Anti-LGBT and “Ex-Gay”

Wise as Serpents, Innocent as Doves

I am sending you out like sheep among wolves.
Therefore be as wise as serpents and as innocent as doves. - Matthew 10:16

The arch of the Gospel is long and it bends, always, toward greater justice and wider circles of inclusivity. We see it in the life and ministry of Jesus and we see it in the witness of the rest of the Christian Scriptures. This is what we know as members of the Welcoming Church Movement.

But the Gospel has always been met with fear and so has this Welcoming Church Movement. Out of fear, there are those who are working against the full humanity and full welcome of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender persons in Church and society.

Matthew 10:16 calls us to live lives that are as wise as serpents and as innocent as doves. This means being fully aware of the power and activity of the radical right. Below are some resources and links so that you might be wise as you go about your work.

“Ex-Gay” Ministries

The Institute for Welcoming Resources is committed to love, integrity, wholeness and justice in the lives of all persons. Even as we make this claim, we are aware that there are some organizations who preach the lie that lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender persons are either sinful or sick.

For sound scientific data and information regarding gender identity and sexual orientation, please visit the following sites provided by the American Psychological Association:

We need to be clear - we believe that sexuality and gender identity are GIFTS FROM GOD. The moral and ethical question does not rest on whether one is lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, heterosexual, queer, questioning, and/or intersexed but rather on how one uses the gifts that God has given us.

We, therefore, list the links below to ensure that as we are witnessing to God's welcome and extravagant love, we are aware of what we are up against. Many LGBT persons and their families get caught in the web of lies that these so-called "ministries" perpetrate. We need to know what is happening so we can more effectively witness to God's welcome and love.

From the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force

 print Besen Wayne R. Anything But Straight: Unmasking the Scandals and Lies Behind the Ex-Gay Myth anythingbutstr8.jpg Binghamton, NY Hawthorn Press 2003 242 pp. 9781560234450 Nationally known activist Wayne Besen spent four years examining the phenomenon of “ex-gay” ministries and reparative therapies – interviewing leaders, attending conferences, and visiting ministries undercover as he accumulated hundreds of hours of research. The result is Anything but Straight, a groundbreaking exposé of the controversial movement that's revered by independent religious groups and reviled by gay and lesbian organizations. The book presents a historical perspective on the dispute, examining “ex-gay” groups such as Love In Action, Exodus International, Homosexuals Anonymous, and profiling a cast of characters that includes Pat Robertson, the Rev. Jerry Falwell, “ex-gay” poster boy John Paulk, National Association of Research and Therapy of Homosexuality activist Richard Cohen, and psychiatrist Dr. Robert Spitzer. http://www.haworthpress.com/store/product.asp?sid=0CHA14PAP3TP9HPXWK32DJXT3Q18DJFB&sku=4806 _blank print Brannum-Harris Rod The Pharisees Amongst Us: How the Anti-Gay Campaign Unmasks the Religious Perpetrators of the Campaign to be Modern-Day Pharisees pharisees.jpg North Charleston, SC BookSurge Publishing 2006 156 pp. 141961424X An impassioned condemnation of anti-gay religious extremism enveloped in a call to spiritual discernment, The Pharisees Amongst Us identifies the religious leaders and collaborators in the campaign against homosexuals and homosexuality as equivalents of Pharisees, religious rigorists who demanded adherence to spiritually-empty laws, antagonists of the Christ, to whom Christ routinely referred as hypocrites. Citing numerous examples of what he refers to as biblical contortionism and behavior that starkly contrasts Christ's teachings by the likes of Jerry Falwell, Dr. Laura Schlesinger, James Dobson and Lou Sheldon, author, Rod Brannum-Harris charges the anti-gay campaign is rooted in ignorance of the divinity and spiritual oneness of all creation, God's unbounded, creative genius and God's all-encompassing, unconditional love. http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/141961424X/ref=sr_11_1/102-4585083-2857723?ie=UTF8 _blank online Burack Cynthia Jyl J. Josephson A Report From “Love Won Out: Addressing, Understanding, and Preventing Homosexuality” National Gay and Lesbian Task Force Policy Institute 2005 20 pp. http://www.thetaskforce.org/downloads/reports/reports/LoveWonOut.pdf _blank print Howell Leon United Methodism @ Risk: A Wake-Up Call Kingston, NY Information Project for United Methodists 2003 192 pp. 0-612-12399-6 With a study guide by Bishop C. Dale White and Rev. Scott Campbell. http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0615123996/sr=1-1/qid=1138905666/ref=sr_1_1/102-9871044-1994548?%5Fencoding=UTF8 _blank print Kell Carl Exiled: Voices of the Southern Baptist Convention Holy War exiled.jpg Knoxville, TN University of Tennessee Press 2006 250 pp. 1572334487 It has been one of the major news stories in religion and culture of the past twenty-five years. From 1979 to 1995, the Southern Baptist Convention (SBC) was rocked by assaults on its leadership by fundamentalists, who used questionable tactics to gain top positions and then used their power to purge Baptist seminary presidents and professors, church pastors, lay leaders, and women from positions of responsibility. America's largest Christian, non-Catholic denomination is firmly locked in a “holy war” to secure its churches and membership for a never-ending struggle against a liberal culture. Exiled: Voices of the Southern Baptist Convention Holy War is a compilation of first-person narratives by conservative and moderate ministers and lay leaders who were stripped of their positions and essentially became pariahs in the churches to which they had devoted their lives. The emotion captured on the pages - sadness, shock, disbelief, resignation, and anger - will make Exiled moving even to readers who know little about the Southern Baptist movement. http://utpress.org/a/searchdetails.php?jobno=T01122 _blank online Lindsay Richard A. Jessica Stern David v. Goliath: A report on faith groups working for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender equality, (and what they're up against) National Religious Leadership Roundtable of the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force 2006 42 pp. davidvgoliath.pdf _blank print Wilson Glenn Qazi Rahman Born Gay? The Psychobiology of Sex Orientation borngay.jpg London Peter Owen Publishers 2005 200 pp. 0720612233 Are people born gay, or does upbringing or even conscious personal choice play a part? The acrimonious row between gay rights activists and God-fearing conservatives over this burning question has now raged for over a decade. But the science they employ in their arguments is not merely outmoded but often fallacious. Since the ground-breaking work of Simon LeVay and Dean Hamer in the early '90s, a tremendous amount of new research has been carried out by scientists who now understand a great deal more about the biology of sexual attraction. How much does the non-scientific community really know about this research or understand the far-reaching implications of it? Wilson and Rahman show that attempts to find a sociological cause for homosexuality have little foundation and argue that popular efforts to blame parents or teachers for a child's homosexuality are futile and unjust. Combining their own findings with all the available quantifiable research, the authors have, with this study, provided an urgently needed addition to - and overview of - the major work that has been done in this field. http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0720612233/102-5522310-2838527?v=glance _blank online Herek Gergory M. editors The Context of Anti-Gay Violence: Notes on Cultural and Psychological Heterosexism September 1990 by Gergory M. Herek in The Journal of Interpersonal Violence, Vol. 5, No. 3, September 1990. http://jiv.sagepub.com/ _blank online editors Homophobia at Hell House October 27, 2006 “Hell Houses,” evangelical haunted houses, attract young visitors while fueling bigotry and homophobia. “Hell House” scenes include: a gay man dying of AIDS right after marrying his partner; a lesbian committing suicide because of her sexuality; and a young female rape victim dying during an abortion procedure. The misinformation and bigotry featured in “Hell Houses” damage youth. http://www.thetaskforce.org/downloads/reports/reports/Homophobia_Hell_House.pdf _blank online editors Fact Sheet about the ex-gay organization Courage Prepared by the Catholic Action Network for Social Justice couragefactsheet.pdf _blank online editors Anti-LGBT Organizations antilinks.htm _self online editors Ex-Gay and Change Ministries antilinks.htm#exgay _self online editors Finally Free: Personal Stories: How Love and Self-Acceptance Saved Us from “ex-gay” Ministries Developed by the Human Rights Campaign http://www.hrc.org/Content/ContentGroups/Publications1/FinallyFREE.pdf _blank online editors Resources on So-Called “Change Ministries” From More Light Presbyterians http://www.mlp.org/staticpages/index.php?page=change-ministries _blank online editors Youth in the Crosshairs: The Third Wave of Ex-Gay Activism By Jason Cianciotto and Sean Cahill of the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force Policy Institute. crosshairs.pdf _blank multimedia editors Is Ex-Gay a False Hope? Saint Paul Better World 0:15 This powerful video refutes the promises and principles of the ex-gay ministry movement. VHS http://infox.lcna.org/ _blank multimedia Salzer, M.D. Alicia editors Abomination: Homosexuality and the Ex-Gay Movement abomination.jpg Association of Gay & Lesbian Psychiatrists 2006 0:30 Abomination is a documentary focusing on sexual orientation conversion therapies (sometimes called “reparative therapy”). Conversion therapies have been criticized by mainstream mental health professionals for the harm they cause and for their practitioners' overstated claims of success. Nevertheless, these “treatments” are increasingly being promoted to, and practiced by, conservative faith communities across the US. Abomination is a sobering counterpoint to the false hopes being marketed by the ex-gay movement. Despite the pain chronicled in this groundbreaking film, Abomination is a poignant testament to human resilience and to the sometimes difficult journey to self-acceptance. DVD http://www.aglp.org/pages/abomination.html _blank online editors Coming Out: Former 'Ex-Gay' Minister Speaks Out Ex- ex-gay minister describes 'spiritual rape' of ex-gay 'therapy' from the Southern Poverty Law Center. http://www.splcenter.org/intel/intelreport/article.jsp?aid=847 _blank print McEwen Alvin A. Holy Bullies and Headless Monsters: Exposing the Lies of the Anti-Gay Industry holybullies.jpg Philadelphia Xlibris 2007 168 pp. 1425772463 Through dubious methods, the religious right have successfully demonized gays and lesbians in the eyes of people of faith. First-time author Alvin McEwen cuts through their rhetoric in Holy Bullies and Headless Monsters: Exposing the Lies of the Anti-Gay Industry. McEwen reveals the truth behind their false claims about the gay and lesbian community, including: Gay men have short life spans, Lesbians have a high rate of domestic violence, Gay men molest children at a high rate. McEwen also examines their tactics, revealing a pattern of generalizations, bad science, and out-and-out deceptions. http://www.amazon.com/Holy-Bullies-Headless-Monsters-Exposing/dp/1425772455/ref=ed_oe_p _blank online National Gay & Lesbian Task Force Policy Institute editors Calculated Compassion: How the Ex-Gay Movement Serves the Right's Attack on Democracy from the National Gay & Lesbian Task Force Policy Institute http://www.thetaskforce.org/reports_and_research/calculated_compassion _blank online editors Challenging the Ex-Gay Movement: An Information Packet from the National Gay & Lesbian Task Force Policy Institute http://www.thetaskforce.org/reports_and_research/challenging_exgay _blank