That what the organization's president, Alan Chambers, feels the Lord wants Exodus (the "ex-gay" group) to accomplish. This was excerpted from their most recent newsletter, "The Exodus Impact." Here is the entire opening paragraph of his column, lest you think I took the phrase out of context.
"I woke up thinking about Exodus this morning and its mission to rebuild the Church. I am unalterably convinced that the Lord means to use Exodus International in a significant way to restore wholeness to the Body of Christ. After all, those currently caught up in homosexuality are the ones being used to destroy the Church. But for the grace of God, you and I might be among those seeking to 'renovate' scriptures and sanctuaries to suit our unbridled passion. I am so thankful that the Lord and His people helped me to see, believe, and live out something far better than what I once accepted as a good alternative. I am equally thankful that He has chosen to use me to minister from the very broken places of my life where His healing has been most significant."
I sincerely hope Mr. Chambers is one of the few who acted as a homosexual but was truly born straight. If that is the case (he is now married), then I join him in thanking God for making him the man he was born to be.
Even if that is the case, however, his organization continues to foster the ideas that (1) people can decide to not be homosexual and (2) God won't accept them unless they "change."
This message has proven to be false for many of the now former leaders of this organization. Don't take my word for that, check out Wayne Besen's extensive research in his book "Anything But Straight." This trend is also well documented on the informative site Ex-Gay Watch.
The problem with people like Mr. Chambers, who reach the point of absolute enlightenment, is that they fail to see the light glowing from different paths. When he writes "those currently caught up in homosexuality are the ones being used to destroy the Church" he invalidates the experiences of any and all GLBT Christians, something he obviously lacks the knowldege to do.
Unfortunately, many religious right groups gain their strength not so much from lifting people up but rather by making them feel small, lacking validation, and unloved by God.
It is that final point where we clearly see the agenda of man replacing the love of God, which is constant and unchangeable. Nothing we can do will make God stop loving us, despite what groups like Exodus want you to believe. By teaching those lies, they show a critical lack of understanding of who God really is. God is love. Anyone who teaches differently is a heretic.
Therefore, Mr. Chambers, I submit it is not the homosexuals who are out of the closet and worshiping Jesus that are hurting His church. It is homosexuals who crawled back in their closet and working to push others in there with them so they can worship a God limited by their lack of understanding.
1 John 4:8 (NIV): Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love.
Where's the part that restricts that to straight people? It's not in my bible.
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Jim,
ReplyDeleteI'm a new reader to your blog, and I have to respectfully disagree with your conclusions. At best your arguments are emotive and not based on anything I've read or heard personally from Exodus.
Nowhere has Exodus ever said that God will stop loving a homosexual, to the contrary I believe they are famous for saying that Love is the cure. The real love of God.
The religious right groups you refer to, but dont name, I have never seen "make anyone feel small" - I believe that would be the result of the persons God given conscience. Shame typically makes people feel small.
Homosexuality is a sinful sexual behavior that should make one shameful, because it is shameful.
The deliverence that homosexuals are seeking is from that shame, but the problem is that homosexuals like Wayne Besen do not want to honestly look at and deal with the root causes of their sexual identities being broken. So what they try to do instead is take more people to hell with them.
Homosexuality is not God's plan, never was, never will be and that is the truth.
Those who call themselves Christians and are living a gay lifestyle are deceiving themselves. Which is why the Scripture clearly tells us to examine ourselves to see that we are in the faith and to be careful that we are not deceived. Homosexuality is the LIE of our day, and those in the Church who are embracing this are in serious error.
Dan
http://dancaleb.blogspot.com
Once I believed that homosexuality was a sin, so lived that out. I pretended to be straight, through to just a few months before my 30th birthday. I had gone through a couple of 'girlfriends' by then. I was going through major depression, and found myself rejecting God. I was constantly thinking about this awfull secret, and it was tearing me apart. One night, I felt a thought that I sincerely doubt was my own, that basicly nudged me to talk to somebody about it. I did. I came out of the closet. And guess what? As I talked to others, and got that 'shame' that was shoved on me by others off my chest, my depression cleared up, and I even found myself coming back closer to God. I don't live what is commenly called a 'gay lifestyle', as I have been celibate for several years - and will be until I find the man of my life - but I accept myself as a gay man. It is not in God's plan for so-called Christian's to hurt others because of six or so misused bits of scripture. It is not in God's plan for people to pretend to be something they are not. I didn't choose to be gay. I just am. And God is now using me, calling me to help build bridges between the two communities I belong to, gay and Christian. That calling very much scares me, as I still feel the pull back into the closet, away from judgementelism. But I follow.
ReplyDeleteDan,
ReplyDeleteI'm not going to waste a lot of time debating you, because I've learned that people with the absolute enlightenment you display of the shame of homosexuality don't tend to listen very well to other points of view.
I do believe, however, that you either haven't done your homework on Exodus or have filtered out what you don't want to see. Your statement of not seeing religious right groups making anyone feel small is so far from reality it blows my mind. Interesting rationalization you offer for that. Sad, but interesting.
Dan, how many homosexuals do you know. I don't mean are acquainted with, I mean actually have a relationship with? Most of the people I have interacted with who share your views don't know any. It's a lot easier to judge and discriminate against a nameless or faceless group than it is to look into somebody's eyes and tell them that you know God's plan for their lives better than they do themselves.
Alex,
ReplyDeleteI have acquired some understanding of the fear you must have trying to unite gays and Christians. There are a tragicly large number of Christians, many of who are probably very sincere believers, who have the twisted view of homosexuality that Dan shared in his comments.
I offer you encouragement and remind you that God will not lead you into any situations you can't handle with his strength and spirit. God does not set any of us, straight or gay, up to fail. He gives us the most valuable resource we can ever have to be successful, his love and strength.
The arrogance of these people is unbelievable! First of all, the body of the Christ is a thousand times more whole than the bodies of Alan Chambers and the entire Exodus movement put together. They have no influence over the Savior's being, and I'm so very glad that they don't. Second, where's the proof that Gay people are being used to "destroy the church?" The act of making scurrilous charges isn't enough to make the charges true. There've always been Lesbians and Gay men in the Christian church, and it hasn't been destroyed yet, although folks like Mr. Chambers and "Dan" are surely its biggest threat to date. Third, Exodus Ministries and their ilk are the ones guilty of "renovating" scriptures ( I prefer the term "mangling"), and while I don't harbor any unbridled passions, I'd rather I did than harbor unbridled bigotry.
ReplyDeleteThe kind of deliverance LGBT people are seeking is deliverance from false prophets, sex-obsessed Puritan hatemongers, and pompous religious quacks who talk about fixing our "brokenness." If only they realized what blasphemous talk that is! How long must God endure Satan's minions on Earth and their loathing of His holy work? If He chooses to put two-spirited human beings in His world alongside ordinary men and women, who are they to question His will? How DARE they! And they'd better be careful who they condemn to Hell, lest they arrive at that unholy destination ahead of those they've condemned.
So we should feel ashamed for being Gay, eh? What should someone feel who uses Christianity as a duck blind to hide behind while lobbing missiles of ignorance hate at innocent people? He should be so filled with shame and remorse that his face never again turns toward the sun. How I wish there were far fewer people around who wanted to BE God instead of worship Him, and I also wish there were a ministry set up to deliver people from prideful heterosexism; the Lord knows how sorely it's needed!
Jim, you said it very well when you say that others do not see the light glowing from other paths. Regardless of a person's persuassion (race, religion, gender, class etc..) we all have valuable contributions with significant light to shine upon the world. To "make" others see an "only" way is to undermine everything about God.
ReplyDeleteWho is this stuffed animal? He sounds very angry.
ReplyDeleteOkay I see you can't address the issues I've raised in truth.
ReplyDeleteThen explain to me the passages of the bible that condemn homosexuality and why you think God feels that type of behavior is acceptable and will get you into heaven. The bible I read says that no one that is homosexual will enter the kingdom of heaven....as well as a list of other sins. But since we are talking about the sin of homosexuality - please explain this to me.
And yes, I have members of my family who are homosexuals and friends also.
Dan
http://dancaleb.blogspot.com
The first thing I have to say to you, Dan, is put aside your idolatry! You worship the Bible instead of worshipping God. The two are not the same. The Bible was written by men. Even if its contents were divinely inspired, the Bible was still written by men, and nothing that comes from man is divine. God doesn't tolerate any kind of idol worship. The second thing I have to say is, use a good, accurate translation of the Bible. The word "homosexual" did not exist in Biblical times (neither did its understanding), so it does not belong in Biblical text. You fundamentalists love to use the KJV, or derivatives of it, because it seems to support your ultra-conservative religious philosophy. But it is inaccurate! Have the courage and honesty to use an accurate reference based on scholarship, not ideology. The third thing I have to say is, stop deliberately confusing God's old Covenant with mankind and His new Covenant! Those draconian laws listed in the Old Testament do not apply to Christians, and you know that. Some of those prohibitions, like the ones from the book of Leviticus, never applied to anyone but the ancient Israelites. From the context of the scripture (which recounts the Israelites' journey out of Egypt and into the Promised Land), it's clear that God imposed Levitican law as punishment for specific acts. Finally, I want to tell you to stop placing the Apostle Paul on the same level as Jesus Christ! Honestly, I think some of you fundamentalists even place him above our Lord! You gravitate toward his letters because, of all the New Testament writers, Paul presents the most exclusionary and judgmental picture of what Christianity should be. Yet Paul deviated from the Christ's teachings, in regard to women, in regard to Gay people, and in other ways. His teachings were not, are not, and will never be definitive. Jesus Christ's words, as passed down to us in the Gospels, are the yardstick Christians must use to evaluate everything else in the New Testament. Did the Messiah say that people of homosexual orientation were banned from Heaven? Did he ever identify homosexuality as a sin? He did not!
ReplyDeleteConservatism is not a bad thing. In fact, there are a lot of good things to be said about it. Mankind needs conservative values, and conservative Christians have a lot to offer Lesbians and Gay man in the way of guidance. However, they must offer guidance in the proper way, with a heart that's free of antipathy. When bigotry masquerades as conservatism . . . or when bigotry masquerades as Christian conservatism, which is far worse . . . it is of no use to mankind. It is of no use to God. It is evil! Cleanse your heart, and refine your ministry; make it conform to the Christ's inclusive message. In the first chapter of Mark, the Messiah encounters the fishermen brothers, Andrew and Simon Peter. He says to them: "Follow me and I will make you fish for people." If you fish for souls with his message as your bait, you will also catch people, including Gay people. They will be attracted by the purity of your faith. You cannot, however, catch them with the kind of rancid bait you're using now.
Dan,
ReplyDeleteI can address any and all questions you might ask and have likely already done so in the 250+ posts I have entered into this blog. If you are truly interested in a differing view, I encourage you to check some of them out.