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Truth Wins Out Confronts Divisive, Homophobic Event By Setting the Record Straight with Hard-Hitting Harvard Crimson Ad; Saturday Protest of Conference
BURLINGTON, Vt. – One week after spearheading a successful petition drive that led to Apple removing an anti-gay iPhone app, Truth Wins Out has turned its attention to confronting a bitterly divisive and homophobic conference at Harvard University. On April 1-2, the Harvard Extension Service and Learning Society will be hosting the “Social Transformation Conference,” featuring religious extremists who are falsely billed as “leading voices for the faith-based social transformation culture.”
Truth Wins Out will place a full-page ad (See Below) in The Harvard Crimson on Thursday, March 31, to educate the campus and the local community on the extreme ideas espoused by conference speakers who belong to the “Seven Mountains Movement.” The intolerant idea behind this radical plan is to “reclaim” and “hold dominion” over seven key spheres of society: education, arts, family, media, business, government, and religion. Truth Wins Out’s Executive Director, Wayne Besen, will be in Boston and available for media interviews for the duration of the conference, as well as TWO researcher, Bruce Wilson.
TWO will also co-sponsor a Join the Impact Massachusetts protest against this conference: 12 Noon, Saturday April 2, at the Northwest Science Building (52 Oxford Street, Cambridge, MA). There may also be a student protest on Friday evening, further details, TBA.
“This is a divisive conference that demonizes and dehumanizes entire groups of people,” said Truth Wins Out’s Executive Director Wayne Besen. “It promotes religion-based bigotry in the guise of improving society. While these zealots have a right to speak, Harvard University has a moral and ethical responsibility to ensure it provides an appropriate forum where these dangerous views are vigorously challenged. To this end, Harvard failed. As a result, the university is aiding and abetting the dissemination of hateful, exclusionary, totalitarian views that are anathema to Harvard’s values of inclusion, pluralism, fairness, robust intellectual debate, and diversity.”
Once example of “red meat” rhetoric comes from conference speaker Lance Wallnau who said during an October 2010 webcast:
“You’ve got Islam invading the United States. So you’ve got your homosexual activity, your abortion activity here, Islam coming in, you’ve got a financial collapse — all of this, to those of us who are Christians, is an apocalyptic confirmation that when you remove God from public discourse, when you don’t line up your thinking with kingdom principles, you inevitably hit an iceberg like the Titanic and you go down”
“These religious supremacists may attempt to tone down their radical views at Harvard in a deceptive effort to appear mainstream,” said TWO researcher Bruce Wilson, who has done extensive research for Truth Wins Out on the Seven Mountains Movement. “However, even a cursory glance at their rhetoric shows that they are dangerous demagogues and utopian extremists who dream of taking over America. We will shine a spotlight on this fringe movement to make it more difficult for them to use the prestige of Harvard University to legitimize their outlandish views and whitewash their radical agenda.”
TWO believes exposing this movement is important because prominent politicians, such as Newt Gingrich, Mike Huckabee, and Sarah Palin, have courted it. The university’s ostensible stamp of approval will make it easier for these theocrats to appear respectable and create powerful political alliances at the expense of America’s future.
Truth Wins Out is a non-profit organization that fights anti-LGBT religious extremism and the “ex-gay” myth. TWO specializes in turning information into action by organizing, advocating and fighting for LGBT equality.
Shame on Harvard, frankly.
They really are the ‘Christian’ version of the taliban and the ‘chapter 20 of leviticus’ part was particularly stunning. The DEATH penalty for adultery and fornication! If that were carried, most of us would be killed before the age of 20. Sounds like they also want to bring back the Burning Times for Witches as well as Gays. Very chilling.
A request for donations in the ad? Tacky.
[...] Wins Out will confront this conference by placing a full-page ad in The Harvard Crimson newspaper on Thursday, March 31. We simply can’t [...]
Paul:
Truth Wins Out is not run by billionaires and this ad was out of budget. It was done because someone had to step up to the plate — and we did — even at the expense of the organization’s fiscal plan.
So, my friend, live with the tackiness and help fund it. Or, better yet, pay for the whole damn thing and I’ll call my graphic artist and immediately take out the tacky money ask.
To the rest of you. If you like our work. If you are glad we have an ad — please make a contribution. Or, one day, you will wake up, the website will be down. No on will be placing ads, holding protests, advocating in the national media, doing research or holding the “ex-gay” organizations accountable. (Once we are gone you can spend your time exploring a future ex-gay iPhone app)
Truth Wins Out can exist only as long as we pay our bills. So, I will ask for tax-deductible contributions everywhere I can — including on ads. That’s how we keep the lights on and keep this work going.
If you like our efforts, please support us financially today. We need your support.
http://www.truthwinsout.org/donate.html
Making a monthly donation, not a lot, but I want to do what I can to help the cause.
@Keith Thanks!
If you want to learn more about free speech, and even a context for this “conference” sponsored by a small group of students at the Harvard EXTENSION School, read this editorial and some of the rather informed comments which follow from the Harvard daily newspaper, the Crimson:
http://www.thecrimson.com/article/2011/3/24/conference-speakers-views-harvard/
Please do speak out about the ideas you (rightfully, thoughtfully) oppose. But I fear that your attempt to fundraise by telling Harvard who should and should not speak at a conference on campus tells me some rather disturbing things about the people behind “truthwinsout.org”
Paul from Canada’s comment. Tacky.
How do you think Tony PerKKKIns and Maggot Gallagher earn a salary? Or is fund-raising and supportive contributions (like marriage) just for theocrats these days.
Is this the 2011 version of the “christian” Third Reich and their “Final Solution”? These “christians” (I refuse to capitalize!) do not speak for all of us. After all some of these same “christians” lynched Black men and women and blew up churches (killing 4 little Black girls inside all in the name of their “religion”. Are these people determined to kill this country? Because it’s sure not Muslims, the GLBT community or pro-choice folks.
Harvard does not endorse this hate. What is wrong with them for hosting such an immoral event is beyond me.
Murray:
We never called for a conference cancellation. You have misstated our position.
They need to leave Gay Americans alone and it’s a woman’s body and so she has every right to do what with whatever she pleases however I’m all for war on Muslims. I don’t want them here in America and I don’t want them here on earth period. KTA!
ok, maybe I misstated your goals. You are not asking for censorship. But I have NO DOUBT that there is now and will continue to be a vigorous debate on the Harvard Campus about the ideas of these controversial and narrow-minded individuals speaking at a conference sponsored by a small student group. But you conflate that sponsorship with your narrow view of the role of Harvard University. You claim that Harvard has somehow failed to perform some action in the future which, by definition, it cannot have already taken.
Do continue to educate and continue to bring the background and context to understand the debate and the illegitimate positions of these speakers. But do not blame Harvard for the actions of one student group, or for its implied defense of the first amendment rights of that group. And do not minimize the ability of Harvard to foster the vigorous debate that you seem to have already predicted will not happen.
I think if you bring hate groups on campus, the forum should be a debate format or at least open to questions at the end of the session. Otherwise, you are simply providing a platform to disseminate dangerous views.
Have you noticed that the “progressive” (ugh) political party in America, the Democrats, would NEVER “dream of taking over America”, even when given a pragmatic mandate to do that?? i.e. the election of Barack Obama and full control of both the House and Senate. Oh, seems so long ago now, doesn’t it? Almost like a fantasy… my point is, even when given the chance and the MANDATE to chart a BOLD new course, the Democrats refused. REFUSED! Why??? Because they are too co-dependent on the Duopoly of the two-party system. They pledge allegiance (unconsciously) to the system, while their hand is on the Bible pledging allegiance to our Constitution. In other words, for all practical purposes, they lie (“YOU LIE!”) while taking that oath, and they outright quash any and all attempts at POLITICAL pluralism in our America. Sure, CULTURAL pluralism is in their playbook (boy do they play with us…), but they have kept POLITICAL pluralism out of our America for centuries. Dishonest. Unethical. Unjust. And time to change that for good. Neither the Dems nor the Repubs ever represent me (or us) in the political sphere.
Who happily signed the Defense of Marriage Act into LAW? Yes, President Bill Clinton. Does anyone know what the word traitor means? Really? Bill Clinton is a traitor (to LGBTQI Americans) and the rest of the Dem Party continues to be traitors to us all, on many fronts. Many fronts. Amen, let it be. Time to break our system’s duopolistic stranglehold on our democracy. For freedom’s sake.
Is the KKK allowed to hold events on Harvard’s campus?
And, yes, Murray I am saying that the KKK is no different than these christofascist anti-LGBT hate groups. No different.
“Censorship” is a concept that applies to the government. That’s all. Private institutions can selective about which viewpoints they promote. Harvard’s whole reputation is built on their supposed ability to discriminate between scholarly knowledge and bunk. Hosting the event gives these speakers an implied legitimacy and visibility that they don’t deserve. Thanks, Harvard – you just gave me another reason not to contribute to the alumni appeal.
[...] has been under fire since the depths of their extremist rhetoric were revealed. Truth Wins Out placed a full-page ad in the Harvard Crimson, and is planning to protest due to the groups rampant homophobic comments. Now the Harvard Crimson [...]
[...] of the apostles, Lance Wallnau, Os Hillman, and Bill Hamon, are on record promoting virulently antigay rhetoric. Two have labeled homosexuality an “abomination” and one, Bill [...]
I am not a leftist like most of the people on this site, but I am also not 100% right. I am of my own mind from the bible. If you know your history, Harvard and some of the other elite Universities in the US were founded to teach Christian studies and principles, not to sway to the leftists, homosexualality and other typer of sinful lifestyles. As I do not agree with everything that Walnau says, it is his right to speak. You people would let Terriorist speakers from Agrentina and probably the Taliban speak if it was against Christians. You should look at all things through the same filter, not just one.
This is not a TRUTH wins out site. There is only the truth this bias media wants you to know, just like all types of media. This should be called a make up your own story wins out site. I have nothing against the people who are gay, just the sin itself, I do not think gays should be punished, that is not the job of any Christian, only God will punish as he sees fit. All sins can be forgiven. If someone can find me some hard evidence of this bill to be be passed in Africa to kill gays, let me know where? I look at all sides of the coin.
Brandon, if your mind is “from the Bible” it’s not your own. The rest of your posts are completely inarticulate. I can’t tell what you’re saying but it reads like brainwashed b******t. You can use the Google just like anyone else to find out more about the kill the gays bill. If you’re too lazy to do your own research then there’s no hope for anyone here to educate you.
You probably haven’t meant to do so, however I believe you have managed to express the mind-set that many of people are in. The sense of wanting to assist, however not figuring out how or the place, is one thing a number of us are going through.