Box Turtle Bulletin offers coverage-in-depth of this week’s angry war of words fired by far-right culture warriors Peter LaBarbera and Stephen Bennett against Exodus International and its president, Alan Chambers.
Chambers has stated for some time that “change” is slow (if it happens at all) among ex-gays. When word of this reached the mainstream press this week, LaBarbera and Bennett became outraged that their own message of easy, instantaneous heterosexuality had been undermined in some very public forums.
None of the three activists has yet documented a gay past to XGW’s satisfaction, and LaBarbera in fact claims never to have been either gay or ex-gay. So the credibility of all three regarding change of sexual attraction or identity is tenuous at best.
While Chambers speaks from the stated experience of Exodus member ministers, LaBarbera and Bennett demonstrate a vaporous, blustery preachiness that is heavy on flattery toward God and lacking in substance. LaBarbera, for example, speaks of “allegiance to a holy, almighty God”; apparently he could not find Bible verses to support his contention that dishonest sexual behavior is the Christian Way, nor could he find legitimate medical or scientific research equating sexual orientation with lust. LaBarbera pontificates that “ExGayWatch” (sic), in particular, is “decidedly evil” but fails to explain how it is evil to hold ex-gays accountable to measurable facts and healthy therapeutic outcomes.
Ex-Gay Watch sends congratulations to Bennett and LaBarbera — may this cat fight bring them a fleeting rise in contributions from people who don’t know any better.
Well, jeez, this is what happens because “they’ve” never been clear about “exgay” and “change” for 30 years. I’m damnably sure none of that deliberate confusion is my fault.
But one certainly knows you’re doing the right thing if LaBarbera thinks you are “decidedly evil”. A bigger compliment one couldn’t hope for.
As for “gloats over failure”???
I’m sorry. I thought they didn’t have that. All they have are failures. (blame the person, not themselves nor their unproven claims).
file under “funny but too sad”.
Wow, dis anyone else catch Peter’s description of Alan Chambers? “Former proud homosexual?” Is it just me or does that come off as a subtle smear?
I can’t imagine Alan Chambers’ amount of pride in his “former homosexual days” would ever have come up or be implied before he started saying things which contradict ex-gay industry’s current marketing campaign.
I think these guys should settle this dispute the bible way. After all, they use the bible to determine things like how ssa is evil, so why not use it to measure themselves?
Let them do as Elijah did, to prove there is a God who supports them. They can all go up to a mountain, each with an avowed gay in tow (heck, I’ll volunteer). Put the gay person on a stack of wood, then douse the person and wood with water, say seven times. Then each can call out to their “God” and whoever’s gay is consumed by fire wins. I’m putting my money on Peter LaBarbarian.
I am not surprised that there is an emerging gulf between people in the ex gay ministries that actually interact with the clients, and those who just use them to score political points.
I have often wondered is the mainstream ex-gay ministries would evolve in a similar way as Courage (UK), coming to a conclusion that changing sexual orientation isn’t possible for the vast majority of people.
I’d like to know where the “millions of tax dollars” being spent on sexual orientation research are coming from. As far as I understand, the reason why sexual orientation research has not flourished as much as it could have is due to lack of funding – which comes from private sources or grants. Since when is the Bush administration going to use tax dollars to research the biology behind SSA’s? Under the nose of the Religious Right that hold him in their pocket?? Not likely! Porno Pete’s got some research to do. (Research that DOESN’T involve going into gay porn shops and leather man conventions.)
Oh, and in response to their quoting Jeremiah 17:8, I’d like to quote a verse from that same chapter: Jeremiah 17:18.
Being criticized by the likes of LaBarbera is actually a feather in your cap. Peter gives XGW a notion of credibility and was, maybe, not intentional? Bravo to XGW for getting mentioned by Mr. LaBarbera and a Brava to Peter…may he continue to mention XGW. Any publicity is part of the “truthiness”** process.
** S. Colbert, The Daily Show, Comedy Central.
Whoa! LaBabs even manages to trash Doc Throc in the tirade.
Someone, alone on his little “holier than alla-you” molehill needs a nap.
He took aim at Wayne Besen also.
Furthermore, LaBarbera’s criticisms of Warren Throckmorton also apply to Drs. Mark Yarhouse and Robert Spitzer, who respectively co-wrote and endorsed these sexual identity therapy guidelines.
Warren Throckmorton.
Robert L. Spitzer.
Wayne Besen.
Ex-Gay Watch.
The axis of evil in our world today.
Axis of decidedly evil.
Thems, and the Swiss, too, apparently.
Ricola for everyone!
Mike, you forgot to include the original target in your axis.
I really can’t think of a more dissimilar group than:
Alan Chambers.
Warren Throckmorton.
Robert L. Spitzer.
Wayne Besen.
Ex-Gay Watch.
Emily K, the comprehensive studies that were done on SSA, or gay parenting was PROTESTED by Lou Sheldon and the Family Research Council.
They tell their audience that it’s their tax dollars that go into these studies and encourage this same audience to send THEM money so that they can fight the research.
And they aren’t interested in paying their own researchers or maintain a broad, or long term enough study to prove anything one way or the other.
Which I why I would ask them, why they protested knowing, or anyone else knowing, what they didn’t want to know?
At any rate, why don’t celibate people gay or not, just call themselves EXSEXUALS, and former gays that are married call themselves heteros in training, or studying for their hetero degree?
“Ex-Sexuals”??? Oh no, ANOTHER term the ex-gay industry will be unable to clearly define! But then again, some of my straight friends have declared themselves to be “ex-sexuals” after bad break-ups. 😉
And, like being ex-gay, it usually doesn’t last for them.
Okay… I am making some resolutions to be an ex….
a) I will refrain from being sexually attracted to men.
b) I will refrain from being sexually attracted to women.
c) I will choose to be celibate from this day onwards.
There you have it! I am now an ex-bisexual!!!
So lets get ex-gays to register this new term, and the speed of which I partake this complete “immediate” change of orientation to… erm… ex-sexuality….???
Personally, I like “studying for their hetero degree” 🙂
Wait wait wait, LaBarbera may not have a documented gay past, but he certainly has a documented gay PRESENT. Or I don’t know what you would call an obsessive need to spend hours in gay sex clubs, supposedly “for research”.
People do not try ex-gay therapy in order to be trophies on the shelves of these three and their allies. Nor do they expect their experiences to be used to deny others rights in a free society. These people (in most cases) are desperately trying to reconcile faith and sexuality; a deeply personal conflict that has impacted the quality of their lives. For these three activists and others to take advantage of these people for political and financial gain is what is ‘decidedly evil’.
I have been involved with an exodus affiliated ministry in the past for several years. Many of these people really do mean well and I have to give them credit for that at least, however, it is when you get into the higher echelon of people, those whose livihood and income derive from being exgay or what have you that things get nasty. I don’t want to mention names here but when your name has to be on every letterhead going out, tape or video or pamphlet or whatever that doesn’t go down well for me. Maybe I am scarred from the Jimmy Swaggart ordeal, as I was in bible college there at the time, but it just seems a little to self serving for me.