Ex-Gay Watch

An ex-gay Christian woman is missing with her seven-year-old daughter after a judge ruled her former partner should be given custody.

Lisa Miller gave birth to Isabella in 2002, by artificial insemination, two years into a civil union with lesbian partner Janet Jenkins. In 2003, Miller ended the partnership, taking her child with her. She became an evangelical Christian and renounced lesbianism, refusing Jenkins visitation rights. She demanded child support payments, however.

Due to Miller’s ongoing refusals, which constituted contempt of court, a Vermont Family Court judge granted Jenkins full custody (PDF link) of Isabella in November 2009. Jenkins says she intends to allow Miller “as liberal contact as possible” with her daughter. She was to be handed over on January 1st, 2010.

Now, however, Miller and her daughter have not been seen in a month, prompting fears that the handover will not occur.

Miller has claimed that there is a “homosexual agenda” at work, and her daughter “is a pawn in their game.” She said Isabella was “saved” at the age of four and she denies hating Janet, saying she prays “for her soul and her salvation.”

In a 2008 interview with right-wing Christian website LifeSiteNews, Miller made a number of claims about Jenkins, accusing her of verbal and physical abuse towards her and neglect of the child. There were also none-too-subtle insinuations of sexual abuse, since Jenkins reportedly took a naked bath with the child, and Isabella had started “openly masturbating.”

Evidently Judge William Cohen saw nothing in the charges, since he ruled in favor of custody. But with Miller and her daughter having disappeared, will it ever happen?

A panel called “Being Gay in the Orthodox World: A Conversation with the YU Community” was held on Tuesday at Yeshiva University, a prominent Orthodox Jewish college in New York City. The event drew about 1,000 attendees. Although the head of YU spoke out against even the idea of such an event, many people attending were outwardly supportive, if not tolerant, of the gay Orthodox Jews who spoke.

The hope was not that people would change their hearts and minds about halakha (Jewish Law) – the hope was that people would attend and see that queers are not an abstract “other,” but in fact are fellow human beings who are much more similar to straights than different from them. Gay men and women in the Orthodox Jewish world have a growing number of resources available to them both online and in New York City, YU’s home. Many are compiled by the Gay and Lesbian Yeshiva Day School Alumni Association (GLYDSA), an Orthodox Jewish group that is located in NYC.

An unofficial transcript of the event can be found at “The Curious Jew” blog, and several videos of the event were posted at “Tirtzah,” a blog for queer frum women.

-British rugby star Gareth Thomas comes out of the closet.

-HBO’s show “Big Love” to introduce a romantic storyline between two men who have been through ex-gay therapy.

-Highlands Church, an evangelical congregation in Denver, gains national attention for its gay-affirming stance.

-Martha Stewart Weddings runs its first feature on a gay wedding.

-Mexico City’s assembly legalizes same-sex marriage.

-The Iowa Family Policy Council begins work on an effort to repeal marriage equality in the state.

-A Texas state appeals court recognizes the parental rights of a lesbian non-biological mother.

-Kapya Kaoma chronicles how American evangelicals established a base of power in Uganda and other African nations.

-Houston voters elect Annise Parker as the first openly gay mayor of a major American city.

-Twelve gay men currently face execution in Iran.

-A well-known Honduran LGBT activist is murdered.

-Peterson Toscano posts a reminder that straight people can be the victims of anti-gay hate crimes too.

-The Washington, DC City Council gives final approval to legalize same-sex marriage.

-A US Senate committee approves the Domestic Partnership Benefits and Obligations Act.

-Actor Glenn Shadix talks about his experiences undergoing aversion therapy in his youth.

-The Rwandan parliament is scheduled to vote on a bill that would criminalize homosexuality.

-The Oklahoma City School Board adds GLBT students to the groups protected by its anti-bullying policies.

-Three Kalamazoo, MI churches withdraw from a program to feed the homeless in retaliation for the city’s new non-discrimination ordinance.

Re: “New Jersey State Senator and NAACP’s Bond Support Genderless Marriage While Rejecting Ex-Gay Rights” [12-9-09]

“…major scientific studies and mental health associations have stated homosexuality is not innate,” said Regina Griggs, director of Parents and Friends of Ex-Gays and Gays (PFOX). “No scientific evidence has found a ‘gay gene.’ No DNA or medical test can determine if a person is homosexual. Sexual orientation is a matter of self-affirmation and public declaration…”

“Sexual orientation is a matter of self-affirmation and public declaration.”

Try it like this:

Human sexuality is a matter of self-affirmation and public declaration.
—
Apparently you’re not human until you say so in public.

Since I am gay, Anglican and British, I am more than disturbed to hear a priest in my own church and my own country concede that “the Ugandans, who are currently considering draconian legislation regarding homosexuality, might actually have a point.”

Writing on his blog today, the Reverend John Richardson points to the failure of a recent legal case to criticize Britain’s supposed lack of religious freedom and to suggest that Uganda has good reason to avoid following the West in “normalizing” homosexuality.

The case in question is that of Lillian Ladele, a Christian registrar who refused to carry out civil partnerships for same-sex couples. Note that we’re not talking about a priest or religious leader, or a church refusing to carry out a religious marriage ceremony. We’re talking about a public officer employed to undertake a public role, namely registering marriages and civil partnerships. Ladele claims that she was “bullied and harrassed” by her public employer because of her refusal. She initially won a case against them, but the ruling was overturned. And rightly so, it seems. Why should a public officer with public duties to fulfill be allowed to decide to fulfill only those duties she agrees with?

From this, Richardson takes the following unwarranted logical leap:

The outcome of this case, as it stands, means that traditionalist Christians could soon be excluded from all public office and employment. All that is needed is for applicants for any post to be asked their views on homosexuality —whether or not they accept it on an equal footing with heterosexuality. If the answer is ‘No’ (as it must be for the traditionalist Christian), then that may be deemed sufficient grounds for them to be unsuitable for such employment or to hold such an office.

This is fallacious. Ms Ladele was not dismissed simply because of her personal views, but because her personal views prevented her from carrying out the job she was employed to do. How will that lead to traditionalist Christians being fired from “all public office and employment,” as Richardson claims?

He laments the increasing tolerance of homosexuality since it was legalized in the UK in the 1960s (he supports the initial legalization, but detests its “unintended consequences”), and surmises that there is currently no possibility that “social normalization of homosexuality can co-exist with Christian morality.” He concludes:

At very least, this suggests that the Ugandans might look to our experience before making any decisions regarding their own situation, for the exercise of godly compassion in our case has clearly not resulted in a more godly society.

This is not the first time Richardson has seen fit to comment on African anti-homosexuality laws. In March, when many in the West condemned the Church of Nigeria for its metaphorical stone-throwing at homosexuals, the Reverend invoked the story of Jesus and the woman caught in adultery – but only to suggest that by holding the Church to account for its support of Nigerian anti-gay laws, liberal western Christians were the ones throwing stones.

Interestingly, this is the first comment Richardson has made on the Uganda situation.* First with Nigeria and now with Uganda, he has said little, breaking his silence only to sympathize with the oppressors.

Up until now, I had thought silence was the worst I could expect from fellow Christians in the Anglican Church. Cynical as I am, I never expected this much worse response – especially from my own nation and my own church. Frankly, it scares me.

___________________________________________________________

*Correction: Richardson did in fact address the Uganda situation in October, advising against the legislation.

-Pepsi issues an apology for its sponsorship of an anti-gay musician’s concert in Uganda.

-The Economist takes a look at where gay couples live in the United States.

-A group of Minnesota Quakers announces that it will not issue any more marriage licenses until the state makes marriage available to everyone.

-Another anti-gay politician is caught in a sex scandal.

-John Corvino warns against overusing the word “bigot.”

-Bruce Springsteen speaks out in support of marriage equality.

-Equality Florida Palm Beach County hosts a workshop concurrent with Soulforce’s anti-heterosexism conference.

-A group of progressive Christians drafts The Affirmation Declaration in response to the Manhattan Declaration.

-The Evangelical Alliance Ireland endorses that country’s civil partnership bill.

-The New Jersey state senate postpones a vote on gay marriage.

-Religious right activist Bob Emrich circulates an editorial defending Uganda’s proposed anti-gay law.

-Austria’s parliament passes a civil unions bill.

But hunting down people for same-sex love, I believe to be a sin, against Love, one of God’s greatest gifts to mankind. (I say all this without being a homosexual.) Parliament should not pass this Bill.

New Vision is a newspaper run by the government of Uganda.  The author of that line , John Nagenda, is a senior advisor to President Yoweri Museveni, who has himself not commented on the bill one way or the other as of yet. But Nagenda clearly sees it as something that should not pass into law, and chides the PM who introduced it, David Bahati, with comparisons to McCarthyism and the medieval Inquisitions. Perhaps such attempts to literally eliminate gays in the future, at least in Uganda, will be called Bahati-ism?

And that is where same-sex lovers’ haters will do their nut! The recent month I was away a parliamentarian introduced a Bill of hugely draconian measure, including heavy penalties on those who wouldn’t report same-sex lovers they knew about! In the US there was a man whose name, McCarthy, is now a synonym (as mccarthyism) for cruel witch-hunting. For him Communism was the hot issue, although he would doubtless have looked at same-sex love as a product of that political system.

In the Inquisition period, evil prelates tortured people who deviated from current beliefs, including by saying the world was not flat but round! Now we all laugh about these odd characters. Lower down the scale, people were tortured for being left-handed (indeed called sinister for it) or being very short, or being blind: in short for not being normal. I believe, and I am raising the bar, that we must laugh at this MP and others like him: laugh and stay sane. What crime have same-sex lovers committed, per se, by being who they are? Would those who believe God made mankind exclude them, and on what grounds?

You may find it repugnant that men have sex with other men, and women with women. They, on the other hand, might find the “usual” way repugnant, because of their nature.

A rather silly pining for the non-homosexual related meaning of the word “gay” aside, this column passes for progressive thought in that region, and it is coming from a government owned media source which has not been kind to gays in the past. He concludes with:

When times have changed, if they change enough, then these words will include a leavening of same-sex relationships. Gradualism is not a sin. But hunting down people for same-sex love, I believe to be a sin, against Love, one of God’s greatest gifts to mankind. (I say all this without being a homosexual.) Parliament should not pass this Bill.

We are cautiously optimistic that this odious bill will be consigned to an unceremonious death. As another has said, keep up the pressure. Along those lines, the Facebook group dedicated to opposing this bill went over ten-thousand members today. Join if you haven’t already.

Source: New Vision via BTB

Building on David Robert’s post on the Richard Cohen portion of The Rachel Maddow Show, Randy Thomas, Vice President of Exodus International, had some things to say about the exchange.

Randy Thomas: I am going to share a review of the actual interview and then move into how I believe she, and some other militant gay activists, are missing the point with regard to Uganda’s anti-homosexuality bill.

Transcript, edited for brevity, emphases mine:

MADDOW: But you have told them, particularly in your book, “Coming Out Straight,” which I understand you donated multiple copies of to this organization that‘s promoting this bill. You‘re telling them exactly what they need to hear in order to justify the kill-the-gays bill. I mean, your book portrays gay people as predators who must be stopped to protect the innocent.

COHEN: Oh, no, no, no.

MADDOW: Let me ask – I‘ll just read from your book, OK? Page 49, “Homosexuals are at least 12 times more likely to molest children than heterosexuals. Homosexual teachers are at least seven times more likely to molest a pupil. Homosexual teachers are estimated to have committed at least 25 percent of pupil molestation; 40 percent of molestation assaults were made by those who engage in homosexuality.”

This is the claim that you make in your book that exactly feeds these folks who want to execute people for being gay, what they need in order to justify that. Do you stand by what you said in your book?

COHEN: Actually, you know, that one particular quote, when I do republish it, reprint it, we will extract that from it, because we don‘t want such things to be used against homosexual persons.

MADDOW: That quote is cited – you cite somebody named Paul Cameron as the source of that book.

COHEN: I see that they‘re using it, but you took that one little quote out of a 300-page book.

“you took that one little quote out of a 300-page book”

That “one little quote” may be edited out of Cohen’s next revision, but it’s a paltry excision in light of the other “little” quotes in his book.
Read more…

As with Exodus, we wish this had been done sooner, but the statement could be quite effective. Warren is speaking directly to pastors in a country that takes him very seriously. The video is provided on his site in broadcast quality files as well as on Youtube. If this is played in Uganda, and I think it likely that it will be, this could make the difference.  One can only  hope so.

This is accompanied by a letter to the Ugandan church leaders:

LETTER/VIDEO STATEMENT TO UGANDAN CHURCH LEADERS
By Dr. Rick Warren, Pastor of Saddleback Church, Lake Forest, Calif.,
Regarding the Pending Anti-Homosexuality Bill Before the Ugandan Parliament
December 10, 2009

Dear fellow pastors in Uganda,

I greet you in the name and love of Jesus Christ as I send this encyclical video (http://www.youtube.com/saddlebackchurch) to the pastors of the churches of Uganda with greetings from your fellow pastors around the world. May grace and peace be with you this Christmas season.

We are all familiar with Edmund Burke’s insight, “All that is necessary for evil to triumph is for good men to do nothing.” That is why I’m sharing my heart with you today. As an American pastor, it is not my role to interfere with the politics of other nations, but it IS my role to speak out on moral issues. It is my role to shepherd other pastors who look to me for guidance, and it is my role to correct lies, errors and false reports when others associate my name with a law that I had nothing to do with, completely oppose and vigorously condemn. I am referring to the pending law under consideration by the Ugandan Parliament, known as the Anti-Homosexuality Bill.

As a pastor, I’ve found the most effective way to build consensus for social change is usually through direct quiet diplomacy and behind-the-scenes dialogue, rather than through media. But because I didn’t rush to make a public statement, some erroneously concluded that I supported this terrible bill, and some even claimed I was a sponsor of the bill. You in Uganda know that is untrue.

I am releasing this video to you and your congregations to correct these untruths and to urge you to make a positive difference at this critical point in your nation.

While we can never deny or water down what God’s Word clearly teaches about sexuality, at the same time the church must stand to protect the dignity of all individuals – as Jesus did and commanded all of us to do.

Let me be clear that God’s Word states that all sex outside of marriage is not what God intends. Jesus reaffirmed what Moses wrote that marriage is intended to be between one man and one woman committed to each other for life. Jesus also taught us that the greatest commandment is to love our neighbors as ourselves. Since God created all, and Jesus suffered and died for all, then we are to treat all with respect. The Great Commandment has been the centerpiece of my life and ministry for over 35 years.

Of course, there are thousands of evil laws enacted around the world and I cannot speak to pastors about every one of them, but I am taking the extraordinary step of speaking to you – the pastors of Uganda and spiritual leaders of your nation – for five reasons:

First, the potential law is unjust, extreme and un-Christian toward homosexuals, requiring the death penalty in some cases. If I am reading the proposed bill correctly, this law would also imprison anyone convicted of homosexual practice.

Second, the law would force pastors to report their pastoral conversations with homosexuals to authorities.

Third, it would have a chilling effect on your ministry to the hurting. As you know, in Africa, it is the churches that are bearing the primary burden of providing care for people infected with HIV/AIDS. If this bill passed, homosexuals who are HIV positive will be reluctant to seek or receive care, comfort and compassion from our churches out of fear of being reported. You and I know that the churches of Uganda are the truly caring communities where people receive hope and help, not condemnation.

Fourth, ALL life, no matter how humble or broken, whether unborn or dying, is precious to God. My wife, Kay, and I have devoted our lives and our ministry to saving the lives of people, including homosexuals, who are HIV positive. It would be inconsistent to save some lives and wish death on others. We’re not just pro-life. We are whole life.

Finally, the freedom to make moral choices and our right to free expression are gifts endowed by God. Uganda is a democratic country with remarkable and wise people, and in a democracy everyone has a right to speak up. For these reasons, I urge you, the pastors of Uganda, to speak out against the proposed law.

My role, and the role of the PEACE Plan, whether in Uganda or any other country, is always pastoral, not political. I vigorously oppose anything that hinders the goals of the PEACE Plan: Promoting reconciliation, Equipping ethical leaders, Assisting the poor, Caring for the sick, and Educating the next generation, which includes the protection of children.

Please know that you and the people of Uganda are in my constant prayers. This Christmas season I pray you will experience the three purposes of Christmas as announced by the angel at the birth of Christ. First, the angel said, “I bring you good news of great joy.” Christmas is a time of celebration – Jesus is the Good News for the whole world. God came to earth to be with us! Next, the angel said, “For unto us is born this day a Savior, who is Christ the Lord!” Christmas is a time for salvation. If we didn’t need a Savior, God would not have sent one. Finally, the angel said, “Peace on earth, good will toward men.” Christmas is a time for reconciliation. The message of Christmas is good cheer, good news and good will for the whole world.

It is my prayer that the churches and people of Uganda will experience all three of these this season. May God bless you; and may God bless the nation of Uganda.

Key Facts Concerning Recent Media and Blog Reports on Rick Warren’s Position on Uganda

1. Do you support the death penalty for homosexuals?
Absolutely not. ALL life, no matter how humble or broken, whether unborn or dying, is precious to God. My wife, Kay, and I have devoted our lives and our ministry to saving the lives of people, including homosexuals, who are HIV positive. It would be inconsistent to save some lives and wish death on others. We’re not just pro-life. We are whole life.

2. Do you support life imprisonment for homosexuality?
Of course not. I oppose the criminalization of homosexuality. The freedom to make moral choices is endowed by God. Since God gives us that freedom, we must protect it for all, even when we disagree with their choices.

3. Are you a friend of the President of Uganda?
No. I’ve never met him, and never had any kind of communications with him or with any member of the Ugandan Parliament.

4. Didn’t the President of Uganda say he wanted his country to be Purpose Driven?
No, he didn’t. That was said by the President of Rwanda, not Uganda, at a national rally in Rwanda in 2005. Years later, the Anglican Archbishop of Uganda made a similar comment so people are confusing Uganda with Rwanda, the country next to Uganda. While we have just begun to train pastors in Uganda, we are very involved in Rwanda, creating a nationwide PEACE Plan at the invitation of the churches there. Over 1,000 Saddleback members have served on humanitarian projects in Rwanda.

5. What did you do when you heard about the proposed Ugandan law?
I wrote to the most influential leader I knew in that country, the Anglican Archbishop of Uganda, and shared my opposition and concern. He wrote me back, saying that he, too, was opposed to the death penalty for homosexuals. There are thousands of evil laws enacted around the world that kill people (For instance, last year, 146,000 Christians around the world were killed because of their faith.). In this case, I knew the Archbishop in Uganda, so I did what I could, but my influence in that nation has been greatly exaggerated by the media.

6. Is Uganda Pastor Martin Ssempa an associate who represents you?
Not at all. At each of our Global Summits on AIDS (on World AIDS Day) we’ve invited speakers from a wide spectrum of religions, beliefs, political views and health care expertise. We’ve had believers and atheists; liberals and conservatives; gays and straights. Ssempa was just one of over 200 speakers we’ve invited. At each Summit we make it clear that no speaker represents us, and that we don’t control, endorse or agree with all that is said. Our desire is to encourage everyone to work together in ending HIV/AIDS and caring for those infected and affected. Ssempa was one of many speakers in 2005 and 2006. In 2007, when we learned that Ssempa’s beliefs and actions were vastly different than ours, we disassociated ourselves from him.

7. Did you say that homosexuality is not a human right?
Absolutely not. What I said in an interview in Uganda was that there is no civil right to gay marriage guaranteed by the United States Constitution. All Americans, and I believe all people, are “endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights,” as spoken by the United States Declaration of Independence.

8. Do you know Scott Lively?
No, I do not know Scott Lively and have had no contact with him regarding Uganda or any other issue. I would certainly not associate with anyone who denies the Holocaust, one of the greatest tragedies in human history.

9. Are you and Peter Wagner attempting to rid the world of homosexuals?
Absolutely not. Peter Wagner was a seminary professor of mine, but not my doctoral dissertation advisor. I have not had contact with Peter Wagner for many years and am certainly not conspiring with him for any purpose. Additionally, the event chronicled at Angels Stadium in 2005 has been grossly misrepresented. I was simply arguing that Christians could have a tremendous effect for good in the world if they had the same dedication as the followers of Mao. I would never argue that anyone should emulate or espouse the views of Mao, Hitler or Lenin.