Box Turtle Bulletin offers coverage-in-depth of this week’s angry war of words fired by far-right culture warriors Peter LaBarbera and Stephen Bennett against Exodus International and its president, Alan Chambers.

Chambers has stated for some time that “change” is slow (if it happens at all) among ex-gays. When word of this reached the mainstream press this week, LaBarbera and Bennett became outraged that their own message of easy, instantaneous heterosexuality had been undermined in some very public forums.

None of the three activists has yet documented a gay past to XGW’s satisfaction, and LaBarbera in fact claims never to have been either gay or ex-gay. So the credibility of all three regarding change of sexual attraction or identity is tenuous at best.

While Chambers speaks from the stated experience of Exodus member ministers, LaBarbera and Bennett demonstrate a vaporous, blustery preachiness that is heavy on flattery toward God and lacking in substance. LaBarbera, for example, speaks of “allegiance to a holy, almighty God”; apparently he could not find Bible verses to support his contention that dishonest sexual behavior is the Christian Way, nor could he find legitimate medical or scientific research equating sexual orientation with lust. LaBarbera pontificates that “ExGayWatch” (sic), in particular, is “decidedly evil” but fails to explain how it is evil to hold ex-gays accountable to measurable facts and healthy therapeutic outcomes.

Ex-Gay Watch sends congratulations to Bennett and LaBarbera — may this cat fight bring them a fleeting rise in contributions from people who don’t know any better.

Categorized in: