From Gay Culture and the Riddle of Andrew Sullivan, by Dr. Albert Mohler, published Oct 27, 2006:

Andrew Sullivan is a man of ideas. In recent years, Sullivan has emerged as one of the most influential intellectuals in American public life. Furthermore, he has been identified with some of the most controversial issues of our times–a fact that is hardly surprising given his libertarian view of morality, conservative views of politics, Roman Catholic views of Christianity, and the fact that he is a prominent homosexual advocate…

In the October 24, 2005 issue of The New Republic, Sullivan writes about “The End of Gay Culture.” Of course, Sullivan’s perspective on homosexuality and gay culture is deeply rooted in his own homosexuality and his ardent embrace of his own homosexual lifestyle. He is anything but a dispassionate observer…

As he reviews the impact of the HIV crisis, Sullivan points to some patterns that emerged in its aftermath–patterns that would likely be missed by those outside the gay subculture. The emergence of lesbians as leaders of the major gay rights organizations was, Sullivan suggests, largely due to the fact that the gay male leaders were largely dead…

“Gay marriage is not a radical step,” Sullivan insisted…

But, even as Sullivan argued for the acceptance and legalization of same-sex marriage, more radical homosexual theorists were dismissing marriage altogether. As Sullivan explained,

“Marriage of all institutions is to liberationists a form of imprisonment; it reeks of a discourse that has bought and sold property, that has denigrated and subjected women, that has constructed human relationships into a crude and suffocating form. Why on earth should it be supported for homosexuals?”

Sullivan’s 1995 book, and his most recent article, must be read in light of his 1998 testimonial, Love Undetectable: Notes on Friendship, Sex, and Survival. This book was written after Sullivan had been diagnosed as HIV-positive. As he recalled:

“I contracted the disease in full knowledge of how it is transmitted, and without any illusions about how debilitating and terrifying a diagnosis it could be. I have witnessed first-hand a man dying of AIDS; I have seen the ravages of its impact and the harrowing humiliation it meant. I had written about it, volunteered to combat it, and tried to understand it. But I still risked getting it, and the memories of that risk and the ramifications of it for myself, my family, and my friends still forced me into questions I would rather not confront, and have expended a great deal of effort avoiding.”

When a high school friend asked Sullivan how he had contracted the virus, Sullivan informed him that he had no idea which sex partner had been the source of the viral transmission. “How many people did you sleep with, for God’s sake?,” his friend asked. Note Sullivan’s answer carefully:

“Too many, God knows. Too many for meaning and dignity to be given to every one; too many for love to be present at each; too many for sex to be very often more than a temporary but powerful release from debilitating fear and loneliness.”

In other words, the public Andrew Sullivan emerged as a major proponent of responsibility, stability, and self-control, while the private Andrew Sullivan was deeply involved in homosexual promiscuity.

All this broke into public view in 2001, when a homosexual columnist discovered that Sullivan had been posting advertisements for unprotected homosexual sex at internet web sites. The ensuing controversy within the gay community was vitriolic, even as it was revealing.

“The End of Gay Culture” is an eye-opening essay. As an exercise in cultural analysis, it demonstrates genuine insight and an insider’s perspective. More than anything else, Sullivan’s article should awaken thinking Christians to the fact that homosexuality is being normalized in the larger culture. This surely represents a matter of urgent missiological concern, for the normalization of sin represents a progressive hardening of the nation’s heart against the Gospel.

At a more personal level, this article reminds me to pray for Andrew Sullivan. I say this even as I realize that he may be more offended by my prayer than by anything else. In most of his writings, Mr. Sullivan demonstrates a consistent and ardent determination to celebrate homosexuality as central to his own self-discovery and personhood. Yet, he also reveals significant doubts. When he explains that he “never publicly defended promiscuity” nor publicly attacked it because “I felt, and often still feel, unable to live up to the ideals I really hold,” I detect a glimmer of doubt. I have faced Mr. Sullivan in public debate on issues related to homosexuality. I consider him to be among the most gifted, thoughtful, and unpredictable intellectuals on the current scene. More than anything else, I want Mr. Sullivan to find his self-identity and deepest passions in the transforming power of Christ–the power to see all things made new. Without apology, I pray that one day he will see all that he has written in defense of homosexuality, and all that he has known in terms of his homosexual identity, as loss, and to find in Christ the only resolution of our sexuality and the only solution to the problem we all share–the problem of sin.

Andrew Sullivan has been a focus of my prayer since I first learned of his HIV-positive status. I do pray that God will give him strengthened health and the gift of time. After all, our Christian concern should be focused not only on the challenge of homosexuality in the culture, but the challenge of reaching homosexuals with the love of Christ and the truth of the Gospel.

Continue reading at Albert Mohler…

Be sure to read The Confession (Part I) posted below…

“Many if not most of the major gay and lesbian organizations who have signed on to the fight for same-sex marriage would instantly sign off at any suggestion that they were actually encouraging gay men and lesbians to marry.” – Gabriel Rotello, in his 1997 book on the AIDS crisis, Sexual Ecology

Excerpted from The Confession, Part II, by Stanley Kurtz, published Nov 1, 2006, by National Review:

…Around the time the Beyond Same-Sex Marriage statement was released, a controversy broke out over news that the Boston Globe had told its gay employees to marry their partners or face losing their domestic-partnership benefits…

According to [Globe journalist Zak] Szymanski, “Many national LGBT [lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender] groups, despite their large investment in securing gay marriage, agree that there is a problem with a society that values marriage over all other family forms.”

For example, Matt Foreman, executive director of the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force and a major spokesman in the battle for same-sex marriage, said, “We’re deeply disappointed by the Globe’s decision, and >we do not feel that benefits should flow only from marriage, because a married couple does not reflect the reality of the American family, gay or straight.”

Michelle Granda, of GLAD, which Szymanski calls “the group that is widely credited with winning same-sex marriage in Massachusetts,” said, “We have always believed families are configured in many ways and that marriage is not the answer for all families.”

…Here we have a clear indication of the family radicalism that hides beneath the only apparent conservatism of same-sex marriage advocacy groups…

A Striking Development
In late 2005, I published a piece entitled “Here Come the Brides,” about the role of bisexuality in the drive for legalized multiple-partner marriage. It’s notable that the Beyond Same-Sex Marriage manifesto justified its radical platform, in part, by lamenting the short shrift historically given to bisexuals by the broader LGBT movement. Among the signers of the Beyond Same-Sex Marriage manifesto were a number of bisexual activists. In “Here Come the Brides,” I also noted the role of Unitarian polyamory activists, and the potential role of arguments made by Yale law professor Kenji Yoshino in a pro-polyamory movement. Sure enough, the Beyond Same-Sex Marriage manifesto was signed by a number of Unitarian ministers and by professor Yoshino…

A Political Future
…Jonathan Rauch offered some remarkably frank concessions: “I had originally hoped that the [same-sex marriage] debate would not be followed by a polygamy debate, but clearly it has been. Some [same-sex marriage] advocates maintained that there was no significant constituency for polygamy, but that’s proving to be wrong as well.”

…This all means that in a post-gay-marriage world, the political organization of the gay community will shift. For now, “conservative” proponents of same-sex marriage are out in front, supported by a vast array of considerably less conservative activists and lobby groups. Meanwhile, the radicals are marginalized and/or intentionally keeping a low profile. In a post-gay-marriage world, this situation will flip. The radicals will step out in front, supported by largely the same coalition of activists and lobby groups who currently support same-sex marriage. At that point, the conservatives, no longer needed to run interference for the larger movement, will be quietly put out to pasture. By then we shall be well beyond same-sex marriage. Listen carefully to the words of same-sex marriage supporters, and they confess as much themselves.

Continue reading at National Review…

From our good friends at MassResistance…

A prominent staff member of a high-profile gay “youth outreach” organization that works closely with several state agencies and distributes literature in public schools across the state has posted a video of himself dressed in drag depicting Lt. Governor Kerry Healy as a lesbian.

Mark Snyder is office manager at Boston Alliance of Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender Youth. He has testified at the State House for BAGLY on behalf of the expansion of homosexual programs in the public schools. BAGLY works closely with number of state agencies including the Massachusetts Department of Education and the Governor’s Commission for Gay and Lesbian Youth, and the Governor’s Task Force on Hate Crimes, is linked to from various government websites, and has apparently received state funding for several years.

In the video (WATCH IT ONLINE HERE), which Snyder posted and linked on his web site, appears to be a mock political ad, where Snyder, dressed in drag, says:

“Hi, I’m Kerry Healy and I have a message for the voters of Massachusetts. My opponents may try to paint me as one-dimensional but in fact I have a varied personality. Did you know that I’m a raging bull-dyke? I don’t just make muffins. I eat muff. I’m Kerry Healy and I approved this message.”

“If these are the people working with state agencies to counsel our children, then we’ve got some huge problems in the Massachusetts government,” said Brian Camenker, director of MassResistance. “When are people going to wake up? This is not just incredibly outrageous, it’s really pretty sick. And when is the Boston media going to take this seriously, instead of ignoring it?”

“Is anyone going to ask why people like this are being allowed to interact with children, and why these groups are involved with our government?” added Camenker.

A main focus of BAGLY is “transgenderism“. Much of its materials and activities revolve around encouraging kids to explore dressing up and acting like the opposite sex, and ultimately considering medical procedures to “become” the opposite sex, by having female breasts and male sex organs surgically removed and by taking various hormones. (The executive director of the group is an openly transsexual “male-to-female”.)

All emphasis is added by Americans For Truth. The quotes, though frightening, are real but not unexpected from a movement that calls itself “Queer.” – Peter LaBarbera

No Cartoons Poking Fun at Homosexuality! … Says GLAAD Thought Police

“The New York Post does it again in its October 27 edition. Two days after the New Jersey Supreme Court ruled that discrimination against same-sex couples violates that state’s equal protection requirement, the New York Post published a cartoon by Sean Delonas depicting a man carrying a sheep wearing a bridal veil to a “New Jersey Marriage Licenses” window.

Excerpted from Hamilton Bishop Avoids Scandal, Won’t Fund Event With Homosexual Activist Speaker Loney, published Oct 30, 2006, by LifeSite News:

James Loney became a public figure during the time he was held as an Iraqi hostage last year. He revealed his homosexuality during the publicity furor accompanying his eventual safe return from Iraq last spring…

Although claiming to be a Roman Catholic, Loney expressed a profound dislike of Church-related activities such as prayer and Sunday Mass, in an article entitled “Confessions of a Spiritual Couch Potato” written in 2005.

“I avoid prayer like the plague–the kind where you stop, sit or kneel, do nothing but be, even if for only ten minutes. It’s agony-in-the-garden every time; the easiest thing is to let the cup pass. The thought of fasting nauseates me, and as for Sunday mass–that weekly spiritual reboot and virus check–well, let’s just say I’ve accumulated a significant inventory of mortal sins.”

Continue reading at LifeSite News…

Excerpted from Youth Summit Promotes Gay-Straight School Clubs, by Tracy Dell’Angela, published October 22, 2006, in Chicago Tribune:

…[High school senior Leroy] Kirk, 17, attended the Youth Leadership Summit on Saturday looking for advice on how to make a gay-tolerance club work at his South Lawndale neighborhood school [Farragut, pictured at right].

…The Summit, at the Youth Pride Center on 637 S. Dearborn St., was attended by more than 50 students from the Chicago area. It was sponsored by Creating Safe Schools for Illinois, a group formerly affiliated with the national Gay Lesbian and Straight Education Network.

The workshops offered ideas for students launching gay-tolerant school groups and trying to expand existing ones. These ideas included surveys about homophobia, movie nights, social networking Web sites and “queer dances and yearbooks.”

The organizers say the summit is a chance for student advocates to share successes and struggles.

Acire Roche, youth program coordinator for Safe Schools, said her goal is to reach out to schools that have never considered forming a Gay Straight Alliance. In the past, the organization waited for students or teachers to initiate a club at a school, and the group would act as an advocate…

Roche said she hopes to expand the group’s focus beyond Chicago. She e-mails and calls school administrators to ask how they address issues of diversity for gay and lesbian youth.

“Some schools would say, `We don’t have any gay kids here,'” she said. `And I would say, `Why don’t you have a support group, just in case you do?'”

Continue reading in Chicago Tribune…

Homosexual activist Rick Garcia of Equality Illinois is losing it. Garcia, who I learned from this piece is not a native of Illinois but moved here from St. Louis to promote homosexual “rights,” called a Chicago sex club (bathhouse) where men go for anonymous sexual encounters with other men a “health club.” (Rick says he doesn’t know what goes on in there–right.) He also called me a sex-obsessed “freak” who will get a “tongue lashing” on judgment day.

Suffice it to say that Garcia’s health standards are wanting, and that as a practicing homosexual who calls himself a Catholic yet wars against the sexual teachings of his own Church (he called Chicago Cardinal Francis George a “bigot”), he might want to contemplate his own coming judgment day rather than worry about mine. — Peter LaBarbera, Naperville, Illinois

The following is excerpted the article by Paige Winfield entitled Their Only Common Ground: Strong Opinions, published October 22, 2006, in The Naperville Sun:

…LaBarbera, director of Naperville-based Americans for Truth, says that homosexuality is unnatural, dangerous and changeable. Garcia, director of public policy for Equality Illinois, says it is natural, safe and unchangeable.

According to Garcia, all LaBarbera does is “attack and spread lies about gay people” as he “distorts the message of Christianity.”

But LaBarbera says he rejects all hatred and violence against homosexuals while maintaining his belief that homosexual behavior is immoral. “Rick is saying we are all about hate,” LaBarbera said. “It’s just a disagreement about behavior. What he can’t understand is that we are opposed to the behavior, and we believe Rick is a little bit obsessed about having everybody accept the behavior.”

…LaBarbera criticizes Garcia for accepting money donated to Equality Illinois by Steamworks – a private men’s bathhouse in Chicago – which he says is a place filled with unsafe sexual behavior.

“Those are the places where people contract dangerous diseases,” LaBarbera said. “I think if Rick really cared about gay men, he would want to close that place down.”

Calling LaBarbera a “freak obsessed with sex,” Garcia said Steamworks is just one of many businesses from which Equality Illinois accepts money and said he does not know what goes on inside the club. He said it is more dangerous for gays to remain closeted out of fear than for them to spend time in bathhouses like Steamworks.

“I find it amazing that (Peter) is so concerned about a private health club,” Garcia said. “He is certainly no one to criticize, when he opposes distribution of condoms and safe-sex education in schools.”

…Garcia thinks he knows what awaits LaBarbera.

“I can hardly wait for judgment day to come for Peter LaBarbera, because he’s going to get a tongue-lashing like never before,” Garcia said.

Continue reading in The Naperville Sun…

By Peter LaBarbera

(Published Oct 9, 2006, in Post Chronicle)

Note the excerpt below from homosexual writer Andrew Sullivan, from his October 2nd blog post entitled The Vatican and the RNC.

If the Foley incident is not about pedophilia, it is also not, it seems to me, about homosexuality. It’s fundamentally about the closet. The closet is so psychologically destructive it often produces pathological behavior. When you compartmentalize your life, you sometimes act out in one compartment in ways that you would never condone in another one. Think Clinton-Lewinsky, in a heterosexual context. But closeted gay men are particularly vulnerable to this kind of thing. Your psyche is so split by decades of lies and deceptions and euphemisms that integrity and mental health suffer. No one should excuse Foley’s creepy interactions; they are inexcusable, as is the alleged cover-up (although we shouldn’t jump to conclusions yet about who knew what when). But there’s a reason gay men in homophobic institutions behave in self-destructive ways.

Or think of it another way: what do the Vatican and the RNC have in common? Here’s one potential list: entrenched homophobia, psychologically damaged closet cases, inappropriate behavior toward teens and minors … and cover-ups designed entirely to retain power. The parallels are looking a little creepy. And the source is the same.

After decades of cultivating a victim mentality ad nauseam, homosexual advocates are reduced to this argument: Foley’s predatory behavior was, ultimately, OUR fault. Society (read: Bible-believing Christians and churches) is to blame. Once again the circular logic of what I call “gay fundamentalism” is exposed: whatever deviance, whatever threats to health, children and morality–all is laid at the door of “homophobic” society because of the “shame” we cause “gays” by not celebrating or at least not accepting their lifestyle choice. How convenient for them.

The truth is Mark Foley, like the rest of us, is a sinner in need of a Savior. As fallen human beings, our hearts are bent toward sin. God spoke through the prophet Jeremiah: “The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it?” (Jer. 17:9, KJV) It’s tough to own up to that truth: each of our hearts is so bent toward “wickedness” (now there’s a word you don’t hear very often) that we can’t even know our own potential for self-deception!

If Foley was molested as a youth as his lawyer states, then he joins the legion of sexually victimized men and women who have gone on to perpetuate their abuse, as adults, on others. But Foley, like all people caught up in the modern cult of homosexuality, IS responsible for his behavior before God. (Besides, why would it follow that his natural “orientation” is “gay” if a major contributing cause to his current state of sexual confusion is that he was abused as a teenager?)

Repressed homosexuality (the “closet”) did not put those male congressional pages at risk; active, practicing (albeit furtive) homosexuality did. Pederasty – sexual “relationships” between adult men and adolescent boys – is as old as the ancient Greeks, and to this day homosexual men pursue sex with teenage boys. In the early days of “gay liberation,” they callously called these boys “chicken.” Yet somehow the media and professional talkers are behaving as if this current scandal has nothing to do with homosexuality.