Free Republic

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. — Over the last decade, gay-rights activists have pushed programs to support gay and lesbian students in public schools. Their success is striking: More than 3,000 Gay-Straight Alliance clubs meet across the country. Nearly half a million students take a vow of silence one day each spring in an annual event to support gay rights. California may soon require textbooks to feature the contributions of gays and lesbians throughout history. Critics, mostly on the religious right, view all this as promoting the "homosexual lifestyle." Unable to stop it, they have turned to a new strategy: demanding equal...

From gay to God "I WAS EXCLUSIVELY HOMOSEXUAL; I had never been with a woman." That's part of the riveting testimony of the Reverend Darryl Foster, a board member of Exodus Global Alliance – a Christian organisation made up largely of former-homosexuals who promote the message that "change is possible through the power of Jesus Christ". The Texas, United States, native was one of the featured speakers at the just concluded three-day conference: Sex, Sexuality and Homosexuality: Engaging The Truth hosted by Project PROBE Ministries, at the Sherbourne Conference Centre. Foster, 45, is now a heterosexual who confesses that the...

"LIVE OUT LOUD" 2006 FREEDOM CONFERENCE [img] www.exodusfreedom.org/freedom/images/2006Conf/Box_Subtitles1.3.jpg[img]

The annual Reclaiming America conference often draws controversy, but not always before it even begins. A national gay-rights group has criticized the conference, set for Friday and Saturday in Fort Lauderdale, for planning a speech by a leader of a ministry to gays, Exodus International in Orlando. "Giving a speaking opportunity to anyone from the ex-gay movement is wrong," said Matt Foreman, executive director of the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force. "It needs to be repudiated at every step, not given a pulpit." Gary Cass, executive director of the Center for Reclaiming America, shrugged off the complaint: "We believe...

A national gay and lesbian group is accusing several religious organizations of harming homosexual teens by offering parents what they say are bogus therapies to keep children from becoming gay. In a report released Thursday in Miami Beach, the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force Policy Institute questioned whether the therapies are ethical or effective and said state and federal authorities should provide greater oversight when these programs are aimed at youth. The report said some Christian-based gay prevention and treatment groups have used the First Amendment protection of religion to avoid sanctions by state health officials seeking to enforce...

MANCHESTER — A traveling conference advocating the heterosexual lifestyle came to the suburbs of west St. Louis County on Saturday. As gay-rights groups staged a peaceful protest outside the First Evangelical Free Church, conventioneers spent the day inside, mostly listening to speakers who say they were previously gay. Parents of gay and lesbian children got advice and could speak to counselors about what to do, short of accepting their child's behavior. "We suggest you decline an invitation to a civil commitment ceremony," Melissa Fryrear told a group of parents. Some busily took notes; a few others wiped away tears. "So...

Randy Thomas, a former homosexual washed clean by the blood of Christ (!), reports that one of Exodus International’s billboards was defaced in St. Louis, Missouri. Randy is headed that way to attend a conference on Sunday called, Love Won Out. Pray for Randy and others attending the conference, especially those still in the lifestyle and seeking answers. “Ex-gay” folks are getting lots of threats.Related posts: Homosexual “Marriage” And Black VotersHomosexual Lobby Decides A Little Moderation Is In Order Addendum: Read Randy’s testimony.

By now, the plot line of Brokeback Mountain is well known. For those just returning from another planet, here it is: in the early 1960s, two young, male sheep herders, Jack Twist and Ennis Del Mar become sexually involved for a summer on Brokeback Mountain in Wyoming. Then, with no strings attached, they move on to marry heterosexually. After a few years they reunite and go on periodic fishing trips together where their fishing lines never get wet. Eventually Ennis' marriage falls apart and Jack dies via suspicious circumstances.   Brokeback Mountain has been billed by some as a universal...

Doesn’t seem to addres lesbians but only male homosexuals; interesting nevertheless:Dear Friends, This is a list — not complete, but very good — on the social science journal articles that report that homosexuality is curable. Would that Frank Tracy Griswold would read some of these articles.Deacon Gene1930- Stekel publishes, “Is homosexuality curable?” (Psychoanalytic Review) 1952- Poe publishes, “The Successful Treatment of a 40-year Old Passive Homosexual” (Psychoanalytic Review) 1958- J.A. Hadfield publishes, “The Cure of Homosexuality” (British Medical Journal) 1959- Albert Ellis “A homosexual treated with rational psychotherapy” (Journal of Clinical Psychology) 1960-Christianity Today prints a roundtable discussion on “American’s...

Alan Chambers was a youth pastor's "dream kid": president of the youth group, a member of the youth choir, sure to be at church every time the doors opened. He was a role model to other kids and a trouble-free son to his Christian parents. But Mr. Chambers, now 33, was also the keeper of a dark secret. Behind the veneer, Mr. Chambers struggled with homosexual impulses. By middle school he was acting out on the impulses, though he knew his actions were wrong: "I knew that I knew that I knew that what the preacher said about homosexuality being...

Focus on the Family’s Mike Haley recounts his nose-dive into homosexuality and his ensuing spiritual recovery that came about through the help of concerned believers who reached out to him during his lowest hours On Sunday, May 16, Mike Haley, manager of the Gender Division within the Legislative and Cultural Affairs Department at Focus on the Family, addressed the Thomas Road Baptist Church congregation.  He underscored his 12-year plunge into homosexuality and the subsequent extensive spiritual recovery that has taken place in his life since he returned to the foundations of his faith in Jesus Christ.While the powerful Hollywood community and influential...

(CNSNews.com) - Sen. John Kerry's declaration Wednesday that homosexuals don't have a choice about their sexual orientation has enraged individuals who identify themselves as "ex-gays." In response to a question at the third presidential debate, Kerry made reference to Vice President Dick Cheney's lesbian daughter, Mary. Kerry said she was "being who she was born as." His response angered Lynne Cheney, the vice president's wife, as well as ex-homosexuals. "Senator Kerry, in his answer, basically invalidated me as a person," said Jeralee Smith, a self-proclaimed former lesbian who runs a support group for "ex-gay" educators. "I have experienced significant...

If Elected, Kerry Expected to Be Most Pro-Homosexual Prez Ever By Bill Fancher and Mary Rettig August 23, 2004 (AgapePress) - A pro-family leader says homosexuals will be celebrating if Democratic presidential hopeful John Kerry wins the White House. Rob Schenck of the National Clergy Council says Kerry has promised the homosexual community that he will champion their cause -- a promise that was relayed to a homosexual rally in Boston, Massachusetts, after the recent Democratic National Convention. Schenck says members of the homosexual community "know who Senator Kerry is, regardless of what he says about his beliefs on marriage....

On Sunday, May 16, I invited a young man to speak at Thomas Road Baptist Church because I believe he has a message of healing and hope that needs to be heard by many Americans. However, if we are to listen to the influential mainstream media and Hollywood community, this young man's message is completely illegitimate and without merit. You see, this man, Mike Haley, lived for 12 years in the homosexual community. But he is no longer there. He is living a life of steadfast faith that the homosexual community deplores. But Mike's message is so important I wanted...

A Baptist preacher who tells gays and lesbians they can walk away from homosexuality inspired a colorful community protest north of Downtown Saturday. As 65 people sat inside First Southern Baptist Church, 445 E. Speedway, to hear about how the Rev. Tim Wilkins "walked away" from being a homosexual, about 150 people picketed outside, many of them infuriated by what they said is a hateful and hurtful message that Wilkins couches in love. Protesters like Cathy Busha, program director for Wingspan - Tucson's gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender community center - say there's an unmistakable political agenda in Wilkins' seemingly...

America’s homosexual communities are in the midst of a remarkable new trend that looks as if it could very well transform them forever. Couples are getting married. But it’s not what you think. It’s not what the newsmakers and the political commentators have been crowing about during the past year. To be sure “gay marriage” is a hot topic these days. In November, Massachusetts moved closer to becoming the first state in the country to legalize homosexual unions after the state’s highest court struck down a ban on same-sex marriages. The 4-3 ruling, which stopped short of declaring that homosexual...

I was 14 the first time it happened. Mary* lived next door. She was two years my junior. Because Mary's parents both worked, they often asked me to watch Mary and her younger brother. One day, Mary found some pornographic magazines in her parents' bedroom. I understood the magazine's depictions, because I had my first of several sexual encounters when I was ten. But I'd never had sex with another girl before. As we looked at a photograph of a couple having intercourse, Mary asked, "Have you ever done that?" "Sure," I said proudly. "How was it?" "It was okay."...

Baptist Convention 'Reaches Out' to Gays AMARILLO -- Southern Baptists stir up controversy and anger with their latest announcement. Their convention is underway in Phoenix. That's where a new initiative was announced, saying that church leaders should reach out to gay people. The ultimate goal would be to 'convert' homosexuals into heterosexuals. Here in the Panhandle, some think the concept is absurd. Dyanne Kuster is proud of who she is. She says her being a lesbian doesn't change the fact that religion is an important part of her life. "I was a Southern Baptist growing up my whole life,...

<p>PHOENIX (AP) -- The Southern Baptist Convention announced a new initiative Tuesday to convince gays that they can become heterosexual if they accept Jesus Christ as their savior and reject their "sinful, destructive lifestyle."</p> <p>At the denomination's annual meeting, leaders urged their more than 42,000 churches nationwide to reach out compassionately to gays with a message about how Christianity can save them.</p>

(CNSNews.com) - After pro-family leaders criticized Republican National Committee Chairman Marc Racicot for meeting with what they call "gay pressure" groups, Racicot has now agreed to a meeting with a group of people who used to be homosexual. "We thought it was bad politics and not the right thing to do to meet with a homosexual activist group," Peter LaBarbera, senior policy analyst for the Culture and Family Institute, a part of Concerned Women for America (CWA), told CNSNews.com.LaBarbera was referring to Racicot's early March meeting with the Human Rights Campaign (HRC), one of the nation's largest groups advocating special...