A few years ago, I attended a conference in Orlando, FL by the Presbyterian “ex-gay” group, OnebyOne. The group’s affable leaders showered me with attention and tried really hard to convince me that I had wrongly portrayed them as haters, when they were actually just a cuddly bunch of love muffins. Today, we learn that OnebyOne lied to me because they have invited Linda Harvey, “The Most Homophobic Woman in America,” to speak at their Pittsburgh gathering in July:
Presbyterian Ex-gay group OneByOne will host Linda Harvey at their luncheon, Tuesday, July 3 (12:00 – 1:30 pm)
Speaker: Linda Harvey: Founder of Mission America “Same-Sex Marriage: The Destructive Impact on America’s Youth” Tonic Bar and Grill 917 Liberty Avenue (one block from the main entrance of the Pittsburgh Convention Center)
So, they love us, but we are destroying America’s youth?
That OnebyOne group is a a cynical bunch of two-faced, truth challenged scoundrels, who have invited a heinous individual who lacks a conscience to slime the LGBT people. Do you feel the love? I sure don’t.
One of Harvey’s recent screeds warns naïve mothers about the “threat” of openly gay doctors and nurses treating their children.
“There are a few homosexual doctors treating kids, there are far more nurses, LPNs, technicians and other health care workers in these lifestyles so you may want to consider writing a letter that you file with your pediatrician that should your child ever be hospitalized, you do not want your child to be treated or cared for by one of these members of the Children’s Hospital gay employees group except in the case of an emergency situation.”
Harvey is also opposed to openly LGBT schoolteachers and claimed on her website that that, “These teachers then become role models, in-house activists, and possible confidants for students who want to start homosexual behavior. Student molestation becomes a real risk.”
Here are just a few studies showing that Harvery has no clue what she is talking about:
A 2000 study by Dr. Michael R. Stevenson concluded, “A gay man is no more likely than a straight man to perpetrate sexual activity on children.” A 1994 study by Dr. Carole Jenny found that less than one-percent of the children in her study were abused by a gay man or lesbian. In 1978, Drs. Nicholas Groth and Jean Birnbaum found that none of the 175 molesters in their study had an exclusively homosexual adult orientation.
Harvey’s work is truly disgusting and I am appalled that OnebyOne is enabling her to spread her ridiculous rubbish. It is particularly hypocritical for OnebyOne to invite Harvey, when you consider that they have a document on their website listing “The Top Five Myths About Ex-Gay Ministry,” with myth number three being, “Ex-Gay Ministries Promote Guilt and Condemnation.”
Obviously, the “most homophobic woman in America” is a fountain of unending guilt and shame. OnebyOne has lost whatever shard of credibility that it had with this despicable and immoral guest booking. It is also worth noting that OnebyOne lists JONAH convicted felon, Arthur Abba Goldberg, on its speaker’s bureau, without giving relevant details about his criminal past. What kind of sleazy outfit omits such pertinent information? Don’t people booking speakers for allegedly “moral” institutions have the right to know about the real Arthur Abba Goldberg?
(This reminds me of Exodus International’s similar efforts to appear loving and mainstream — yet, we just learned that Exodus activist Joe Dallas is speaking at the notorious and noxious PFOX organization. Do these sleaze merchants ever tell the truth? Are they even capable of it?)
If you feel like I do, please express your feelings to OnebyOne’s Jeff Winter:
JWinter777@aol.com.
Oh, I will let the “rev” winter know about it.
And I will THANK him for shredding the last tiny bit of respect that his laughed at and scorned group has in the whole denomination.
The Presbyterians recently (couple of years ago) voted to allow openly GLBT (yes, the T was included, no compromise on what is right!) ministers and elders.
Just this weekend, the body of the church which determines the health care benefits voted to cover the partners/legall married spouses of GLBT people and their kids under the denominations health plan, a HUGE benefit for many GLBT people and their loved ones. And ObebyOne (laughed at and avoided even by most conservatives in the denomination I should add could stop neither of them.
This summer, the General Assembly of the church will meet, and among many things decided will be whether Marrigae Equality will be formally approved (at this time, gay couples can enter into Church approved Holy Unions to bless our relationships). And OneByOne, by inviting this…freak, just ensured that they will move even MORE moderates into the progressive voting block!
He really should not be a pastor, but, while unintentional, Winter has helped complete the movement for full inclusion in the Presbyterian Church, which has many conservatives yes, but most of them are not INSANE homophobic freaks, and who will recognize that Harvey is one.
One by One will be seen for the frauds they are by the company they keep, so this is a loathsome, but useful, development.
The sad part is as you know any decision made by the General Assembly is not binding on any congregation. My brother’s home congregation is extremely homophobic and he is to the right of them. They are even thinking of spliting from the parent church even though it would mean losing their building. He only joined the church about 5 years ago and all of a sudden he became anti-gay. He and I no longer speak by my choosing. I think it just solidified my standing as an atheist.
I guess “the truth” has set your brother free, Tim. Religion can be a great poisoner of a lot of things, especially rational thought.
In this case, I agree with Paul…sadly. Though, not always is this the case.
As per the decisions made by the GA, the ARE binding when they are Authorative Interpretations, and all decisions are binding when they have been voted on by the Presbyteries. If your brothers congregations wants to leave, then they leave their building behind them (it belongs to the denomination).
I am sorry to hear of the evil done to you by people like the “rev” Winter. Happily, their days of dominating the Churches are coming to an end. I am just sad to hear of the personal damage they have done to you.
But don’t let this weird splinter group give the impression that they represent the majority (or even a large minority) in the Church. They do not. It is an embarassment that they exist at all though. Hopefully, they will soon be officially banned.
The worst thing for me, technically an outsider looking in at the whole ex-gay movement, is understanding the reasoning behind it. The question that comes to mind, is why?
Why do these groups exist?
You might as well have a an ex-left handers movement or something, freeing wounded left handers from the brokenness of using their left hand, helping them ‘become’ right-handers.
After all, the opposite of ‘right’ is not ‘left’ but ‘wrong’.
(This is not so silly a notion; My Mum remembers her teacher strongly discouraging her from using her left hand in class in the mid 1930′s. The rate of success was practically nil. HER (now deceased) Uncle Charlie was ambidextrous from being forced to write right-handed by his teachers at school in the early 1900′s. Thankfully, that’s one prejudice dead and buried, not mourned, forgotten).
Instead of setting up organisations that try to ‘change’ and ‘cure’ people of their orientation, why not treat LGBT just like everyone else, like lefties are treated now?
I really can’t see how this ‘ex-gay’ movement can get away with it.
Good job for bringing that up, Jessica. It shows the ridiculous and damaging lengths people will go to when operating out of a fear of human variety and an obsession with conformity. I certainly don’t need to go into details about foot-binding or corseting children.
She even looks like she is so filled with warm love and caring! /sarcasm
Which specific Presbyterian denomination is it? They run the gamut from fairly respectable to fundamentalist whack-job denominations.
Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.)?
Presbyterian Church in America?
Orthodox Presbyterian Church?
Evangelical Presbyterian Church?
Reformed Presbyterian Church?
Bible Presbyterian Church?
Associate Reformed Presbyterian Church (ARP Synod)?
Cumberland Presbyterian Church?
Cumberland Presbyterian Church in America?
Westminster Presbyterian Church in the United States (WPCUS)?
Reformed Presbyterian Church in the United States (RPCUS)?
I grew up mainly in the most respectable one: PC(USA).
PCUSA….so, as you know Richard, they do NOT represent the majority (and even the conservatives hold their noses around them)
Okay, after looking at OnebyOne’s website, it appears they are primarily aligned with the PCUSA. Oh, well, all the mainline Christian denominations seem to have their fundamentalist factions, and PCUSA is no exception. They have the Presbyterian Lay Committee (amusing name), whose mission is subversion of the PCUSA from the inside to turn it into a fundamentalist denomination.