Last summer, Truth Wins Out flew an undercover agent to the Chicago exurbs to infiltrate Porno Pete LaBarbera’s incipient “Truth Academy”. Despite heavy promotion in the fundamentalist media, the event was a poorly attended dud. Here was part of our report from the front lines:
The thrust of the conference was to teach an army of young culture warriors how to beat back the gay agenda. These students would then return home equipped to turn back the clock on gay rights in their communities.
What we found, however, was an event that looked more like a poorly attended condo board meeting than a youthful resurgence of the anti-gay movement. The crowd vacillated between 20-30 people, who were considerably older than the “students” the conference claimed it was trying to reach. I’m not sure how LaBarbera plans to win his culture war, when he can’t even fill one buffoon platoon.
Indeed, it seemed that most of the young people attending were “spies” from other pro-LGBT organizations. Our spy ended up interviewing their spies until everyone figured out what was going on. Far from the grand expose we had hoped for — this event was a surreal circus act.
This is not to say that all was lost. We did procure surreptitious audio of the effete PFOX president, Greg Quinlan, loudly proclaiming that he was not some sissy. Quinlan explained how he went from gay-to-straight, and found support from an Assemblies of God Church who accepted him because he allegedly was not effeminate.
“I wasn’t your flaming faggot, you know,” Quinlan told the chuckling crowd. “I can say that because I’ve been there and done that. You know, the one’s whose wrists are so limp that when the wind blows they slap themselves in the face. I wasn’t one of them.”
In the same vein as Quinlan, convicted felon and co-founder of Jews Offering New Alternatives to Homosexuality (JONAH), Arthur Abba Goldberg, offered a few stereotypes of his own.
“By the way, did you notice that a lot of gays who remain in the gay lifestyle also do a lot of body building,” said Goldberg. “They will be in the gym a lot trying to build up their pecs…Because they have these body image issues and don’t feel they are masculine enough.”
It seems that the 2011 incarnation of Porno Pete camp will be just as dismally attended. The leather-daddy-wannabe-scold is already extending his discount rate — practically begging people to attend this year’s conference in Columbus, Ohio. Notice how the word DISCOUNT is capitalized:
** UPDATE, March 30, 2011 ** [note $25 Student and Pastor Rate & extended deadline for DISCOUNT early registrations: midnight Thursday, March 31st]
Anyway, here is what the event invitation says:
Our second Truth Academy — to be co-sponsored with our good friends at Mission America – in Columbus, Ohio, is 10 days away: April 1-2, 2011. Each Truth Academy — the first was in Chicago (see tape ordering info below) — is an intensive seminar designed to educate citizens from a conservative perspective on the homosexual-bisexual-transgender agenda. The Columbus Truth Academy – focusing on the “‘hate’-labeling of Christians” –features some of the world’s top pro-family experts on the homosexualist agenda. Basic information follows:
What: Truth Academy: Columbus 2011: theme: “The ‘Hate’ Labeling of Christians—Why it’s Happening and What We Can Do”
Co-sponsored by Mission America ( www.missionamerica.com) and Americans for Truth ( www.americansfortruth.com ).
David Kupelian, author of “The Marketing of Evil” and “How Evil Works,” is keynote speaker Friday evening.
When: Friday, April 1 and Saturday, April 2, 2011; ; doors open Friday, April 1 at noon; program begins at 1:00 PM; Friday evening dinner-lecture by award-winning journalist David Kupelian, WorldNetDaily editor and author, “The Marketing of Evil,” and “How Evil Works,” Saturday: program runs from 9:30 AM to 3:30 PM [see hourly schedule below]
Where: Columbus, OH. Discover Christian Church, 2900 Martin Rd., Dublin, OH 43017 [see map HERE]; near the intersection of Sawmill Rd. and Rt. 161, near the airport.
This seems like an awful lot of work for an barren conference hall. Truth Wins Out won’t waste our money to have our spies converse with other spies. Let Porno Pete and this sordid gang of misfits talk to themselves in their empty echo chamber.
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I had to laugh when I saw no comments. Everything about Porno Pete has already been said. He is one dead news item.
The TRUTH Academy….doesn’t sound too orwellian. We’ll send our regrets to Greg and tell him we’re all going on a ‘soma holiday’. ;)
I see that the list of speakers is predictable. It includes: Porno Pete himself (of course), Linda Harvey, Matt Barber, Greg Quinlan and Robert Gagnon.
Gagnon is a particularly interesting case. You’d think that, as Associate Professor of New Testament at Pittsburgh Theological Seminary, he would have a great many fascinating things to think about and study. Well, perhaps he has, but if you go to his website (http://www.robgagnon.net/) you’ll find that there is scarcely a single one of the many items on it that ISN’T about homosexuality. He wrote a 24-page review of Andrew Marin’s very equivocal book “Love is an Orientation”, and those 24 pages were only Part 1! (I can’t find Part 2.) He has also written a 522-page tome on the subject entitled “The Bible and Homosexual Practice”. He says this of himself:
“I have written extensively on homosexual practice for a decade now, with two academic books published and many scholarly articles and articles for a general audience. I’m widely recognized as the world’s leading authority on the subject, certainly from a ‘traditional’ (i.e. scriptural) perspective.”
Why is this heterosexual husband and father so obsessed with the matter?
Willian, the hilarious thing is, he belongs, as an ordained elder I believe, to the Presbyterian Church! Not the loony little freakshow, the Presbyterian Church in America, which lowers itself to allow into membership such disturbed individuals as Gary DeMar, but rather the uber respectable, Buick of Christianity, the Presbyterian Church (USA), which is the large mainline denomination. Most of the PCUSA professors have LONG ago come out in favor or gay ordination, and the denomination, the largest by far of the Presbyterian churches and one of the 10 biggest denominations in the nation, as well as one of the most influencial, is about to pass a vote in its Presbyteries to formally allow GLBT pastors to be ordained.
Gagnon has been a WONDERFUL asset to progressive Presbyterians in this cause! He is caustic, arrogant and deeply unpleasant. And I have heard him called that by CONSERVATIVES in the denomination. I have used his words and tone to change peoples minds myself.
So, when he lowers himself (and his CV is, beyond doubt, really impressive…this aint no “Bible college of Eastern Arkansas” graduate, which makes him all the more pathetic really) to associate with WINGNUTS and DINGBATS of this calibre, all he has done is help move a major church a bit more towards a full acceptance, even celebration, of the gifts and calling of GLBT pastors and our families in the life of the church.
His obcession? I think he likes playing Cassandra, truth be known. But his bitterness, well, it comes through. I used to loath him, until another Seminary professor I knew pointed out he was so over the top, he HELPED our cause, and hurt his own.
Let the wingnuts speak to the twisted choir. In the end, they have no real influence on us, and it just makes men like him less respected among his peers.
Thank you, Gene, for that interesting commentary on Gagnon. It strikes me that, as well as being caustic, arrogant and deeply unpleasant, as you say, he is also completely free of any sense of humour.
William, OH YEAH…he is kind of known for that to, which is odd, because believe it or not, most of the conservatives in the Presbyterian Church, while wrong, are wrong SINCERELY, and are not the Freak Of Nature Bible Thumper types we so often hear about. As it happens, most of them don’t really like him either, but his impressive credentials are used to add some cred to their cause.
BUT, there is a catch!
I am ALMOST surprised he is welcomed at this dingbat convocation. As a rule, most of these fanatics want nothing to do with mainline Christians….what when the mainlineers (gasp!) thinking and studying and having open minds and all. It says a LOT about him that they would welcome him. And, of his need for a podium somewhere other that his seminary, which is among the very last holdouts of conservatism in the Denomination.
If you wonder why he has not been of more influence, despite being a seminary professor, and holding impressive degrees, on his OWN denomination, and is reduced to speaking to a half enpty gym full of fundys, well, just read some of what he has to say, and the way he says it and addresses other people.
Truth be known, I wish we could clone him.
I wonder what will become of him when his Church is officially ordaining Gay pastors, which will probably happen by the end of April? It should be interesting to watch unfold.
He’s a very angry man. Anger and obsession of this depth is always a Mask for profound hurt.
Draw your own conclusions.
Gene said:
“Gagnon has been a WONDERFUL asset to progressive Presbyterians in this cause! He is caustic, arrogant and deeply unpleasant. And I have heard him called that by CONSERVATIVES in the denomination. I have used his words and tone to change peoples minds myself.”
Maybe a term that is closer to the truth for Gagnon is “Bitchy Queen.”
A dirty little secret in the mainline denominations is that they each seem to have a fundamentalist faction within them. I know the Episcopalians do, and the Presbyterians (USA) have an organized group named The Presbyterian Lay Committee. I imagine the grown-up respectable members/leadership try to keep the fundies hidden away in the attic.
Yes Richard…quite correct….but the BEST part is, the fundys REALLY, Really (REALLY) think they own the whole house…and, with the Episcopalians, they have been shown their name is not on the deed. The same thing is about to happy with the Presbyterians…and Gagnon will get to live with knowing he was, in fact, part of the work not to prevent this (which is what he really tried to be, an no doubt has influenced a few people) but rather a greater part, by his very manner and tone, of helping the change happen.
The Irony of it is….wonderful :)
As per the Lay Committee…like typical spolied angry old white men who wont have it all their way anymore, they are more interested in hurting the church now than anything. Seeing their moral decline has been nothing short of sad.