My family used to regularly get publications from these two hate groups when I was in my teens, and while I don't like to speculate on where others stand with God, the people who founded these organizations do not have any clue whatsoever about the very Christian concepts of grace and mercy.
Generally I try not to read anything they write or say if I can help it, but thanks to a post at exgay watch I stumbled upon this tidbit from the October 11 broadcast of American Family Radio's Today's Issues:
WILDMON (President of American Family Association): And let me just say one other thing, and we'll go on to our next caller. And I'm not a psychologist, or a psychiatrist, or a social scientist, or anything like that. But I have heard from people who know and understand these things that two of the most difficult sins or bondage to break out of are alcoholism and homosexuality.
SHELDON (Chairman and founder of Traditional Values Coalition -- and a Reverend): Oh definitely, because the groove is built, and I've talked to many psychotherapists who are Christian, and they say once you enter into that lifestyle -- Now, you may have gender identity conflict -- that's the medical-scientific name for homosexuality -- where you're attracted to the same-sex person, but once you enter into the culture, into the music, into the gay bars, into the gay literature, into the gay theater, and all of that kind of -- and gay travel -- once you immerse yourself into that, you have really put yourself into a groove that only a sort of an exorcism can release you from.
WILDMON: Wow.
Well. Wow indeed.
Wow because I have gone through some exorcism exercises in my ex-gay journey (and I know I'm not alone in that). I wouldn't recommend that route to anyone.
And wow because...since when is "gender identity conflict" the medical-scientific name for homosexuality? I'm not in any conflict about my gender, and I'm quite happy to be the gender I am.
Wow because I don't even really know what they're talking about. Gay travel? Gay theater (is there theater that isn't gay)? And what's this gay music about? I obviously did not get the brochure.
Are there other queer folk out there, like me, who just don't feel queer enough after reading these kinds of things? I've never done any gay traveling (I do fly to visit my sister on occasion but I don't remember the option for traveling in the gay section of Frontier Airlines). I tend to like music that, unfortunately, has not been historically gay-friendly. Sometimes I feel like a sad excuse of a gay (er, I mean, gender identity conflicted) person.
In other news, Tim Wildmon agrees that there is "evidence of homosexuality and lesbian people on programs like HGTV and Animal Planet." Horrors! Perhaps one of these days I ought to get cable so I can see those "lesbian people" for myself.
And in case you didn't know, the TIME reporter who wrote the recent cover story on gay teens is really a "homosexual activist posing as a 'Time' Magazine Journalist!" It's also reported that he "carefully smears ex-gay ministries like Exodus International and Parents and Friends of Ex-Gays (PFOX) by pointing out that some individuals struggling with same-sex attractions lose the battle to overcome these life-controlling behaviors."
Only some? How about "most, if not all?" And since when is telling the truth synonymous with a smear job?
[I'm trying to count to ten; it's not working]
This homosexual activist is signing off. It's hard work "posing as a production artist at an advertising agency" all day long. But I guess it's the price I pay to maintain my homosexual groove.
It is unfortunate (to say the least) that this sort of misinformation is still so prevalent in some churches, but then I've come to the conclusion that some (many?) churchgoers only hear the truths they want to hear and avoid those that might challenge their preconceptions.
ReplyDeleteBut then I re-read my last sentence, and realised that I avoided all the evidence against reparative therapy for so many years. The evidence was true, but it didn't match what I wanted to believe at the time.
Perhaps the only way forward is to keep speaking the truth - and eventually, some of these people may hear and start to understand.
As to alcoholism, I know that some people (gay or straight) have sex addictions and in these cases this reference may have some limited validity. However, like many people, I'm quite happy to be known as a moderate drinker - that seems to demolish the 'alcoholism' metaphor when used against homosexuality.
I think Sheldon confused something when he talked about the difficulty of escaping the gay lifestyle. I think he meant to say the incredible challenge in breaking free from the incredibly unhealthy world of conservative Chrsitanity with its Christian music, Christian travel (trip to the Holy Land anyone?) and Christian theater (um, Sunday service).
ReplyDeleteI know what it is like to have immersed myself in that world, where there are no healthy boundaries, where I summitted myself to leaders who had their own agendas wrapped in the pages of a Bible, and where I believed in fantastic theories in an attempt to address the real issues in my life.
Breaking free from that lifestyle (and yes, it can be accurately referred to as a lifestyle) created a huge challenge. I never considered an exorcism to drive out the spirit of church. Hmmm, I wonder if Human Rights Campaign and any of those other pro-gay, godless gay activist organizations (posing as pro-gay, godless gay activist orgnaizations) offer those services.
I feel so angry and helpless when I read this kind of shit... helpless I guess because, any logical reponse to them would be so pointless. They would hear nothing, just as most of us growing up in Christianity never saw that there was more than one creation story in Genesis. Their interpretive grid blinds them and they let it.
ReplyDeleteSigned,
Frustrated
Fun, ain't it? Just this morning I had to correct an otherwise level-headed friend who was repeating some anti-gay myths. This individual apologized and offered to publish my rebuttal, but unfortunately there aren't many people on the 'Christian' side who are that committed to the truth. It's unlikely that Exodus (which had introduced my friend to this particular lie) would have given my objection the time of day.
ReplyDeleteAnne - goodness, see, I don't know anything about this brochure. Please send it ASAP! I do wear lesbian shoes - (comfy and ugly) - does that count?
ReplyDeleteJimbo - you said, "I avoided all the evidence against reparative therapy for so many years." Ain't that just the truth? Thanks for your comments. I definitely agree with you.
Peterson, I definitely think you're onto something with Lou...and I agree it is more accurate to call it (the ex-gay deal) a lifestyle than it is to call being gay a lifestyle. After all, one is about being just who you are, and that's more like just having a life!
Frustrated, I feel ya. That's why I don't often read their stuff. This was an exception. I do feel like I need to be informed about what's out there, but I can only take it in very limited amounts.
E., that's the problem, isn't it? Most well-meaning Christian people don't even realize they are repeating falsehoods. I believe most wouldn't do it if they really were able to know and understand what is true. Yes, I am thankful you have a good friend like that; and I agree that Exodus probably wouldn't have given you the time of day...or maybe they would have told you it was 3:15 when it was really 4:30, but attempted to make you believe that you didn't know it was 3:15 because you just hadn't tried hard enough...