A Christian leader in the UK says that sexual abuse is the most common cause of homosexuality, and that when a demon is asked to leave, so does homosexual desire.
Jill Southern of Ellel Ministries told the Eastern Malaysian Daily Express last month:
It’s a lie to say you are born homosexual. It is usually a result of homosexual abuse in very early childhood when they were wrongly touched but there are other possible causes such as gender confusion and rejection by a peer group as a ‘weakling’.
Sexual abuse causes an ungodly “soul tie” with the abuser, which in turn opens the door for a demonic spirit, according to Southern:
So this spirit of homosexuality has an appetite for homosexual acts, and is using your body for its own appetite. When a homosexual person confesses and repents the sin, we can tell the spirit to leave and the homosexual desire will also go.
But it’s not just victims of abuse who have opened themselves to demonic attack. Gay sex in itself joins us to demons:
When we engage in ungodly sex, we are enjoining our spirit to the demonic spirit behind it, and this destroys our lives.Ungodly sex allows our spirit to be penetrated by the demonic power behind the ungodly act. In fact, homosexuality is self-destructive behaviour.
This comes as no surprise to anyone familiar with Ellel Ministries, a controversial organization that nevertheless still enjoys popularity among charismatics, both in the UK and worldwide. Ellel was founded, and is still led, by Peter Horrobin, a pioneer in “inner healing,” with an emphasis on deliverance from evil spirits.
In 1995, at the height of the ministry’s controversy, a BBC documentary alleged several abuses, including testimony from a man who claimed to have been held down while Ribena – a British blackcurrant-flavored soft drink – was poured down his underwear in order to deliver him from a sexual spirit. (If I remember correctly, it was a spirit of masturbation.)
I have never heard a denial from Ellel, and according to a 2002 article, even one of its own directors, David Cross, appears to give credence to the story:
You’ll have to ask Peter about that … but perhaps we did some silly things in the early days.
Cross says that evil spirits are peripheral to the work of Ellel, however, and says that most of the ministry’s participants leave happy:
What I can tell you is that 99 per cent of our visitors go away with a new sense of peace. Evil spirits are a tiny part of what we do here.
Didn’t Jesus have something to say about that 99 percent?
XGW also notes that Ellel has an alliance with US ex-gay, Exodus-affiliated deliverance minister David Kyle Foster.
Hat-tip for the Daily Express story to YukiChoe.
That’s so ridiculous, everyone knows the right way to deliver someone from an evil spirit is to pour Sprite on them while chanting “Image is nothing! Obey your thirst!”
You must go to the same therapist as me, then.
Hey Boo,
It was when I was baptized with my first Mountain Dew. Those boys sure know how to swing from a rope and splash n the water. They were so cute I been a skanky gay HO ever since. I got possessed by a Mounatain Dew boy, damn sweet. But don’t take offense, Sprite’s great for a backup!
This sexual abuse/demon scenario is nothing new to me. Particularly when I attended Charismatic and Pentecostal churches and went to a program that was then affiliated with Exodus, I heard similar teachings. (and even sat for a “deliverance” at this Exodus program). Most Exodus folks though would say that the demon thing is over the top and not useful. I imagine it happens more in Living Waters type programs.
Even without the demon part of it, many of us have heard many times from ex-gay promoters and provides about how sexual abuse is the cause of a same-sex orientation.
The other night Christine Bakke and I sat for an extended radio interview and discussed the theories of demons and the role abuse can play in the ex-gay ministries and programs we encountered. (You can hear the archived Strictly Confidential program here).
Lots of ex-gay promoters and providers have said or suggested that most lesbians and gays have been sexual abused. They may get this mistaken notion from the people who have elected to come to them for care. Not all, but many if not most of the people I encountered in ex-gay programs, had been sexually abused, and they had not resolved the issues around that abuse. Feeling the shame, guilt and angst over the abuse (shame and guilt that actually belongs to the abuser but has been imprinted upon the abuse survivor), the person who suffered the abuse feels drawn by the language of the Evangelical church and the ex-gay providers–words that promise cleansing and healing and freedom and new life.
Over at Beyond Ex-Gay I write about How Sexual Abuse Made Me Gay.
Oh how many times I have heard about “the spirit of homosexuality.”
Part of the reason I seldom participate in organized religion anymore is that there are so many non-reality based ones out there that I feel stupid identifying with any religion. That is sad because good religion, based on the belief that God reveals himself to people through nature, in addition to sensible scriptures, gets lumped together with the nuts and twigs, like this outfit. What a (not so hot) mess!
When I was a Pentecostal, there were spirits of just about everything. I remember my pastor telling me of an Ellel conference he went to. He made the mistake of yawning, and someone came over and started rebuking the spirit of tiredness.
I always thought the “spirit of homosexuality” was the deep desire for fashion design and interior decorating?
Perhaps I have been wrong all this time. hmmm….
What do reputable experts on sexual abuse say?
Is there any proof that Southern is wrong?
I think when someone makes a statement as extreme as “[homosexuality] is usually a result of homosexual abuse in very early childhood,” the burden on proof lies squarely on them.
To understand arguments, sometimes it is easiest to take them to an extreme. Perhaps we should be thankful for Ms. Southern’s comments.
Demon possession; demon enjoining; demon oppression; demon deception; lack of repentance; partial salvation … all are forms of what I term ‘spiritual cross-over theories’.
These theories assume that a religious basis is the primary driving force and may ignore some or all other possible causes. I do recognize that a number of Christians believe that gender identity disorder (GID), bi-polar disorder, and a dozen other DSM-IV diagnoses are simply demonic deception.
“Don’t believe the lies of Satan that you are homosexual” and similar, I also considered a form of spiritual cross-over theory.
The challenge to a Bible-based Christian is that demon possession is shown in the Gospel accounts, and Satan is called a liar. Therefore, I do not allow myself to ignore the opening premise.
Rather, I caution strongly against the follow-on arguments that are implied: simplicity of cause, and the ‘all or nothing wager’.
Simplicity of cause cannot be assumed for the vast majority of persons. There is so much more to a human being made in the image of a complex God, than just demons and deception. And, the simplicity of cause ignores other areas that may need addressing (“Ah, the demon of homosexuality and depression is gone! I’ll stop taking my anti-depressants, too! Could you please cast out the demon of bad blood – then I’ll stop my blood-thinner, yes!”)
And I also strongly object to the ‘all or nothing wager’ that is implied. This implies that there is no other way to walk with Christ other than a highly defined ‘path’ or ‘lifestyle’.
– Can a Jew believe and still live according to the Law and Prophets? Of course, many did just that as recorded in the Book of Acts.
– Can a Gentile believe, and still live as a Gentile and not according to Jewish customs? Of course, the Book of Galatians discusses that reality.
– Can a man marry a divorced woman and still walk with Christ? Of course. Isn’t his remarriage called ‘adultery’ by Jesus? Of course.
But if the man believes in an ‘all or nothing wager’, then he may determine to remarry AND renounce his faith and reject God altogether.
And if the Gentile believes in an ‘all or nothing wager’, then he may determine to retain some Gentile customs AND renounce his faith and reject God altogether.
Ms. Southern’s statements are an extreme example of bad reasoning – a good opening premise, coupled with simplicity of cause, coupled with an ‘all or nothing wager’. I offer that while we may laugh at her interview in a foreign country, the challenge is to understand the basic flow of the arguments, and then understand that the arguments are used right here in our home countries.
Sincerely; Caryn
I wonder how many other former (or current!) ex-gays reading this site have personally undergone exorcism, or prayer for deliverance as it was called during my years in the Catholic charismatic movement. I myself can’t even count the times–starting the very moment I stood up at a prayer meeting in Michigan, as a very nervous 20-year-old gay visitor from San Francisco, to announce I would renounce homosexuality in response to what I thought was a prophecy from God. Instantly, I was surrounded by people putting their hands on me and loudly casting out demons.
All I could think at that moment was, “Oh s**t, what have I gotten myself into?”
My own father, a wonderful but sometimes delusional man, at one point always carried a tattered copy of the Roman Ritual, an official book of Catholic prayers including the traditional rite of exorcism. Of course, the Catholic Church only allows exorcisms under extraordinary circumstances, and then they must be performed by specially appointed priests. But that didn’t stop my father and other charismatic leaders from appropriating the rite as a do-it-yourself cure-all for every type of problem.
Did you suffer from crippling rheumatoid arthritis? We need to cast out an evil spirit.
Dying from cancer? Time for a deliverance.
Suffering a head cold? Deliverance again.
You’re gay? That calls for BIG TIME deliverance.
I can remember so many occasions on my knees, head bowed, as a group prayed over me to “discern” the spirits that lurked in my depths. I would earnestly renounce each spirit they named, while they prayed in tongues and sprinkled me with holy water and blessed oil.
Did I feel any less gay the next day? Of course not. Was I then told that was my fault, because I just wasn’t letting go of the demons? Of course. Did we start all over again? I’ll let you guess the answer on that one.
Yes, it all sounds absurd to me now. But when you are totally invested in this type of thinking, and surrounded by people telling you that this is the way to God, you can lose your ability to recognize absurdity.
It’s just very sad for me to think that other people are still locked in that mentality.
I think we need to remember that many people reading this site take it for granted that whatever Exodus and Focus on the Family say is true, until proven otherwise.
So the burden of proof is on us.
I recall a “casting out of spirits” from my youth. A woman – who restropect suggests that her problems were of a mental health nature along with a need for attention – was having spirits cast out of her. I don’t recall the premise for the exorcism but it involved a lot of shouting and laying on of hands.
At one point the minister (my father) was demanding, “Demon, name yourself” and the response was “I am coffee”.
Considering that most of the church had a serious caffeine addiction it was quite funny. Even then (amidst my frantic praying so the demons wouldn’t leave her and jump in me) I had to chuckle at the audacity.
But I may have been the only one chuckling.
Mike says:
I assume – and I think it is safe to do so – that those who experienced childhood sexual trauma are more likely to be insecure in their adult sexuality. So I think it is reasonable to think that those individuals who seek out the services of ex-gay ministries are more likely (or at least as likely) to have experienced sexual abuse than the gay population at large.
Jones and Yarhouse asked their participants about childhood sexual experiences. About 2/3 (sorry, the book is not with me at the moment) had experienced sexuality in some form – ranging from kissing to anal penetration – and most of those experiences were with the same sex.
What J&Y failed to do was determine if they were abusive in nature. Some of those were without doubt molested by adults. However, the largest identified “partner” was “a friend of mine”. Further, the largest identification of sexual actions was touching genitals.
Because of what J&Y didn’t ask (or report), it’s hard to get a handle on exactly what they are reporting. But it may well mean that the majority of childhood sexual experiences they report were no more than little boys playing “show you mine if you show me yours”. Further, no information is given about who initiated the sexual contact.
So there may be some basis for her comments (her experience with a narrow subpopulation) but “it is usually” isn’t upheld by Exodus’ own study, much less applicable to the greater population of gay men.
Having grown up as a Pentecostal, like many of you I too was witness to numerous deliverance ministries, having participated in many of them from both sides. It seemed that there was a demon behind every “un-Christian” thing, from smoking to dirty movies to my 8th grade health education class (i.e., sex education).
As a current atheist, things like this make me laugh. The “demon of coffee” that Timothy Kincaid mentioned earlier made me especially laugh hard. Despite this, things like “deliverance ministries” are not a laughing matter as serious psychological trauma is often inflicted through this practice.
So, do demons inhabit people who are the victims of heterosexual child abuse, too?
Or is it, strangely enough, only people who are born gay that get possessed?
The following is from the American Psychiatric Association’s “HealthyMinds.org” website
“Similarly, no specific psychosocial or family dynamic cause for homosexuality has been identified, including histories of childhood sexual abuse. Sexual abuse does not appear to be more prevalent in children who grow up to identify as gay, lesbian, or bisexual, than in children who identify as heterosexual.”
There is no connection between sexual abuse and homosexuality. My guess is that homosexual Christians who have been sexually abused are more likely to seek help from ex-gay ministries because the ministries say that sexual abuse causes homosexuality and that it can be “cured”. Homosexuals who have not been sexually abused are more likely to be skeptical of such claims, knowing that it does not apply to them, and so are less likely to enroll in the programs.
Demonic spirits are the easy diagnosis. Once you decide that something is caused by demons, you no longer have to think about the subject or deal with it rationally. You just hold a big prayer session casting the demon out — and if it doesn’t work, you blame the homosexual for not being dedicated enough to “loving Jesus.”
People love easy answers. And people who offer them will always find a large audience. After all, how can you disprove the presence of demons? You can’t. Any more than you can disprove the presence of Ethel Merman’s ghost.
OT:
Looks like someone professing to be a psychiatrist is trying to start an ex-gay clinic in Egypt. Not only have Gay rights organizations condemned him, but so have religious conservatives. Only the Islamic “moderates” seem to support him. They’re like 50 years behind the times on this subject.
Link:
https://www.alarabiya.net/articles/2007/11/12/41565.html
Sigh, Timothy K… in your youthful ignorance… you misunderstood. Sorry.
It went like this: “Demon, name yourself!”
The booming reply, from deep within “I am Kofi”
(The U.N. is of the devil, lest you forget. Not to mention those wicked people of Ghana. That demon had nothing to do with beverages; hot, iced, short, black, frothed or otherwise.)
So far im gotten this much outta it:
First) When something makes sense to you… it just makes you wonder.
” there are other possible causes such as gender confusion and rejection by a peer group as a ‘weakling’.”
Second) Then someone rebukes it….
“the person who suffered the abuse feels drawn by the language of the Evangelical church and the ex-gay providers”.
Third) THen you roll your eyes…. (because the word considered is in past tense)
” ‘Don’t believe the lies of Satan that you are homosexual’ and similar, I also considered a form of spiritual cross-over theory.”
And Finally) Empathize with someone
“I think we need to remember that many people reading this site take it for granted that whatever Exodus and Focus on the Family say is true, until proven otherwise.So the burden of proof is on us.”
Maybe there are a lot of spirits lurking at Ellel. Perhaps we all should go there and rebuke the spirit of abdsurdity and mindlessness; and cast out demons such as ‘intolerance’, ‘prejudice’, ‘cherry picking verses’, ‘discrimination’, ‘self-righteousness’, ‘misinformation’, ‘hypocrisy’, ‘shallow minds’, ‘wrong science’, ‘ignorance’… whoah! Come to think of it, there really are a lot of evil spirits there!….
Mike Airhart,
You’re right and it’s unfair. What also happens is, whatever proof or evidence is brought, Exodus or FOTF or FRC dismiss it as lies or deception by the ‘militant homosexual activists’ or ‘homosexual agenda’ and if we win in legal courts or even the court of public opinion, the result was illegitmate according to Randy Thomas or Tony Perkins and gay people have put guns to the heads of everyone.
There is no proof or evidence that will satisfy them.
God is their higher power, but love isn’t their higher law.
Steve S, I LOVE you and please give Jim a big hug and kiss from me!
I have serious trouble taking anyone seriously that looks that much like a Gerbil…….When is the next strory coming on?
This is so funny and I have to say this but Jill Southern reminds me of the Church chat lady saying something like, “well now isn’t that just special that you have left homosexuality and SATAN was cast out of you. You know that Dr. James Dobson is just extra special in my book.” LOL I hope that these kinds of people keep coming out of the woodwork and onto national television because the public will witness them making fools of themselves and be that much more inclined to vote for a Democrat. 😉