According to the conservative Christian Post, Exodus International President Alan Chambers applauds board member Don Schmierer for collaborating with Holocaust revisionist Scott Lively and with Stephen Langa, Ugandan leader of a campaign to imprison gay people, force gays into ex-gay re-education centers, and foster vigilante violence against gay people whom Langa falsely deems to be pedophiles because they oppose violence against gay youths.
One pro-exgay pundit is quoted protesting Exodus’ support for the conference.
According to the Christian Post:
Exodus International said it applauds its board member Don Schmierer, who attended the Uganda conference, for his effort to convey an “alternative message that encompasses a compassionate, biblical view of homosexuality,” according to a statement by Exodus International president Alan Chambers to The Christian Post on Wednesday.
Exodus says neither Schmierer nor the ministry agrees or endorses Uganda’ criminalization of homosexuality law, imprisonment of homosexuals or compulsory therapy. Rather, the ministry says it “unequivocally denounces” the positions the government of Uganda has towards homosexuality.
Chambers’ claim was misleading: Exodus has no written policy regarding criminalization and imprisonment. Chambers has refused repeated requests over the years to provide a written, board-approved policy — and he and Schmierer violated both that supposed policy, and a weak domestic policy regarding forcible therapy, in Uganda.
Pro-exgay pundit Warren Throckmorton protested Exodus’ role in fostering antigay violence and imprisonment in Uganda — draconian actions that threaten would-be ex-gays as well as gay and transgender persons.
Dr. Warren Throckmorton, director of College Counseling and associate professor of Psychology at Grove City College in Pennsylvania, finds it troubling that the American Christian leaders spoke at a conference that supports the criminalization of homosexuality and that none of them had reportedly publicly opposed the law. He noted that the people in charge of the conference called for stricter enforcement of laws against homosexuality.
“It is illegal to be homosexual in Uganda. There’ also a category of homosexuality (act) that has a potential for life imprisonment,” said Throckmorton to The Christian Post on Wednesday. “How often it is enforced is not clear.”
But news reports have communicated that homosexuals have been interrogated by police, beaten, and some have sought asylum outside the country, he said.
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As for Throckmorton, he also condemns the government of Uganda’ criminalization of homosexuality. He argues that people “cannot be forced to believe” and the state should not use “coercive power” to try to “generate obedience to the Gospel.”Throckmorton, who holds the traditional Christian view that homosexuality is a sin, urges local churches in Uganda to lead the way in “implementing the Golden Rule” and to support freedom of conscience.
“I suspect they (Uganda churches) believe they are doing a good thing, but you can’t really win someone over who fears and resents you,” he said.
Exodus member ministries must now step forward and declare whether they side with their board and president in favor of criminalization and violence, or whether Chambers and Schmierer must be fired for the good of the organization — and of Ugandan gays and ex-gays who face Langa’s incitements to violence and Langa’s planned witchhunt, which is scheduled to begin March 15.
Hat tip: Box Turtle Bulletin
