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):

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”?)

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.”

NOTE: below I write that “Homosexuality is not special and it should be treated like any other sexual sin.” I should add that most sexual sinners — indeed, most sinners in general — do not define themselves by their besetting sin nor seek special legal protections based on their embrace of it. — Peter LaBarbera, www.aftah.org

See related AFTAH article: “Focus on the Family Clarifies Position, Opposes Homosexual Judicial Nominees”

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News Release – Americans For Truth

April 15, 2010; Contact: Peter LaBarbera: 630-717-7631; AmericansForTruth@comcast.net

LaBarbera Commends Focus for Clarifying Its Principled Opposition to Homosexual Judges

Peter LaBarbera, President of Americans For Truth About Homosexuality (AFTAH), issued the following statement in response to Focus on the Family’s clarification that it would not support a homosexual nominee to the Supreme Court:

Focus on the Family has wisely corrected statements by two of its staffers who stated last year that the “sexual orientation” of judicial nominees – i.e., their homosexuality – would not disqualify them to sit on the nation’s highest court. Focus had been privately correcting those comments after Gary Glenn of AFA-Michigan criticized Focus’ “moral retreat” on homosexuality. Focus’ new position – first reported by AFTAH – is biblically sound because it focuses on behavior as helping to define a judge’s character. Said Focus’ Tom Minnery:

“It has been reported that we would not oppose any U.S. Supreme Court nominee over their ‘sexual orientation.’ Our Judicial Analyst [Bruce Hausknecht] made a statement to this effect in an interview with The Plum Line. To be honest, this is one of those conversations we’d like to ‘do over.’ We can assure you that we recognize that homosexual behavior is a sin and does not reflect God’s created intent and desire for humanity. Further, we at Focus do affirm that character and moral rectitude should be key considerations in appointing members of the judiciary, especially in the case of the highest court in the land. Sexual behavior–be it heterosexual or homosexual–certainly lies at the heart of personal morality.”

Americans For Truth, like other pro-family groups that honor the authority of Scripture, believes that homosexuality is best understood not as an “identity” but as a behavior – one that is wrong, destructive, and unnatural. Thankfully, homosexual conduct also is changeable (1 Corinthians 6:9-11), as evinced by the countless former homosexual men and ex-lesbians living happy lives.

Supposed “gay” identity is a modern construct that undermines moral truth and people’s responsibility for their own conduct. Men and women (proudly) practicing homosexuality often are driven to justify their errant lifestyle. Even those practicing homosexuality in secret often work to promote its acceptance.

Can the risen Son of God help people overcome homosexuality?

Michael Glatze

Former homosexual and onetime “gay youth” activist Michael Glatze will be the guest on the Americans For Truth Hour at our new time tonight, Saturday, April 3rd at 11:00 PM to midnight Central Time on WYLL (AM-1160 in Chicagoland). The show will stream beginning at 11:00 PM at www.wyll.com. Part Two of the Glatze interview will air Saturday, April 10.

The weekly “Americans For Truth Hour” features an in-depth interview with a front-line activist in the  “culture wars.”  WYLL is a 50,000 watt station that covers Chicagoland and reaches into lower Wisconsin and northwest Indiana. Glatze’s bold exodus from the homosexual lifestyle and the “GLBT” (gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgnder) movement was widely heralded in pro-family and conservative circles. Homosexual activists predictably became critics, as did fellow travelers like Grove City College professor Warren Throckmorton — who once proclaimed that homosexuals could change their “orientation” but now curiously finds himself opposing men like Glatze — especially those with testimonies like his of radical transformation. (Yes, Warren, ex-gays DO EXIST…. Read the new LifesiteNews story on the Grove City professor HERE.)

Glatze has embraced a Biblical worldview and approaches the homosexual issue from that Christian perspective. See his thoughts on change (and Throckmorton) HERE. You can read Glatze’s blog HERE.

Dear AFTAH Readers,

Homosexual activist Wayne Besen screams with a bullhorn into the window of Boston's Park Street Church, which was hosting an "ex-gay" seminar last April. Will the SPLC investigate virulent anti-Christian activists like Besen in its ostensible campaign against "hate"? How would the SPLC react if right-wing conservatives were to terrorize a homosexual church in the same way?

Well, now I think I’ve seen it all. A Chicago-based Marxist “direct action” group, the Gay Liberation Network (GLN) — which smears Chicago’s historic Moody Church as a “House of Hate,” attacks Catholic Cardinal Francis George as a “homophobe,” and compares the Boy Scouts to racist fringe groups  — has successfully lobbied the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) to label AFTAH’s website a “hate site.” The GLN and its co-leader, Bob Schwartz, know a thing or two about hate: in 2005, Schwartz told me, as I was standing in opposition to a “gay youth” event in downtown Chicago, that he would have pushed me into the busy city street were it not for the presence nearby of my “friends,” the police. (Read my 2005 account as Executive Director for Illinois Family Institute HERE; imagine if I had made such a veiled, physical threat against Schwartz: I probably would have been arrested on “Hate Crime” charges right then and there.)

There are few things as sinister, and as cynical, as the Left’s manipulation of “hate” as a political weapon to malign Christians and patriotic, conservative Americans. Thankfully, it seems the only people taking the SPLC seriously anymore are the liberal media and hardened, ‘Move On’-types on the Left. The SPLC is a spent force when it comes to moral authority — and even some honest liberals are seeing through its disingenuous campaign to redefine morality as “hate” and “bigotry.” (Don’t look to the SPLC to investigate homosexual haters like Wayne Besen’s notoriously nasty “Truth Wins Out” anytime soon; Besen is shown at right screaming with a bullhorn into the window of Park Street Church in Boston; click here to read the MassResistance story on the shocking 2009 demonstration.)

GLN's Bob Schwartz knows about "hate" ....

The Left is so steeped in its own ideology and self-righteousness that it is oblivious to how out of step it is with everyday Americans. Sure, there are haters on the right like Fred (“God Hates Fags”) Phelps (who despicably pickets U.S. soldiers’ funerals, and whom AFTAH has repeatedly condemned). But there are far more haters on the Left, and they are much better organized and dangerous to American liberty than those on the opposite end of the political spectrum.

On behalf of Americans For Truth, I am gratified at the outpouring of support we have received from pro-family advocates across the country in response to the SPLC’s shenanigans. We’ll say it again: to defend historic Judeo-Christian moral norms is not “bigotry,” and to disagree with homosexual activists is not “hate.” You can contact the Southern Poverty Law Center HERE. God bless you. — Peter LaBarbera, www.aftah.org; e-mail us: americansfortruth@comcast.net>

Matt Barber’s statement on the SPLC follows the jump:

Cites ‘gay’-affirming professor’s “about face”; Throckmorton reneges on answering questions posed by pro-family news service

Ironically, Grove City Prof. Warren Throckmorton -- creator of the 2004 video "I Do Exist," about ex-"gays" -- now questions whether many former homosexuals who have experienced "durable change" in their basic attractions actually "do exist." Writes Throckmorton: "It is not appropriate to see the film as a testament to change of sexual orientation."

The following is reprinted with permission from LifeSiteNews, a leading pro-life and pro-family news service: [To subscribe to their daily news feed, go HERE]

By Matthew Cullinan Hoffman, March 22, 2010, LifeSiteNews.com

GROVE CITY, PENNSYLVANIA, March 19, 2010 (LifeSiteNews.com) — A psychologist teaching at the conservative-Evangelical Grove City College has been making waves by endorsing same-sex civil union legislation, and claiming that homosexuals can live “normal, natural and healthy” lives.

In a recent interview with the Evangelical news service OneNewsNow (ONN), Dr. Warren Throckmorton reportedly said that “he opposes same-sex marriage but believes the Equal Protection Clause permits homosexual civil unions,” according to the news agency.

“Throckmorton says he personally holds a ‘traditional view of homosexuality and sexual ethics.’ However, when asked whether he believes homosexuality is ‘normal, natural and healthy,’ he said he could not answer that with a simple ‘yes’ or ‘no’ response,” ONN reported.

“He said ‘in a professional therapy situation’ it is accurate to say that ‘homosexuals can live normal, natural, and healthy lives that are free of mental illness,'” added ONN.

Although Throckmorton has been known in the past as a defender of the ex-gay movement and reorientation therapy, he has been distancing himself increasingly from those positions in recent years, and has even rejected the “Day of Truth,” in which high school students seek to inform their peers about the immorality of homosexual behavior, calling it “mischief,” and saying that it “builds more walls than bridges.”

Throckmorton’s defection from the ex-gay movement has been met with condemnation by Evangelicals. “Though he works for an evangelical institution, Pennsylvania-based Grove City College, which advertises itself on faith-based websites as ‘authentically Christian,’ Warren promotes a new, morally neutral paradigm on homosexuality that affirms people’s ‘Sexual Identity’ according to their feelings (and comfort level with same),” laments Peter LaBarbera of Americans For Truth About Homosexuality (AFTAH).

“Hold on…. This is wholly against Scripture: there is nothing in the Bible or the long history of Judeo-Christian tradition that even hints at ascribing a morally-neutral or worse — a ‘valued identity’ — to sexual sin,” he adds.

Helping patients to form a gay “identity”

LaBarbera is referring to Throckmorton’s “Sexual Identity Therapy,” a framework for therapists treating patients who are conflicted about their sexual desires.