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Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsMan goes undercover in a Christian gay conversion therapy program... it gets scary...
What methodology are these conservative Christian groups dishing out to vulnerable people who are overcome by religious guilt? I went undercover into the sordid world of ex-gay therapy to get a firsthand taste of their process of conversion. Their manifesto is that homosexuality can be cured by embracing an attractive man with long hair and washboard-abs: Jesus. Posing as a confused gay man seeking guidance, I journeyed into the world of charlatans and religious conmen dishing out snake-oil therapy. The underlying message: if youre gay, God hates you and if you dont get straight, youre going to hell.
I found myself sitting in a small office inside a church community center ready for some conversion therapy. On the wall were several pictures of Jesus, along with a framed portrait that read: Can Homosexuality Be Cured? The Answer Is YES! In my hand was a pamphlet showing smiling, well-groomed men hugging smiling, well-groomed women.
The best relationship youll ever have is with Jesus Christ, explained a large man named Curtis, who confessed to having struggled with homosexual temptations in college (he claimed to be cured). We sat across from each other. He asked meas a confused gay manto describe my history of same-sex attractions. Several times, he referred to himself in the third person when trying to drive home a point with a personal anecdote. When I found loopholes in his logic, he developed an eye tic that involved rapid blinking.
----
According to these Christian ministries, homosexuality, can be prevented, if you look for the signs. Pick up a copy of A Parents Guide to Preventing Homosexuality, which provides guidelines for concerned parents who want to keep their children from entering the World of Gay:
1. Masculinity is an achievement. Growing up straight isnt something that happens. It requires good parenting.
2. Dad is more important than Mom. Mothers make boys. Fathers make men.
3. Recognize that most homosexuals were not explicitly so when they were children. More often, they displayed nonmasculinity that sets them painfully apart from other boys: Theyre un-athletic, somewhat passive, unaggressive and uninterested in rough-and-tumble play. Tip: Single mothers may need to recruit a trustworthy male role model.
4. Be concerned if you see gender confusion or doubt in your child from ages 5 to 11. There is a high correlation between feminine behavior in boyhood and adult homosexuality.
---
The conversation turned to a discussion about masturbation: who was doing it, when and why. As the discussion continued, it became clearsurprisingly, or perhaps not sothat almost all the group members had had serious drug and alcohol problems. Yet they attributed their most severe problems to being in the gay lifestyle.
---
Men want lust, not intimacy, the leader said to sum up this and all other gay scenarios.
A guy across the circle leaned toward me. With strong, crazed eye contact, he added: An erection put into a womans vagina is like going into the paradise of heaven. An erection put in anything else is unnatural, and its a sin!
OK, I replied.
Keeping the eye contact, he made hand gestures and used the word erection at least six more times.
I found myself sitting in a small office inside a church community center ready for some conversion therapy. On the wall were several pictures of Jesus, along with a framed portrait that read: Can Homosexuality Be Cured? The Answer Is YES! In my hand was a pamphlet showing smiling, well-groomed men hugging smiling, well-groomed women.
The best relationship youll ever have is with Jesus Christ, explained a large man named Curtis, who confessed to having struggled with homosexual temptations in college (he claimed to be cured). We sat across from each other. He asked meas a confused gay manto describe my history of same-sex attractions. Several times, he referred to himself in the third person when trying to drive home a point with a personal anecdote. When I found loopholes in his logic, he developed an eye tic that involved rapid blinking.
----
According to these Christian ministries, homosexuality, can be prevented, if you look for the signs. Pick up a copy of A Parents Guide to Preventing Homosexuality, which provides guidelines for concerned parents who want to keep their children from entering the World of Gay:
1. Masculinity is an achievement. Growing up straight isnt something that happens. It requires good parenting.
2. Dad is more important than Mom. Mothers make boys. Fathers make men.
3. Recognize that most homosexuals were not explicitly so when they were children. More often, they displayed nonmasculinity that sets them painfully apart from other boys: Theyre un-athletic, somewhat passive, unaggressive and uninterested in rough-and-tumble play. Tip: Single mothers may need to recruit a trustworthy male role model.
4. Be concerned if you see gender confusion or doubt in your child from ages 5 to 11. There is a high correlation between feminine behavior in boyhood and adult homosexuality.
---
The conversation turned to a discussion about masturbation: who was doing it, when and why. As the discussion continued, it became clearsurprisingly, or perhaps not sothat almost all the group members had had serious drug and alcohol problems. Yet they attributed their most severe problems to being in the gay lifestyle.
---
Men want lust, not intimacy, the leader said to sum up this and all other gay scenarios.
A guy across the circle leaned toward me. With strong, crazed eye contact, he added: An erection put into a womans vagina is like going into the paradise of heaven. An erection put in anything else is unnatural, and its a sin!
OK, I replied.
Keeping the eye contact, he made hand gestures and used the word erection at least six more times.
Whole article here...
http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2014/11/i-went-undercover-to-become-ex-gay-inside-the-slimy-world-of-conversion-therapy/
This seems almost like a cult...a lot of indoctrination and brainwashing going on in these conversion therapy group programs. Also interesting is this guy says not once did he interact with anyone in charge who has a degree in psychology. A lot of these people have some real serious problems going on, and it's being made worse by religious zealots.
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Man goes undercover in a Christian gay conversion therapy program... it gets scary... (Original Post)
davidn3600
Nov 2014
OP
If this were posted in the religion forum we would soon learn why it has nothing to do with religion
Warren Stupidity
Nov 2014
#2
I truly pity all of these people. The ones in charge, and the ones seeking help.
QuebecYank
Nov 2014
#4
Feral Child
(2,086 posts)1. Extremely important article.
People are being abused in these Christian "clinics".
They've become illegal in several states, they need to be abolished everywhere they exist.
The mad, circular logic of their "Tips" is nauseating. Could it be that a boy showing "feminine" characteristics in childhood might not be experiencing "gender confusion', but is perhaps displaying an indication of the sexual identity he was born with?
Horrid creatures that are perpetuating this pious pretense of "treatment".
Warren Stupidity
(48,181 posts)2. If this were posted in the religion forum we would soon learn why it has nothing to do with religion
Who knows, we might learn that here too.
Happyhippychick
(8,379 posts)3. Conversion therapy = torture.
QuebecYank
(147 posts)4. I truly pity all of these people. The ones in charge, and the ones seeking help.
All of these people were/are unloved and unwanted by their own families until they convert(ed). Such hatred and fear. Pathetic.
Initech
(99,915 posts)5. This should not be acceptable practice in a truly free society.
kelliekat44
(7,759 posts)6. Sounds like they get off on the word "erection." nt