Free Republic

WASHINGTON — Men and women who once identified as LGBT shared their personal stories of transformation with lawmakers Wednesday after the House passed a bill earlier this year that would bar citizens from accessing counseling and therapies for unwanted same-sex attraction. Dressed in black T-shirts emblazoned with the word "CHANGED," 16 formerly LGBT-identified persons from Church United and the CHANGED movement spoke at a joint news conference outside the U.S. capitol where they shared their stories with members of Congress and their staff, and urged senators not to support the so-called Equality Act if it's ever brought to the floor...

(AgapePress) - The executive director of an organization that offers support to members and to the families of members of the "ex-gay" community -- former homosexuals and those struggling with unwanted same-sex attraction -- has a unique perspective on the Mark Foley scandal. While reproaches and recriminations abound in the media, she says someone needs to offer the disgraced former Congressman and others like him a message of hope and truth. Regina Griggs of the group Parents and Friends of Ex-Gays and Gays, or PFOX, says it is not enough for the public discourse to ignore Foley's homosexuality or to...

There is often a high degree of narcissism in male homosexuality. The process of seeking to change and grow in manhood requires a self-focus that can actually contribute to narcissism. There is, however, a way to counter this and even become less self-focused as the Lord is healing us. A man is his most wholesome and appealing when he is outer-directed, when he has little consciousness of himself. His face is towards the world, towards others, hopefully towards God. The world is a joyous challenge, something to be both overcome and delighted in. His lack of self-consciousness draws people to...

Angered by what they see as the promotion of homosexuality in schools, thousands of American parents are banding together to demand that their children be taught that it is possible to stop being gay. Organizations such as Parents and Friends of Ex-Gays and Gays (PFOX), Jews Offering New Alternatives to Homosexuality (Jonah) and Inqueery are trying to ensure that their view is aired alongside gay rights messages. A high school in New Hampshire allowed an "ex-gay" activist to address pupils on Civil Rights Day last year. In Colorado, education officials are pondering whether to hand out a pamphlet to teachers...

I would like to tell you about some people who are often treated as if they do not exist. While they flourish as citizens and are active in our churches across the nation, it is as if they lack reality as far as the so-called mainstream media are concerned. These people are former homosexuals, sometimes known as ex-gays, who have prevailed over their previous existence. I imagine they are the most politically incorrect people in our nation. They do exist, though, and there are untold thousands of them. But when former homosexuals are depicted on the networks, they are typically...

A former homosexual turned Baptist minister recently spoke at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. There, he told students that although having same-sex attractions is not a choice, acting on those feelings by engaging in homosexual behavior is; but freedom from homosexuality is available through Jesus Christ. Ex-homosexual Tim Wilkins was invited by the Apologetics Association to speak on the campus of UW-Milwaukee to offer a Christian response to the issue of homosexuality. His speech was repeatedly interrupted by cell phone noise and audience comments as well as a fight, which he believes was intentionally staged. Wilkins, who heads North Carolina-based Cross...

This past weekend, a new law legalizing homosexual civil unions took effect in Connecticut. But a former homosexual who now helps those wanting to overcome same-sex attractions says there is nothing civil about the Constitution State's new law. Stephen Bennett was active in the homosexual lifestyle for more than a decade before leaving that lifestyle in 1992. Now he runs Stephen Bennett Ministries (SBM), a Christ-centered organization that helps educate the public on the truth about homosexuality while it offers help and hope to those seeking freedom from unwanted homosexual attractions. Bennett says while all human beings deserve to be...