Jim Daly, President and CEO, Focus on the Family

“When you look back from a pro-life perspective, what were the gains there?” he asked, noting President Ronald Reagan’s judicial choices. A generation later, “we see a bit of fatigue. We don’t see the results for the energy, the money, everything else that’s been poured into the political sphere,” said [Focus on the Family CEO Jim] Daly … “We as a Christian community need to refocus a bit on what’s important in the culture. For us, it’s family. That’s our mission.”

Yet it’s clear Daly, who has met with gay activists, sees diminishing returns in continuing the culture wars.

“I’m not fearful that change will happen in America. It will happen. … I don’t know what will happen with same-sex marriage, but I’m not going to be discouraged if we lose some of those battles,” he said, noting that for “98 percent” of people, traditional marriage will remain relevant.

“It’s going to be difficult in this culture and the way the demographics are going right now,” he went on. “You look at the under-35 age group. I think it’s splitting 60-40 support for same-sex marriage. There’s a lot of people in the U.S. [who] basically come to the conclusion that this is something between two adults. I will continue to defend traditional marriage, but I’m not going to demean human beings for the process.” — Excerpted from AOL News online article about Jim Daly, Focus on the Family’s new CEO; “Dobson’s Successor Gives Mega-Ministry New Focus.”

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Dear AFTAH Readers,

It seems that Focus on the Family (FOTF) is becoming a schizophrenic organization. Recently we applauded Focus for reaffirming a principled position against homosexual judicial nominees. Now, oddly, Jim Daly, FOTF’s new president and CEO, is talking down the pro-family “culture war.”

Daly’s softness on public policy must be understood in the context of the ongoing evangelical retreat in the Culture War (typified by the book UnChristian). Many Christians are more concerned with the Church’s “image” than they are with confronting lies in the culture and standing against secular threats like “Gay” and Abortion Lobbies. They claim that Culture War activism hinders the Gospel. But I have found that there are certain questions that “Soft” Evangelicals are hard-pressed to answer:

Laurie Higgins says ‘No’

“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.”

Also, we feel obligated to note that although we concur with Higgins regarding Yarhouse’s strained defense of SIT, we in no way put him in the same category as Throckmorton, the Grove City College professor and one-time pro-“change” advocate who has become a de facto pro-homosexual activist — talking down the possibility of lasting, ex-“gay” change for people caught up in homosexuality even as he disingenuously claims to adhere to biblical orthodoxy. — Peter LaBarbera, www.aftah.org

Higgins writes (article after jump):

Mike Heath, new director of AFA of New England

Mike Heath is the former executive director of the Christian Civic League of Maine and the new executive director of American Family Association of New England. (Heath will also retain the title of AFA of Maine.) He is also the only pro-family leader in American history to direct (as part of a pro-family coalition in Maine) the defeat of two statewide homosexual “special rights” laws, 1998 and 2001. In this interview, Heath, the Board Chairman of AFTAH, touches on the new evangelical politics surrounding anti-“gay marriage” initiatives — in which principled advocates against homosexuality like Heath are ostracized in the name of building coalitions more palatable to “moderate” voters.

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4-24-10, Mike Heath, All

Why is Choi still in the military after blasting his Commander-in-Chief — in uniform?

Transgender activist "Autumn" Sandeen (the man dressed in a woman's Navy uniform at left) and homosexual activist Lt. Dan Choi (second from left) join others in chaining themselves to the White House gate Wednesday. The Obama administration has delayed responding to a request by Choi's National Guard commanders to discharge him.

Lt. Dan Choi (second from left)– homosexual activist, Iraq war veteran, West Point graduate and New York National Guardsman — continues to engage in illegal activism in ratcheting up his pressure campaign to homosexualize the  military in the name of “civil rights.” Choi’s latest protest Wednesday was another violation of the longstanding military policy of disallowing political actions in uniform (see earlier actions in the YouTube videos below).

We talked with Maj. Kathy Oliver, a spokesman for Choi’s National Guard unit in New York, who relayed that his commanders — having already moved to discharge him last summer but awaiting the Defense Department’s delayed decision on the case — are not taking further actions against Choi for his ongoing public “civil disobedience” against the military. This appears to free up Choi — who remains in the Guard — to engage in more political stunts (in uniform) without additional cost.

Lt. Choi is caught up in a media-approved crusade, which he sees as a quest for “integrity” but which in reality is nothing but sexual deviancy activism. Homosexual behavior is immoral and degrading to the soul of those who practice it and to any institution — including the Armed Forces — that “tolerates” it (or worse, celebrates it). Imagine what our military will become if — under Obama’s leadership — it capitulates to “queer” militancy and opens itself up to the full promotion of homosexuality at every level. This will surely lead to a mass exodus of tradition-minded soldiers and sailors who did not sign up for military service to have their religious and moral values abused.

Lt. Choi, a bright but confused and over-indulged young man, should be dishonorably discharged from the National Guard post haste. Failure to do so will only chip away at the morale of servicemen who might rightly wonder which other military codes will go unenforced due to Obama’s leftist political considerations. Matt Barber’s statement follows. — Peter LaBarbera, www.aftah.org

P.S. Please pray for this young man, Dan Choi, that he will accept the Bible’s truth about homosexuality as a sin habit that can be overcome, and that he will one day join the growing ranks of former homosexuals. To learn more about the Gospel of Jesus Christ, see www.NeedHim.com or call 1-888-NEED-HIM.

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The following column by Matt Barber, a Board Member of Americans For Truth, appeared in The Washington Times April 15, 2010.

TAKE ACTION: Urge your U.S. Congressman and Senators to oppose ENDA (S. 1584 in the Senate and H.R. 3017 in the House): 202-224-3121; 202-225-3121; www.congress.org.

By J. Matt Barber

Still suffering indigestion from an Obamacare forced feeding, America may yet have to choke down some bitter dessert. Democrats’ characteristically mislabeled Employment Non-Discrimination Act or ENDA (S. 1584 in the Senate and H.R. 3017 in the House) apparently will be under consideration relatively soon.

Rep. Barney Frank, Massachusetts Democrat, ENDA co-sponsor and one of two openly homosexual members of Congress, recently signaled to Boston’s Edge Web site that ENDA will be on the plate sometime after lawmakers return from Easter recess. “The fact is there was no chance of getting [Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi] to focus on this until health care was done. Health care is now done,” he said.

According to its leftist proponents, ENDA would merely insulate people who choose to engage in homosexual conduct (sexual orientation) or those who suffer from gender confusion (gender identity) against employment intolerance. In truth, however, this legislation effectively would codify the very thing it purports to combat: workplace discrimination.

Unless Steele can become “ex-Black,” then homosexuality is not like race

Charlene Cothran of TheEvidenceMinistry.org can never become "ex-Black," but she is thriving as a former lesbian. Cothran lived 29 years as a lesbian and "gay" leader before accepting Jesus Christ and leaving the lifestyle. If RNC Chairman Michael Steele were to take the time to meet people like Charlene, he might retract his unfortunate comparison of homosexuality to race.

TAKE ACTION: 1) Call or write Michael Steele at the RNC and urge him to meet with former homosexuals like Charlene Cothran (right), per PFOX’s press release below). Write chairman@gop.org or call 202-863-8500; and 2) Read this web alert by the radical homosexual group GLAAD targeting ex-“gay” Richard Cohen and use the contact information provided to urge CNN (404-827-1500) to continue featuring ex-gays and critics of homosexuality every time they feature a “gay” activist on their network. How can the ‘Gay’ Lobby talk about “diversity” when they are orchestrating campaigns designed to censor former homosexuals?

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Michael Steele, meet Charlene Cothran. As a former lesbian and one-time leading homosexual activist who now ministers to others seeking to leave that destructive and sinful lifestyle, Charlene might disabuse you of the notion that homosexuality is like race (see PFOX release below).

I recently had the opportunity to present at a Florida church alongside Charlene, who spoke at AFTAH’s 2007 banquet. She is now four years out of the homosexual lifestyle and has a powerful testimony of transformation through Jesus Christ. (Incidentally, Charlene is not a big fan of “Reparative Therapy” and relies on obedience to the Word of God as the primary instrument of change.)

Mr. Steele, you will never meet an “ex-African American” or a “former Latino,” but you can easily get to know some former self-identified “gays” — and you should, to put the issue of homosexual behavior in its proper perspective.

What the homosexual “Log Cabin Republicans” and “GOP Proud” activists want from you and from the Republican Party is to be treated as a legitimate “minority” — even though the purpose of their organizations is to build acceptance for immoral behavior and an illegitimate lifestyle choice. Strangely, if people practicing homosexuality comprise a “minority,” then it is one whose numbers shrink at the expense of another “minority”: ex-homosexuals. The same cannot be said of Blacks, Latinos, or any other real minority.

(And please do not equate deviant-sex-affiliation or homosexual practice with religion as some kind of behavior-based “minority” deserving rights; America was built on refugees from other, oppressive lands seeking religious freedom — so religious liberty is sacrosanct here. Moreover, from the beginning our Judeo-Christian-based legal system proscribed sodomy, so how can it be a “constitutional right”?)

Robert Knight

Robert Knight is a senior writer for Coral Ridge Ministries and the author of, among other works, “Radical Rulers: The White House Elites Who Are Pushing America Towards Socialism.”

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4-17-10,Robert Knight, All

A scruffy Wayne Besen (left) poses with pro-family advocate Matt Barber at "The Awakening 2010" conference at Liberty University Friday. Click on photo to enlarge; photo: Wayne Besen, TruthWinsOut.org

Note: Wayne Besen’s self-serving and inaccurate account of “The Awakening 2010” panel can be found on his website HERE. — AFTAH

LYNCHBURG, Va. — Wayne Besen, extremist homosexual blogger and “ex-gay denier” (as Matt Barber calls those who shun the existence of the untold thousands of former homosexuals) has pulled off the granddaddy of all homosexualist spy missions. Having apparently dyed his hair, growing several days worth of scruff, dawning shabby clothing and sporting a backpack to appear as a Liberty University Student, Besen infiltrated the Awakening 2010 conference at Liberty University held this past Thursday and Friday [April 15-16].

Among other sessions, Besen attended the panel covering homosexual issues given by Matt Barber, Liberty Counsel attorney and AFTAH board member, Rena Lindevaldsen, professor with Liberty Law and Andrea Lafferty of the Traditional Values Coalition.

With incredible stealth and skill, Besen was able to slip past the Awakening’s extremely tight security and blend in among the gathering of right-wing extremist homophobes. (The event was free of charge and open to the public.)

Matt Barber has provided Americans for Truth with an exclusive account of the intense confrontation which followed (some of which will soon be available on archived video):

“A few minutes after we began our breakout session on ‘LGBT’ issues, Wayne slipped in the back of the room, sat down, put his head down and began gazing side-to-side as if expecting to be knocked from his chair and dragged away at any moment. I immediately recognized him.

“As we were wrapping-up and preparing for questions, I ‘called Wayne out,’ announced that we had a homosexual activist guest with us and asked Wayne if he’d like to give out his Web site which he did. I told him ‘welcome’ and Andrea Lafferty then asked if he had any questions. He stuttered, stammered and in a nearly inaudible voice said, ‘uh, no.’ Poor guy looked as if he’d seen a ghost.

“Afterward I approached Wayne, shook his hand and told him we were very glad to have him. A few other people visited with him as well. He was clearly confused and taken-aback by the kindness he received. The cognitive dissonance on his face was evident to all as he’s apparently bought-in to his own hyperbolic rhetoric which demonizes Christians as ‘hateful, bigoted homophobes.’

“Wayne asked for a picture, and I joked, ‘sure, as long as you promise not to Photoshop horns on my head.’ We visited a bit more and I told Wayne ‘God bless you’ and wished him safe travels on his way home to New York and on his upcoming trip to Ireland which he shared about. I have to say, although Wayne puts on an awfully tough front for his fellow homosexual activists, the guy was a real kitten in person and even seemed like he might be a genuinely nice fellow when you get him away from the safety and security of his computer.

“It’s my hope and prayer that the Holy Spirit planted a seed in Wayne’s heart and soul while he was at Liberty. I know that God had him there for a reason. I’d love to sit down with him sometime over a cup of coffee and share my own story of how the Lord freed me from a life of sexual sin (a testimony I’ve publicly shared in the past).

“As a young man, I didn’t always view God’s daughters as He does, but rather, saw them as sexual objects for my conquest. After years of promiscuous womanizing, a painful divorce and hitting rock bottom, God decided it was time to ‘call me out’ and to His worship and Service.

“I haven’t looked back and am now married to a beautiful, Godly woman who valued purity but forgave my own lack thereof. I have three beautiful children and, on a daily basis, have the joy of experiencing an indescribable relationship with the Lord of the universe Who became manifest in the person of Jesus Christ.

“Meeting Wayne in person, it was clear to me that he is searching. It is my hope and prayer that he and all who struggle with same-sex attraction, live a life of heterosexual or homosexual promiscuity or adultery, or anyone else for that matter, can come to know the life-changing, life-saving, life-making grace and redemption that can only come through surrender, belief and acceptance of Christ Jesus.

“I pledge to pray for Wayne and would ask everyone reading this to do the same. The Lord could use mightily, this talented, passionate young man whom He knows and loves.”