U.S. Based Ex-Gay Program On Global Crusade to Convert Gays, Says TWO
Truth Wins Out founder Wayne Besen will give a presentation in Belfast on the harm caused by the so-called “ex-gay” industry, which unsuccessfully tries to turn gay people straight through prayer and therapy. The multi-media event is sponsored by Changing Attitudes Ireland and will occur on Wednesday, April 21 at 7:30 PM in the Central Hall of the Non-Subscribing Presbyterian Church, Rosemary St.
The following day, American ex-gay activist Alan Chambers, President of Exodus International, will host the “Leaving Homosexuality Celebration”. The anti-gay event is sponsored by Core, a fundamentalist ministry that claims to, “support local churches in their efforts to provide appropriate pastoral support for those with unwanted same sex attraction. The service recognizes God’ grace for many individuals making the journey out of homosexuality.”
“Exodus is targeting Ireland and other countries because they have been thoroughly debunked and discredited in America,” said Wayne Besen, founder and Executive Director of Truth Wins Out. “Their antiquated efforts are rejected by every respected medical and mental health organization and they have left a trail of hurt and suffering. Having failed at home they are now looking for fertile territory abroad where they can exploit desperate and vulnerable people and profit from their pain. We urge people to explore the group’ dismal record and history of scandal before giving Exodus money.”
Wayne Besen is the Founding Executive Director of Truth Wins Out and author of “Anything But Straight: Unmasking the Scandals and Lies Behind the Ex-Gay Myth” (Haworth, 2003). In 2006, Besen was named one of the Advocate Magazine’ “People of the Year” for his work with TWO. (Read More)
“We’ve tried the carrot. Now it’s time for the stick.”
Oh SNAP, Cynthia Nixon is not happy about New York lawmakers betraying the gay citizens of New York and leaving us as second class citizens in the state. I really love the low-grade seethe she’s got going on this message.
My name is Peter LaBarbera. I am a 47-year-old, happily married father of five living in Naperville, and I am asking for your vote to serve as Republican State Central Committeeman for the 13 Congressional District of Illinois.
I entered this race as a strong fiscal and social conservative in the model of Illinois’ own Ronald Reagan. I believe that the IL-GOP is badly in need of reform and that we can be better served than by our current leaders — including my opponent, Roger Claar ‚Äî who have put power over principle and lost sight of the greatness that a conservative Republican Party can achieve.
As a Reagan Republican, my dream for the Illinois Republican Party is that it would return to the standards of conservatism, decency, integrity and high principle of the man who grew up here, in Dixon, and who as President restored American greatness and accomplished what many said was impossible: to force the demise of Soviet Communism, an “Evil Empire” (as Reagan called it) and the most murderous political system ever created.
He tacks through his “beliefs” or whatever, and somehow doesn’t see fit to share all the amazing work he’s done over the years going to leathersex festivals and taking hundreds of pictures for his personal collection! And honestly, I think that’s important! The constituents of the Illinois 13th should know about Peter’s mad skillz as a nude male photographer! Also, he is an expert on military themed gay porn! Who knows, maybe the denizens of Illinois 13 have been having trouble finding military themed gay porn! Well, here you go! Peter knows where it is! And if you have a friend or family member who’s gay and getting married, Peter will write them an insane personal letter condemning their love. How many people in America would do that to for a person they’ve never met? Peter will. That’s the kind of guy he is.
Reuters and numerous blogs today announced the public formation of the Freedom Federation, a coalition of long-time members of the religious-right Arlington Group including the ex-gay member ministries of Exodus International.
freedom from contraception, phrased as “right to life”
freedom from same-sex marriage and single parenting
freedom from parental responsibility laws that protect children, phrased as “parental rights”
freedom from non-evangelical religious faiths, phrased as “religious liberty [for conservative Christians]“
freedom from undefined “indecency”
freedom to use one’s property in ways that harm neighbors and community, phrased as “the right to property”
freedom from international obligations and agreements, phrased as “national sovereignty”
The federation declares war against the legality of single-parent families as well as same-sex parents and their children. The federation does this by declaring as a top goal: “To secure our national interest in the institution of marriage and family by embracing the union of one man and one woman as the sole form of legitimate marriage and the proper basis of family.”
Overwhelmingly Caucasian and evangelical, the Freedom Federation defines freedom, in short, as freedom from freedom: Freedom from the beliefs, values, cultures, circumstances, and activities of people who are not conservative evangelicals and who are therefore deemed untrue Americans and untrue Christians.
This “true” freedom is sometimes called “Freedom in Christ” — which has come to be redefined by evangelical partisans as a freedom from responsibility to co-exist with liberal Christians as well as Jews, Muslims, agnostics, and others. (Read More)
Exodus International today announced the reformation of its church network as the Exodus Church Association.
In an e-mail message to supporters, Exodus Church Association director Jeff Buchanan declared:
Our goal is to empower pastors to meet this challenge so that those who struggle with unwanted same-sex attractions will find the freedom so many have experienced first-hand. In the future, the ECA will be developing resources specifically designed to meet the needs of pastors and ministry leaders to help meet this goal.
Remember: Exodus’ idea of “biblical truth and Christ-like compassion” just two months ago was to co-launch a Uganda campaign of antigay vigilantism, imprisonment, and forced ex-gay therapy. (Read More)
In Focus on the Family’s youth magazine Boundless, Exodus International executive vice president Randy Thomas has just published an entire article which pretends, from start to finish, that there is opposition — anywhere — to Christian individuals’ involvement in “public policy.”
Thomas’ verbose strawman argument in defense of political involvement sidesteps all the specifics for which he and his employers have been criticized:
Instead of addressing any pertinent facts regarding his organizations’ actual public policies, Thomas weaves a bizarre and egocentric — perhaps megalomaniacal — correlation between the Jewish tradition of a battle at Jericho, and a defense of “public policy” — no matter how immoral, anti-family, anti-freedom, and anti-faith his policies happen to be.
In other words, Thomas seems to believe that by referencing Bible keywords often enough in a speech or article, he can conceal — even from himself — the immorality of his actions. Does Thomas really believe that the Christian God is so easily fooled?
In mid-November, the Colorado Springs-based media empire and political organization laid off 202 of its employees — about 20 percent of its workforce. The group’s explanation for the mass layoffs is the nation’s economic crisis. However, Focus’ money woes may stem, in part, from the more than half a million dollars it spent this fall to help defeat Proposition 8, the recently passed legislation that took civil-marriage rights away from GLBT Californians.
Today, we get new information: While Focus employees were getting the workplace equivalent to lumps of coal, Focus was busy spending more money: The Colorado Independent reports that the organization spent $35,310 to produce radio ads promoting Georgia Republican Sen. Saxby Chambliss’ successful runoff re-election campaign this week. The commercials — which had to have been purchased after the Nov. 4 election that made the runoff vote necessary — reportedly were in production around the same time Focus workers were getting the bad news.
What does this move say about Focus on the Family’s priorities? In this season of love and goodwill, when much of the world’s focus will be on the Holy Family, the organization has opted to throw its money into a political move to destroy families. At the same time, Focus tells more than 200 of its workers and their families that for them, there is no more room at the inn.
Armband religion is practiced by people who wear “faith” on their sleeve, for the world to see, and not in their hearts.
The Washington Post quotes Republican pundit Kathleen Parker about this prostitution of religion earlier this week:
Armband religion is killing the Republican Party. And, the truth — as long as we’re setting ourselves free — is that if one were to eavesdrop on private conversations among the party intelligentsia, one would hear precisely that….
Which is to say, the GOP has surrendered its high ground to its lowest brows. In the process, the party has alienated its non-base constituents, including other people of faith (those who prefer a more private approach to worship), as well as secularists and conservative-leaning Democrats who otherwise might be tempted to cross the aisle….
Parker observes:
Suffice it to say, the Republican Party is largely comprised of white, married Christians. Anyone watching the two conventions last summer can’t have missed the stark differences: One party was brimming with energy, youth and diversity; the other felt like an annual Depends sales meeting.
The GOP isn’t the only victim of armband religion, of course.
Since 1998, the ex-gay movement — led by Exodus International and funded by religious-right mammon-churches — has embarrassed the Christian faith by wearing religion on its sleeve instead of taking Christ-like values to heart.
Would Jesus crucify someone else to make his own life easier?
As they enter the second decade of their open political campaign for “freedom” from the freedom and honesty of others, the armband “Christians” of Exodus threaten not just the GOP, and not just Christian values, but freedom itself.
In days of old, “conservative” (within the American context) once described someone who favored small government, minimal government intrusion into people’s lives, and relatively unfettered freedom of speech, religion, and commerce.
A coalition of ex-gay activists apparently hopes to change that.
Exodus Youth activist Mike Ensley, pundit Warren Throckmorton, former Exodus board member Tom Cole, ex-gay activist Stephen Black, and 30 others have formed the Conservative Education Project on Facebook. (Read More)
As Truth Wins Out has previously noted, in recent months Exodus International leaders Alan Chambers and Yvette Cantu Schneider headlined several religious-right mass gatherings to eliminate the right of gay couples to marry and to deny religious freedom to gay-tolerant congregations that choose to marry same-gender couples.
Exodus Youth this week distributed an e-mail newsletter which promoted Thomas’ Nov. 3 blog entry. Ignoring Exodus’ role in coordinated unethical activities by supporters of antigay constitutional amendments, Thomas instead spotlights isolated incidents of anger by opponents of the religious-right campaign.
Thomas remains impenitent for his organization’s role in official, well-coordinated, and possibly illegal attacks against the rights of religious and sexual minorities.
Meanwhile, Exodus continues its cultural war against the parents and churches of gay and lesbian people this month with a conference speech by antigay mother Nancy Heche in Fair Oaks, Calif., today, followed by twoevents in mid-November promoting ex-gay ignorance among parents and pastors in Tennessee.
PhillipP: She looks and sounds like she just tumbled out of a meth trailer in a trailer park....
Paterfamilias: Shmuel: Point is, once a gonif always a gonif....
Peter Hargmier: He talks of a youtube clip of Mayor Cory Booker responding to a question about gay marriage.
He nails it!
Enjoy! :D
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y4Z7tl7Vy8U...
Michael: "But to protest the teaching of these facts is little different from protesting their very existence; it is like opposing...
Gary (NJ): Dr. Coldfinger? as Joy Behar says. >:P...
