Exodus International has launched an ad campaign starting with a full page in the Cincinnati Enquirer. Headlined, “I Questioned Homosexuality,” its theme is also reflected in a new entry page to the Exodus website titled “Question Homosexuality… Change is possible. Discover how.”
To their credit, the graphic layout and copy are lean and fresh.
The approach is old and familiar, though. In the ad, Chambers describes being victimized by:
- Sexual molestation at the hands of an adult when he was a child
- Being the target of teasing, spitting, and name-calling in school
Tragic stuff, of course, to which no kid should be subjected. Conveniently omitted from the ad is that Exodus rails against efforts to prevent the kind of bullying he experienced.
And, he repeats his claim that he would have been victimized simply by having by the option of same-sex marriage:
If I had a gay marriage option 10 years ago, I’d never have dealt with the root issues of my homosexual behavior. I’d probably be in and out of half a dozen ‘marital’ relationships.
So, Chambers was ready to run a 6-cycle marriage-and-divorce marathon in a decade that took Liz Taylor a quarter-century? Golly. Apparently, a same-sex marriage law would have trumped his faith, his family, and his convictions, rendering him helpless and victimized yet again.
Also conveniently omitted from the ad’s assertion that “change is possible… tens of thousands … questioned homosexuality and found answers … [and] Exodus was there to help … [with] knowledge and tools” is that Exodus is a conservative Christian ministry whose primary answer to homosexuality is “redemption found in Jesus Christ, a gift which is available to all who commit their life and their sexuality to Him”. Local ministries have been renamed “member chapters” in the ad (but not at the website).
I congratulate Chambers on discovering the life that fits his beliefs and values, on his relationship with his perfect complement, Leslie, and on the joyful anticipation of their growing family.
The idea that anti-gay law was the only thing which saved him from himself, however, makes it sound like his God cowers at the feet of Caesar, has already been rendered powerless in Massachusetts, and can only be salvaged by having Chambers’ beliefs codified into law.
A PDF (683KB) of the Enquirer ad is here. This press release was issued by Exodus this afternoon:
From: Randy Thomas [mailto:rthomas@exodus-international.org] Sent: Thu 7/8/2004 4:07 PM
Subject: Exodus Launches New Ad CampaignExodus Launches “Q & A” Ad Campaign
It’s time for our culture to question homosexuality and for the church to provide the answers
Cincinnati, Ohio – The roller coasters at Kings Island are not the only things causing a stir in Cincinnati this summer. Exodus President Alan Chambers and his wife Leslie appeared in a full-page ad placed today in the Cincinnati Enquirer. The ad is one of 4 that will be featured in various media markets all over the country and is the first ad in what Exodus is calling the Q & A Campaign. “We believe that our culture is being bombarded with scientifically, psychologically and spiritually inaccurate information by the liberal media and political elite,” Alan Chambers stated this morning, “Exodus is challenging mainstream America to question homosexuality and encouraging the Church to provide the answer.”
In the ad, Alan shares the importance of marriage and the possibility of freedom from homosexuality. He states, “If I had a gay marriage option 10 years ago, I’d never have dealt with the root issues of my homosexual behavior. I’d probably be in and out of half a dozen ‘marital’ relationships. And I’d never know the complete peace I now have about my past. Leslie is not my diploma for ‘healing’ nor is she a prop that shows how I’ve abandoned a sexual identity. She is my perfect complement and completes me in ways no male relationship can ever do…physically or emotionally.”
Communications Director Randy Thomas shares, “The calls from Cincinnati started coming in early. We are in the process of scheduling follow up interviews and helping those seeking freedom from homosexuality get connected with ministries and churches in their area. A good message has gone forward in Cincinnati. Freedom is spreading.”
I congratulate Exodus on a very slick and potentially successful ad campaign. They have done their homework. They have realised that they need to hide their Christianity in order to get through to more people.
I just hope that at some stage a more balanced message gets through to the public aside from this white-washed version. Yes. Some people do change. Yes. Some people desire change. Power to them. If it is what they really want, I actually hope it works for them, and they find the same peace that Alan has found. But who within Exodus is willing to tell the story of the other “tens of thousands” who haven’t experienced change. Who have left the ex-gay movement without success in re-orienting. About the fact that prominent figures in Exodus have turned away in the past. That the scientific evidence at Exodus is presented as fact, and few, if any references are made available to where the “evidence” has come from.
We can all be guilty of “spin”. Heck, I have put plenty of “spin” on my own writings. But I also throw in a lot of disclaimers. Where is Exodus’ disclaimer in this ad? How is this any different from the restrictions places on weight-loss ads (individual results may vary… please consult your physician before embarking on any life changing journey).
Considering the number of people like myself who have come out of Exodus, Living Waters, Liberty and other ex-gay organisations in different parts of the world, and have sufferred significant psychological damage from those organisations, I feel it is time that these people were monitored by governments. They are making radical psychological claims and their practicioners still require no state-recognised certification or endorsement outside of Christian Counselling or bible college certificates, as outlined by their statement, “Most of our members are “lay” (non-professional) ministries; some are professional counseling centers”.
If I wish to practice psychiatry or be a counsellor outside of the church, I need specific qualifications and licensing to do so.
Why are para-church organisations not required to do this? Does anyone see the potential for abuse here?
And if I’ve got this completely wrong, please let me know, as I am in another country and not fully versed in the details of US requirements.
They have realised that they need to hide their Christianity in order to get through to more people.
Not a smart move, in my opinion, since it will become pretty obvious on first attendance that most of the Exodus-affiliated “member chapters” are really Christian-related ministries. While not outright deception, I cannot approve of this.
I should be noted, though, that some of the groups associated with this stuff, like People Can Change seem to take a religiously agnostic tack, and Exodus has shown a pattern of using secular psychology more than I would expect.
Conveniently omitted from the ad is that Exodus rails against efforts to prevent the kind of bullying he experienced.
I don’t think that’s a fair point Bose. The bullying Chambers experienced does not appear to be because he identified and “came out” as gay, but probably just because of his traits, manner, behaviour. I think it could just as well happen in a school where everyone knew what “gay” and “straight” means. In fact that would probably result in other people considering him gay, except instead of yelling it, it would be a novelty and something amusing, like you see on TV.
I like what Mike said in the linked post though. Exodus is in a great position to launch a program to support non-violence against pariah schoolkids like the young Chambers, without promoting a same-sex-sex-affiming viewpoint.
This is funny as heck. The Cincinnati Enquirer is the first of four ads that they plan to place. Cincinnati? The Enquirer? The first of four ads? Exodus must really be desperate.
I was raised in Cincinnati, and I still have relatives there. In fact, I visited the place only a couple of years ago. I know the area. It was reasonably nice growing up there as a kid in the 1950s and 1960s. But it now is a dying metropolis stuck in the 1960s. Cincinnati was the headquarters of Charles Keating’s “Citizens for Decent Literature.” That political group wanted to chase the porn shops and gay bars, etc., out of town. They accomplished that to some extent. They went across the river to northern Kentucky, primarily to Newport. Actually, it was reported that Gary Bauer, who grew up in Newport, became the wacko that he is because he was so revulsed by the concentration of seedy establishments in Newport.
BTW, Charles Keating went on to head Lincoln Savings & Loan in Phoenix AZ. Of course, that was famous for bilking old people of their life savings. Keating was sent to jail for a while for that. Nice people.
Cincinnati is also the town where they tried to convict the curator of the “modern art” museum for having the temerity to show some pictures taken by Robert Mapplethorp.
Cincinnati is also the town that, in the early 1990s, passed a city charter amendment that forbade the city from passing any ordinance that would give equal rights to gay people.
Cincinnati is also the town that was and still is largely run by emigrants from the German Bavaria that the Bavarians in Germany got rid of because they were so obnoxious.
Cincinnati is also the town that went from a population of over 500K in the 1960s to about 300K today.
Cincinnati is a dying city. And the Enquirer is a dying newspaper. It would have been gone years ago, except that they were bought by Gannett and have a working relationship with the Cincinnati Post. I suspect that Exodus paid very little for the ad. I would interpret their ad in the Enquirer as more an act of desperation than anything else. Another attempt by these wackos to bilk people of their money. They aren’t going to convert many gay people, that’s for damn sure.
You know, there’s one thing missing from this ad, and all the PR that the “ex-gay” movement does. In fact, it is missing from any public statements of the entire “pro-family” movement – the recognition that people have different views and have the right to live according to those views.
Even in the press release we see a stark contrast – Alan and Exodus as the keepers of “truth,” while the ethics and professionalism of the entire scientific, medical and legal communities are questioned. It apparently is not possible, in Mr. Chambers’ universe, for two conflicting ideas to co-exist peacefully – one must always win out in the “wars” these people wage.
Meanwhile, millions of Jews, who reject the very foundation of the faiths Mr. Chambers and his cronies follow, are allowed to live their lives in peace. Interesting.
OK:
#1 This ad is something from 50 years ago. Nobody except true believers who already loathe gays take this fantasy approach to marriage. How does Alan Chambers know that if he had loved Jesus at age 4 and despised gays his entire life, he wouldn’t have been married 5 or 6 times? Being straight doesn’t seem to have helped Britney Spears very much.
#2 This ad comes across as one of those “a bully kicked sand in my face” pieces. But instead of becoming muscular and punching out the bully, Chamber showed them by going straight and staring glassily into space.
#3 This ad basically says that if you’re gay, and you are treated like shit, then you will be straight. Therefore, treat gays like shit, because everything you feel about them is 100% right, and they need some beatings and some abuse or they will not find Jesus and reject those Sodomites.
#4 This ad is frightening. Sorry…it is. Those old ads with not-so-straight John Paulk and his never-actually-that-gay wife Ann were far more effective. This, to me, is just creepy. But that’s only me, and I’m some faggot who’s going to burn in hell, so what do I know.
I think this “slickness” is disgusting. Same old poopy in a fresh diaper.
Anytime someone starts blaming things on the “liberal media and political elite” warning bells should go off in your head.
Abandining their perversion of christianity in the ad? Hardly! It’s still all over the copy. “spiritually inaccurate information…,” “the Church…,” . As if the Church is not divided on this issue.
Same cyanide in a brand new, shiny bottle.
This is just a test market for the ultimate purpose: This ad isn’t about freedom, it’s about fighting gay marriage! Can’t you all see this?
Sharon, that’s basically all that Exodus cares about these days.
However, I do agree that it’s tiresome to see some people here bend over backwards to give these groups the benefit of the doubt.
And… I’m not against those who wish to change making the attempt – as long as they know the odds.
I am against these Focus on the Family created charlatans spreading a gospel of lies in order to take away other’s freedom to chose.
And, I am against this kind of ad: “Gay people can become straight if they want to – I [Chambers] am living proof – see, I got married. So, don’t let homosexuals marry each other; pass the Marriage Protection Ammendment so the only way they can get married is if they [are forced to] become heterosexual first.”
Read the .pdf file and tell me thsi is not what they’re pushing. A very cynical gesture.
What someone in Cincy pointed out to me was that this ad appeared just as John Kerry was making a trip through Ohio. Ohio is a swing state. These ads don’t seem to ever appear except during elections — and they only appear in places where the Republican Party needs votes. It’s interesting, too, that Exodus paid for the ad. I’ve love to know where the funding came from since Exodus doesn’t have money. Dobson, anyone?
Last time around, the ads were sponsored by political groups and their names were all over them. That caused a great deal of criticism. This time around, no lists. They’re getting smarter, but it’s still a deception.
Notice also, that this time around they went out of their way to argue against gay marriage — and this ad has come out right when the NY Times headlines the story that the gay marriage amendment is being forced to a vote in the Senate (and House?).
Coincidence that in an election year, Exodus ads start appearing in swing states just before a vote on “gay marriage?” How much would you bet that after the election, these ads suddenly disappear?
“acceptance in the gay community always wore the same tired nametag called ‘sex'”
Boy, I wish I’d realized the gay community had nothing to offer but sex when I spent all those years active in the gay community and not having sex. I guess I must have gotten absolutely nothing out of it. What a waste of my time.
I’ve never heard of a nametag called “sex.” I don’t know why anyone would call a nametag anything but a nametag. I could imagine a nametag with “sex” written on it, but that’s about all the imagination I’ve got for today. 😉