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“Man-made law must be consistent with God-given, natural rights,” asserts GOP’s guiding document
No Longer Free: New Mexico photographers Elaine and Jon Huguenin were fined more than $6,000 for politely refusing to shoot photos at a lesbian commitment ceremony, due to their Christian faith. The suit against them was filed under New Mexico’s “sexual orientation” law. The Huguenins appealed the decision but ultimately lost in the New Mexico Supreme Court. The U.S. Supreme Court is expected to one day hear a case that will help decide whether “gay rights” supersedes Americans’ freedom of conscience on homosexual “marriage.” The next president could pick as many as four SCOTUS justices.
The following are extended excerpts of the newly minted 2016 Republican Party Platform, with a focus on the social issues and religious freedom (emphasis ours):
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We the People
We are the party of the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution. The Declaration sets forth the fundamental precepts of American government: That God bestows certain inalienable rights on every individual, thus producing human equality; that government exists first and foremost to protect those inalienable rights; that man-made law must be consistent with God-given, natural rights; and that if God-given, natural, inalienable rights come in conflict with government, court, or human-granted rights, God-given, natural, inalienable rights always prevail; that there is a moral law recognized as “the Laws of Nature and of Nature’s God”; and that American government is to operate with the consent of the governed. We are also the party of the Constitution, the greatest political document ever written. It is the solemn compact built upon principles of the Declaration that enshrines our God-given individual rights and law, defines the purposes and limits of government, and is the blueprint for ordered liberty that makes the United States the world’s freest and most prosperous nation. …
In a free society, the primary role of government is to protect the God-given, inalienable rights of its citizens. These constitutional rights are not negotiable for any American. We affirm that all legislation, regulation, and official actions must conform to the Constitution’s original meaning as understood at the time the language was adopted.
…
Defending Marriage Against an Activist Judiciary
Traditional marriage and family, based on marriage between one man and one woman, is the foundation for a free society and has for millennia been entrusted with rearing children and instilling cultural values. We condemn the Supreme Court’s ruling in United States v. Windsor, which wrongly removed the ability of Congress to define marriage policy in federal law. We also condemn the Supreme Court’s lawless ruling in Obergefell v. Hodges, which in the words of the late Justice Antonin Scalia, was a “judicial Putsch” — full of “silly extravagances” — that reduced “the disciplined legal reasoning of John Marshall and Joseph Storey to the mystical aphorisms of a fortune cookie.” In Obergefell, five unelected lawyers robbed 320 million Americans of their legitimate constitutional authority to define marriage as the union of one man and one woman. The Court twisted the meaning of the Fourteenth Amendment beyond recognition. To echo Scalia, we dissent. We, therefore, support the appointment of justices and judges who respect the constitutional limits on their power and respect the authority of the states to decide such fundamental social questions.
Phil Robertson of the popular “Duck Dynasty” show on A&E is pictured second from left on this Parade magazine cover. A&E suspended Robertson after he criticized homosexuality, bowing to a pressure campaign by the “gay” media group GLAAD. The intolerant GLAAD has a long history of trying to shut down conservative speech opposed to the homosexual agenda — including media exposure to successful ex-“gays” — in the public square.
Contact: Peter LaBarbera: 312-324-3787; americansfortruth@gmail.com
[Warning: some graphic descriptions of high-risk homosexual anal sex]
CHICAGO – Americans For Truth About Homosexuality (AFTAH) President Peter LaBarbera urges Americans to stand behind Duck Dynasty patriarch Phil Robertson’s right to free speech – and affirmed his common-sense views on sexual sin and morality as being consistent with historic Christian and biblical teachings. LaBarbera condemned A&E for “caving in to the anti-Christian homo-fascism of GLAAD” (formerly the Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation) by suspending Robertson.
“There’s far more truth and wisdom in what Phil Robertson told GQthan in the everyday pro-‘gay’ pablum that is pumped out daily by the liberal media,” LaBarbera said. “Indeed, male homosexual anal sex is not just repulsive and wrong, but highly dangerous – contributing to the disproportional link between ‘men who have sex with men’ and HIV and other sexually-transmitted diseases (see below).
“More importantly for the souls of homosexuals, Robertson is exactly right to paraphrase 1 Corinthians chapter 6 in warning that proud homosexuals (like other unrepentant sinners) will not go to heaven, and that we’re living in a culture in which “Everything is blurred on what’s right and what’s wrong…Sin becomes fine,’” LaBarbera said. “But like all faithful Christians, as a forgiven sinner himself Robertson knows that Jesus Christ in His grace and divine power can help homosexual men and women leave that sinful lifestyle behind.”
LaBarbera made the following additional points about the Phil Robertson story:
BIBLE AGREES WITH ROBERTSTON: As Politically Incorrect and offensive to secularists as it may be, the Bible confirms Robertson’s association of homosexual misbehavior with other egregious sexual sins: in the Old Testament Book of Leviticus (chapter 20), the condemnation homosexuality is grouped in between proscriptions against adultery, bestiality, and incest [for more on this see Bible-and-homosexuality scholar Robert Gagnon’s superb site, www.RobGagnon.net].
GLAAD STIFLES DEBATE: GLAAD, the homosexual pressure group in the forefront of attacking Robertson, has a long history of attempting to shut down speech critical of homosexuality — and demonizing as “haters, bigots and homophobes” those (usually Christians) who speak out against homosexualism or affirm the truth that homosexuals can change and leave the lifestyle. GLAAD regularly lobbies the media to shun conservatives on the homosexual issue – e.g., its 2010 pressure campaign targeting CNN for including ex-“gay” therapist Richard Cohen in a debate segment on homosexuality.;
MEDIA DOUBLE STANDARD: Why is it that pro-family, Christian conservatives like Robertson invariably become the targets of the politically correct media — while vicious and vulgar homosexual activists like Dan Savage are free to spew the most vile hatred imaginable with barely any critical media glare? Phil Robertson is suspended while Dan Savage – who infamously “re-defined” Rick Santorum’s last name as a by-product of anal sodomy, and joked that to control overpopulation “abortion should be mandatory for about 30 years” – is a liberal media hero. (In fact, Savage, far from being punished for his malicious barbs and antics, was rewarded with his own show on MTV.)
HOMOSEXUAL HEALTH RISKS: If Americans were to come to understand how truly dangerous homosexual anal sex is, they would demand a full-scale government-corporate campaign to discourage it – especially among young men. For example, the CDC recently reported that 94-95 percent of HIV cases among young men (13-24) in 2011 were linked to homosexual sex. In his book The Ins and Outs of Gay Sex, homosexual Dr. Stephen Goldstone compares the active role in homosexual rectal sex to a “battering ram”: “An anal tear can occur during the initial phase of anal sex precisely because your partner pushes his penis through a closed sphincter. Think of his penis as a battering ram, one for which your internal sphincter is no match.” Goldstone also writes that the “anus is the highest place risk for STDs.” (The “gay” doctor urges condom use, but many homosexual men shun condoms – as evidenced by the widespread availability of condomless, gay “barebacking” pornography in homosexual Meccas like San Francisco.) Another homosexual activist, Jack Hart, writes that “some practices common among gays — especially rimming [oral-anal “sex”] and anal intercourse — are highly efficient ways of transmitting disease.”
SEXUALLY IMMORAL SLIPPER SLOPE: Robertson was correct again on the slippery slope of sexual immorality: “Start with homosexual behavior and just morph out from there. Bestiality, sleeping around with this woman and that woman and that woman and those men,” he told GQ. Look what has paralleled the advance of proud homosexuality in our nation: greater sexual permissiveness (fornication) in general and growing disrespect for marriage in our “hook-up” culture; the porn-fed promotion of heterosexual anal sex, bringing a new threat to women; websites like “Ashley Madison” that actually facilitate adultery; and an explosion of “transgender rights” that shockingly encourages gender-confused boys to identify as girls and use female restrooms and locker rooms in schools.
LEFT “JUDGES” FAITHFUL CHRISTIANS: Lastly, Bible-believing Christians are sick and tired of liberal, pro-homosexual advocates (including the Religious Left) telling us how Christians are supposed to believe and speak. Last night on Fox News’ “The Kelly File,” a liberal, Jewish, Democratic activist informed viewers that Christians should not “judge” – even as he used his appearance on Fox to JUDGE and condemn Phil Robertson.
LaBarbera concluded: “Homosexual behavior is wrong, unnatural, often high-risk, but thankfully, changeable – as testified to by the redeemed lives of formerly “gay” men like Michael Glatze and ex-lesbian women like Yvette Cantu Schneider who have overcome homosexuality through faith in Jesus Christ. The Homosexual Lobby in America has morphed into an intolerant and ‘vengeful’ ‘monster in our midst’ – to quote British historian Paul Johnson in describing the growth of homosexual power in the U.K. [see full Johnson passage HERE]. Christians and moral-minded Americans must rally behind Phil Robertson, condemn the homo-fascist ‘Gay Thought Police’ led by GLAAD who regularly pressure the media into silencing moral speech, and demand that an energetic and civil debate on homosexuality be allowed to flourish in this land we call free.”
UPDATE: Gay militant smears AFTAH, again: Shortly after we posted the article and video below about Exodus International’s tragic embrace of “gay Christianity,” AFTAH founder Peter LaBarbera was attacked by notorious homosexual militant Wayne Besen (who came up with the hateful smear “Porno Pete”): see Besen’s lie-filled “report” here: http://www.truthwinsout.org/blog/2012/09/29105/
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Words cannot express my disappointment in Exodus International President Alan Chambers’ “exodus” from biblical truth on homosexuality. This 17-minute video of Chambers addressing a pro-homosexual, ostensibly “Christian” group (Gay Christian Network) aptly sums up his tragic defection. [For a rebuttal, see Prof. Rob Gagnon’s paper, “Time for a Leadership Change at Exodus?] Poor Alan is way beyond his pay grade here: imagine heading up an “ex-gay” umbrella group — which is how Exodus once described itself — and apologizing to unrepentant homosexuals for the simple slogan “Change is possible.” Shame. Substitute another sexual sin (say, pornography) for homosexuality (“sexual orientation”) — and Chambers’ “apology” makes no sense at all. (For that matter, would anyone take a “Porn-using Christians Network”–or a “Christian Lusters Network”–seriously and “dialogue” with them?)
Sad but true: these days when Christians “dialogue” with homosexual activists, as Chambers often does, it is usually the Christians who bend toward the world (sin) rather than vice versa. Stay tuned for more on this stunning story of Exodus’ and Chambers’ break with historic Christian teaching on homosexuality. — Peter LaBarbera, AFTAH
This video was produced by Oklahoma City-based First Stone Ministries, led by our friend and former homosexual Stephen Black. First Stone recently broke away from Exodus International and is now part of a new, biblically-faithful umbrella group for sexual struggers, Restored Hope Network. Go HERE to watch this video on YouTube.
“How can a Christian even in the service of mental or psychological consonance be open to a client assuming a same-sex identity when this therapist knows that consonance comes at the cost of his or her client’s eternal life?” — Laurie Higgins
Mark Yarhouse, Professor of Psychology, Regent University
Folks, it’s a heckuva long road from “abomination” (Leviticus 18:22) to “gay” (no Scriptural citation possible). Note the critical difference between acknowledging in a free society that people have the free will to make bad choices (i.e., embrace sin) — and respecting the sinful choices of such individuals as a “valued identity.” Laurie Higgins is right: Mark Yarhouse’s (and Warren Throckmorton’s) “Sexual Identity Therapy” puts Christian professionals in the dangerous position of doing the latter. Here is Yarhouse’s defense of SIT, “Understanding Sexual Identity Therapy.” And here is his and Throckmorton’s paper, “Sexual Identity Therapy: Practicing Guidelines for Managing Sexual Identity Conflicts.”
How can a serious follower of Christ “envision” a homosexual identity?
Correction: in initially posting this piece, we mistakenly cited the American Psychological Association, instead of the American Psychiatric Association, regarding the changed DSM on homosexuality as a mental disorders. We apologize for the error. — AFTAH, www.aftah.org
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“Nuance” — yet another manifestation of rhetoric serving the cause of sin. Where oh where is C.S. Lewis when we need him to poke holes in the fancy façade of sophistication that we sinners don to conceal our acquiescence to a fallen world?
Grove City College Professor Warren Throckmorton’s feet have been put to the fire recently regarding the Sexual Identity Therapy guidelines that he and Mark Yarhouse of Regent University have developed. Their guidelines state the following:
The emergence of a gay identity for persons struggling with religious conflicts is a possibility envisioned by the recommendations….some religious individuals will determine that their religious beliefs may become modified to allow integration of same-sex eroticism within their valued identity. We seek to provide therapy recommendations that respect these options.
How can a serious follower of Christ “envision” a homosexual identity, that is to say, an identity defined by disordered desire and objectively immoral behavior? Substitute another sin for homosexuality and imagine such a statement:
“The emergence of a polyamorous or promiscuous identity with religious conflicts is a possibility envisioned by the recommendations. Some religious individuals will determine that their religious beliefs may become modified to allow integration of polyamorous eroticism or promiscuity within their valued identity. We seek to provide therapy recommendations that respect these options.”
Is renegade prof’s position on homosexuality the “official view of GCC”?
Editor’s Note: links have been added to the following letter sent by Steve Baldwin to Grove City College President Richard Jewell (Phone: 724-458-2500). For more contact information on GCC, go HERE.
From: “Steve Baldwin” [e-mail address withheld]
Date: Mon, 8 Mar 2010 13:35:55 -0800
To: <rgjewell@gcc.edu>
Subject: Message from Steve Baldwin
President Jewell:
Warren Throckmorton
We’ve met before when I was the Executive Director of the Council for National Policy. I’ve been following the controversy involving your professor, Warren Throckmorton, and I have to say, Throckmorton is doing great damage to the reputation of Grove City College.
It’s bad enough having a professor who actively declares that homosexuality is just fine if the person in question is happy with himself. That is simply not biblical and you know it. It like saying alcoholics are fine the way they are as long as they’re happy with themselves.
Update: since the publication of this piece in 2009, Randy Thomas has strayed back into homosexuality (while still claiming, against the entire counsel of Scripture, that he remains a faithful Christian. His former boss, Alan Chambers, has presided over the implosion of Exodus International as a Christian “ex-gay” ministry–through the embrace of of a heresy labeled “Hyper-Grace” by our friend Dr. Michael Brown, who wrote a book about it. In 2015, Chambers ridiculously opined that God is “cool” with homosexual “marriage.” AFTAH now (highly) recommends Restored Hope Network, an umbrella group of ex-“gay” ministries that includes many former Exodus members. — Peter LaBarbera, AFTAH, Dec. 2, 2016
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By Peter LaBarbera
Folks, a few days ago we ran a story about CPAC (Conservative Political Action Conference)allowing a homosexual activist group to be a co-sponsor, in which I quoted my friend (and AFTAH Board Member) Matt Barber offered a colorful description of homosexual sodomy. It was appropriately dismissive toward this “detestable” act (Leviticus 18:22) once known as a “crime against nature,” Matt’s point was obvious: no true “conservative” can support or celebrate homosexual perversion or the LGBT agenda, in any way.
Well, thanks to the politically correct overreaction of Randy Thomas and Alan Chambers of Exodus International (an ex-“gay” umbrella group), Liberty Counsel (Barber’s current employer) issued an apologetic statement that was not fully accurate in that it left out a key fact: Matt’s ownership of the bold sodomy description. This could create the impression that Barber might not have made the comment, which he did.
Today Matt issued his own clarification (emphasis added):
“This is for clarification only. As affirmed in Liberty Counsel’s statement, neither I nor anyone with Liberty Counsel ever publicly ‘wrote or made’ the comment in question – an unapologetically direct and accurate depiction of the sin of sodomy (a sin that God directly and accurately calls both an ‘abomination’ and ‘detestable’). Some years before I began working with Liberty Counsel, I made the comment in private conversation with Peter LaBarbera. At the time, Peter asked if he could ‘quote me on it’ and I said yes.
Barber is the keynote speaker at Americans For Truth About Homosexuality’s fund-raising banquet outside Chicago on Saturday, Oct 24. An AFTAH Board Member and former professional heavyweight boxer, Barber is currently Director for Cultural Studies at Liberty Counsel. Sign up to hear Matt at the AFTAH banquet by using the “Online Banquet Sign-up” link at www.americansfortruth.com/donate/ (discount rates for students and pastors).
We were in elementary school — morning recess by the jungle gym. My buddy Kyle presided over the ceremony. I was the groom and Karen Smith was the blushing bride. The mock wedding lasted about three minutes. The mock marriage lasted about half-a-day. Oh, I was faithful — until Christina McCarroll caught my wandering eye during Math class. Of course we weren’t really married — we were fourth graders – but we sure had fun pretending.
Flash forward about twenty-five years — San Francisco, CA — An activist Mayor, Gavin Newsom, taunts the State’s voters and defies both the rule of law and the sanctity of marriage as he cons thousands of “same-sex couples,” including the corpulent Queen of crass herself, Rosie O’Donnell, into taking part in a number of mock weddings held in San Francisco’s City Hall. Of course they weren’t really married — but they sure seemed to have fun pretending.
