One of the Pacific Rim’s leading evangelical voices regarding abuse and “sexual brokenness” is profiled in a new article by former ex-gay Anthony Venn-Brown. (Copies available here and here.)
Venn-Brown, now a gay Christian leader in Australia, has written an analysis that is concise, insightful, fair, and well-balanced.
Sy Rogers rose to prominence in the United States as executive director and later board member of Exodus International through the early 1990s. He appeared in a documentary of that period, “One Nation Under God,” in which — at odds with the statements and experiences of the movie’s featured gay and former ex-gay individuals — Rogers repeated Exodus’ mantra that homosexuality is caused by inadequate parenting and abuse which result in gender confusion. Rogers’ assertions were, in short, projections of his own transgender confusion on to mainstream homosexuals who experience no such confusion.
By 1996, Christianity Today cited Rogers as a leading up-and-coming young evangelical.
After Exodus, Rogers departed with his wife for Asia and rose to prominence as an evangelical speaker on abuse and sexual brokenness to audiences in Singapore and New Zealand. His speeches and self-help programs remain popular to this day. But his central themes remain unnecessarily — almost purposely — ambiguous and prone to deception, ripe for abuse by his ex-gay former colleagues.
Venn-Brown notes that Rogers’ speeches create rather than resolve ambiguities about sex and gender: ambiguities which permit audiences to make invalid assumptions. Whether these assumptions are incidental, or are the intended objective of the ambiguity, is unclear.
Regarding Rogers’ transgender biology and the nature of being transgender, Venn-Brown writes:
This is often confusing for heterosexuals to understand as their brains are aligned harmoniously with their gender identity.
Sy lived as a woman for some time and was in the process of seeking gender re-assignment surgery when he was converted to Christ. Throw into his story years of sexual abuse, a self destructive lifestyle (not an exclusively homosexual experience), meaningless sexual encounters and a dysfunctional family upbringing (mother was an alcoholic) then it becomes a maze of issues. The sexual abuse issues are the ones Sy has most recently had to resolve. Probably the miracle in Sy’ Rogers story is similar to mine: we are still alive to tell the story.
Problems develop when Sy speaks to church audiences who are relatively uneducated about sexuality and transgenderism. I’m sure there are still are large number of people in churches who naively believe all homosexual men want to dress and live as a woman and all lesbians wish they could be men. This is far from reality for the average gay man or lesbian. When uninformed Christians, with an already negative attitude towards homosexuality, hear Sy’ story, it’ easy for them to make false assumptions.
It is not quite clear whether Rogers himself acknowledges that his biology is transgender, or whether this is simply Venn-Brown’s frank (and I think accurate) assessment. Nor is it clear why Rogers might allow audiences to make false assumptions without emphatically correcting them.
Venn-Brown continues:
Different terms appear in Sy’ story, homosexual, gay, transsexual, transgender, all mixed together and are hard for the average person to separate. One of the myths often presented in many church cultures is that ALL gay men and lesbians are highly immoral, drug taking reprobates who live a “homosexual lifestyle’. Sy’ story carries much of that stereotype which, for those of us who are a part of the gay community(as opposed to the “gay scene’), know is only reflective of a subculture and once again not exclusively homosexual. Heterosexuals live the same “lifestyle’.
Again, Rogers has an opportunity to define words clearly and distinctly, and to distinguish between his own lifestyle and those of most gay people — but it is not apparent that he does.
Regarding Rogers’ sexual orientation, Venn-Brown writes:
My assumption is that Sy would not actually claim that he is totally heterosexual today, but, because he is married to a woman, many would try and tell us that this indicates a change in sexual orientation.
Here again, it seems that Rogers creates ambiguities which may lead others to perpetuate myths about change.
Whatever Rogers’ sexual orientation, Venn-Brown says, “Sy has chosen to be in a heterosexual marriage. I have to respect Sy and his wife’ choice and anyone else who chooses to live that way.”
I respect people who decide to marry for reasons other than sexual or even romantic attraction. However, I am not certain it’s necessary to respect a marriage that, through deliberation or inaction, serves the purpose of persistent and uncorrected public misunderstanding or deception. Does Rogers allow audiences to assume that he is now fully male and heterosexual? Is such a claim even remotely plausible, given Rogers’ life-long non-masculine voice and physique? These questions remain to be clarified a bit.
Venn-Brown details a series of ambiguities that directly result from Rogers’ past ex-gay activism and from the assumption that he is ex-gay today. Chief among them for me is the fact that, since 1996, Rogers has not (to my knowledge) repudiated any of his past bigoted claims regarding the origins of gender identity, sexual orientation, and lifestyle choice.
Rogers today preaches a broad message of sexual brokenness without reference to orientation, but his legacy remains uncorrected. With no objections from Rogers, his ex-gay book library remains in active use by U.S. ex-gay activists. Furthermore, Rogers continues to assist these activists with speaking opportunities in both Asia and the Americas.
I applaud Anthony Venn-Brown’s article for its fairness and its insight. Yet I remain doubtful regarding Rogers’ sincerity and commitment, at this time, to tell the whole truth in a transparent manner that leaves minimum room for audience misinterpretation and political misuse — particularly in Singapore, where homosexual activity remains illegal.
I don’t know much about Sy, although I’ve heard the name in passing. The first question that leaps to mind is how is a person who was seeking gender reassignment surgery an “ex” gay? If anything, wouldn’t he be an ex-transsexual? I don’t know any “gay” people, including myself, who wants to change their gender.
Adelaide Now reports in today’s edition:
An Australian child-welfare expert rejects Rogers’ abstinence-only message, suggesting that it will lead to ignorant and dangerous sexual behavior.
Abstinence messages are extremely dangerous – the sure-fire way to unwanted pregnancies or STD transmission. It’s really important teenagers get access to safe sex information – you only have to make a mistake once.
I have heard several of Sy Rogers messages and as a born again christian I will tell you how it has impacted me. Based on his teachings my understanding of the gay lifestyle is that homosexuals live all kinds of different lifestyles just like heterosexuals depending on the person and I personally do not stereotype all gay people into one group. Just like heterosexuals there are some homosexuals who live the party scene. Just like heterosexuals there are those homosexuals who choose to live with one partner, desire to have a family and live moral lives. My point is based on Sy Rogers teachings I did not come out with the view that all gay people live a certain way. The area in which he impacted me the most is that he changed my way of thinking towards homosexuality. According to my beliefs in the bible maybe I do not agree with it, but does that give me the right to treat homosexuals as if they are any less valuable than me? No! Is there sin any worse than the sin I was rescued from through acceptance of Christ sacrifice for me? No! Someone who doesn’t know Christ as Savior will live in all kinds of different lifestyles. You have the self righteous for example who think they are so good they deserve heaven. Or the alchoholic, fornicator etc. All of these lifestyles are a symptom of trying to fill a void only Being reconciled through Christ to God can fill. Why as a christian would I treat someone who doesn’t know Christ any different than someone who does? At one point in my life didn’t I also not know Christ. Did that make me a bad person? No. I chose to live in certain ways to fill that void which Christ now fills. My point is Sy has helped me to understand if you are the real deal. If you are a Christ follower you have no business treating anyone else including the homosexual as if they are different of less valuable. That is not what Jesus did when he walked this earth and that is not what we are to do. I am sad to say many of my fellow christians mistreat homosexuals and I am sorry and I hope the lord does open their eyes like he has opened mine.
I have been a ‘closet’ case for as long as I can remember. I’m 24years old. I have tried my best to hide what’s inside of me, because I didn’t and still don’t want to be gay. I have recently told a few friends and my pastor and am excited to receive God’s healing in my life.
I am saddened by the fact that Christian’s in my church, ppl whom I consider my spiritual family use the word ‘gay’ to breakdown or criticize each other. The tongue has the ability to speak either life, or death. This insensitive and thoughtlessness, plays a large role in my inability to share and be open with the ones I love. Fear of judgment and rejection – because of ignorance and lack of understanding. There are few Christians with the ability to handle such a case. My best friend, great man of God, ‘can’t deal with this’…makes me doubt in his salvation…makes me doubt in all ppl’s ability to understand. As a result, my life has been torture as the enemies lies have found evidence to confuse and isolate me. My heart is broken. I thank Jesus for the few that are helping me. God is good, always. Ppl are not without Him.
Etienne, was your point to be sanctimonous because all I see is word salad.
As per the article, missionary works in Southeast Asia has been for the most part a road block to human rights development. It is actually because of missionary work that binary views of sexuality developed, which cause inequality of sexes to expand.
Etienne: I’m sorry you are going through this. But you are not really paying a lot of attention to what you are saying. The people who should be there for you are not there for you. They clearly have issues aobut homosexuality. you can see that they have the issues, but you don’t draw the rather obvious ocnclusion– that what they have to tell you about homosexuality is probably far more about them than it is about homosexuality, and at even a greater distance than what god may have to say on the subject. Unless, of course, you are going to claim that they are battling divorce and jusging others iwth the same fervor that they are battling YOU.
I suggest you consider this: the problem is not that you are gay, or what god may or may not have to say on the subject. The problem is your self hatred. Until you deal iwth that, you iwll never be able to deal iwth your homosexuality. You have been very carefully taught to hate yourself, and you have been an apt and ready pupil.
I suggest you go to a non-Christian therapist. tell them you are gay but that is not your problem. Tell them you want to deal with your self hatred.
Hereis something I wrote a few years ago to a self hating gay man. I would suggest you read it.
Steve– here are a couple of thoughts for you. Maybe the problem isn’t your homosexuality at all. maybe the problem is that you don’t like yourself very much. To me, that is what Peterson Toscano is basically saying. When he started liking and valuing himself, all of the ex-gay rhetoric he had ingested began to lose its power.
Hating oneself is betraying oneself. If you do not love yourself, can you love anyone else? Can anyone else love you?
Read a book on basic psychology. Positive self-esteem is the basis of good mental health. Low self-esteem is the basis of poor mental health. Self-hatred is at the very bottom of the self-esteem scale, and only produces in yourself what hate produces in other people, especially, as the history of the world shows, if they have the power to enforce their hatred on the objects of their hatred. And you do have that power. And you can see what it is doing to you.
Do you think you’ll actually stop hating yourself if you become heterosexual? Your self-hatred is the problem, not your sexuality.
Since, as so many Christians seem to claim, homosexuality is a choice, why is it that you are not choosing something different? with G(od) and acceptance on your side, what is stopping you? You are the creator and designer and power of your own life. So maybe it is you that is stopping you– not because you are weak and sinful, but because you are immensely powerful, and you will not do that ultimate damage to yourself and your relationship with G.
Maybe there is actually nothing wrong with you at all, so you can’t actually choose to not have anything wrong with you. (A bit like saying I’ll have a steak when you are at a vegetarian restaurant. You can even demand to see the manager–god– but you still won’t get a steak). Maybe the something wrong with you is actually the only thing that is right with you, but you’ve been very carefully taught to reject the best of yourself, and choose the worst of yourself, which is why it isn’t working for you.
As Christians are so wont to say, with all the irony and falsehood, I’m sure, unintentional… love the sinner, hate the sin. Can you not be a good Christian in this sense? “You must be carefully taught…to hate all the people your relatives hate” … You’ve been taught well, and you’re doing the haters work for them. You might also look at all the things the ex-gay people tell you about gay people, and realize that they are mostly lies. And if they lie to you about that, what else are they lying to you about? Perhaps the very basis for their hatred?
I had a professor tell me once: “You never to something FOR someone else. You do it TO them. You do it FOR yourself.” It took me a long time to understand the truth of his observation, but true it is.
when someone tells you that you are dirty, sick, unclean, and especially, sinful and in need to salvation (which they offer, of course, at a price) it is the biggest mistake in the world to assume that 1) it’s true, and 2) that they are telling you for your benefit, and not for their own. The concept of sin, especially YOUR sin, becomes the expression of their will and their way of seeing the world, and if it is making you unhappy, or interfering with your life, then that is probably a good test of its truth value. Likewise, you pay the price with happiness in your life, while they reap the benefits– the validation and the “glory”.
Allegedly, without exception, every time homosexual practice is mentioned in Scripture, it is condemned, says your average bible-believer. Unless, of course, you realize that this is not a true statement. Jesus had nothing to say about homosexuality. NOTHING on a subject that is so goddam important to bible-believing Christians. you’d think if it was actually important, he might have mentioned it oh,say, ONCE!!!!!
The bible may or may not condemn some aspects of gay sex. It is amazing to me how unclear G manages to be on the subject, when he is so clear on so many other subjects. So coy: “abusers of themselves with mankind” (KJV of words we don’t know the meaning of, and which requires pages of exegesis to explain into a clear condemnation.)
If it were as important to G as it is to you, he would have said: “two men or two women together shall not have sex in and way, shape, or form. They will not be naked together and touching each others’ skin. They certainly will not be bumping nasties. Penis into vagina, that’s it. And you shouldn’t enjoy it too much.”
Now, that is clarity befitting the creator of the universe.
So Steve, stop going to the dry well known as ‘ex-gay’ and expect to get a drink of water. see a good therapist and learn to love yourself better.
Etienne:
Life is short. Every day you waste on the ex-gay myth you will never get back. Every dollar you throw down the ex-gay drain you will never recover. Ex-gay is a politically motivated consumer fraud. It simply doesn’t work and you are wasting your time and effort.
Save yourself the pain and heartache by loving and accepting yourself now. The so-called “ex-gay” path is a dead end, not a journey. If you want to be happy you will take a different path.
But, hey, it’s a free country. If you want to ignore all the evidence and experts and personal experience, it’s your life to ruin. Those of us who have come out will continue to live joyous, rich, fulfilling and whole lives, which you suffer unneccsarily.
I hope you make wise choices and live for yourself, not who others who don’t have your best interest want you to be.
Good luck.
didn’t realize– etienne and steve? Coincidence? Or the universe trying to tell someone sometihng.
“Every day you waste on the ex-gay myth you will never get back. Every dollar you throw down the ex-gay drain you will never recover.”
Very well put, Wayne, and a most salutary warning to anyone contemplating embarking on the “ex-gay” wild-goose chase. They should also consider the following dictum of Carl Sagan:
“Once you give a charlatan power over you, you almost never get it back.”