Jackie asked:

Suppose Exodus changed their beliefs to be in line with what you described. But suppose that they continue to assert that "SOME people can and do change their orientation to certain degrees, and we would like to help those who want to change change."

Would you still frown upon Exodus?

I used to be an active participant at Bridges Across the Divide. From 1997 to 2001, in the Bridges online discussion forums, I occasionally boasted that if Exodus would stop bullying and smearing gay people (and shouting down science and non-fundamentalist faith)  as a means of advancing itself, then I’d happily be a cheerleader for the network.

I stand by the underlying sentiment today: I will offer moral support to exgay organizations that actually support exgay wellbeing.

In order to support exgay wellbeing, such a group would have to:

  • emphasize celibacy
  • provide truth-in-advertising regarding the poor prospects for significant change in sexual attraction
  • respect the unique life of each client, and refuse to cram clients’ lives
    into political interest groups’ cookie-cutter molds of overbearing mom,
    absent father, football-playing men and cookie-baking women;
  • repent of personal grudges, prejudices, and sinful passions, rather than projecting them onto innocent gay people
  • refuse to "advance" itself by attacking and harming the rights and integrity of others
  • reflect the self-sacrificial love of Christ and the honest doubts of Job, not the political exploitation of Judas or the false piety of the Pharisees. (A few words of explanation: Exodus neither sacrifices of itself nor acknowledges gaping holes in its theology. As has been explained many times on this web site, Exodus sacrifices the rights and integrity of its target population in order to enrich itself. Instead of acknowledging that its humanity and vulnerability limits its grasp of God’s will, Exodus arrogantly mandates societal conformity to a joyous secularism that Exodus wrongly associates with the Bible and falsely describes as "inerrancy.")

Might any existing exgay groups meet these qualifications for exgay wellbeing?

I thought that the exgay project Justice and Respect showed great potential, when it was launched c. 1999. Unfortunately, the project was largely abandoned; its founder became an Exodus member minister; and the site retracted Randy Thomas’ courageous statements criticizing the antigay, pro-theocracy Center for Reclaiming America.

I have yet to encounter an exgay organization that might succeed J&R. Inqueery sometimes looks promising; on the other hand, founder Chad Thompson’s past and present ties to PFOX, Warren Throckmorton and the Iowa fundamentalist antifamily lobby are troubling. The exgay blogs Homo Sum, and Out of the Closet seem to me like harmless daily reflections about the exgay struggle… but I’d feel better knowing the extent to which their authors support or oppose antigay discrimination.

P.S. Apologies to "My True Self" for misstating the focus of that blog.

Categorized in:

Tagged in:

,