CNN Belief Blog Interviews Alan Chambers About Prop 8 and Gay Rights

Photo Credit CNN

From ‘Ex-gay’ ministry on gay marriage's chances after Prop 8 ruling ... “It’s disappointing that a judge would rule against the will of the people,” says Chambers, author of Leaving Homosexuality. “That’s the greatest tragedy.” For 34 years, Exodus has told gay and lesbians that they can be “delivered” from homosexuality through faith in Christ, professional counseling and support groups. But how will groups like Exodus fare if fewer Americans believe that homosexuality is a sin, and if gay marriage becomes an option? Chambers acknowledged that “our culture is … [Read more...]

Prop 8 Decision Imminent – Life Goes On Regardless of “Winner”

prop 8

UPDATE 4:49 PM EDT: Judge rules Prop 8 unconstitutional. When Alan decided a couple of years ago to pull Exodus out of public policy I was in total agreement.  That whole realm fascinates me and has since I was in High School (Youth in Government Club.)  We, Alan and I, gave it our best effort for about 4 years and learned plenty of lessons. The point of today's post isn't to pile on and throw another round into the echo-chamber of talking points you will hear again and again and again and again ... and again and again ... and again ... Of course I am aware of the importance of … [Read more...]

Some Thoughts On Church/Denominational Conflict

pastorhands

This post was inspired by Matt Kaufman over at the Boundless Line.  He wrote, in response to the ELCA decision, a good question (emphasis mine): ... When should you leave a church on principle -- not for personal reasons (which we've talked about elsewhere on this blog), but for reasons of its doctrines or practices? And a follow-up question: Have you ever had to wrestle with this decision? That is definitely a tough question with plenty of potential variables.  In the 18 years I have been a Christian I haven't ever left a church on "principle" (when I have it has been for personal … [Read more...]

The Post-Gay Momentum Is Increasing

Postgay

I am increasingly confident that we are moving into a post-gay era.  Post-gay is a very broad secular term that was created in the gay community to describe a day where they reach full equality (as they define equality) and no longer need to fight public policy, social or religious battles. I contend (hat tip to Peter Ould) that people like us are on a Christian post-gay journey where the gay vs. ex-gay vs straight labels are no longer sufficient ... or even appropriate ... to describe who or what we are about. That said, I listened to this whole program on Boston station WBUR.  The … [Read more...]

New Study: Gay People Suffer Increased Rates of PTSD

Click Image to Read Study: Bullies Home in On Gays

From Study: Bullies home in on gays: A groundbreaking new Harvard study has found that gay people are far more likely to be tormented as youngsters, often leading to years of post-traumatic stress disorder. Researchers at Harvard School of Public Health and Children’s Hospital found that gays, bisexuals and heterosexuals who have had a same-sex partner are 1 to two times as likely to experience violence, especially in childhood, and have double the risk of experiencing PTSD as a result. “It’s really appalling,” said lead author Andrea Roberts, a postdoctoral fellow in … [Read more...]

The Social Cost of Pornography

scop

The following press release landed in my inbox about a very interesting study  done by the Witherspoon Institute.  From Design4 Marketing (a few comments after the quote): The Witherspoon Institute, located in Princeton, New Jersey, released on March 16 The Social Costs of Pornography: A Statement of Findings and Recommendations. The consultation was the first multifaceted, multi-disciplinary, scholarly exploration of pornography since the advent of the Internet. The consultation assembled leading experts in economics, psychology, sociology, and law to present a rigorously argued … [Read more...]

Karl Lagerfeld’s Discusses Gay Public Policy, AIDS History & Porn

Self-portrait by Karl Lagerfeld

No commentary here, I will just let Lagerfeld speak for himself (bolded text is the Vice Magazine reporter, answers of course are Lagerfeld): You are against the idea of gay marriage. I totally agree with you on that. Yes, I’m against it for a very simple reason: In the 60s they all said we had the right to the difference. And now, suddenly, they want a bourgeois life. It’s normalizing. For me it’s difficult to imagine—one of the papas at work and the other at home with the baby. How would that be for the baby? I don’t know. I see more lesbians married with babies than I … [Read more...]

Disney Makes Right Decision Concerning “Ex-Gay” Policy

disney

Over the past year, PFOX worked within Disney circles to force a vote by shareholders to include "ex-gays" as a part of the Disney corporate non-discrimination policy.  Disney rejected the measure in terms that would make "landslide" seem a vast understatement (by 98%.) As stated before here and here, I don't think trying to adding another layer of identity politics to the culture war is a good idea. The language PFOX uses is confusing. It appears they are doing a "find and replace" word processing function on their organizational messaging.  They are copying gay activist talking … [Read more...]

Molotov Mitchell’s Videos Create Firestorm

Molotov

UPDATED with response from G-A-Y Blog at the end of the post. Molotov Mitchell is definitely making a name for himself. I met Molotov in DC in March of 2009.  He and his wife were hilarious and very personable.  I could relate to his zeal in talking about Christ but when it came to public policy ... not so much.  Granted we had some of the same ideas that certain things politically and culturally needed to be forthrightly addressed but his reasoning and approach seemed unnecessarily harsh.  I didn't say anything at the time because I just met the guy and I didn't want to jump right in … [Read more...]

Message from And Responding to a “Happy Lesbian”

happylesbian

If you look at the comment counts on our blog you would think that we only get a few sporadic ones from time to time with sudden bursts here and there.  Not true. We get a lot actually. The problem is that most of them involve some new way for me to burn in hell. So because of our Comment Policy, a vast majority of those comments never make it through.  This blog won't be hijacked by that type of ... discussion. However, today it seemed a good idea to turn one comment we received overnight into an actual post.  The person who left the comment used a fake email and the alias "Happy … [Read more...]