Blogger Brian Rainey is pursuing a Master of Divinity degree at Harvard Divinity School. He is currently focusing in Hebrew Bible and Political Theology. He self-identifies as a Christian.
Rainey has harsh words — supported by Bible passages — for parents who would subject their children to the exgay boot camp that calls itself “Love In Action”:
I believe that any parent who forces their child to go through a program like this does not really worship God. Their god is Molech, the Canaanite deity that people would (apparently) sacrifice their children to by “passing them through fire” (Lev. 18:21; Jer 32:25). The Molech analogy is helpful in that it shows that parents will subject their children to horrible things if they think God wants it. The psychological harm that these groups can cause is very well documented and a cult-like environment that drills into young people’s heads the propaganda that a person’s sexuality is sick and diseased is not good for the mental well-being of anyone. Telling people that they must live life never experiencing one of God’s greatest gifts: the creative expression of love, affection and erotic connection with other human beings (also known as sexuality) is obnoxious, unnecessary and cruel. The “fires” of depression, manipulative scare-tactics and emotional blackmail that these parents pass their children through is unconscionable.
Some parents say they just want what’s “best” for their child when they put them through ex-gay programs. I don’t think so. I think it’s more about the parent’s sense of security, which they get from a rules-based, uncritical religious world-view. In order for the parents to hold on to this black and white world-view–that admittedly provides easy, simplistic answers in a tough, complex world–unfortunately, their child has to be sacrificed.
For more Biblical support for Rainey’s viewpoint, visit his weblog. The weblog’s tagline: ” ‘…to proclaim liberty (deror) to captives, and freedom to prisoners’ — Isaiah 61:1″