I believe it is important to reclaim the words truth and love from Orwellian Ministries of Truth (Misinformation) and Ministries of Love (Self-Love and Hatred of Diversity).

The words derive from the Latin words cum (with) and pati (to suffer), so the root meaning of “compassion” is “suffering with”. Now some gay people are undoubtedly suffering, but not from being gay. As the late Dominican Gareth Moore wrote:

…it takes courage and a lot of belief in yourself to be happy when you are told, or it is intimated to you constantly, that you are an outsider, defective, perverted, laughable, or a sufferer from a condition. It is not surprising that people in that condition sometimes end up frightened, miserable and bitter and that some even kill themselves. But, to repeat, what they are suffering from is not homosexuality but inhumanity.

But these ex-gay enthusiasts don’t want to “suffer with” those who are suffering from such inhumanity, and, so far from trying to remove the suffering, they want it to continue. In fact, some of them, e.g. Scott Lively, would like to increase it as much as possible. So they can take their “compassion” and they can shove it…

Also, what Christians like Chambers mean by Exodus not “condemning the sin” is also beyond me. I think everyone ought to look of “condemn” in a dictionary. “to declare to be reprehensible, wrong, or evil usually after weighing evidence and without reservation 2 a: to pronounce guilty 3: to adjudge unfit for use or consumption.” Exodus condemns homosexuality wrong in every sense of the word.

My observation is that there is an inverse relationship between the frequency of using the word ‘truth’, and the actual truth. When there is no credible evidence for a belief, all that’s left is to repeatedly insist it is true.

I couldn’t agree more. While I was living in Long Beach, a friend of mine moved there as well. He became involved in a church that indoctrinated him on “The Truth.” It was like a catch phrase for him.

The problem I have with Christians using that word is that “the truth” is not on the surface of Scripture or Tradition, but rather deep inside of them. My friend would use the typical passages to condemn my “lifestyle” and “choice” without digging deeper into “the Truth.” And when I would have a valid argument of which he could not reply, he would just reply that I need to know “The Truth.” Therefore, I equate “The Truth” with “because I say so.”

It’s sad that the majority of Christians no longer question their faith. In the history of Christianity, for example, in order to canonize a saint, there was a devil’s advocate whose job was to doubt and question the validity of a potential candidate’s canonization. Doubt, investigation, finding new insights has been as much a part of Christianity as dogmatic pronoucements that are not to be questioned. Even the great theologians of all streams of Christianity have doubted, debated, and questioned Scripture, interpretations of Scripture, Tradition, traditions and customs, etc.

The merger of these various ex-gay ministries is a sign that their days are numbered, even for Exodus. I am sure there will be ex-gay ministries out their, but as the fruit of their labors becomes more apparant to the Christian community, many will see them for what they are and have a change of heart. At least that is my hope.

“And btw… Christians bandy about the word ‘truth’ so much so that it almost becomes a worthless term in their vocabulary.”

My observation is that there is an inverse relationship between the frequency of using the word ‘truth’, and the actual truth. When there is no credible evidence for a belief, all that’s left is to repeatedly insist it is true. The continual insistence and repetition can turn any nonsense into something I call Magic Truth.

I’ve also noticed that when an organization’s name includes the word ‘truth’, it is usually a good indicator that truth is the one thing they are not about. That’s why I winced a little bit when Wayne Besen named his organization Truth Wins Out (although I think that choice was probably a response to the dishonesty of anti-gay groups using the word).

““The compassionate truth of the gospel is still the hope of the world today,” said Alan Chambers… “Together, we hope to advance a new era in the global Christian church that is defined by God’s truth as well as His heart for hurting individuals experiencing confusion and conflict about their sexuality.”

While the culture war has taken us into a polarization of either condemning the sin or condoning the behavior, Exodus and these groups are speaking into it redemptively and we’re saying we can hold on to truth but at the same time have compassion, have grace, have mercy and have resources available to those who do want to overcome homosexuality.” — Randy Thomas.

Exodus leaders say navigating the fine line between loving homosexuals and communicating to them the truth of Scripture is the real challenge facing Christians.

Sound like the same tired, old rhetoric to me, just repackaged and reformatted to look like they’re actually doing something to justify their salaries. And btw… Christians bandy about the word ‘truth’ so much so that it almost becomes a worthless term in their vocabulary.

As for the merging of these groups, does anyone not think lack of funds is behind a large part of this? These are marginal ministries at best, even Exodus, outside the “ex-gay world” is a tiny concern. With the current state of the economy, I doubt there is enough to sustain the other two and they both contributed to Exodus anyway.