Below is a YouTube video of world renowned Christian apologist Ravi Zacharias responding in an open forum (early this year) to the question: “Is it possible for a man or woman to live a sincere Christian life as a homosexual?” Click HERE for Ravi Zacharias International Ministries:

Why is Alan Chambers apologizing — to unrepentant homosexuals — for Exodus International’s past slogan, “Change is possible”?

In this broadcast [click HERE to listen], recorded September 6, 2012, AFTAH President Peter LaBarbera and co-host John Kirkwood discuss several issues in the news surrounding the homosexual issue, including:

• Exodus International president Alan Chambers’ embrace of “gay”-affirming Christianity and his appearance before the “Gay Christian Network” (at which Chambers apologized for Exodus’ former slogan, “Change Is Possible”);
• An excellent response by Kirkwood to LaBarbera’s question: “Is ‘sexual orientation’ in the Bible?”;
• Commentary on Christian apologist Ravi Zacharias’ compelling answer at an open forum to the question, “Is it possible for a man or a woman to live a sincere Christian life as a homosexual?”;
• The Democrat Party versus the Republican Party platforms on homosexuality — and especially the Democrats’ formal embrace of homosexual “marriage”;
• Sen. Dick Durbin’s (D-IL)’s overzealous response to FOX interviewer Brett Baier’s question about why the Democrats would remove the word “God” from their 2012 Party Platform (it was later restored in a controversial floor voice vote [listen at about 46:00 on the program]). Durbin asserts that “both parties are God-fearing parties”;
• The growing push within GOP circles — including this article on conservative icon Glenn Beck’s website The Blaze — to advance homosexual “marriage.”

HOW TO LISTEN: This is an mp3 file, supported in most operating systems by Windows Media Player, Quick Time and/or I-Tunes.  Real Player is not supported and there may be difficulty when attempting to listen with it.  Left click once on the link below to play.  (Please be patient, depending upon the speed of your internet connection it may take a moment or two to load.)  OR right click the link then “save target as” to download the whole show.

9-6-12, Peter LaBarbera & John Kirkwood

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.

Americans For Truth is excited to hear about the formation of this Christian “ex-gay” alternative to Exodus International, which has lost the trust of many pro-family advocates and Christian leaders due to the perceived unbiblical and erroneous statements by Exodus leader Alan Chambers. See this paper by Bible-and-homosexuality expert and Pittsburgh Theological Seminary Prof. Robert Gagnon as the best critique of Chambers’ liberal tilt. Also see former homosexual DL Foster’s blog, Gay Christian Movement Watch. We will have more on the Exodus and Chambers controversy in future posts.  — Peter LaBarbera, AFTAH

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Announcing the Formation of Restored Hope Network and Its First Annual Conference

Contact: David Foster,  615-507-4166

FRANKLIN, Tenn., Aug. 23, 2012 /Christian Newswire/ — Restored Hope Network (RHN) has recently been formed by leaders from throughout North America who seek to minister to homosexuals and other sexually broken individuals according to the historic doctrines of the Christian faith. We seek to be honest about the need for repentance in the life of believer and nonbeliever alike and we seek to communicate the many ways that God brings about real and lasting change in the life of anyone who turns to Him and allows Him to take them through a life-transforming process.

One of RHN’s founding leaders is Frank Worthen, who was the key figure in the founding of Exodus International in 1973. Of this new network, Frank writes:

“I am feeling inexpressible joy that the Lord has brought together a group of people who will not allow the message of hope and change to die in a sea of misguided social/cultural relevance. Restored Hope Network will now carry the torch of freedom from the sin and degradation of homosexuality and the transforming power of Jesus Christ.”

Restored Hope Network will be holding its inaugural conference this coming September 21 & 22 at Sunrise Community Church in Fair Oaks, CA (Sacramento area). Speakers will include Frank Worthen, Andy Comiskey (Desert Stream Ministries), Dr. Robert Gagnon (Pittsburgh Theological Seminary) and others.

To register, go to: rhn2012.eventbrite.com

FAQ available upon request at rhngathering@gmail.com

Like us on Facebook at: www.facebook.com/RestoredHopeNetwork

Mission Statement for “Restored Hope Network”: Restored Hope is a membership governed network dedicated to restoring hope to those broken by sexual and relational sin, especially those impacted by homosexuality. We proclaim that Jesus Christ has life-changing power for all who submit to Christ as Lord; we also seek to equip His church to impart that transformation.

The following is excerpted from Dana Milbank’s August 16 column in the Washington Post. Naturally, as a Post columnist, Milmank is careful to affirm his pro-homosexuality pedigree. But at least he recognizes the ludicrousness of putting the Family Research Council — and by extension other pro-family groups  like AFTAH and AFA smeard by Southern Poverty Law Center’s (SPLC) “hate group” charge — in with racist fringe groups. — Peter LaBarbera, AFTAH

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Hateful speech on hate groups

By Dana Milbank, Published in the Washington Post [full column HERE], August 16, 2012

Human Rights Campaign, the nation’s largest gay rights organization, posted an alert on its blog Tuesday: “Paul Ryan Speaking at Hate Group’s Annual Conference.”

The “hate group” that the Republicans’ vice presidential candidate would be addressing? The Family Research Council, a mainstream conservative think tank founded by James Dobson and run for many years by Gary Bauer.

…

Human Rights Campaign isn’t responsible for the [FRC] shooting. Neither should the organization that deemed the FRC a “hate group,” the Southern Poverty Law Center, be blamed for a madman’s act. But both are reckless in labeling as a “hate group” a policy shop that advocates for a full range of conservative Christian positions, on issues from stem cells to euthanasia.

I disagree with the Family Research Council’s views on gays and lesbians. But it’s absurd to put the group, as the law center does, in the same category as Aryan Nations, Knights of the Ku Klux Klan, Stormfront and the Westboro Baptist Church. The center says the FRC “often makes false claims about the LGBT community based on discredited research and junk science.” Exhibit A in its dossier is a quote by an FRC official from 1999 (!) saying that “gaining access to children has been a long-term goal of the homosexual movement.”

Offensive, certainly. But in the same category as the KKK?

…

The following is Family Research Council (FRC) President Tony Perkins’ appearance on FOX News’ “America Live with Megyn Kelly” (August 16, 2012). Perkins correctly states that the Southern Poverty Law Center’s (SPLC) agenda with regard to pro-family groups like FRC that oppose the homosexualist agenda is to marginalize these organizations. AFTAH, American Family Association, Mission America and a host of other pro-family organizations have been similarly smeared as “hate groups” by the SPLC:

Source: NOM (National Organization for Marriage) YouTube channel:  http://youtu.be/L4iscknrAi4

AFTAH YouTube channel: http://www.youtube.com/user/AmericansForTruthAH?feature=watch

The following is a reprint of the November 1987 article, “The Overhauling of Straight America,” which appeared in Guide Magazine, a homosexual publication. A few years later its authors, Marshall Kirk and Hunter Madsen (who wrote under the psuedonym “Erastes Pill” below), expanded it into a book: “After the Ball — How America will conquer its fear and hatred of Gays in the 1990s” (Plume, 1990). The article and book have frequently been cited by conservatives as the blueprint for how homosexual activists would ultimately successfully “market” homosexuality to the American public (emphasis added):

The Overhauling of Straight America

By Marshall Kirk and Erastes Pill [Hunter Madsen], The Guide Magazine

The first order of business is desensitization of the American public concerning gays and gay rights. To desensitize the public is to help it view homosexuality with indifference instead of with keen emotion. Ideally, we would have straights register differences in sexual preference the way they register different tastes for ice cream or sports games: she likes strawberry and I like vanilla; he follows baseball and I follow football. No big deal.

At least in the beginning, we are seeking public desensitization and nothing more. We do not need and cannot expect a full “appreciation” or “understanding” of homosexuality from the average American. You can forget about trying to persuade the masses that homosexuality is a good thing. But if only you can get them to think that it is just another thing, with a shrug of their shoulders, then your battle for legal and social rights is virtually won. And to get to shoulder-shrug stage, gays as a class must cease to appear mysterious, alien, loathsome and contrary. A large-scale media campaign will be required in order to change the image of gays in America. And any campaign to accomplish this turnaround should do six things.

[1] TALK ABOUT GAYS AND GAYNESS AS LOUDLY AND AS OFTEN AS POSSIBLE.

The principle behind this advice is simple: almost any behavior begins to look normal if you are exposed to enough of it at close quarters and among your acquaintances. The acceptability of the new behavior will ultimately hinge on the number of one’s fellows doing it or accepting it. One may be offended by its novelty at first–many, in times past, were momentarily scandalized by “streaking,” eating goldfish, and premarital sex. But as long as Joe Six-pack feels little pressure to perform likewise, and as long as the behavior in question presents little threat to his physical and financial security, he soon gets used to it and life goes on. The skeptic may still shake his head and think “people arc crazy these days,” but over time his objections are likely to become more reflective, more philosophical, less emotional.

The way to benumb raw sensitivities about homosexuality is to have a lot of people talk a great deal about the subject in a neutral or supportive way. Open and frank talk makes the subject seem less furtive, alien, and sinful, more above-board. Constant talk builds the impression that public opinion is at least divided on the subject, and that a sizable segment accepts or even practices homosexuality. Even rancorous debates between opponents and defenders serve the purpose of desensitization so long as “respectable” gays are front and center to make their own pitch. The main thing is to talk about gayness until the issue becomes thoroughly tiresome.

Rachel Held Evans says today’s younger Christians are uniting against legislative action (such as pro-traditional marriage amendments) opposing the homosexual agenda.

By Peter LaBarbera

Folks, there’s nothing that MSNBC and the Left-biased media love more than to highlight an evangelical Christian who has sold out on homosexuality (or abortion). That is essentially what evangelical blogger Rachel Held Evans has done on the homosexual “marriage” issue — hence she is featured prominently in this MSNBC piece titled, “Could marriage debate drive young christians from church?”

For the life of me I cannot fathom the shallowness of Held Evans’ thinking, beginning with her casual acceptance of personal identity (“gayness”) based on a sin (homosexuality) that God calls an abomination. Are today’s young Christians really that soft-headed and brainwashed (yes, brainwashed by the politically correct media, Hollywood and academia) that they believe that because they “know someone who’s gay,” they can no longer fight and speak out against something as evil as legalized homosexual “marriage”?

Is it beyond the comprehension of the under-35 crowd that perhaps out-and-proud “gayness” and other misguided secular ideas are prospering precisely because the influence of biblcal Christianity is waning in our culture?

Also note in bold below Held Evans’ particular aversion toward Christians opposing the political/legislative homosexual agenda — while presumably it is fine for the powerful Sin Movement that calls itself “gay” to use our American freedoms to push boldly toward achieving its radical goals. (Goals that include teaching homosexuality and gender confusion (transgenderism) to the very young in schools; blacklisting and silencing pro-family (Christian) voices in the media; and undermining religious freedom itself insofar as it conflicts with homosexuality-based “rights.”)

In other words, Held Evans and fellow “nicer-than-Jesus” evangelicals advocate a unilateral surrender in the Culture War.