And welcome to ‘Spot the Loony’, where once again we invite you to come with us all over the world to meet all kinds of people in all kinds of places, and ask you to …
Spot the Loony!
In to our first news article today. It’s about homosexuality and remember you have to… Spot the Loony!
CNN reported this morning that the American Psychological Association released a 138 page report covering 87 peer reviewed studies conducted between 1960 and 2007 that conclusively repudiated the use of psychological interventions to change sexual orientation.
“At most, certain studies suggested that some individuals learned how to ignore or not act on their homosexual attractions. Yet, these studies did not indicate for whom this was possible, how long it lasted or its long-term mental health effects. Also, this result was much less likely to be true for people who started out only attracted to people of the same sex.”
So what does Alan Chambers, president of Exodus International, member of the Arlington Group, listed in Charisma magazine as one of the top Christian leaders who represent the future of the American church, say to all this?
“You can’t refute a personal story,”
Right, because then you might question things like freakish fake toupees or Enzyte with it’s claims of “natural male enhancement”. He is not trying to SELL YOU ANYTHING, no not at all. He’s not just the president of Exodus International, he’s also a client…
Let’s compare the final point made in the APA article…
In addition, the report cited evidence that efforts to switch a person’s sexual orientation through aversive treatments might cause harm, including loss of sexual feeling, suicidality, depression and anxiety.
Many who tried to change and failed “described their experiences as a significant cause of emotional and spiritual distress and negative self-image,” it said.
against what Mr. Chambers has to say…
“For so long I’ve heard gay activists say to me, ‘You’re just in denial. You’re not grasping the reality of the situation. You’re just denying who you really are.’ The truth is, I am in denial, but it is self-denial. I’m not in denial of who I used to be. I’m not in denial of the temptations that I could still experience. I am denying the power that sin has over me.”
Now that’s sure healthy thinking there, God made me a homosexual so I can live a life of self-denial! Yep, no reason to pull that trigger at all. Oh, but THAT might be “a way out” he refers to.
You’re a sad and pathetic man. You’re a homosexual and you don’t want to be, but there’s nothing you can do to change it. Not all the prayers to your god, not all the analysis you can buy in all the years you’ve got left to live. You may one day be able to know a heterosexual life if you want it desperately enough. If you pursue it with the fervor with which you annihilate. But you’ll always be homosexual as well. Always Michael. Always. Until the day you die.
Harold ~ The Boys In The Band
Tags: Announcements
LBea wrote,
I’m still floored by that sports coat.
Link | August 6th, 2009 at 7:17 am
mistry wrote,
Apart from having a vested (jacketed?) interest in the subject, dubious taste in clothing, and eyes set too closely together, the call to accept “personal experience” as proof of anything other than an individual’s story, is …. ingenuous at best. The willingness/need to believe in something greater than ourselves may be part of being human, but it doesn’t replace the need for empirical proof – particularly when the health (physical and mental) of someone is at stake. “I say so” is not an argument likely to sway me.
p.s. If left-handedness is still considered such a problem world-wide, think of the other “problem groups” that need to be “fixed” …..
Link | August 6th, 2009 at 11:45 am
TeddyPig wrote,
I guess they figure if they can sell their religious beliefs as science it will validate their hate speech and fear mongering so they can teach it to everyone’s kids as sex education along with classes in creationism.
Link | August 6th, 2009 at 12:39 pm
SarahT wrote,
The sports coat is bad but the rictus on his face is even worse. I guess it comes from living a lie.
Link | August 6th, 2009 at 2:12 pm
LBea wrote,
Good call, Sarah.
Link | August 6th, 2009 at 3:03 pm
Lauren wrote,
You can’t refute a personal story? Really? I beg to differ. In fact, I’ve refuted quite a few “personal stories” via cross examination and pretty much weekly when I ask about homework or whether someone may have hit a sibling. Moreover, true or not, a personal story is not science. There is a difference between personal recollection which is colored by memory, culture, degree of honesty and self-awareness and effect of others in one’s circle – and scientific data.
Perhaps the real problem here is that many of these folks is that they hate science and the entire process of scientific inquiry. Because to ask questions is, in essence to them, tantamount to treason against their beliefs.
You know what? I don’t care. I don’t care if it’s a choice or if it’s biologically determined and I can’t see why anyone else would either.
Gay, straight, bi – whatever – the idea that anyone should be ashamed and simply NOT have a satisfying and whole romantic and sexual life because of what a neighbor thinks makes me sad for the people seeking help from places like Exodus and other programs like it. We have enough self loathing in the world, I can’t see why it would be healthy to create more.
Link | August 10th, 2009 at 2:14 pm