Ex-Gay Watch

Even before they had seen the movie, exgay network Exodus and its prime benefactor Focus on the Family feared that Brokeback Mountain might prompt conservative Christians to rethink how they treat homosexual family members. And upon rethinking their own role in the homosexual problem, Christian movie viewers might realize that the culture-war tactics of Exodus and James Dobson are self-serving, sinful, counterproductive, and sometimes dishonest.

Whatever the intent of its makers, the movie is neither liberal nor revolutionary — unlike an Oliver Stone or Michael Moore flick, it does not beat the viewer over the head with some dumb Hollywood agenda. The movie does not glamorize sex: The main characters are not supermodels, there is no explicit sex, and the one implied sex scene looks rather painful. The movie does not prefer homosexual love over heterosexual marriage; it weighs the two and exposes the very hard struggles of both.

The film does contain heroes — but they are not the main characters.
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I recently learned blog Good As You has made offers to ex-gays asking them to appear on The 700 Club and take a lie detector test. Earlier this week Tim Wilkins of Cross Ministries accepted Good As You’s challenge. The 700 Club hasn’t been involved in the offer so I emailed them yesterday asking if they’re interested in having this event take place on their show.

I’d like to congratulate Tim Wilkins for having the balls to stand up for what he believes. Honestly, I’m impressed.

Update: In answer to reader comments, as well as my own initial thoughts, Good As You intends to ask far more than simply “are you a homosexual.” Ex-gays are a tricky group and have been know to do the semantics-dance around the meaning of the word “homosexual.” Good As You’s oroginal proposition (the second link above) reads:

Let’s go on your own turf of “The 700 Club” and take a lie detector test on the nature of our sexualities.

And of course there’s the issue of someone who truly believes something which is untrue. What sort of polygraph reading would result? I really know nothing about polygraphs so I’m going to shut my big mouth for now.

I’m open to ideas on how to infographic-ize this newest advertisement from Love In Action. There will be no comments on this post, please email me your ideas privately.

Update: Check back Monday for the spiffy new LIA infographic!

If you own a mobile phone or handheld computer with a JavaScript-enabled web browser, you may now visit the most recent entries at Ex-Gay Watch here:

http://www.exgaywatch.com/blog/mobile.html

This page is condensed and simplified for easy mobile viewing.

Here are some tips for mobile viewing:

1. On Blackberrys, the “Internet Browser” may not display Mobile XGW, but the “Blackberry Browser” should.

Quite some time ago, I withdrew exgay personal web sites from the XGW indexes of worthwhile web sites (located in the column to your right) because:

1. Permanent links that lack any explanation might send unsuspecting visitors to sites that advocate unhealthy or self-destructive attitudes.
2. Some exgay blogs turned out to be anonymous fronts or gossipy echo chambers for defamatory and theocratic political organizations.
3. The listed blogs were not linking back to Ex-Gay Watch.
4. One-third of exgay blogs that I surveyed are rarely updated. XGW avoids linking to inactive web sites.
5. XGW does not provide permanent links to the main gay activist organizations and leading gay authors, so why give special treatment to the exgay and antigay ones?

My concerns remain. Nevertheless, I’d like to acknowledge exgay or “beyond gay” writers who think outside the box, who resist the pressure of their peers to parrot the political correctness of the religious right.
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The death of Charles W. Socarides reminded libertarian lawyer Jonathan Rowe of opposing social factions’ efforts, over the decades, to misuse the concept of “mental illness” to enforce the factions’ preferred moral or social norms.

Rowe says:

[P]roperly understood, categorizing something as a “mental disorder” cuts against the moral and social stigma of that condition, and cuts in favor of social neutrality and civil rights protection of the underlying “disorder.”

Those who would today classify homophobia as a mental disorder might want to reconsider.

As should those who resent the removal of homosexuality as a disorder from the DSM. They forget that politics added homosexuality to the DSM in the first place — and they overlook the privileges that “disordered” homosexuals might enjoy under modern disability laws.

(XGW: Socarides Dies)

Peterson Toscano reports Nathan Bell, associate director of Love In Action, has been terminated by the ministry. Peterson has extensive contacts associated (past and present) with LIA. Bob Painter, former participant and staffer, was among 195 recipients of a mass email from Bell announcing the termination and forwarded it to Peterson.

Good Morning,

I am writing to communicate a couple of important things. First, thanks to all of you for your support of me throughout my years at Love in Action. Unfortunately I have been terminated from my position after 8 years of cooperative work. It is important for me that you know his termination was not over a moral failure on my part – nor over any negligence of my responsibilities.

I solicit your prayers for me and for the ministry as we walk through a transition season.

I appreciate your support of me over the years. I hope to remain in contact with you and to continue working with you as God leads and directs.

Have a blessed day.

Nathan C. Bell

Charles W. Socarides, a grandfather of the reparative therapy movement and co-founder of the antigay National Association for Research and Therapy of Homosexuality, died Dec. 25 in New York. He was 83 years old.
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Exodus financial results for 2004 are now available, courtesy of MinistryWatch:

Contributions to Exodus rose 36 percent, from $454,000 in 2003 to $617,000 in 2004. In the prior year, contributions rose 40 percent, from $324,500 to $454,000.

Other revenue sources rose more than 50 percent, from $200,000 to $308,000. In the prior year, other revenue sources plummeted from $352,000 to $200,000.

Total revenues rose to $925,315 from $654,653 in 2003 — an increase of 41 percent. In the prior year, revenues fell slightly, from $677,125 in 2002.

Expenses were down only slightly in 2004, at about $660,000, after a massive cut from $795,000 in 2002.

All told, Exodus attained a budget surplus of $267,000 in 2004, compared to budget deficits in the two prior years: $13,000 in 2003 and an alarming $118,000 in 2002.

Why the big increase in earnings? Opinions will vary; Exodus provides few direct clues. Strategic changes during this period included (in my opinion) an increased focus on lobbying for constitutional amendments to ban gay marriages and civil unions; speeches, media events, and networking indirectly supporting the re-election of President Bush and religious-rightist lawmakers; increased publicity for Exodus antigay political activities via religious-rightist media such as WorldNetDaily and the American Family Association’s AgapePress; and a de-emphasis of the organization’s historic but unprofitable mission of material and logistical support for local exgay member ministries and counselors.

MinistryWatch gives Exodus a mediocre three-star rating for financial efficiency, which is below average for the advocacy sector. Just as bad: Exodus earns a mere grade of “C” for financial transparency; in other words, Exodus provided minimal financial information in response to requests, and withheld this information until seven months after Dec. 31, 2004, the end of the fiscal year. In order to receive an “A,” Exodus would need to provide ample information within the first five months of the new year.

Conservative Christian Blogger/journalist Justin McLachlan disagreed took issue with recent calls for an investigation of Focus on the Family’s tax-exempt status.

In response, McLachlan researched the status of Teach The Facts, a suburban Washington parents group battling the religious right over the local school district’s sex-education curriculum.

McLachlan concluded that TTF began advertising the tax deductibility of online donations without disclosing (initially) that its application for 501(c)3 status remains pending with the IRS.

Good detective work, Mr. McLachlan. I still question whether the premature fund-raising of a relatively new parents group is comparable to the machinations of a $120 million fundamentalist media empire whose supposed 501(c)3 charitable donations visibly subsidize the partisan political activities of a 501(c)4 entity.