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AFTAH Honors Bob Reilly: AFTAH President Peter LaBarbera presents 2015 “American Truth Teller Award” to Bob Reilly at the Americans For Truth Chicago banquet Oct. 17. Reilly is author of “Making Gay Okay: How Rationalizing Homosexual Behavior Is Changing Everything”–which advances a principled argument against homosexualism. Reilly is speaking at a second AFTAH banquet in the Washington, DC area on Sat. Nov. 21. [Click HERE for more info and HERE to sign up.] Click on photo to enlarge.
Folks, here is a report on Americans For Truth’s dinner banquet Oct. 17–by Nancy Thorner of Illinois Review. Thanks to all who came to the banquet at Christian Liberty Academy. It was a wonderful evening, with author Bob Reilly (“Making Gay Okay: How Rationalizing Homosexual Behavior Is Changing Everything“) brilliantly expounding on Natural Law.
How shameful it is to the pro-family “conservative” movement that Bob’s principled work–cutting to the core of this vexing issue–has not been promoted enthusiastically at all levels (National Review refused to review it). If you make a gift to AFTAH of $100, we will send you both the book and a DVD video of the Oct. 17 banquet.
Thank you, AFTAH supporters–old and new–it is your generosity that enables our ongoing work of answering Big Sodomy’s cultural lies with facts and Truth. If you could not make it Oct. 17, please send a gift to AFTAH, PO Box 5522, Naperville, IL 60567-5522. Or go to our new AFTAH Donate Page HERE. — Peter LaBarbera, AFTAH
Thorner: Robert Reilly Keynotes Annual AFTAH Dinner-Banquet
By Nancy Thorner –
The Americans for Truth annual dinner-banquet was held on Saturday, October 17 at Christian Liberty Academy in Arlington Heights, IL. The Church of Christian Liberty, Calvin Lindstrom, pastor, provides oversight for the Academy as one of its ministries, though students and parents are not required to be members or attend the church. Pastor Lindstrom succeeded his dad, Dr. Paul Lindstrom, in 2002, who was the founder of Christian Liberty Academy and the Church of Christian Liberty.
Peter LaBarbera is founder & president of “Americans for Truth About Homosexuality (AFTAH),” a non-profit group, founded as a part-time venture in 1996, but later reorganized in August of 2006. AFTAH remains a rare single issue group that seeks to apply the same single-minded determination to opposing the radical homosexual agenda and standing for God-ordained sexuality and the natural family, as countless homosexual groups do in promoting their agenda.
John Kirkwood, Pastor at Grace Gospel Fellowship in Bensenville, Illinois, and a weekly contributor for Clash Daily, was on hand to assist LaBarbera in the night’s activities.
In his opening remarks, Peter LaBarbera informed attendees that his organization, “Americans for Truth” will be moving from its Illinois headquarters to Washington D.C. where there is a greater media platform to get his message out. Despite the change of name, the group’s purpose will not change. LaBarbera used to work in Washington, D.C., so he has a network of friends to draw upon. LaBarbera, however, did promise to come back to Illinois every year hold the annual AFT banquet at Christian Liberty Academy.
Following the “Pledge of Allegiance” led by LaBarbara and the prayer by Pastor Lindstrom, two short clips were shown prior to dinner being served. By far the most disturbing one was a clip about Emily who is now Emmett. View here the imbalanced 6-minute segment on the sad story of a 17-year-old teen from Gurnee, Illinois. “Emmett” Paschal (née Emily), who attends Warren Township High School, is a girl who wishes she were a boy. “Emmett” recently underwent a double mastectomy and began taking the cross-sex steroid testosterone in her quest to conceal her objective biological sex.
Peter LaBarbera reasoned that medical decisions requiring body disfiguring operations should be delayed until adulthood. Further comments by LaBarbara mentioned 1) the existence of a Chicago Leather Archives which is referred to in tourist guides as a museum, even though this facility contains pedophile information, and 2) the sponsorship of this year’s gay parade in New York City by Walmart to which many children viewed when brought by their parents.
Linda Harvey of “Mission America” condemns “Inequality and Injustice Act”
Linda Harvey, founder of “Mission America”, was introduced by Peter LaBarbera as the night’s first speaker. LaBarbera used the occasion to announce that Harvey would be the keynote speaker at next year’s “Americans For Truth” banquet.
“Mission America” is an American Christian organization based in Columbus, Ohio founded in 1995 that seeks to “cover the latest cultural and social trends in our country and what they might mean for Christians. This media ministry of Linda Harvey is an outgrowth of her Christian faith and a successful career in journalism, marketing and public relations. Her articles have appeared in national publications, including the Internet news site World Net Daily.
Harvey spoke about the “Inequality and Injustice Act” [pro-LGBTQ “Equality Act”] which cannot be permitted to pass. Its purpose is to change the 1964 Civil Rights codes. The bill in the House is designated as HR 3185, while in the Senate it is listed under S 1858. So far there are 170 sponsors in the House, no Republicans, but they are vulnerable to caving in. If enacted, the deceptively titled Equality Act would punish dissenters who disagree with same-sex marriage by using the enforcement tools of the amended Civil Rights Act of 1964, but with even greater force and scope. The Equality Act seeks to weaponize Obergefell, moving with lightning speed from a contentious five-to-four victory on same-sex marriage to a nationwide rule that “sexual orientation” and “gender identity” are privileged classes that give no quarter to Americans who continue to believe and seek to exercise their millennia-old religious belief that marriage and sexual relations are reserved to the union of one man and one woman, Harvey said.
On Thursday (Oct. 22, 2015), I appeared as a guest on Stacy Harp’s “Bible Radio News” show. Stacy is the hard-working founder of Active Christian Media and a longtime Christian pro-family advocate–a sort of one-woman dynamo for Biblical Truth. As you can hear from listening to the podcast below, Stacy overcame homosexual thoughts and temptations in her own life as a child and teenager (but never embraced them). As a clinical trained marriage and family therapist with a Master’s Degree in Clinical Psychology, she is well-equipped to analyze the factors underlying homosexual confusion. We discuss: how homosexualist propaganda works; the proper Christian attitude toward people struggling with homosexual desires; false (anti-) Christian theology that is embracing the idea of positive “gay” “sexual orientation” (in the name of Gospel outreach); the power and tactics of the homosexual activist movement; the homosexual “10 Percent” population myth; and the largely untold story–in the increasingly pro-LGBTQ media–of “ex-gays,” men and women who have overcome the pull of homosexuality in their lives. See Stacy’s Facebook page HERE. — Peter LaBarbera, AFTAH
P.S. Here is the Amazon link for the book I mention–Gay…Or Not? One Christian Man’s Journey–by former homosexual Jerry Heacock. Please support him by buying and promoting this important book. It will also bless you and help you grow as a Christian believer.
Check Out Christianity Podcasts at Blog Talk Radio with Bible News Radio on BlogTalkRadio
AFTAH President Peter LaBarbera (left) presents Robert Reilly with the 2015 American Truth Teller award. Reilly is author of the book, “Making Gay Okay: How Rationalizing Homosexual Behavior Is Changing Everything.” View other recipients HERE.
Author Robert Reilly joins other pro-family heroes as a recipient of the Americans For Truth About Homosexuality (AFTAH) “American Truth Teller” award for 2015. Here is the full list of honorees:
2009 – Don Wildmon, founder and chairman, American Family Association and American Family Radio
2010 – The late Dr. Ken Hutcherson, founder and senior pastor, Antioch Bible Church
2011 – Dr. Scott Lively, founder, Abiding Truth Ministries; author, Pink Swastika book series
2012 – Dr. Judith Reisman, author, Kinsey, Sex & Fraud; Kinsey, Crimes & Consequences; professor, Liberty U. School of Law
2013 – Sandy Rios, host, “Sandy Rios in the Morning,” AFR Talk; former president, Concerned Women for America
2014 – Dr. Michael Brown, author, A Queer Thing Happened to America; founder and president, FIRE School of Ministry
2015 – Robert Reilly, author, Making Gay Okay: How Rationalizing Homosexual Behavior Is Changing Everything; former director, Voice of America
This list of common sense truths and reality-based, biblically faithful observations is not comprehensive, and we’ll be adding to it. There is some overlap in the points. Send us your ideas to americansfortruth@gmail.com. — Peter LaBarbera, AFTAH.org
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By Peter LaBarbera
It’s the Behavior, Stupid…And the behavior is dangerous. This 2011 CDC slide shows the disproportionately high correlation between homosexual behavior and HIV among young men ages 13-24. See this AFTAH article. Nature itself discriminates against homosexual behaviors. Click to enlarge.
1) It’s always about the behavior, stupid. No, I’m not calling you stupid. This is a variation on the political slogan regarding voters’ motivations: “It’s the economy, stupid.” What we can observe and what we can analyze is behavior: we cannot decipher people’s thoughts. “Orientation” is a self-serving homosexual activist construct. It is homosexual *behavior* that is destructive, unnatural and spreads disease, e.g, the direct connection between male homosexual behavior and HIV and syphilis. People change their behavior all the time. That must be our focus.
2) Homosexuality is what you do, not who you are. (Gary Glenn, Michigan pro-family legislator)
3 Defending historic Judeo-Christian morality is not bigotry or “hate.”
3a) Corollary: Those who hate Truth, call Truth “hate.” (origin unknown)
3b) Corollary: To label the defense of biblical and moral truth “hate” is itself hateful.
3c) Corollary: There are few groups as hateful and intolerant as LGBTQueer activists.
3d) The people who are quickest to falsely charge others with “hate” are often the most hateful activists in society.
4) Apply the “Sexual Sin Substitution Test” for Moral Clarity: Substitute another sin for the word *gay* in any debate, discussion or media story about homosexuality and see if it makes sense, biblically-speaking. Also apply it: “sexual orientation,” “homophobia,” “transgender,” etc. (You can also substitute a non-sexual sin.) Most of modern thinking in the culture, politics and the Church fails this Substitution Test. For example, when was the last time you heard a major Christian leader apologizing to pornography-users and porn activists–as Southern Baptist leaders recently did to homosexuals. Here in Chicago, “progressive” Christian Andy Marin takes this to an extreme with his Marin Institute’s “I’m sorry” campaign–holding signs with that message at the city’s annual debauched homosexual Pride Parades.
S-S-S Test applied: There are no “Adultery Pride Parades.” Nobody gets accused of being of being an *incest-phobe.* I’ve never heard a guy appeal to his *lustful orientation.* There are no Porn-using Republicans groups that draw the support of leading conservatives and GOP politicians (like the homosexual activist Log Cabin Republicans). And the president doesn’t make official declarations and speeches celebrating annual *Fornicators Pride Month.*
6) Don’t deny Jesus Transforming Power: Every person ever born, except Jesus Christ, has or had a sinful “orientation.” (Jeremiah 17:9) To deny that we are sinners is to deny God. To deny that homosexual behavior is a sin is to deny God’s Word, the Bible. To deny that God can help people overcome the sinful pull of homosexuality is to deny Jesus Christ and His transforming power.
7) Never concede language to LGBTQ revolutionaries. Deconstruct “Gay-Speak”–because he who controls the language controls the debate: When you hear *Equality* think radical, government-imposed egalitarianism. *Equality* has become the politically correct buzzword for a leftist social agenda that eliminates natural distinctions between man and woman. LGBTQueer “equality,” so-called, undermines historic behavioral and moral, biblical normal norms by promoting sexual perversion and extreme gender confusion and rebellion as *civil rights.*
Threat of youth suicide drives radical, body-disfiguring “sex reassignment” surgeries on minor children–should this be legal?
Defying Nature: Emily Pascal as a teenage girl, before undergoing her transgender “sex reassignment” surgeries to appear like the male she thinks she is. Paschal, 17, now identifies as “Emmet” (see video below) after having her healthy breasts surgically removed. Both Pascal’s parents and the medical professionals at Lurie Children’s Hospital in Chicago cite her potential suicide as a key reason for pursuing the body-disfiguring operations as a minor.
“We don’t offer anything that would have any long-lasting negative or irreversible effect unless this is truly a kid who’s older, who can make a wise decision, whose family is supportive.”— Dr. Scott Leibowitz, child and adolescent psychiatrist with Lurie Children’s Hospital’s Gender and Sex Development program
Folks, I am stunned at what passes for science and medical care these days. Emily Paschal, a 17-year-old girl from Gurnee, Illinois featured in these WYCC (PBS-Chicago) video segments, had her healthy adolescent breasts surgically removed as part of her “transitioning” process to become her male persona, “Emmet.” Her parents allowed the radical surgery in the name of helping their daughter become like the transgender “male” she thinks she is. They were assisted by Lurie Children’s Hospital in Chicago, in a program led by an open homosexual, Dr. Robert Garofalo, who heads up the hospital’s “Gender and Sex Development Program.”
Last month I was interviewed by WYCC for this “In the Loop” segment, “Raising a Transgender Teen,” without knowing the specifics of the Emily-“Emmet” Pascal story. WYCC is the lesser known of two PBS TV stations in Chicago, and this program aired September 24, 2015. WYCC used only a tiny portion of my interview, which is a shame because the reporter who interviewed me–not “In the Loop” host Barbara Pinto, who narrates the piece–was very fair and asked no “gotcha” questions. Note:I am identified here with “Center For Morality,” which will be a project of Americans For Truth as we transition to our new home in the Washington, D.C. area.
How tragic it is that the threat of suicide drives this entire process whereby panic-stricken parents–working with doctors who double as de facto LGBTQ activists–allow their child’s confused feelings to guide and rationalize the pursuit of permanent body-disfiguring operations. Speaking of rationalizations: what would feminists say about Emily’s (“Emmet’s’) father Dirk Paschal recalling her leadership skills as a girl in the neighborhood as evidence that she was really a “boy.” Can’t girls be leaders?
The bottom line here is that doctors have become activists and pop-culture philosophers in pushing these extreme experimental “solutions” on vulnerable youth and their vulnerable parents–even though, as Dr. Garofalo admits (see 3:18 mark), the doctors are far from having all the answers. Most importantly, as he acknowledges, some kids overcome their sense of “gender nonconformity”–so why rush the operations and puberty-blocking drug “treatments”? And will we all one day as taxpaying Americans be subsidizing these horrific procedures through Obama-care? I question whether these radical “transgender” surgeries should even be legal for minors. More coming on this. — Peter LaBarbera, AFTAH
Some highlights of the video are transcribed after the videos and the page jump:
Special Sin? Has Dr. Al Mohler of the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary failed the “Sexual Sin Substitution Test” on homosexualism?
[UPDATE: to listen to Janet Mefferd’s interview with AFTAH’s Peter LaBarbera, go HERE or click play in the player above (it starts at the 24:00 mark)]
Dear Readers, once again the pro-family, Christian movement falls into “Kvetch and Retreat” mode, which is another way of saying we are constantly backing up in our interactions with the homosexual juggernaut. This is why we lose. Needless to say, homosexual activists and their fellow travelers are not appeased by Dr. Al Mohler’s high-minded retreat on pro-heterosexual Reparative Therapy, as my friend and talk show host Janet Mefferd notes with regard to the Huffington Post columnist and “liberal Christian” professor Derek Penwell below.
I appreciate that Janet applies what I am calling the “Sexual Sin Substitution Test”: simply replace “gay” with another sexual sin and see if it makes sense. This helps to lay bare the pitfalls of making special accommodations, theological caveats–and even questionable apologies–in our approach toward those caught up in the sin of (proud) homosexualism and gender rebellion. With regard to Mohler’s curious apology–on behalf of non-consulted Christians everywhere–to people caught up in homosexual behaviors and feelings, I would ask–as a flawed Ambassador of Christ myself:
Why hasn’t Mohler apologized to the porn-using “community”? The adulterous “community”? And certainly the very large but misunderstood fornicators “community” deserves an apology, too. Why are he and other guilt-ridden Christians not apologizing to these sin groups?
The practical answer to that question, I submit, is that these other sins are not the beneficiaries of a powerful lobby that has turned ungodly yet changeable behaviors into proud self-identities–and a supposedly victimized “minority” with massive media, corporate and government clout behind it. And I say to Prof. Penwell— in the spirit of Jeremiah 17:9 and 1 Corinthians 6:9-11–repent, humble yourself before Almighty God and turn away from all anti-biblical attempts to justify proud homosexuality in the lives of others. Because no amount of cultural power and liberal propaganda can turn sin into righteousness. –Peter LaBarbera, Americans For Truth; @PeterLaBarbera; americansfortruth@gmail.com
P.S. I will be appearing tonight (Oct. 7, 2015) as a guest on Janet’s new radio show, “Janet Mefferd Today” to discuss Mohler’s ill-timed criticism of pro-hetero Reparative Therapy. To listen to the interview, go HERE — it starts at the 24:00 mark.
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Mefferd writes:
Reparative Therapy, Southern Baptists and Moving the Goalposts
“When even Al Mohler is embarrassed to talk about ‘reparative therapy’ in straightforward terms everyone understands, it means that cultural standards are evolving toward greater hospitality to our LGBTQ sisters and brothers.” – Pro-homosexual liberal activist and “liberal Christian” Derek Penwell
Here is a link to a promotional, PDF flier for the AFTAH Chicago dinner banquet Saturday, October 17 featuring “Making Gay Okay” author Robert Reilly. Click the link below:
What: Americans For Truth About Homosexuality’s (AFTAH) dinner-banquet fund-raiser. Theme: “The Case Against Sodomy: How to Use Reason and Natural Law to Argue Against Homosexual Acts and ‘Gay Marriage'” Who: Keynote speaker: Robert Reilly, author, ‘Making Gay Okay: How Rationalizing Homosexual Behavior Is Changing Everything’ [get a copy with $100 gift to AFTAH] When: Saturday, October 17, 6:00 PM Central; doors open 5:30. Where: Christian Liberty Academy, 5002 W. Euclid Ave., Arlington Heights, IL 60004. Map HERE. Cost: Only $20 per person. Sponsor a Table of 10 for just $200 or 5 attendees for $100. Send check made out to “AFTAH” to: AFTAH, PO Box 5522, Naperville, IL 60567-5522. Or sign up online using our safe credit card form. More info on Reilly and the banquet HERE.
Second AFTAH Banquet in Wash., DC on Nov. 21: Americans For Truth will be hosting Robert Reilly for a second dinner-banquet in the Washington, D.C. area on Saturday, Nov. 21. Stay tuned for more details.
Folks, this is an excellent video by conservative Catholic Michael Voris, founder of ChurchMilitant.com and a leading fighter against pro-homosexual “progressives” in the Catholic Church. Voris is a Catholic, and I am an evangelical. We may disagree strongly on points of theology (and agree on others)–but let me tell you, this guy is a warrior, and I respect that.
Below the video is a transcript of Voris’ powerful remarks. As I wrote in a previous post, every American who is concerned about the homosexualist juggernaut–whether Catholic or not–should be aware of what is transpiring among Catholics, and the leftist campaign to subvert the Church’s teachings on homosexuality and marriage. That is because Catholics and the Church’s actions have such a huge influence over the overall “gay” debate, both here and abroad. We will follow the Synod of the Family–dubbed the “Sodomy Synod” by Voris below–closely through conservatives like Voris. — Peter LaBarbera, AFTAH
TRANSCRIPT
Right out of the gate, even before the Synod officially got underway, a shocking revelation from the Italian media that a high-ranking official in the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith (CDF) came out as an active homosexual with a partner.
The announcement in the Italian media brought an almost instant response from the Vatican, which said the Polish priest Kryzsztof Charamsa, a Vatican theologian, was irresponsible and placing undue pressure on the Synod right from the opening bell. But in many ways, what Charamsa has done is merely bring out into the open what many have long suspected and even been discussing quite freely: that there is a major push by gay and gay-positive clergy to get the Church to accept homosexuality.