[Writer's note - this posting has been moved up from it's original post date of 12/8 to reflect the news about Uganda dropping the death penalty against gays. Original posting heading - "Uganda Be Kidding Me" Richard Cohen Removing the Gayness"]
Rachel Maddow takes a look at Richard Cohen who describes himself as an ex-gay and is the creator of the ex-gay, gay intervention organization International Healing Foundation.
Cohen’s theory of getting the gay out of people is through cuddling. (see related stories #1and#2)
Uganda To Drop Death Penalty – Life In Prison For Gays
Uganda will drop the death penalty and life imprisonment for gays in a refined version of an anti- gay bill expected to be ready for presentation to Parliament in two weeks, James Nsaba Buturo, the minister of ethics and integrity, said.
The draft bill, which is under consideration by a parliamentary committee, will drop the two punishments to attract the support of religious leaders who are opposed to these penalties, Buturo said today in a phone interview from the capital, Kampala.
Ugandan lawmaker David Bahati presented a private member’s bill on Oct. 14 which sought the death penalty and life imprisonment for gay people in the country. The Ugandan government supports the bill because homosexuality and lesbianism are “repugnant to the Ugandan culture,” Buturo said. Still, it favors a more refined set of punishments, he said.
Ted Cox a freelance reporter, a former Mormon and very much a heterosexual, went undercover to report on the phenomenon known as the so called “gay conversion” where groups, affiliated or not with religious organizations, purport that men and women who are gay or lesbian can be “turned around” in their sexual preference there by through gay conversion can once again become heterosexual. That of course presuming that being gay, lesbian or bi-sexual is a choice rather than “being in the genes”.
Cox wrote the story for the Salt Lake City Weekly in Salt Lake City, Utah, but the newspaper dropped the story for fear of a lawsuit because Cox as well as others who attended a “Journey Into Manhood” seminar signed a “confidentiality agreement” prior to attending.
These “gay conversion” groups or ex-gays as they are sometimes referred to by the LGBT press and blogs have been compared to “snake oil salesman” and some in the LGBT press have reported men and sometimes women have been taken into these groups against their free will in the name of intervention.
Michael Airhart a freelance writer and founder of the website Ex-Gay Watch, has written several times on these groups at the website of Truth Wins Out which was founded by LGBT activist and author Wayne Besen, to combat the lies and uncover the untruths of the Ex-Gay movement.
One of the more famous, or infamous depending on your point of view, gay conversion organizations is Exodus International which in its Mission Statement reads in part, Mobilizing the body of Christ to minister grace and truth to a world impacted by homosexuality.
EXODUS is a Christian organization dedicated to equipping and uniting agencies and individuals to effectively communicate the message of freedom from homosexuality, as well as how to effectively convey support and understanding to individuals facing the reality of a homosexual loved one.
EXODUS upholds heterosexuality as God’s creative intent for humanity, and subsequently views homosexual expression as outside of God’s will. EXODUS cites homosexual tendencies as one of many disorders that beset fallen humanity. Choosing to resolve these tendencies through homosexual behavior, taking on a homosexual identity, and involvement in the homosexual lifestyle is considered destructive, as it distorts God’s intent for the individual and is thus sinful.
Instead, Christ offers a healing alternative to those with homosexual tendencies. EXODUS upholds redemption for the homosexual person as the process whereby sin’s power is broken, and the individual is freed to know and experience true identity as discovered in Christ and His Church. That process entails the freedom to grow into heterosexuality.
Central to this redemption is EXODUS’ desire to unite and equip the church to carry out this healing process. EXODUS bridges the gap between Christians who respond to homosexual men and women with ignorance and fear, and those who uphold homosexuality as a valid, Christ-centered lifestyle. To EXODUS, both extremes fail to convey to the homosexual the fullness of redemption found in Christ–He who embodies grace and truth, and invites us to partake of Him.
and continues in one section, Exodus International believes that homosexuality is not God’s intent for human sexuality. As such, we believe it is a multi-causal, developmental disorder that can be overcome with the help of professional counselors and that an individual can experience transformation through the healing power of Jesus Christ.
In one of many “success stories” or testimonials which can be found at the website, Mike Goeke wrote in part, My dad was a loving leader, Spiritual and otherwise, of our family. My parents were equally active in the lives of both my brother and me. I experienced no sexual, emotional or physical abuse. While I know now that my family had its own issues, there were none of the ‘red flags’ often associated with homosexuality. Yet, in the midst of my very typical middle class family existence, I developed an early attraction for men. I was sensitive, insecure and artistic, and the other boys treated me differently and made fun of me. I was called a ‘fag’ for the first time in the sixth grade at my Christian school. I did not know what it meant, but nevertheless the seed of a new identity was planted.
Following law school, I began dating a fellow Baylor graduate named Stephanie. We had a good group of friends, and were active leaders in Bible Study Fellowship. On the surface our relationship was founded in the Lord, but it was also rooted in deception. My secret struggles had continued to grow, and I was beginning to become depressed. I pursued marriage with the hope that it would squelch rumors about my sexuality and, even more, that it might help ‘fix’ me. Stephanie and I married in September of 1994. We lived in Midland, Texas, where I was an attorney and Stephanie was a teacher. We were involved in church and Bible study and lived a ‘perfect couple’ existence. All the while my secret homosexual desires continued to grow. In December of 1995, I discovered America On Line (AOL). AOL was the beginning of the end.
I was lured by the chat rooms, and the gay identified people who seemed to be a lot like me. I ‘met’ people who claimed to be Christian and who didn’t seem to have a problem with homosexuality. I slowly began to withdraw from my marriage and other relationships. I told Stephanie I wanted a divorce, but never told her about my struggle with homosexuality. I recanted my desire for a divorce, and instead I told her I needed a career change. I quit my job as an attorney and we moved to Lubbock, Texas, where I began pursuing an Architecture degree at Texas Tech University.
The church that I harbored such bitterness and anger towards became a huge part of our healing. Early on, God prompted us to quit looking for a place to have our needs met and instead to find a place to serve. We became a part of a new church called Stonegate Fellowship, and it was there that God called us into ministry. We started an Exodus Member Ministry and shared our testimony publicly for the first time. As I shared from a stage the thing that I was most scared of revealing, God showed us the beauty of being real, and our church responded with an amazing display of love, acceptance and support.
Stonegate ultimately hired me, a lawyer and former homosexual, to be its Senior Associate Pastor. Stonegate became the church Stephanie and I had dreamt of – a church that lived out its belief that Jesus Christ can change a life. I never really figured out why I struggled with homosexuality. But I know from His Word that he allows struggles in our lives so that his power might be displayed in us and so that He will receive glory. I can think of no better life than to be a vessel for God’s glory and power. It is not about coming to grips with who I am. It is about coming to grips with who HE is. That is a life worth living.
Getting back to Ted Cox, he has now told his story to the website AlterNet in an interview with Sean Christian of going undercover into the world of gay conversion, Over the course of the past two years, writer Ted Cox posed as a gay man. He attended weekly meetings for several months at two churches in California and a two-day camp at a ranch in northern Arizona in February, both geared toward one end: turning homosexual men and women straight. Last week, I sat down with my friend, Cox, to hear about his experience going undercover in Christian gay-to-straight therapy programs.
In the early part of the interview Cox explains what gay conversion therapy is, They promote this idea that they can make you straight. That’s their public message. As you dig deeper, you find out that people are actually suppressing their sexuality. They tell people these programs will make you free from homosexuality through faith and prayer; the programs will help you find the strength to live a chaste, Christian life. That doesn’t necessarily mean heterosexuality, or marriage and happy children; so what it means is leaving behind your urges, desires and actions.
[These programs] say homosexuality is the result of emotional or psychological scarring in childhood, where you don’t properly identify with your parent of the same sex. They say you’re not born that way, it’s not genetic, but it is your choice as to whether or not you act on those feelings and attractions.
This interview is a must read for learning about the fallacy of gay conversion and organizations which claim that one can be reconverted through faith back to being a complete and whole heterosexual and casting out the demons of homosexuality.
This article was inspired by the postings about Cox and ex-gays by Joe Jervis, of Joe.My.God.
