedly publicly opposed the law. He noted that the people in charge of the conference called for stricter enforcement of laws against homosexuality.

"It is illegal to be homosexual in Uganda. There's also a category of homosexuality (act) that has a potential for life imprisonment," said Throckmorton to The Christian Post on Wednesday. "How often it is enforced is not clear."

Adding to Exodus International's questionable participation in this conference (where Defend the Family International's Scott Lively says it is good for the government of Uganda to criminalize homosexuality, and the Ugandan government should consider subjecting the criminals of homosexuality to a therapy rather than imprisoning them) is Alan Chambers, President of Exodus, making a statement for the Christian Post article indicating he and Exodus International are not apologetic for the participation in the conference:

In response, Exodus International said it applauds its board member Don Schmierer, who attended the Uganda conference, for his effort to convey an "alternative message that encompasses a compassionate, biblical view of homosexuality," according to a statement by Exodus International president Alan Chambers to The Christian Post on Wednesday.

Exodus says neither Schmierer nor the ministry agrees or endorses Uganda's criminalization of homosexuality law, imprisonment of homosexuals or compulsory therapy. Rather, the ministry says it "unequivocally denounces" the positions the government of Uganda has towards homosexuality.

The full statement:

"Unfortunately, Uganda as a country has demonstrated severe hostility towards homosexuals supporting criminalization of homosexual behavior and proposing compulsory therapy - positions that Exodus International unequivocally denounces. It is our sincere desire to offer an alternative message that encompasses a compassionate, biblical view of homosexuality not just here in America, but around the world. We applaud our board member's attempt to convey these truths to a country in need."

I'm in agreement with Kincaid's statement on the comment:

...it would seem that Alan doesn't know the meaning of the word "unequivocally".

Kincaid also posted Scott Lively's response in regarding his comments at the conference:

I did promote therapy as an option to imprisonment, citing my own experience benefiting from optional therapy after an arrest for drunk driving many years ago. In fact, it was during that period I accepted Christ and was spontaneously healed of alcoholism and drug addiction.

I don't think under the circumstances homosexuality should be decriminalized in Uganda since it seems to be the only thing stopping the international "gay" juggernaut from turning Uganda into another Brazil.

I don't often say I'm appalled by something, but I find the whole of the circumstances surrounding the American participation this Ugandan Ex-Gay Conference to be pretty appalling.  

~~~~~
Related:
* More Conservative "Christian" Scary Stuff Coming From American At Ex-Gay Conference In Uganda
* A Ugandan Solution: Force LGBT People Into Conversion Therapy?

More Conservative "Christian" Scary Stuff Coming From American At Ex-Gay Conference In Uganda

by: Autumn Sandeen

Sun Mar 08, 2009 at 20:00:00 PM EDT

According to anonymous blogger GayUganda -- as we said, Ugandan gay bloggers need to remain anonymous for their own safety -- American Holocaust revisionist Scott Lively provided the much-anticipated red meat on day three of the anti-gay conference taking place in Kampala.

On Saturday, Lively repeated his discredited historical revisionist theory in which he claims that the cornerstone of Germany's Nazi lies firmly in the gay movement, and that the gay movement today, if left unchecked, will result in a similarly murderous fascism wherever it goes. In Kampala, he went further by expanding his examples of what he calls homosexuals' murderous impulse by blaming the 1994 Rwanda genocide on gay men.

Lively is one of three Americans speaking at that conference, along with Exodus International board member Don Schmierer, and a relative unknown Caleb Lee Brundidge, of Richard Cohen's International Healing Foundation. Brudidge is also a member of Phoenix-based Extreme Prophetic ministries, where he goes around to area mortuaries trying to raise the dead. On the second day of the conference, leaders called for a new Ugandan law mandating ex-gay therapy for convicted gay men and women, addition to the current maximum life sentence upon conviction of homosexuality.

To understand Lively's demented assertions, it's important to read his book, The Pink Swastika: Homosexuality in the Nazi Party, In it, he contends that "the Nazi Party was entirely controlled by militaristic male homosexuals throughout its short history." A brief outline of his book is presented on the LeadershipU web site. His book is also available for free online in its entirety, and it was also offered for sale at the Uganda conference, with Lively referring to it throughout his talk...

Further into the piece, Jim Burroway concludes:

...With such a direct link to Lively's [LeadershipU] article on the Exodus International web site, Exodus gives its endorsement to Lively's discredited historical theories. That approval is strengthened with the Exodus board member's participation alongside Lively in Uganda, as they call for forced conversions and blame the Rwandan massacre on gay men. This is particularly dangerous in an environment where gays and lesbians have been hunted, tortured, and forced into hiding during several spates of officially-sanctioned and media-led vigilantism -- the very same dynamics, ironically, which led to the Rwandan genocide.

Just incredible.

~~~~~
Related:
* A Ugandan Solution: Force LGBT People Into Conversion Therapy?

A Ugandan Solution: Force LGBT People Into Conversion Therapy?

by: Autumn Sandeen

Fri Mar 06, 2009 at 18:00:00 PM EST

Warren Throckmorton has a blog entry up on the possibility of forced, conversion therapy for Ugandans who engage in same sex relations. It's coming out of Uganda's strange, ex-gay conference.

This is incredibly disturbing stuff.

From the source, Ultimate Media article for Dr. Throckmorton's piece (links added):

The Minister of Ethics and Integrity, Dr. James Nsaba Buturo has today told a conference organized to discuss the ways to fight Homosexuality that he will soon submit a bill on pornography and homosexuality for discussion in Parliament.

The conference that took place at Parliament was organized by Defend the Family International, an organization in the United States of America that was formed to fight homosexuality.

...Buturo says the government will not only end at making laws against homosexuality but will also engage in sensitizing schools and churches in the fight against this vice.

The President of Defend the Family International, Scott Lively says it is good for the government of Uganda to criminalize homosexuality but the government should subject the criminals of homosexuality to a therapy rather than imprisoning them.

Lively says this is aimed at the criminals recovering from homosexuality which is the main objective of those fighting homosexuality and not to punish homosexuals through imprisonment. He says even schools should borrow this idea of therapy in dealing with gay students.

Scott Lively, if you weren't aware, is a past winner of the LaBarbera Award. He co-wrote the book The Pink Swastika, and articles he's written include Deciphering 'Gay' Word-Speak And Language Of Confusion and Countering Corporate Brainwashing: In Praise of "Sexism".

This is the "Christianity" that's being exported to Uganda by American Scott Lively. Who knows what form the mandatory therapy that Buturo and Lively are apparently advocating would be designed to function like -- especially for the majority of the patients who don't want "the cure."

This story to me is absolutely chilling reading. As Dr. Throckmorton states:

Exodus International and the International Healing Foundation must now come out clearly and make a statement condemning this proposal. This is a chilling development and one which must be addressed. The presence of these ex-gay organizations in this environment most likely sends a message to the Ugandan people and government that such forced "therapy" is plausible and humane. Cell phones and other modern forms of communication exist. If I were Alan Chambers and Richard Cohen, I would be on the phone yesterday to insist that their representatives make public statements distancing themselves from Mr. Lively's views. And they should come home early.

Hear hear.

~~~~~
Further reading:
* Box Turtle Bulletin: Exodus Board Member Participates In Uganda Conference Calling For Forcing Gays Into Conversion Therapy
* Ex-Gay Watch: Forced Ex-Gay Therapy In Uganda, the Other Shoe Drops
* Americans For Truth About Homosexuality: Scott Lively: Is Hating 'Haters' Hateful? Can You Oppose Homosexuality without Being a 'Homophobe'?

~~~~~
Related:
* Pam's House Blend tag: Scott Lively

'Victimized' AFA launches anti-gay 'Silencing Christians' web site and video

by: Pam Spaulding

Mon Feb 09, 2009 at 09:00:00 AM EST

This is all the American Family Association has left, folks, but it's slickly produced bile. When homo-hating, illegal pistol-packing state legislator Sally Kern cited the book After the Ball as the proof of the Homosexual Agenda last week at a fundnut fest in OKC, it should have been no surprise that the AFA has been propagandizing this nonsense with its web site and hour-long video, Silencing Christians.com.

The premise is that Christians are under assault by homosexualists, enabled by state and local governments and schools, to force them to accept LGBTs as -- gasp -- human beings deserving of civil rights! They are careful to mention "former homosexuals" and those struggling with "unwanted same-sex attraction" in order to soothe and absolve the target audience of "Christians" that their motivations are rooted in compassion, not bigotry.

A Blender sent me the text of a breathless e-blast from Tim Wildmon of the AFA that promoted the video (and, of course, asked for a donation); it's slated to run in Grand Rapids, MI today. See the video, "survey" and the email below the fold.

Irish Independent: Children aren't guinea pigs

by: Autumn Sandeen

Sun Feb 08, 2009 at 22:00:00 PM EST

I read an article from the Irish Independent today, and just had a s short series of tangential thoughts on the piece. So, humor me for quoting a large section of an article I read on the web, and then not writing much about what I quoted. Enh, it happens.

From the Irish Independent (bold emphasis added):

There are times when the world ceases to make sense, and tips over into such a state of craziness that it might as well have been rewritten as a lost chapter from Alice in Wonderland. So it was last week, when Europe's leading human rights organisation condemned the Czech Republic for carrying out the surgical castration of sex offenders on the grounds that it "removes a person's ability to procreate".

Sorry, but since when did it become a tragedy for a child abuser not to be able to have children?

The Council of Europe didn't object to the surgical castration of sex offenders merely on the dubious grounds of procreation rights. The organisation also said it had "serious physical and mental consequences", and I'm sure it does. Whether the consequences are as serious for the offenders as the victims is another matter altogether. But there lies a testament to the startling oddity of public debate right now: castrating sick individuals in order to protect vulnerable children is considered a terrible and inhumane thing to do, but chopping off parts of the bodies of perfectly healthy children is regarded as a great medical advance.

That's what also happened last week when a 16-year-old German boy became the youngest person ever to undergo a sex-change operation. Kim, formerly Tim, Petras had wanted to be a girl since the age of two. Now he is. Or rather, she is. It's the culmination of a process which began at the age of 12, when Kim persuaded doctors that she was really a girl, and was allowed to begin hormone replacement therapy...

The writer of the article quotes a specific clinic as acknowledging that "80 per cent of [children diagnosed with Gender Identity Disorder (GID) in Children] do not go on to become transsexuals." So, it sounds really, really bad to accomplish genital reconstruction surgery (GRS) on children diagnosed with GID (Child).

However, I don't believe this is a problem of being able to identify which children have strongly expressed gender identities that don't align with their natal genitalia, nor one of children who express regret for affirming gender identities that don't align with their natal genitalia after psychological and medical treatment, but instead is a problem of having a diagnostic tool that labels almost all gender variant behavior in youth as Gender Identity Disorder in Children [GID (Child)].

Specifically, what the writer of the article didn't point out is that diagnostic criteria for GID in Children are nebulous, and cast a very wide net -- see the GID Reform Activists' (gidreform.org's) page on how broadly written the DSM-IV TR diagnostic criteria actually are.

Trans civil rights activists like me are concerned about how GID in Children is applied not only to ego-dystonic children are diagnosed, but...

High functioning children may be presumed to meet criteria A and B on the basis of cultural nonconformity alone, if they exhibit 4 of the 5 characteristics of criterion A and any of those listed for criterion B. Thus, a child may be diagnosed with gender identity disorder without ever having stated any desire to be the other sex. Most puzzling, the DSM-IV-TR admits that:

Only a very small number of children with Gender Identity Disorder with continue to have symptoms that meet criteria for Gender Identity Disorder in adolescence or adulthood (p. 579).

This calls into question the therapeutic purpose of GID of Children. Overbroad diagnosis contributes to the stigma and undeserved shame that gender nonconforming youth must endure. Parents accepting of their gender nonconforming children live in fear of persecution by courts, school officials and government agencies who infer a broad interpretation of GID of Children and seek punitive treatment remedies.

As Dr. Zucker -- a psychiatrist on the committee supervising the upcoming DSM-V -- and Dr. Bradley have quoted Richard Green in their book Gender Identity Disorder and Psychosexual Problems in Children and Adolescents:

The rights of parents to oversee the development of children is a long-established principle. Who is to dictate that parents may not try to raise their children in a manner that maximizes the possibility of a heterosexual outcome? If that prerogative is denied, should parents also be denied the right to raise their children as atheists? Or as priests?"

I guess my point is that there is an assumption that we, as western society, are experimenting on the bodies of gender variant youth by seeing genital reconstruction surgery (GRS) accomplished with a male-to-female, 16-year-old. My point isn't whether or not it's a good thing to accomplish GRS on people who are not yet 18-years-of-age, but instead pointing out that one of the arguments against performing the surgery -- the one based on the how 80% of those diagnosed with GID (Child) aren't transsexuals -- is a problem of an overinclusive diagnostic standard for the condition that includes the children who's natal sex doesn't match their gender identity.

I know I believe that part of the reason why the diagnosis of GID in Children is written so broadly is a veiled attempt to prevent homosexuality in adults. You can't blame gender variant youth for the less than adequate diagnostic tool.

And, what that has to do with punishing child molesters? Absolutely nothing -- This is a subject I believe is unfairly linked to youth diagnosed with GID (Child).

~~~~~
Related:
* Zucker and Bradley
* Documenting The DSM-V And GID Controversy
* Gender-Variant Children And Transsexuals Will Likely Still Be Disordered In DSM-V

Lunchtime lunacy: Cohen's magic magnets

by: Pam Spaulding

Tue Jan 27, 2009 at 12:00:00 PM EST

Hilarious discredited 'reorientation therapist' Cohen slams 'Prayers for Bobby'

by: Pam Spaulding

Mon Jan 26, 2009 at 16:00:00 PM EST

I really thought this sad sack had gotten the message when he and his therapize-away-the-gay practices provided rich material for Comedy Central and CNN. Do you remember Richard Cohen? A sample of his "therapy" from a report on CNN is looped below; see the hilarious segment here.

Anyway, the zero-credibility, expelled-from-the-American Counseling Association Cohen has resurfaced to object to the recent TV movie Prayers for Bobby. From his outfit, the International Healing Foundation:

Lifetime aired the heart-wrenching made-for-TV movie "Prayers for Bobby" this weekend. It tells the true story of a son driven to suicide by his mother's refusal to accept his homosexuality.

After Bobby's death, his mother, Mary Griffith, concludes that gays are born that way and the church was wrong in their judgment of those who experience same-sex attraction (SSA). We too believe that many people of faith are misinformed about this issue.

At the International Healing Foundation, we are fervent in our mission to promote the facts about SSA with compassion and love. We believe that people are not born with SSA and that changing from gay to straight is possible. We also believe that families and people of faith must learn how to love those who experience SSA. Over the past twenty years we have developed groundbreaking, successful solutions to these highly volatile issues through Coming Out Straight  for individuals, and Gay Children, Straight Parents for families.

Each book presents the meaning and causes of SSA and the process of transformation. Gay Children, Straight Parents is a plan for family healing, teaching everyone how to love "gays" the right way. If Mary Griffith, and others like her knew this information, their children would find the love they desperately need.

"People can and do change their sexual orientation. I've done it, and I've helped others do the same," declares sexual reorientation special Richard Cohen, M.A.

Cohen further states, "There is no conclusive evidence that anyone's sexual orientation is determined from birth; no one chooses to have SSA; and change is possible." We grieve for Bobby's passing. We grieve for his family's loss. We know that these tragedies can and must be prevented. We have solutions and there is much hope.

Like a cheap infomercial, Cohen goes on to promote his silly products and continues to use his family - including his Moonie wife - in photos, as if they are mere props. Talk about moral turpitude and disrespect for the family!  

...But, somehow the health of GLBT youths and modern science is irrelevant if it conflicts with Cohen’s religious dogma and bizarre, fringe psychological theories. Indeed, Cohen’s answer is having Bobby, if he were alive, pay him good money to bang a tennis racket against a pillow. Um, yeah, that would have saved him.   In my view, Cohen is a greedy, opportunistic shyster who will capitalize on any tragedy to make a quick buck. Has this man no shame?  

FOTF's Message To LGBT People -- Is It You Can Change, Or You Must Change?

by: Autumn Sandeen

Thu Jan 22, 2009 at 04:00:00 AM EST

The Lifetime Channel is airing a controversial new movie this weekend in which conservative Christian parents shoulder the blame after their gay-identified son commits suicide. "Prayers for Bobby," based on a true story from the 1970s, stars Sigourney Weaver.

Family advocates are concerned the film tells only half of the story, leaving out the redemptive power of Jesus Christ.

The article quotes Terri Brown, a mother that's been praying for 17 years that her son would find freedom from the homosexual identity:

I can understand a mother's despair, especially a Christian mother's despair. Because we know what the Bible says about homosexuality.

My heart goes out to people that struggle with homosexuality. They did not ask for that struggle. What do we do with our sin nature? We take it to the Lord and let Him renew our minds and hearts.

Again, from the article:

Jeff Johnston, gender analyst at Focus on the Family, said the movie's message runs contrary to God's.

...No matter where the movie lands, Johnston said, people can and do change their sexual orientation -- he's living proof.

I'm always a little skeptical of folk who have a personal set of experiences, and then try to globalize the experience to everyone else -- such as Focus On The Family putting Jeff Johnston putting himself up as the "living proof" that one can, by effort and God's help, change one's sexual orientation. Even allowing that it's true for Johnston, it doesn't mean it's true for every other lesbian, gay, bisexual, or transgender person.

This all sounds like "you homosexuals can change your sexual orientation with God's help." But, you have to look at the rest of the FOTF message, and look at how they spent millions for the Yes On Prop 8 campaign, and then laying off employees for lack of cash in December of last year.