I’m not a Christian, but I have no problem with people praying for me, and I assume that prayers from gay Christians are just as good — or better — than those coming from fundamentalist bigots, so go for it!
Porno Pete has a long post complaining about the recent Truth Wins Out protest in Atlanta. Let us take a look see at what he has to say:
It says all you need to know about the mischieviously-named homosexual activist group “Truth Wins Out” — headed by “gay” gadfly Wayne Besen
Mischievous! Gadfly! Go on:
that it would feature anti-Christian photos like these prominently on its website. The photos are part of a story about a TWO protest outside the recent Exodus International “Love Won Out” conference in Atlanta, for people who have left or seek to leave homosexuality behind in their life. TWO attempts to discredit the idea that hcaltlhy change away from homosexuality is possible (by championing failed “ex-gays” and ignoring success stories).
We don’t “attempt” to discredit the possibility of, um, “hcaltlhy” change, Pete. The proponents of hcaltlhy change [rhymes with Cthulhu, I think] discredit themselves by spouting nonsense that’s already discredited by grown-up scientists, and by getting caught doing gay things all the time. Anyway, this is the picture he is complaining about:
Yeah, that’s real offensive. The mere suggestion for people like Porno Pete that his religious book shouldn’t be used to club minorities over the head…
In the TWO promotional photo at right proclaiming a “failed” Exodus conference (click to enlarge), the man’s sign reads, “The Bible is not a tool of hatred and injustice” — implying that efforts to help men and women overcome unwanted homosexual desires are hateful.
They are. They are also dishonest, and they all too often lead to increased depression, suicide and destroyed families. And even the king of the flagship, Alan Chambers, admits that 99.9% of the people he’s met in the “ex-gay” movement haven’t changed their sexual orientation. That’s a lotta people, Pete.
Note the men dressed in drag as “nuns” in the background — from the homosexual activist group “Sister of Perpetual Indulgence,” which blends Catholic-mocking attire with homosexual radicalism and perversion.
Oh, no! Wait, is Porno Pete Catholic? It’s interesting, and I think I wrote about this a few weeks ago, but thirty or forty years ago, Porno Pete wouldn’t have been defending Catholics. Fundamentalist Evangelicals saw the Catholic Church as the moral equivalent of the anti-Christ. But as time has gone by and the fundamentalists from both factions have whittled their scriptures down to their favorite parts — the ones they misread about gay people, and the ones that support the subjugation of women — it seems that their differences have fallen by the wayside. There’s a greater boogeyman out there for them, now, and it’s you and me. Because we’re so scary.
One “sister” carries a sign quoting the Bible verse Matthew 5:11, which is about suffering for the cause of righteousness (following Jesus). That verse could be used appropriately by former homosexuals enduring the cruel brand of ridicule and hatred wielded by TWO and fellow homosexual activists. But here it is flipped upside-down to scold Bible-believing Christians who testify to Christ’s power to help people overcome sinful temptations.
Um. See, my problem with that interpretation is that “former” homosexuals, when they stop drinking the Kool-Aid and realize, through whatever process they have to endure to get there, that people like Pete and his “ex-gay” cohorts have been selling them a pack of lies dressed up in religious garb, they come to groups like Truth Wins Out, Beyond Ex-Gay and therapeutic groups around the world, to start picking up the pieces of their lives. We always feel for the people who are still trapped in “ex-gay” delusion, because we imagine their psyches are in dark places, indeed, as they try to convince themselves every day that if they just pray hard enough, they’ll be “liberated.” Unfortunately, that “freedom” never comes and they realize that what they’re trying to accomplish isn’t something they should want in the first place, and that no loving God would ever want them to accomplish. The idea that Who A Person Is is evil, sinful and hellbound is among the most evil messages disseminated in this world today, so yeah, if we’re “scolding” the bigots who propagate such disgusting nonsense, and if we save a few lives in the process, so freakin’ be it.
Below is another photo from the “Truth Wins Out” protest, advancing the discredited “gay theology” claim that Jesus was “gay” and had an erotic, homosexual relationship with a beloved disciple (the Apostle John). There is no more crass cliche in the homosexual activist playbook than the preposterous notion that affection between people of the same sex — i.e., great friends – constitutes evidence of homosexuality.
Whatever, I’m not interested in that argument. Some gay Christians ascribe to a theology that includes that possibility, many [probably more of them] do not. Focusing on that sign is really deflecting from the actual point, which is that “ex-gay” businesses hurt people.
Besen and fellow homosexual activists despise the truth that many men and women have overcome homosexuality in their own lives, through faith in God.
Haha, to “despise” that “truth,” we’d have to first see evidence of that “truth.” Still not forthcoming, is it, Pete? I mean, again, Alan Chambers has essentially admitted that what Exodus said for YEARS about change and “overcoming homosexuality” is not true. Exodus is the cornerstone of the movement! Pete! You’re becoming more ridiculous than ever, and that’s saying something.
The Lord asks us to pray for our enemies, so I’m asking you to pray for Wayne Besen and his sidekick, Evan Hurst. They are very deluded and angry men, but ultimately, their beef is with the Creator.
Haha, John Becker doesn’t get any prayers! So there! Anyway. He always thinks we’re angry. I never understand that, but it’s a common wingnut thing. They don’t understand that when we’re making fun of them, we’re simply making fun of them. Peter LaBarbera and his ideological cohort lose followers every day, both when they open their mouths and when new voters turn eighteen. We’re not, um, angry. This is just our job, and the truth of the matter is that when I’m writing pieces like this, I tend to be grinning and listening to super awesome music at the same time. Sometimes I am also chit-chatting with my friends on Facebook. But Peter sees this as SO ANGRY, GRRRRRR!
Projection on his part? Prob’ly. Or a desire to believe that his words have more of an effect than they do. Delusions of grandeur, I think they call that. Anyway, pray for us all you want.
Peter ends his piece by complaining that Exodus isn’t bigoted or irrationally hateful enough for his tastes anymore:
By highlighting Truth Wins Out’s run-of-the-mill homosexualist hatred of Exodus, we do not mean to endorse all of Exodus’ teachings. In fact, this writer — though appreciative of Exodus’ and its president Alan Chambers’ great contributions to Christian overcomers and the pro-family movement – has become alarmed at Exodus’ straying from Scriptural Truth. Regrettably – partly out of a desire to “dialogue” with misguided “gay Christian” advocates – Chambers has become mired in semantic contortions surrounding homosexual “orientation” (an ambiguous modern-day concept not found in the Bible).
Store Brand Kool-Aid Isn’t Real Kool-Aid, Exodus!