Ex-Gay Watch

Uganda’s Minister of State for Ethics and Integrity James Nsaba Buturo calls for support of the Anti-Homosexuality Bill 2009. He made this speech on May 2 at TheCall, a recent religious rally in Kampala by U.S. based evangelist Lou Engle, the latter having issued what now seems was a deceptive press release just before leaving for Uganda.

Half the audio is the interpreter repeating Buturo’s remarks in a local language. Still, one can sense the hatred, something those who took Engle at his word should remember when he comes home. A transcription is available here.

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Hat Tip: Warren Throckmorton

Despite a recent press release obviously designed to cast his ministry in a better light, Lou Engle, leader of a bizarre religious sect in the United States, has opened his latest conference in Uganda with strong support for the Anti-Homosexuality Bill 2009.  The following is from the New York Times:

Before arriving here last week, Mr. Engle came out with a statement condemning the harsh penalties proposed in the bill, and said that his ministry could not support it. But when he took the stage late on Sunday afternoon, with Ugandan politicians and pastors looking on, he praised the country’s “courage” and “righteousness” in promoting the bill.

“NGOs, the U.N., Unicef, they are all coming in here and promoting an agenda,” Mr. Engle said, referring to nongovernmental organizations. “Today, America is losing its religious freedom. We are trying to restrain an agenda that is sweeping through the education system. Uganda has become ground zero.”

According to Warren Throckmorton, video of this is forthcoming and we will provide it when we get it.  Until then, we can only express our sadness and disgust over Engle’s reportedly reckless actions, and what appears to be the clear deception of his press release.  We also find it hard to believe the claim that he did not know of the heated controversy when invited.  Reports indicate that this trip was in the works at least by last December.  The issue was hot months in either direction of that date.

We also fear that Engle’s mystical theology, heavy talk of spirits, demons, and prophets, along with his theatrical externals will provide the charismatic Ugandans in attendance with a kind of bona fides that can’t easily be dissuaded by cold, hard facts.  It is not hubris to say that the US probably has a more sophisticated population in such matters, and yet even here Engle manages to fill stadiums with followers easily manipulated by the blowing of a shofar, or the rhythmic swaying of his body.

The carnival is in town, but the people of Uganda stand to lose a lot more than a few bucks.

Hat Tip: Warren Throckmorton

It took about six months to provoke Exodus International into responding to allegations that its organization’s words and actions had been fueling homophobia in Uganda.

After witnessing Exodus’s inexcusable inaction on the anti-gay bill that would effectively see all Uganda’s “practicing” homosexuals and their supporters executed, Ex-Gay Watch (justifiably) wondered what exactly it would take to spur Exodus into immediate, urgent action.

We found our answer. Number of days it takes Exodus to respond to the threat to tens of thousands of homosexual and heterosexual lives? 180. Number of days it takes Exodus to respond to a radio show dropping its services? Approximately seven – and there was outrage.

Earlier this month, Christian radio host Dawson McAllister received disapproval from the LGBT community after a gay blogger went undercover and discovered that Hopeline, the teenage advice line operated in conjunction with McAllister’s weekly radio show, was referring young gay people to Exodus International.

McAllister responded to the outcry by severing his links with Exodus. After all, recommending an ex-gay, anti-gay organization was even against the policy of McAllister’s own network, Clear Channel.

But Exodus President Alan Chambers was so grieved, he did something he admits he hardly ever does – he publicly denounced McAllister’s actions in an official statement: Read more…

Warren Throckmorton gets to the heart of Sodom and Gomorrah in his latest blog post:

The real sodomite is the arrogant person, the overfed and apathetic person who ignores the poor and others in need. The sexual sins of Sodom are second rate compared to the sins of pride and greed. Ban Sodomy, anyone?

Sodomy, viewed from God’s perspective, is practically the American way. I guess we have been exporting sodomy to Uganda.

You might think Throckmorton is getting liberal. In fact, he is merely being consistent with Scripture (Ezekiel 16:49-50):

Now this was the sin of your sister Sodom: She and her daughters were arrogant, overfed and unconcerned; they did not help the poor and needy. They were haughty and did detestable things before me.

Throckmorton suggests conservative Christians should direct their (considerable) anger towards greed, selfishness and indifference, instead of the gays:

The sins of Sodom mark the American church in ways that are very uncomfortable to confront. Defined biblically, I hope we can unite against sodomy. Defined biblically, we have all been sodomites, have we not?

We agree.

This is a clear, concise and accurate analysis of the Uganda Anti-Homosexuality Bill 2009, with its  implications laid out simply and horrifyingly. The narrator of this video demonstrates faultlessly that the bill in its current form would mean death not only for gays, but for anyone who supports them.

For more clear analysis, see Ex-Gay Watch’s earlier post Uganda Anti-Homosexuality Bill 2009: Just the Facts.

A tip of the hat to Harry’s Place for the video.

Despite the best efforts of activists, and political and social commentators, ignorance abounds concerning the atrocious Anti-Homosexuality Bill being proposed in Uganda at the moment.

Among the myths being perpetrated are that the legislation is only there to protect the “vulnerable,” such as children and the disabled, and that the death penalty either is being proposed only for these offenses or has been dropped altogether. All of these claims are false. The bill is effectively a mandate for the genocide/mass slaughter/mass murder/wholesale execution – call it what you will – of gays. Read more…

Today, the Archbishop of Canterbury Dr Rowan Williams told the worldwide Anglican Communion that the “infamous legislation” now being discussed in Uganda was rightly received with “repugnance.”

Meanwhile, the Anglican Church of Uganda released an official statement on the same Anti-Homosexuality Bill 2009. Its verdict? The Church supports the death penalty for “serial offenders” (practicing homosexuals) and sentences of up to life imprisonment for a variety of lesser offenses, including failure to report homosexuality. Its suggestions for the bill were all designed to make its aims clearer.

It would appear that gay bishops, priests and communicants are a minor issue. The most timely issue for Anglicans worldwide at the moment is whether you and I deserve death.

[Edit: Mea culpa. The actual position of the Church of Uganda is more complicated than I first understood. Contrary to the report by Christianity Today, it appears what the Church is suggesting is an amended version of the already-existing Penal Code Act, incorporating revisions to reflect the general aims of the Anti-Homosexuality Bill. The Church's statement explicitly affirms some aspects of the Bill (in particular, stating that sexual orientation must never become a "protected human right"), but it does not explicitly affirm the death penalty for homosexual offenses.]

Following a hearing yesterday, several members of Congress have written to the Presidents of the US and Uganda to protest the latter’s impending legislation to make homosexuality an executable offense.

The US Government’s Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission heard evidence and testimony against the Ugandan Anti-Homosexuality Bill yesterday afternoon. Congress has responded by petitioning Presidents Barack Obama and Yoweri Kaguta Museveni on this “international human rights issue,” calling the bill “reprehensible,” and “the most extreme and hateful attempt by an African country to criminalize the LGBT community.”

Addressing President Museveni, they wrote:

This egregious bill, which represents one of the most extreme anti-equality measures ever proposed in any country, would create a legal pretext for depriving lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) Ugandans of their liberty, and even their lives. We respectfully urge you to take swift action to prevent this law, which we are concerned could have a chilling effect both on human rights and on bilateral relations between our countries.

The full text of the letters, along with a press release, can be found at the website of Wisconsin Congresswoman Tammy Baldwin.

The US Government’s Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission will hold a hearing on the Ugandan Anti-Homosexuality Bill this afternoon.

Over the course of 90 minutes, the TLHRC will hear evidence and testimony on the legal and humanitarian aspects of the proposed bill, which as it stands at the moment will see the execution of practicing homosexuals, and sentences up to life imprisonment for lesser offences such as promoting and aiding homosexuality.

LGBT POV has posted an illuminating video edited by Bruce tracing the connection between certain American evangelicals and the current legislation in Uganda. It focuses on “spiritual warfare” experts George Otis, Jr, and Ed Silvoso, with prophets and “prayer warriors” such as Cindy Jacobs, and their disturbing message of Christian dominionism. There is no doubt they have directly encouraged Ugandans, including President Museveni and other powerful political figures, to impose conservative moral values in the belief that God has given them spiritual and moral authority.

Disturbing aspects revealed in the video include claims to miraculous healings from HIV and Aids, and the dangerous pushing of an abstinence-only agenda, bolstered by myths and scaremongering about condom use.

In other Uganda news, NTV reports that the Ugandan Cabinet have rejected a proposed withdrawal of the Anti-Homosexuality Bill.