GLSEN’s “Ally Week” makes lobbyists of gay allies

Via Citizenlink:

10-20-09
'Ally Week' Pushes Gay Agenda

GLSEN's week long effort uses the anti-bullying message as a springboard to indoctrinate students with the homosexual agenda.
--
Cushman said events like Ally Week play directly into the activist's plans.

"GLSEN is using this so-called anti-bullying event to transform students into lobbyists for its adult agenda," she said, "for things like pro-gay legislation currently proposed in the U.S. House."

Is everyone terrified yet?

Here’s how GLSEN’s “Ally week” bills itself:

I believe all students, regardless of sexual orientation or gender identity/expression,deserve to feel safe and supported. That means I pledge to:

-Not use anti-LGBT language and slurs;
-Intervene, if I safely can, in situations where other students are being harassed;
-Support efforts to end bullying and harassment.

The nerve of those insidious gays and their agenda “to transform students into lobbyists” for the protection of their fellow students!
---
The news here is that they’re not promoting Exodus International’s “Allies Too” week:

Wait a minute, aren't you the ones who hate gays?

If that's what you think, it's about time you stop believing the lie that people with different beliefs about sexuality hate those who embrace homosexuality.

In other words, “We don't hate gay liars.”

I especially enjoy #4 and #6 from their “Core Principles” page:

4. We believe that a homosexual, bisexual or transgender identity and/or behavior are outside of the intentional design of human relationships and sexuality, and therefore aren’t what’s best for us, regardless of whether we are drawn to them.

6. We reject the notion that these beliefs somehow amount to hatred, bigotry, or a “phobia.”

You are free to “reject.” You are also free to be labeled hateful, bigoted, and homophobic.

[Candi] Cushman said events like Ally Week play directly into the activist's plans.

Again, Candi, why not counter these "gay activist" indoctrination techniques with Exodus International’s already tried and true “Allies, Too” week?
---
P.S. Focus on the Family also reminds us to hate Kevin Jennings.

Exodus/Focus favor the bullying and harassment of gay youth

From Citizenlink:

Activists Push for Expanded Anti-Bullying Bill in New York

The New York City Department of Education is expanding its "Respect for All" anti-bullying program.

The Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network and the New York Civil Liberties Union are lobbying school officials to include a homosexual agenda in the program, according to family experts.

Randy Thomas, vice president of Exodus International, said that parents need to be aware that similar organizations may be trying to promote homosexuality in their schools.

"What gay activists are trying to do is take a legitimate problem, which bullying is, and turn it into an opportunity to spread gay ideology," Thomas said.

From the NYC Dept. of Education:

Second Phase of ‘Respect for All’ Initiative Expands Trainings for School Staff, Creates New Accountability Standards

Last year, the Department of Education added mandated reporting and investigation guidelines to its anti-bias “Respect for All” initiative, making New York City a national leader in efforts to combat bullying and harassment based on ethnicity, national origin, religion, gender, sexual orientation, disability, and other factors.

Hypocrisy aside, to use Mr. Thomas’ words:

"What anti-gay hate activists are trying to do is take a legitimate problem, which bullying is, and turn it into an opportunity to spread anti-gay hate ideology."

Is Being Gay a Choice

Via Truth Wins Out:

From big93scott: Is Being Gay a Choice:



Transcript:

Today we’re going to talk about a notion that’s the backbone for a lot of the arguments against homosexuality. The argument that being gay is a choice.

I’ve answered this question before in a video, but I felt my answer was not personable enough. I thought this question could be better answered if I shared with a you part of my life that I don’t like reliving---to an extent that I have never before made public---before this video. I thought the question could be better answered if I took you back to the end of the summer between grade 6 and grade 7, and the beginning of grade 7. And it was in and around that time that I first realized that, well, I had very strong feelings for guys, and none for girls.

It was at that time that first realized that I might be gay. I never told myself that I was gay definitively. I felt that I couldn’t be. Not that it was impossible, but that I just…I couldn’t be. I never had anything against gay people, it’s just, I knew other people did.

I told myself that it was just a phase. I told myself that it was just a phase, and if it wasn’t a phase, that I’d change. Because growing up, I’d always believed that being gay was a choice. You hear so many people say it is, on TV, on the radio, on the internet. You hear so many people saying it’s a choice, that you believe them. Why wouldn’t you? It’s only those who go through it that really know the answer.

And so from about half way through grade 7 to half way through grade 8, I tried my hardest to not be gay. I tried my hardest to make the feeling go away. It was when I came to the realization that these feeling wouldn’t go away. It was when I came to the realization that the only choice I had about being gay, was acting on my feelings. It was when I came to that realization, that I lay before me two options. Option A) I could suppress my feelings, never tell a soul that I was gay, could marry a girl and have kids like a normal person and live a normal life, while secretly suppressing my feelings. I didn’t want that. I didn’t want to suppress anything about me, and so that lead me to option two, I could kill myself.

There was no option three. There was no, I could be true to myself but I could be gay, I never, I never wanted that. And so one day, in the dead of winter in grade 8, I came home from school, was home alone, and I took a knife from the kitchen, and I went upstairs, and I sat on the toilet across from my bathtub. I set the knife down on the counter beside me. And I cried for what must have been an about an hour.

I was so close to getting into the bathtub and cutting my wrists that day. I was so close that it scares me even today, but I realized something when I was sitting there contemplating my own death. I realized that I hadn’t given my family a chance.

I knew that the only way that I could ever accept myself, would be to tell my family and see if they accepted me. And so about a couple months later, I told my sister, and if you’ve seen my coming out story, you know that from there, I told my brother, and from there I told my parents, and they were all as accepting as you can possibly imagine. And that’s why I can tell you, without a doubt, that without my family’s acceptance, I wouldn’t be making this video today. Without my family’s acceptance, I would be dead.

You see, it was the notion that being gay was a choice, that almost killed me. ‘cause I believed it. And I put so much hope, I put so much hope in one day being straight, and one day not having to fear the things I feared. That when I came to the realization that I would never be straight, I was thrown off the deep end. I never accepted the fact that I was gay, until I knew that all of my family accepted me.

And so for those of you who say that being gay is a choice, I ask you this; if you approached me in my state of desperation as a thirteen year old contemplating suicide--if you told me that I didn’t have to fear getting kicked out of my house by my parents. If you told me that it is an act of fear, people who I used to call my friends, looking at me with disgust. If you told my I didn’t have to fear being physically assaulted or even looking at a country’s laws before traveling there with my future spouse. I you told me that I could be straight, do you not think that I would have said yes. Do you not think I didn’t try?

You see, it’s the notion that being gay is a choice that almost killed me. It’s the notion that being gay is a choice that kills thousands of gay teenagers, gay young adults. It leads them all to suicide. It almost lead me to suicide.

When someone stands on a podium, stands in front of a microphone, sends it out over the airwaves of the radio into peoples homes. When someone says that being gay is a choice, it’s nothing but another nail in a desperate teenagers coffin.


----------------------------
Exodus International on the suicide of gay youth:

Randy Thomas: "tens of thousands, hundreds of thousands and millions"

Exodus International takes over 'Love Won Out' conferences

I know this has been covered, but there's something in this AFA OneNewsNow article that I wanted to highlight (And no, it's not the ancient Matt Damon-like photo of Thomas):

Focus on the Family is transferring the conferences to Exodus International, according to spokesman Randy Thomas.

"We're talking tens of thousands, hundreds of thousands and millions of people influenced by a redemptive view of homosexuality" Thomas says. "The Lord has raised up the ministry of Exodus International to bear witness to the world that he is alive and well and he has a loving response to homosexuality."

Millions "influenzed" is more like it.

Redemptive: liberating, redeeming, saving, rescuing, delivering, emancipating, releasing

Ah, redemption...

Patrick McAlvey, Ex-Gay Survivor

Posted August 13th, 2009 by Wayne Besen

Last week, Truth Wins Out released a video by ex-gay survivor Patrick McAlvey of Lansing, Michigan. He has spoken out on local radio and will join me on Culture Shocks radio with Barry Lynn TODAY at 4PM (ET). I hope you will tune in and listen to the live broadcast on the Internet.



Transcript as follows -- and as always, feel free to use:

Patrick McAlvey: It was devastating and it confused and isolated me, I didn’t know how to process what I was thinking and what I was feeling and how to still have any sort of self-esteem and feel good about who I was, with the knowledge that this desire, that is beyond my control, is somehow sinful and wrong.

I think it does a lot of damage to people’s mental health

[I] picked up the phone and called the founder and director of the ministry, in sixth grade, and he had just spoken at my middle school youth group that year.

His name is Mike Jones, he’s the director of corduroy Stone [a referral ministry of Exodus International].

When I found out I could change, I mean, it was the only hope I could hold onto, ’cause I was so scared and felt very alone, so.

No, I didn’t tell any family or friends, I grew up in a very conservative Christian home and school, and didn’t think it was a safe thing to tell anybody.

In middle school, after I called Mike, the guy who ran the ministry, we started emailing regularly and exchanging letters and talking on the phone occasionally.

Well I distanced myself from Mike sometime in early high school, and really had very minimal contact, he sent a couple letters, but I had very minimal contact until I was 19. And so when I was 19 I was kicked out of a missionary training school and forced to move back home with my family, and I was kicked out because of my attraction to men, and so in that time, I was sort of in a crisis mode and was very low, very depressed and just trying to make sense of my life and mostly of my attraction, so I contacted Mike again, and we started meeting regularly.

That night he suggested we go over to his friend’s house so that we could do “holding therapy.” So we drove together to his friend’s house and had an hour where I was instructed to lay in his arms, chest to chest, and not talk, it was just an hour of silent holding and he told me to feel the strength of another man, smell the smell of another man, feel the security of another man’s arms. And it was supposed to replace, or fill a void that I had from some unmet childhood need.

I thought the holding therapy was very strange, and it made me uncomfortable, but I was willing to try anything, and trusted Mike.

Afterwards, he wanted to know if it felt good, if I had felt safe, and he said the he enjoyed it.

He would initiate prolonged hugs.

I responded with nervous laughter to a lot of his questions, but, again, I was not as skeptical as I should have been, just because I was so desperate for an answer.

As part of the therapy, he asked how large my penis was. He asked if I shaved my pubic hair. He asked about the type of underwear that I wore. On one occasion he asked me to take my shirt off and show him how many push-ups I could do, which I did not do, and he wanted me to describe my sexual fantasies to him, and the type of men I’m attracted to. And one time he asked me to rate my own attractiveness, on a scale of 1-10, with separate scores for my face, my hair, my body, and then an overall score. And then after I scored myself, he assigned scores for my attractiveness, each category, and I remember that my hair got the best score and my face got the worst score.

As part of the therapy, he had me come over to his house, and he rented the movie of the play Equus, and he had us watch it together, in his home. In the movie there was full frontal male nudity, and it made me rather uncomfortable to be watching it with him, but it was his idea, and afterwards he wanted to talk about some the dynamics of the play and then also how I felt about seeing the naked actor.

Well, he thought it would be a good idea to learn about home repair and maintenance, those types of things, used tools a little more often. And one time we went to a play together, again, as part of the therapy, and he had me pay for the tickets for the play that we went to, as part of my payment for receiving therapy from him.

I never felt like I was changing, I never saw a change.

We had a discussion and I told him that I wasn’t going to be coming. He said that he was scared for me in that--he reiterated many of the myths he had told me earlier about being gay, that no one was happy who was gay, and that the gay lifestyle was all about drugs and alcohol and random sex and everyone who was gay had STD’s. So, he said that he was scared for me because I was moving toward acceptance of my orientation.

I think that I’ve been damaged in a lot of ways by what Mike did and what the people who support him, or the people who even just allow him to be around, and continues to do what he’s doing. They’ve had an enormous impact on me and, there were years through middle school and high school where I just really came to hate myself, to loathe myself. I didn’t trust anyone, and didn’t allow anyone to get close to me, because I was terrified they might find out secret and that they would think less of me, so I spent many years locked in my room, crying by myself and it just--for no reason, for no good reason. If I had had a fair representation, if someone had told me that it was possible to be gay and happy and have sustained healthy relationships and families and everything that straight people have, then I could have avoided a lot of suffering.

And so I chose to finally embrace the person I was, including my orientation.

And I know there are a lot of people are confused and scared and aren’t sure what to do, and in that situation it’s easy to be taken advantage of and it’s easy to fall for a lot of the false information…

I would like to tell the man who did my ex-gay therapy, that he was wrong, and that the happiest I’ve ever been in my life is when I finally accepted myself. And I would encourage him to consider doing the same thing, and I would tell him that he is doing a lot of damage, and I would want him to know how much damage he’s done in my life, and how much sadness and hurt he’s caused, that could have been completely avoided if he was honest with me, and with himself, about his orientation, my orientation, and the fact that neither of them were going to change.

Needless Misery

Exodus’ “differing views” on the definitions of slander, insult, condescension, defamation...

Ministry Welcomes Protesters
Encourages Church to Model Compassion
Amid Differing Views
July 8, 2009

Alan Chambers, President of Exodus International, welcomed news of the protest saying, "Ironically, there are many at this event who at one time would have been outside protesting it, but have exchanged the hurt and anger of the past for a relationship with Jesus Christ and with caring individuals in the Christian church.

"What we, as the global Christian church, must recognize is that on the other side of a picket line, are often hurting people in need of God's unconditional love," said Chambers. "While our views on these issues may differ, the bold love of Christ must prevail over opposing policies, differing views and even our own pride."

Some of those "Differing Views" may, and most likely include:

1) homosexual men who are unable to sustain healthy peer relationships might well find the potential for age-inappropriate attractions more real than they thought possible.

2) Christ can change the homosexual!

3) Homosexuality may lead to physical death, but it will surely lead to relational, emotional, and spiritual ruin.

4) Those trapped in the deception of homosexuality are people in need of healing. They are hurt and broken people who need the touch of the great physician, Jesus Christ.

5) deviation from heterosexuality to homosexuality is devastating. The devastation pervades every relationship in which the homosexual man, woman, or child engages.

6) Pray God will help them see and find biblical resolution to underlying issues that led to a homosexual orientation.

7) people [are] bound by homosexuality

8) gossipers, liars, people from non-Christian religious backgrounds, etc. Wouldn't it be better for us to view someone gay as just another sinner

9) Whatever you decide about the question of whether AIDS is God's judgment... ...show mercy, mixed with fear—hating even the clothing stained by corrupted flesh" (Jude 22–23).

10) if someone pursues homosexual involvement and refuses to acknowledge this as sin, it's valid to humbly question whether their commitment to Christ is genuine.

11) there is realistic hope for change for men and women who do not want their sexual orientation to be homosexual.

--Just a few snippets from their FaQ section, as linked to above.

VP of Exodus Randy Thomas shows concern over LGBT abuses abroad.

Randy Thomas: Alan posted some links I found for him this afternoon (mostly through Towleroad) to stories about people being killed around the world because they have, or are reported to have same sex attractions.

I literally wept when I read about the anal torture and the young boy who was hanged. … Please pray for those with same sex attraction to be delivered from terror and allowed to live in freedom. I would like for them to know the freedom I know in Christ but I want them to stay alive long enough to get the chance! Please pray for those who are literally in jail and/or being tortured and murdered because of this.

Alan Chambers: Like what is needed with the issue of bullying in the public school, can't a broad coalition of non-like-minded people band together and say, despite our agenda (and we all have one), "violence against people who are different from what is considered normal is wrong and must end." No religious or social cause is promoted, just love and respect for our fellow man.

I lambaste Randy, Alan, Exodus et al, enough and will continue to do so when appropriate. But despite the shortcomings of these posts (no mention of US casualties), I felt their attention to these stories worthy to mention.

Most of these are the stories Randy links to, but I've taken the liberty to give some quotes from each story:

RIGHTS-BRAZIL: Gay-Bashing Murders Up 55 Percent
2009

RIO DE JANEIRO, Apr 22 (IPS) - In 2008, 190 homosexuals were killed in Brazil, one every two days, representing a 55 percent increase on the previous year – a veritable "homocaust" according to gay rights activists.

According to the report, Brazil is the regional "champion in homophobic crimes," followed by Mexico, with 35 gay-bashing murders in 2008, and the United States, with 25 such killings last year out of a population that is 100 million people bigger than Brazil’s.

(Photo and link to story courtesy Towleroad)
---------------------
Iraqi gay men face 'lives of hell' Saturday, 18 April 2009

"They kill the gays, they beat them up… I have a lot of friends that have been killed - 15 or 16, something like that, too much."

Gay activists believe the campaign emerged as police, militias and tribes took their cue from the clerics. ...But officials in all categories deny that they support the persecution or killing of homosexuals. [sound familiar?]

-----------------
Six gay men killed in Iraq
BAGHDAD, Apr 5, 2009

...two gay men were slain after they were disowned by relatives, CNN reported...four men were fatally shot in Baghdad under similar circumstances.
----------------
More from Towleroad, 4-20-2009:
Report: Iraqi Militia Killing Gay Men with Painful Anal Glue Torture

Iraqi militia have deployed a painful form of torture against homosexuals by closing their anuses using 'Iranian gum.' ... After they glue the anuses of homosexuals, they give them a drink that causes diarrhea. Since the anus is closed, the diarrhea causes death.

More on that from The Edge - Wednesday Apr 22, 2009, which links to another story - Monday, 13 April 2009:

Iraqi leaders are accused of turning a blind eye to a spate of murders of homosexuals after 25 young men and boys were killed in recent weeks.

Gay groups claim the Iraqi government is giving tacit support to the death squads targeting young homosexuals who venture outdoors.
----------------
Re: Iran, Thursday, 6 March 2008
A life or death decision

Peter Tatchell, of the gay rights campaign group Outrage "It is just the latest example of the Government putting the aims of cutting asylum numbers before the merits of individual cases. The whole world knows that Iran hangs young, gay men and uses a particularly barbaric method of slow strangulation. In a bid to fulfil its target to cut asylum numbers the Government is prepared to send this young man to his possible death. It is a heartless, cruel mercenary anti-refugee policy."

VP of Exodus Randy Thomas on Iowa: “another case of judicial activism at its finest”

Another bedazzler from our favorite Exodus International employee...

Randy Thomas: “Let me be clear. I do believe in the American way of government but I believe defining marriage should be decided by the people through the direct use of referendums/propositions and especially the … legislature”

“...not a couple of lawyers representing clients in front of a panel of judges.”

That whole court system thing has always Bothered me too. We need a referendum / proposition / legislature to do away with America's unnecessary third wheel of justice.

Lest America lose its untapped reservoirs of power of the people over certain people.

And now, so quickly and conveniently, we have Vermont's legislative "redefinition of marriage"...

The two houses of Vermont's legislature voted last week for a same-sex marriage bill -- four votes short of a veto-overriding majority -- and Gov. Jim Douglas (R) vetoed it Monday. But Tuesday, several house members who voted against it last week switched sides to support the override, making gay marriage law.

The final vote was 100 to 49 to override the governor's veto. The initial vote last week was 94 to 52. Vermont has no mechanism for a citizen referendum to override the law.

Which is why we need a Federal Constitutional Amendment defining marriage as one man and one woman. In order to set a precedent to deny states the freedom to govern themselves.

Randy Thomas on Vermont: I don't think this is wise, my heart is broken over the redefinition of marriage and am concerned about its impact. Regardless, from what I know, I can respect the process Vermont took a lot better than any other of the other four states that have redefined marriage through direct (CA in play, IA, CT and MA (MA court forced Legislature and Governor's hand)) judicial activism.

I don't know what's more disturbing, the fact that he's being consistent, or the notion that he'd support his own execution if majority ruled.

Exodus International on Ugandagate: Love the law, hate the consequences.

From BoxTurtleBulletin.com:

Don Schmierer is a member of the board of directors for Exodus International. Last weekend, he used those credentials while speaking at an anti-gay conference in Kampala, Uganda alongside noted Holocaust revisionist Scott Lively.

laws enacted in Uganda to require that those convicted of homosexuality be forced to undergo sexual reorientation therapy. The law in Uganda currently calls for a life sentence upon conviction for homosexuality. As far as we have been able to tell, no one at the conference called for decriminalization of homosexuality, nor a reduction in the current penalties. Instead, there were calls to strengthen the law to add the requirement that convicted gays be forced to endure unregulated and unproven therapies, under duress and against their will.

The response:

Alan Chambers, President of Exodus International, responded to reports about an Exodus board member’s participation at a conference in Uganda on homosexuality:

“Unfortunately, Uganda as a country has demonstrated severe hostility towards homosexuals supporting criminalization of homosexual behavior and proposing compulsory therapy - positions that Exodus International unequivocally denounces. It is our sincere desire to offer an alternative message that encompasses a compassionate, biblical view of homosexuality not just here in America, but around the world. We applaud our board member’s attempt to convey these truths to a country in need.”

Not a view consistent with jail time, but one of Biblical proportions:

Leviticus 20:13: If a man lies with a man as one lies with a woman, both of them have done what is detestable. They must be put to death; their blood will be on their own heads

A cursory search of Leviticus 20:13 on the Exodus website yeilds...results.

It would seem that Exodus International considers mass murder to be a very part of their religious belief. So it would logically follow that to suppress their murderous designs, would be to infringe upon what they consider to be their religious freedom.

Maybe it’s kind of like how they feel about their own same sex attractions. They’re personally against murder, but to protect their eternal asses they support it when God says so.

In the Exodus book “God’s Grace and the Homosexual Next Door" (pages 44-45), Scott Davis, Student Ministries Director for Exodus International, says this:

"These prohibitions against sexual perversion are repeated in Leviticus, chapter 20. … The language of 20:13 is similar to 18:22: “if a man lies with a man as one lies with a woman, both of them have done what is detestable. They must be put to death; their blood will be on their own heads.” Again the language is clear --- the act of a man lying with another man is prohibited.

Occasionally it’s claimed by pro-gay supporters that these verses aren’t speaking of loving, monogamous, homosexual sex, but of male prostitution or some other form of perversion. These arguments are not convincing."

-"Loving" relationships, "not convincing."
-"death penalty," perfectly understandable.

More importantly, he makes no effort to denounce God's will to have us murdered.

Additionally:

From the Exodus Student Ministries “Truth and Tolerance” DVD:

Scott Davis takes a more surreptitious approach:

First we can look in Leviticus 20:13, it says

“If a man lies with a man as on lies with a woman, both of them have done what is detestable.”

That's not the entire verse. As stated above, this is the entire verse:

Leviticus 20:13: If a man lies with a man as one lies with a woman, both of them have done what is detestable. They must be put to death; their blood will be on their own heads.

Here, Exodus hides the murderous death threat portion of the verse. Because after all, they wouldn’t want anyone to know that they approve of the entire Bible:

Exodus International = Leviticus 20:13

Leviticus 20:13 = They must be put to death:

Exodus VP Randy Thomas dodges a bullet by claiming he’d take one.

From Ex-gay Watch:

Exodus Executive Vice President Randy Thomas has
posted his first open comments concerning the conference mess in Uganda.

(You can find more information on that downward spiraling fiasco here, here, and here. And especially here.)

Take it away, Randy...

It isn't going to be a gay activist yelling at the Ugandan government that will actually get our ssa brothers and sisters out of jail. It will be people like me pleading with these leaders to recognize the Christ-likeness inherent in respecting self-determination and the dignity of every soul that draws breath. If I had the opportunity I would go directly to the jail and visit these people and plead for their freedom. It wouldn't matter if that ssa person identified as gay or agreed with me ... they should not be in jail and I would try everything I could to get them out and safe.

Translation:

Exodus International & Alliance Defense Fund Attempt To Silence Day of Silence

Day of Truth Event
Joining forces to reach more students
February 23, 2009

Orlando, FL- Two Christian organizations are teaming up to empower youth to express their views on sexuality by co-sponsoring this year's annual Day of Truth event held April 20 on high school campuses nationwide. Exodus International, a ministry that helps those affected by same-sex attraction to live a life that reflects their biblical beliefs and Alliance Defense Fund, a legal support organization, are co-sponsoring the event this year and are hoping for a record turnout that will continue ongoing dialogue on issues surrounding faith and sexuality.

Foreword:
Exodus International is a hate organization with the political goal to publicly define same-gender attraction as a choice, thus negating any need for equal rights for LGBT persons in regard to housing and employment discrimination, to hate crimes protections, etc. They do this by characterizing gay persons as child molesters to being responsible for the Holocaust, and vocally oppose any and all legislation that would result in the equal treatment of LGBT persons under the law.

The Alliance Defense Fund, in the context of “Day of Truth” and many other situations, exists for the opportunistic attempt to seek out incidences of resistance to any expression of (mostly) anti-gay hate messages, such as those of Exodus International, in the effort to sue on the basis of religious discrimination:

Call 1-800-TELL-ADF, and be prepared to give your name, the name of your school, and the names of officials that required you to stop. If you are under the age of 18, we will also need to talk to your parents to get their permission to help you.

For more information, this is an excellent report on the anti-gay political aspirations of Exodus International.

Most importantly, all of this is in response to the Day of Silence.

What is the Day of Silence®?
The Day of Silence, a project of the Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network (GLSEN), is a student-led day of action when concerned students, from middle school to college, take some form of a vow of silence to bring attention to the name-calling, bullying and harassment -- in effect, the silencing -- experienced by LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender) students and their allies.

Lance Bass PSA for Day of Silence

So in essence, we have Exodus International, teamed up with the Alliance Defense Fund, objecting to raising awareness -- via Day of Silence -- about harassment and bullying directed toward LGBT students, by further fomenting hatred for LGBT students in the name of “religious freedom.”

On with the goods.

Their “Day of Truth” link above, then leads to the main DOT page, which leads to, among others, option #4 - Prepare - the resources you need, - which then leads to no less than 18 hyperlinked documents/articles etc., most of them PDF’s:

Day of Truth manual (.pdf)
Enclosed are many ideas and suggestions for how the Day of Truth can have the maximum impact at your school.

Common questions about the Day of Truth (.pdf) (or visit this page)
Find answers to some of the most common questions you might have about participating in the upcoming Day of Truth.

Hostile questions about the Day of Truth (.pdf) (or visit this page)
You may encounter some hostile questions while participating in the Day of Truth. These tips will help you better address those questions.

Day of Truth PowerPoint
Use this PowerPoint presentation to promote the Day of Truth.

Day of Truth snapshot (.pdf)
A quick overview of the Day of Truth to share with friends and classmates.

Day of Truth press release (.doc)
Download this sample press release if you are interested in contacting the media about the Day of Truth.

Student Rights Handbook
This handbook is a helpful guide for Christian students around the country.


LEGAL RESOURCES
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Day of Truth legal rights memo (.pdf)
Helpful tips in understanding your legal rights.

Adult involvement in the Day of Truth (.pdf)
While the Day of Truth is meant to be a student-led, student-initiated event, there are things that parents, youth pastors, and other concerned adults can do to get involved.

Teacher involvement in the Day of Truth (.pdf)
Learn about the ways that teachers can participate in the Day of Truth.


SOCIAL, RESOURCE AND MINISTRY RESOURCES
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Tolerance, Diversity and the Freedom to to Choose
Focus on the Family examines the true meaning of tolerance.

The End of the Culture Wars (.pdf)
This resource, provided by Exodus, talks about the true meaning of tolerance.

Gender and Sexuality: Fluid or Solid? (.pdf)
Exodus' Mike Ensley shares the Truth about "fluid" sex and gender.

Homosexuality Isn't the Answer (.pdf)
Mike Ensley, with Exodus, explains how his personal experiences revealed the Truth: homesexuality isn't the answer.

Sex and Gender (.pdf)
This resource, provided by Exodus, discusses God's plan for sexuality.

What if I'm Still Struggling? (.pdf)
Exodus' Mike Ensley shatters the lies, and shares how God's plan is best.

Homosexuality FAQ sheet (.pdf)
This resource, provided by Exodus, answers some common questions about homosexuality.

The ten big myths of homosexual behavior (.pdf)
This resource, provided by Mission America, explains the truth behind common myths about homosexual behavior.

From the very first link: "Day of Truth manual (.pdf) Enclosed are many ideas and suggestions for how the Day of Truth can have the maximum impact at your school."

From the very first paragraph of that link:

Welcome to the Day of Truth® student manual. On behalf of the thousands of faculty and students who oppose the promotion of homosexual behavior, we’re pleased to welcome you to the team that will take a bold stand for God’s truth.

“On behalf of the thousands of faculty and students who oppose the promotion of homosexual behavior”

“who oppose the promotion of homosexual behavior”

“homosexual behavior”

“behavior”

And there we have the “Day Of Truth” goal of Exodus international and the Alliance Defense Fund; to promote the notion that same-sex attraction and gender identity are nothing more than “behaviors.”

Thus promoting the notion that LGBT students are nothing more than aberrant behaviors.

From the second form:

Common questions about the Day of Truth (.pdf) (or visit this page)

Find answers to some of the most common questions you might have about participating in the upcoming Day of Truth.

Question #1:

What is the Day of Truth?
The Day of Truth was established to counter the promotion of the homosexual agenda and express an opposing viewpoint from a Christian perspective.

Thus, the LGBT, or perceived to be LGBT students who are being harassed and bullied, are now part of the infamous “homosexual agenda.” That same one that’s bent on destroying civilization as we know it. Thus, the LGBT victims are now the real threat.

And finally (at least as far as this post goes)…

The End of the Culture Wars (.pdf) This resource, provided by Exodus, talks about the true meaning of tolerance.

It starts…

For too long, issues like homosexuality and abortion have gotten so divisive that healthy, honest debate has gone out the window and people feel pressured to choose between one of two polar opposites--neither of which seems quite right. In the end, people end up misunderstanding, hating and attacking one another.
[and:]
“It doesn't mean labeling a belief you don't agree with as hatred so you don't have to deal with it.”

Oh be still my beating heart, that sounds so reasonable. But what if that belief you don’t agree with is the definition of hatred?

“Tolerance means we can respectfully express our differences, but then put them aside and cooperate on the things we can agree on, like safety, fair treatment, and kindness.”

But as shown above, we don’t agree on safety, fair treatment, and kindness.

“agree on safety”

Exodus Urges Congress to Stop Hate Crime Legislation

Alan Chambers, President of Exodus International, said, “Hate crimes legislation does not prosecute illegal actions that harm others, it prosecutes beliefs about homosexuality that for many Americans, is consistent with their faith.”

A bald faced lie. Visible on their very website - as though you can prosecute a belief.

They don’t seem to have any problem with hate crime legislation itself, just when sexual orientation is about to be added to it. In fact, hate crime legislation already provides for religious belief.

Hate crimes legislation deals with physical violence, and if you, Exodus International, are against any deterrent to that, then there’s no “agree on safety” to speak of.

“fair treatment”
From the ACLU:

The Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA) offers Congress the opportunity to ensure workplace equality by protecting LGBT workers from employment discrimination. ENDA…would ban employment discrimination based on an individual's sexual orientation [or gender identity]. The bill protects workers from discriminatory hiring, firing, promotion or compensation practices, as well as retaliation for reporting such practices.

From Exodus:

Exodus has been on record as opposing the redefinition of marriage, the use of hate crimes legislation to suppress freedom of conscience and religious liberty as well as ENDA­, the corporate version of hate crimes. ENDA is another example of the state forcing a state sanctioned sexual morality at the expense of religious liberty.

And…

Randy Thomas [VP of Exodus]: To pass ENDA, and create a protected class – and I’m not black, and I’m not a woman, and I’ve never been a woman – but I do respect civil rights. I do respect Dr. King, and for ENDA and hate crimes legislation, to create–a special class, or a protected class, undercuts civil rights–to the core.

Now is there an issue of homosexuality in the workplace? Sure, let’s talk about that. Let’s have a dialogue about homosexuality in the workplace. And the dynamics that that causes inside the workplace. Valid concerns, absolutely. And where there is a problem, like I experienced, we should take care of it. But as a former gay identified man, and I say former, because I am no longer gay. I did experience a change in my identity, as well as my sexuality. But as a former gay man, I see this perspective. (Crowd applauds) Thank you. I see this from the perspective of knowing what it’s like to be a gay man–in the workplace, but I also see it from the perspective of, I want my religious liberties protected.

So to hell with “fair treatment” too, Exodus International considers their religious liberties to include “discriminatory hiring, firing, promotion or compensation practices, as well as retaliation for reporting such practices.”

“and kindness”

What's your "success rate" in changing gays into straights?

No one is saying that change is easy. It requires strong motivation, hard work, and perseverance. But we find hundreds of former homosexuals who have found a large degree of change--attaining abstinence from homosexual behaviors, lessening of homosexual temptations, strengthening their sense of masculine or feminine identity, correcting distorted styles of relating with members of the same and opposite gender. Some former homosexuals marry and some don't, but marriage is not the measuring stick; spiritual growth and obedience are.

On the statistical side, careful reviews of research studies on sexual orientation change suggest that real change is indeed possible. Studies suggesting change rates in the range of 30-50% are not unusual, although "success rates" vary considerably and the measurement of change is problematic. For details and review of several studies, see the link below.

“Abstinence,” suppression of “homosexual temptations,” feeling more “masculine or feminine,” even “marriage.” That’s how they get to the 30-50% “success rates.”

It’s no accident that they use the ambiguity of the word “change” so often.

The false implication that sexual attraction is what “changes” is what is meant to be conveyed.

It’s horribly dishonest. And the study they link to has been debunked at length:

Ex-Gays? A Longitudinal Study of Religiously Mediated Change in Sexual Orientation

Stanton Jones and Mark Yarhouse conducted this “study.” On page 15 we find “The Controversy,” and the goal of the study:

(1) …is it ever possible for an individual who has a homosexual orientation to change that orientation via religious means? (2) Is the attempt to change harmful, as so many today claim.

They literally set the bar for success as low as conceptually possible -- Is it EVER possible to go straight, and is attempting to go straight EVER harmful?

Exodus would seem to want to keep use of the concept of sexual fluidity, but only if it flows in one direction.

Is it ever "harmful?" Beyond Ex-gay is one resource that can heartily testify to that.

Day of Truth: False hope for political purposes, the demonization of LGBT students via accusation of nefarious "agenda," and trivialization of the LGBT and those perceived to be LGBT, victims of taunting, bullying, and physical violence.

Day of Truth, coming to infect a school near you.

Randy Thomas: Happy Thanksgiving 2008

I'm going to refrain from making fun of this because it's too adorable.

Randy Thomas: “And I challenge the gay community, I understand why you’re angry…”

"And I challenge the gay community, I understand why you’re angry, but at the same time, the Church is not the caricatures that are being portrayed most of the time on the main stream media, or being taught through the gay community."

~VP of Exodus International, Randy Thomas on the radio show entitled “Drivetime with Bill Bunkley Concerning Gay Marriage Protests,” November 17, 2008 @ the 12:29 mark of the second portion of the interview (first part here).

Thomas’ musings on the whole affair are here.

There is a sewage plant’s worth of material here, but two things in particular stood out for me.

This, from the first part of da interview:

Randy Thomas: "Bill, at the end of the day, I’m going to vote, I’m going to exercise my religious liberties, I’m going to do whatever I can to preserve the image of God in public policy in a way that ensures freedom for Christians and for everyone. But I would rather lose my rights than one person be driven away from the Kingdom because of my hateful actions."

And this from the second part, in regard to why he was "angry" as a gay man:

Randy Thomas: "I watched a popular evangelical leader at the time say that I was a pedophile in the making, and so, there was a lot of Christian leaders being portrayed, not all of them, the only one’s who seemed to make it on the news, were lying about me."

First of all, being “driven away from the Kingdom” is code speak for an eternity of infinite suffering in a place called hell.

Secondly, in regard to being an angry gay man, Randy Thomas, Vice President of Exodus International, expresses his disdain for having been lied about by Christian leaders when it came to them painting all gay people as pedophiles (especially gay men).

Yet apparently it's ok when he does it.

From the FAQ section of the Exodus International website, the very first FAQ:
~~~
Is there a connection between homosexuality and predatory behavior, like pedophilia?

We cannot presume that all homosexuals are at a higher risk level to molest children or develop into pedophiles than are heterosexuals. Nor would it be appropriate to allow the label homosexual and pedophile to become interchangeable. At the same time, homosexual men who are unable to sustain healthy peer relationships might well find the potential for age-inappropriate attractions more real than they thought possible.

In the last two decades, the issue of child molestation has become front page news as adults have come forward with accounts of being abused as children. The most sensational of these accounts have involved Catholic priests who were known by their superiors to have molested. These men were often transferred to new parishes by these same superiors and the abuse continued. In most of these publicized accounts, the victims, though not always, were male children. To most observers, the speculated connection between homosexuality and pedophilia once whispered about went from speculation to declared fact despite any proof to justify that sweeping connection.

As a community, however, gays and lesbians attempt to distance themselves from pedophiles despite statistics that show a higher ratio of young victims for homosexual males compared to heterosexual males as well as a higher per capita ratio of offenses. By definition, however, pedophilia is neither a homosexual nor a heterosexual condition.

As with homosexuality, there is no conclusive genetic link for pedophilia, suggesting the potential that both share stages of development that have strong environmental components. At the risk of generalizing, homosexuals and lesbians lack healthy same-gender identification; pedophiles lack a healthy ability to feel connected in their position as adults among other adults. Perceived as rejected by the adult world, fixated pedophiles find children to be trusting recipients of their attention and eventually of their sexual advances.

The male pedophile lacking healthy same-gender identification as well as a tangible connection to the adult world is most apt to have male victims. The male pedophile secure in his gender identification but feeling out of control in the world of adults—especially in terms of developing intimate relationships—will be more likely to have female victims. In both, however, the element of control is a primary focus whether that control is through emotional manipulation or physical violence.

Both homosexuality and pedophilia share an arrested sexual and emotional development. While similarities exist that might promote arguments for the link implied in the question, one condition does not necessarily lead to the other.

Bob Van Domelen has been affiliated with Exodus International since 1992, is executive director of Broken Yoke Ministries, and currently serves as a Regional Representative for Exodus International. Editor of Into the Light and Wellspring (bimonthly newsletters) and author of several booklets, he has spoken at conferences, directed workshops, and interviewed on both radio and TV. Booklets written on the issue of child molestation and sex offenders include: Darkness Now Light, Help for Adults Attracted to Children, and The Church, the Sex Offender, and Reconciliation – all available through Regeneration Books.
~~~
How's that for a Fa-Q? (oh and BTW, Jesus loves you).

Yet Thomas would have us believe that not only was he angry about Christians who LIED about their portrayal of him as a pedophile, but also that he would rather "lose [his] rights than one person be driven away from the Kingdom"

It has been suggested before, that if they are "ex-gay," then according to their own logic, they must also be ex-pedophiles.

But I disagree. I think that it is wholly unfair to associate ex-gays with ex-pedophiles. In fact, I am loathe to even use the term ex-gay and pedophile in the same sentence. I certainly wouldn't want anyone to think that all ex-gays are ex-child molesters, because clearly, it would be wrong to say that all ex-gays were once child molesters, no matter how much evidence that there may or may not be that says definitively and conclusively, or not, that all ex-gays used to go on child raping murderous rampages for sport. It just wouldn't be ethically responsible to make that kind of a direct and sweeping baseless connection between the strugglers who currently run Exodus International, and child predators who fuck kids and then stab them to death.
~~~
For those of you who feel that you still have too much peace of mind on your hands, I managed to transcribe the first 13 spiritually-vacuous patronizing tripe minutes of the second part of da interview, read on.

~~~
Bill Bunkley: Welcome back, 5:20 on this Monday afternoon. It is November the 17th here on WTBN AM 579. I want to remind you that Drive Time is sponsored in part by the Tampa Bay Christian Counseling Center, and we’re so happy to have them on board.

My guest this afternoon is Randy Thomas. He’s the executive Vice President of Exodus International, and they’ve serving since 1976, proclaiming freedom from homosexuality in the name of Christ.

Randy, I want to get back to--I remember one of the times that I had you guys on before was when--in one of the gay pride marches over here, we had a ministry that was out with some bullhorns, really giving it back to them, and I noticed this Saturday, some Christians felt compelled to go to some of these protests sites and, of course the media and cameras will always gravitate toward the yelling matches going back and forth.

You know, how do we process that? I know that often times in the way that I approach the problem, I always mention that adultery and fornication are on an equal playing field, because sometimes I think that some Christians, they pull the hypocrisy button, when they’re all railing against homosexuality when we know we’ve got other problems within the family. How should we be responding? Should we go out to sites, should we not, what is your best counsel?

Randy?

Randy Thomas: Yes.

Bill Bunkley: Go ahead Randy. I’m sorry, go ahead.

Randy Thomas: That’s ok, can you hear me now?

Bill Bunkley: Yes, yes. I had to flip a button there from the break, and so you’re flipped in.

Randy Thomas: Ok, great. Well, you know I think that, there’s been different people who’ve done different things. Like, I know one particular group out in California, they went out and they were simply offering to pray for people, and I think that’s a great idea. You know, going out and praying, and offering water at parades and that type of thing. They weren’t out there beating people over the head with the Bible, or, you know, screaming and yelling and talking about hell and all that other stuff. That doesn’t work, it never has, but, the Christians that were out there that were praying, now they still got yelled at this past weekend, I don’t know that this past weekend was a good idea for people to go out there, but, you know, when it comes to, you know the Christians that, show up with the Leviticus signs, and ‘you’re going to burn in hell message.

Bill Bunkley: Yes. Yes. They show up at the Southern Baptist Convention all the time, and I’ll walk by, and I’m like, is that so foolish or what, but go ahead.

Randy Thomas: Yeah, and ‘there’s the modern day Pharisees,’ You know, it’s just like, where’s the redemptive part of that, and there isn’t. So, I believe it’s unrighteous, and I confront them probably more than I do anyone else, but, the message of, I mean there should be social engagement. I love that we live in a country where people with same sex attraction can go out and say what need to say, and not have to worry about it.

At the same time, Christians, if you have a loving and servant’s heart, if you have a loving servant’s heart, sure, go ahead, go out and engage them, and engage them in dialogue, if they’ll have that.

At the same time, we could be doing plenty of other things. We could be writing op-eds for local newspapers, we could be doing whatever we can to get the message out there of why marriage is so important. So there’s plenty of ways to socially engage the gay community in such a great free country that we live in, and it not be this futile debate. I mean, the Lord says to not throw out stumbling blocks, and that’s what I think that those hateful preachers do is--it’s just a wasted effort.

Bill Bunkley: Randy Thomas, let’s try to understand, some of the individuals that are out there in these protests, and what I want to do is I want to talk about where this anger comes from, but by and large, we have many people that are in the homosexual lifestyle today, who they have had some very unfortunate things or circumstances happen in their past, many while they were children or certainly early in life, and so they have gravitated to these relationships.

Now, from my point of view, it’s a counterfeit relationship in the Lord, just like adultery is a counterfeit relationship, sex outside of marriage is a counterfeit, it’s taking what God meant in the sanctity of a marriage and fulfilling that outside.

Now, as far as the world’s concerned, if you want to have a worldly standard, well it’s not counterfeit, because the world is getting to the point where everything goes, but, in that, I see the hands of God on every homosexual, especially when they’re trying to find this relationship, they’re trying to find fulfillment, and they want that fulfillment validated, and when some entity, be the state of Florida, California, Arizona, or any of the thirty states that know that’s not valid, then this righteous anger, or for them they think it’s righteous, and it comes from behind them--from within them.

Could you walk us through, maybe from your own experience, or how you counsel others, about how we can understand a homosexual’s emotions, as they are just out there, some of them just so fiery and angry right now?

Randy Thomas: Yeah, um, sure, I’ll try to do that.

You know, I’m forty years old right now, and I became a Christian…

Bill Bunkley: Randy, you don’t look like you’re past 25, brother.

Randy Thomas: I appreciate that.

[chuckles and giggles all around]

Well, I am. And uh…

Bill Bunkley: That’s alright. I’m a little ahead of ya, so we’re all going to get there…

Randy Thomas: Well, thank you very much, but, you know I became a Christian 16 years ago at the age of 24, and I felt like I was gay at the age of 10. The culture war didn’t start in 2003 with gay marriage in Massachusetts, it started a long time ago. And at ten years old for me to think that I was gay, and I was not raised in the church, there was already messaging out there leading me that way. And so when I had my first experience at the age of 16, I just thought that that’s who I was, they didn’t have any moral compass to challenge that.

At 19, I was angry with Christians. And I could not stand Christians. As I mentioned…

Bill Bunkley: Why do you think you were angry? Can you process that, is that where--[that’s where I?] begin to have the understanding.

Randy Thomas: Well, that’s what I’m saying, back then, I know why I was angry. Because the only examples I was given of Christianity were calling me “deserving of hell,” they said that I was “an abomination,” they said that I “deserved jail time.” I watched a popular evangelical leader at the time say that I was a pedophile in the making, and so, there was a lot of Christian leaders being portrayed, not all of them -- the only one’s who seemed to make it on the news -- were lying about me.

And so I was very angry, by the time I was 19, I wanted nothing to do with Christians. And so, because they didn’t--It was obvious they didn’t understand me, and didn’t want me, and so that was the messaging, you know, 21 years ago, that has been repeated, from the boomer generation, to the generation X, to, now the millennials, is this ongoing messaging that Christians hate gay people. And so this is manifesting now in this cultural backlash over marriage, so its got a long history here.

The people, most of the people in the streets don’t understand a Christian worldview, they were brought up in the Church. So when we talk about…

Bill Bunkley: Randy, there’s a lot of Christians in the Church that don’t understand a Christian world view, my friend. Go ahead, I’m sorry, I had to get that in there.

Randy Thomas: That’s true, That’s completely true. We live in a very confused culture, and so when we talk about, there’s level ground at the Cross, that just flies over the head of most of the people out there. Right in the streets, they're like, what are you talking about?

And, the only love that I knew at that time in my life, the best scenario for me at that time for me in my life was identifying as gay, and my gay friendships and my gay relationships. Now, again, I did not know the greater love of Christ until I was 24, but at that time in my life, that was my whole world, that’s who my friends were, that what my identity was. And so when Christians came in and blithely said, you know, you need to turn away from you sin and become a Christian and put your faith in Christ--you’re asking me to die to everything I know, on a bumper sticker -- You know, don’t tell me that stuff until you’ve invested in me -- And then at 24, this girl that I used to hang out with all the time, we’d smoke cigarettes, and hang out at Denny’s ‘till two in the morning, talking about everything, she became a Christian. She drove me crazy, but we were friends. And after about six months of her wearing me out about Jesus, I decided to visit her church.

Bill Bunkley: Took a look? You went and took a look, go ahead…

Randy Thomas: Yep, and, they freaked me out. But you know, I encountered the spirit of God there, and it made me thirsty. And I went home, and I prayed, after the second time I visited the church, and I prayed that the Lord would enter my heart. And he did that day.

It was the love a friend who was willing to stick it out with me, who was willing to put up with my stuff, to let me argue with her, that lead me to the Lord.

It was her kindness, or His kindness expressed through her. Through friendship, through that unconditional friendship, that lead me to the Lord.

And that’s what we need to realize, is that these people who are in the streets…God loves them, He wants to invest in them. It’s not enough to have talking points. I mean, yes, we need to be concerned about public policy, we need to write those op-eds, we need to vote, we need to understand marriage, but we also need to be committed to unconditional friendship. Because that’s truth and grace, that’s truth and mercy. And the Gospel is not lacking in either one of those. We can’t be all about just truth, and we can’t be just about mercy. We have to present both, because that’s why we call Him savior. He saved us from our own ideas, and our own leadings down paths that He knows would ultimately would not be fulfilling for us.

Bill Bunkley: And you know, there’s a lot of counterfeit strategies, but I think what I’m hearing, and what I’m trying to have our listeners just really penetrate their hearts with this, is that we’re looking at a group of people who don’t understand, that everything they’re depending on is counterfeit, but yet when they, if they--if they’re reached out to, and make a decision as you did, to go and to listen, and to take a chance, and then to consider it, would you say now, looking back, you really can determine that the anger that you had developed, rightly so as some of the things that were being saying, that were just unhelpful, but the fact of the matter is that even though, and you and I have had conversations where we're here about a particular Christian, mouthing off, or doing one of these things we just said, and I know you get frustrated, but at the same time, that anger is gone now. I mean, that frustration is gone. ‘Doesn’t mean you have righteous anger again when you see things happen, but, it is conveying that this feeling that your having Mr. homosexual or Miss. Lesbian, if you will consider the claims of Christ and let us reach out to you, if you cross over that bridge and accept Him, some of that turmoil is going to go away, wouldn’t you agree?

Randy Thomas: I would agree. And I also tell my gay friends, um, which I do have them, that the Christian Church is not what’s being portrayed on TV. I’ve never belonged in a church that didn’t allow me to be transparent, where people didn’t love me, who didn’t care for me. And I challenge the gay community, I understand why you’re angry, but at the same time, the Church is not the caricatures that are being portrayed most of the time on the main stream media, or being taught through the gay community. The gay community taught me a lot of my anger, but when I went into the Christian community, I found out that the body of Christ is one of the most loving communities, if not the most loving community I’d ever been apart of. And so I challenge that anger with, ok, this is the real picture, let’s deal with the anger in healthy and productive dialogue, but let’s also get to the truth of the matter, and the truth of the matter is, is that Christians are not all that bad…
~~~
P.S. Randy Thomas, you may inspire the worship of a god, but so far, at least for me, it’s a porcelain one.


___
h/t NG

Joe Dallas does VP of Exodus, Randy Thomas.

Joe Dallas, speaker at love won out conferences, who's books and cd's are staples of the Exodus "bookstore," and who himself is heavily referenced throughout the site, is the quintessential example of what is wrong with the anti-gay, slash, political ex-gay movement when they claim that their beliefs about sexuality are Biblically based.

And it's not just the fact that their "Biblical beliefs" are so consistently inconsistent, it's really about the fact that they take such pains to hide it.

Joe Dallas is divorced and remarried. An unrepentant adulter according to the bible, yet he has the audacity to author and promote a book called "The Gay Gospel? How Pro-Gay Advocates Misread The Bible."

You can read more about his current marital indiscretion here.

This is what he had to say on Randy's blog:

Randy, your answer to Hugo is one of the best responses to that sort of hyperbole that I've ever read. Bravo! Actually, yours is the first blog I've ever taken time to keep revisiting, and I'm enjoying it hugely. And yes, I'd say you just encouraged the birth of a new blog that I suspect won't be titled, "Everyday Loving Thoughts About Randy Collected."

How appropos, Joe.

Hugo's comment to Randy was thus, which I personally found to be quite accurate:

Maybe you could label yourself as what you are: a closeted gay man, incapable of loving the way he loves and living in fear. God set you free form nothjing, your chose barrten, loveless life and didicated your l9fe to oppressing and defaming people like you.

And did your fake dream also include the ending the messages of hatred and constant vomiting of lies coming from Christian right and your employers? Most likely not?

People who have been oppressed, been targeted with such hate as we are do get angry. BVut not even that is allowed because you fascists want us to go underground in hiding. That old lady chose to come gloating to people who were hurting, she chose to rub in the insult... but then that is what you christianists do, Nothing is enough fpr you when it comes to hurting people.

No more mr. Nice gay, I will fight you to the day I die and I will never give up.

Well said Hugo (if not well spelled ;).

Randy's long-winded yet typically trite response to Hugo -- the one that Joe Dallas responded to -- is here.
--
The name of that thread?

“Stop It” Therapy for The Masses - A Day Dream. A dream in which evil prop 8 protesters stop "knocking crosses out of old ladies hands," and gay couples allow pastors like Rick Warren to legally crap all over them with impunity.

Yes, that'll always be the dream, Randy...
--
And on a completely unrelated note:

Mad TV Bob Newhart Skit - Mo Collins - Stop it


Breaking news: Exodus / Love Won Out, releases new campaign slogan:
Gay? - Stop It!

Jeff Buchanan of Exodus International endorses mass murder.

From Exodus: To READ Jeff Buchanan's answer to "Is Homosexuality a Sin?"

By: Jeff Buchanan
Director of the Exodus Church Network
September 9, 2008

"I realized that it is the male/female relationship that God deemed “very good” and no other.

In addition, I found plenty of other Bible passages that clearly defined homosexuality as sin such as Genesis 19:4-11, Leviticus 18:22; 20:13"

Leviticus 20:13:

'If a man lies with a man as one lies with a woman, both of them have done what is detestable. They must be put to death; their blood will be on their own heads.

So according to Jeff Buchanan of Exodus International (Re "God"), If you're a gay guy who's has sex before, and accept yourself for who you are, and who you love, it would be a sin NOT to kill you.

Exodus International actually blames the deaths of 6 million Jews on same-sex attraction itself - by linking to Scott Lively's Holocaust revisionist book "The Pink Swastika."

Was once not enough?

Hello back.

Vice President of Exodus International, Randy Thomas, says "hey.":

Saying Hey from Randy Thomas on Vimeo.

Exodus Rhetoric:

'Some face with that egg?

I realize I’m mostly preaching to the choir here, so if you’re unfamiliar with the anti-gay antics of PFOX, here's some suggested reading.

That said, I was recently made aware of PFOX distorting a study in an AFA-One News Now article.

As Holy Bullies and Headless Monsters quotes from the article:

Quoting a recent study, Parents and Friends of Ex-Gays & Gays (PFOX) is warning of the increased risk of suicide that is linked with young people who identify themselves as homosexuals before achieving full maturity -- a process encouraged by many homosexual high school clubs.

The study PFOX was referring to was:

Risk Factors for Attempted Suicide in Gay and Bisexual Youth by Remafedi, Farrow, and Deisher, in Official Journal of the American Academy of Pediatrics, Pediatrics 87: 869-875 June 1991

And it wasn’t long after that that Wayne Besen of Truth Wins Out contacted one of the researchers:

Dr. Gary Remafedi Says ‘Ex-Gay’ Group Manipulated His Study And Should Immediately Take The Distortions Off Its Website

Of course, being the “Christians” that they are, they haven’t. (Note: this study is also referenced on their FAQ page.)

Which brings us to the latest portion of the 'PFOX abuse of research' story, which overlaps with another.

Enter one (former Principal) David Davies.

From Box Turtle Bulletin:

Davis outed a gay student to her parents, organized a “morality assembly”, and interrogated students about their orientation, and suspended students that were part of the “Gay Pride” movement.

Now the judge has issued his opinion (pdf) and has awarded legal recovery to the plaintiffs. And Davis’homophobia cost the district $325,000 in legal fees and cost (plus a dollar to the plaintiff).

Quoting now from HBHM, who quotes from the opinion, with commentary:

Regrettably, Jane’s contact with Davis during her senior year may well have been her last interaction with a school administrator before her graduation. Instead of providing Jane with a positive experience in the public school system during her final year, Davis crushed her and brought her to tears. Davis’s conduct, in the capacity of a role model and authority figure, is particularly deplorable in light of studies which confirm the vulnerability of gay and lesbian students . . .

The next time some idiot (hello PFOX) ruminates as to the supposed harm of GSAs, please remind them of this incident.

So I went to go read the opinion, and as it turns out, the very next portion of the ruling that follows the above quoted part..

Davis’s conduct, in the capacity of a role model and authority figure, is particularly deplorable in light of studies which confirm the vulnerability of gay and lesbian students...

..then goes on to include this little gem:

"The demeaning of young gay and lesbian students in a school environment is detrimental not only to their psychological health and well-being, but also to their educational development. Indeed, studies demonstrate that ‘academic underachievement, truancy, and dropout are prevalent among homosexual youth and are the probable consequences of violence and verbal and physical abuse at school.’ Susanne M. Stronski Huwiler and Gary Remafedi, Adolescent Homosexuality, 33 REV. JUR. U.I.P.R. 151, 164 (1999)"

Yep, Gary Remafedi, the exact same researcher who’s findings, FOR A SECOND TIME NOW, have been found to be at direct odds with the claims of PFOX:

"Schools should not be encouraging teens to self-identify as gays, bisexuals or transgendered persons before they have matured. Sexual attractions are fluid and do not take on permanence until early adulthood. Rather than affirming teenagers as ‘gay’ through self-labeling, educators should affirm them as people worthy of respect and encourage teens to wait until adulthood before making choices about their sexuality. If teens are encouraged to believe that they are permanently ‘gay’ before they have had a chance to reach adulthood, their life choices are severely restricted and can result in depression."

As though the lasting and permanent effects of puberty are something to "identify" with...as though one has a "choice" in the matter...and as though the only thing any responsible mentor (like Principal Davis) should do, is to demean gay youth by discouraging them from even acknowleging their own current, ongoing, and undeniable same-gender attraction(s) -- lest they "encourage" the "permanence" of a "gay identity."

Wake the kids, phone the neighbors, but most importantly, run for you lives.

And who can forget the MULTITUDE of persecuted ex-gay students, falling through the proverbial discriminitory ex-gay cracks in the mercilessly secular pro-anti-ex-gay public school system (bold mine):

Griggs also notes that schools with Gay Straight Alliance clubs are notorious for suppressing ex-gay organizations or individuals supporting tolerance for the ex-gay community. “GSA clubs and their teacher sponsors make schools unsafe for anyone who has rejected the ‘gay’ label in their lives or who believes in ex-gay equal rights. Our efforts to reach all students are typically met with hostility and violence. Time after time, we have faced hostile gay students and teachers ripping up our ex-gay materials or demanding that we be banned from distributing our materials on campuses.”

Boo hoo, wah wah, we just want to be left alone to ruin the lives of gay people in peace… Good God, she sounds just like Randy Thomas.

I’d ask if there’s something in the holy water, but It’s not like they drink it.

Anyway, to conclude, they both have a vested interest in demeaning gays. Thomas, and those of like-political ex-gay ilk, have to reinforce the belief that they made the right choice in “leaving homosexuality” (not to mention for the maintenence of their ex-gay careers as well). And Mrs. ‘perfect Christian mother’ Regina Griggs needs to know that she's not responsible for her own son's homosexuality (or so I assume...).

And that's where we and our "evil activist" GSA's come in:

Griggs, Thomas, Alan Chambers, and many if not most of their political-like, may not personally subscribe to the notion that “crimes against human-sexuality” are executable offenses. But if they ever get their way, it will be the most radical amongst them, that get their way, and so on.

And as long as the death threat of Leviticus 20:13 is not CONDEMNED as an unacceptable means of condemning homosexuality, then to my mind, the potential REALITY that we may someday be legally put to death for who we are, is automatically endorsed in its usage.

Oh, and FYI all ye blameless believers in, and repeaters of God’s holy hatred of homosexuality, negligent homicide is still HOMICIDE.