In a recent post to his blog, Stephen Black, director of Exodus charter member First Stone Ministries, added more of his own spin to the Sally Kern issue, and with it some new facts. He again expresses support, not shame, focusing on how he thinks Kern was the victim and her words, if taken in context, would be understood as loving:
They edited down the comments to what they considered the most inflammatory sound bites. Their cunning plan was to upload the edited comments to YouTube in hopes of enraging gay people and their supporters. This plan, they thought, would further the “Victory Fund” gay political cause and bring in funds for their political machine. Over and over they emphasize that Rep. Kern’s speech demonstrated hatred towards gays. What they failed to mention – or include in the sound bites – is the truth, that Rep. Sally Kern said we must love the homosexual.
For the record, the entire speech was released shortly after the original clip surfaced. There was no editing, but a 2:45 clip of her main remarks about gays was taken in it’s entirety. The remaining portion dealing with the subject hardly helps to change the tone in a positive direction — quite the contrary. But many of the articles written in favor of her words add the claim about editing in an apparent attempt to further illustrate how the writer believes Kern has been wronged.
We must “love the homosexual,” a phrase I have always found repugnant and sterile. In this case, as with Exodus, is seems that we must love the homosexual, but only truly accept them if and when they hate the fact that they are homosexual (if indeed we accept that there is such a thing). If one is content and gay, well we might love them like we would a savage in need of a missionary. But then Black can’t resist going further in a comment which misstates, lightly renounces and then supports Kern’s terrorism remarks all in the same breath. Read more…
Welcome to the Ex-Gay Watch Bookshelf, a new feature and an opportunity for the XGW staff to share books we’ve been reading that may be of interest to our readers.
First up, Gay Christian 101 by Rick Brentlinger. A former Baptist minister, Brentlinger is more theologically conservative than most pro-gay apologists. Although no book, no matter how persuasively written, is likely to sway those whose opinions on this topic have already been set in stone, Brentlinger’s conservative approach may gain him an audience among some who have dismissed other pro-gay authors as “too liberal.”
Brentlinger addresses all of the biblical passages commonly cited in this debate (Gen. 1-2; Gen. 19; Lev. 18:22 & 20:13; Rom. 1:26-27; 1 Cor. 6:9 and 1 Tim. 1:10), examining the cultural and linguistic contexts of each one in depth. He also addresses – and dismantles – the complementarian theory that has become popular in some evangelical circles.
Having addressed the standard anti-gay arguments, Brentlinger turns his attention to arguing for a gay-positive interpretation of several biblical passages: the story of Jonathan and David (1 Sam. 17 and following), the story of the Roman Centurion (Matt. 8:5-13 and Luke 7:1-10) and Jesus’ mention of eunuchs (Matt. 19:12). Though Brentlinger, by his own admission, cannot make as solid an argument for his interpretations of these passages as he can for the others, he does present a stronger case than any I’ve previously seen for the idea that the Bible contains gay-positive stories.
Gay Christian 101 was self-published by Brentlinger, which possibly explains the lack of an index. Readers who want to refer back to a specific argument or citation will have to skim through the book to find it, a task lengthened even further by the lack of page numbers in the table of contents. Brentlinger’s habit of repeating key points (not counting summaries) may also be distracting to some readers.
Aside from those minor complaints, Gay Christian 101 is a useful resource for those in the process of examining what the Bible says about homosexuality, and a well-researched counterpoint to the books and articles promoted by groups like Exodus and Focus on the Family. Whatever conclusions one ultimately reaches, Brentlinger’s case is worth considering.
Peterson Toscano posted a beautifully written narrative yesterday. He describes the almost prison-like atmosphere of the Love in Action program where physical and spiritual sustenance were strictly regulated.
The staff demanded all participants to attend Central Church, an Evangelical mega church with its own fitness center and congressman. No matter if you were Catholic, Adventist or Methodist, the program required each participant to assimilate into the white Evangelical Church semi-Charismatic tradition.
Peterson’s experience clarifies the need for rehabilitation and healing after having participated in this sort of “recovery” program.
A press conference will be held on April 10th in San Jose, California to counter Focus on the Family’s Love Won Out ex-gay conference. It will take place in The Billy DeFrank GLBT Community Center. Wayne Besen, Executive Director of Truth Wins Out, will be speaking. Says Besen:
“It’s tragic that most of the people attending Love Won Out are parents who are looking for answers in the wrong place. We are speaking out to stop these parents from being exploited and we hope to dispel myths and misconceptions so they can learn to love and accept their gay children.
Others in attendance will be Bill Roth of Catholic Democrats of California and
Aejaie Sellers, DeFrank Center’s CEO/Executive Director. On Saturday, a prayer vigil will be held in front of the church hosting Love Won Out, Abundant Life Christian Fellowship, and a panel discussion on the ex-gay movement will be held at the DeFrank center.
Hat Tip: Truth Wins Out
As XGW reported a few days ago, Stephen Black, director of Exodus charter member First Stone Ministries, appeared at the recent rally in support of Oklahoma Representative Sally Kern. The rally was orchestrated by fifty or so churches and assorted ministries who seem to have latched on to Kern as a sort of patron saint in their crusade against the dreaded “homosexual agenda.”
Black was there to lend his support as can be seen in the video below. The second clip is shorter and contains most of Blacks remarks of support, while the first is a general resume of his life, with an emphasis on “overcoming homosexuality.”
To date, Exodus International has not provided an official response to Kern’s statements, despite our request early in the controversy. To that we received a “no comment” from Exodus president Alan Chambers.
If you would like to share any personal experience you have had with Stephen Black and First Stone Ministries, good or bad, please contact XGW at david@exgaywatch.com. All communication will be held in strict confidence.
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LGBTJews.org relayed the news that HOD, a Hebrew acronym for “Gay Religious Jews,” is a new website created to counter misinformation about LGBT issues involving religious Jews. Geared toward religiously conservative Jews who live in Israel, HOD has an extensive Hebrew site and a brand new, fairly sparse English site that they hope will reach out to Jews all over the world. They specifically exist to counter Atzat-Nefesh, a site which they say has been key in promoting untruths about gay Jews – specifically, that their orientation can be changed:
Up to now the only website catering to the religious gay community was atzat-nefesh (www.atzat-nefesh.org), which was basically run by straight people that publicly stated that a religious person cannot be gay. They tried to ‘turn’ gay religious people straight, which is something that we know cannot be done. We try to help people reconcile their religious beliefs and their sexual orientation.
It’s important to counter this myth, because the more Jews see the evidence that homosexuality is not a choice, the more likely they will be supportive of the LGBTQ community:
Elliot Dorff, the rector of Los Angeles’s American Jewish University and a co-author of the rabbinic opinion that opened the doors for gay and lesbian clergy and same-sex unions in Conservative Judaism, said the scientific evidence that the opinion presented, showing that sexual orientation is not a choice, has been a key factor in swaying rabbis. Before the hard-fought opinion passed, Dorff said, it would have been far more difficult to convince Conservative rabbis to rally behind the cause of same-sex marriage.
However, far from being “out,” the creators of HOD do not reveal their names. There is still a strong current of homophobia that runs through Israel’s religious community. But the creators of the site are nonetheless determined to make their presence known, and have even engaged in face-to-face dialogs with staunchly conservative rabbis to put a human face on the struggle of LGBTQ persons in Israel.
April is chock full of teachable moments lest any teacher’s plan book go empty. We have Keep America Beautiful Month, National Poetry Month, and National Frog Month. April birthdays include Leonardo DaVinci, William Shakespeare, and Daffy Duck.
Now, Dr. Warren Throckmorton, professor of psychology at Grove City College, and author of the Sexual Identity Therapy Framework has come up with The Golden Rule Initiative. Dr. Throckmorton’s aim is to provide an appropriate response for straight, evangelical students to the GLSEN sponsored Day of Silence on April 25.
The Day of Silence began 12 years ago with the purpose of proactively bringing attention to anti-LGBT name-calling, bullying, and harassment on high school campuses. GLSEN’s DOS has increased in participation and exposure each year since its inception, but opposition remains from “christians”, some of whom refuse to allow their children to attend school on that day.
Day of Silence participants are most notably opposed by the ADF sponsored Day of Truth which occurs on April 28 and was established 4 years ago to “counter the promotion of the homosexual agenda and express an opposing viewpoint from a Christian perspective”. It reminds me of one of those “loving” and “compassionate” Sally Kern rallies.
While Dr. Throckmorton may have the best of intentions with the Golden Rule Initiative, he’s getting mixed reviews from all sides. He says… Read more…
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