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“The gay movement is trying to ban homosexuals from getting help so they can turn toward heterosexuality.”–Robert Oscar Lopez
Folks, Robert Oscar Lopez is a brilliant and original thinker who is unafraid to go where many other Christians and conservatives will not, taking on emerging “political correctness” on homosexuality within the Body of Christ. Here Lopez deals with Christian leaders who condemn ex-“gay” therapy (he uses “conversion therapy,” a term we avoid since it has been politicized by Big LGBTQ), and the bad effect this has on homosexual strugglers who truly want to “pursue intimacy with the opposite sex.” Which is to say: they do not want to retain any kind of same-sex identity, the maintenance of which, as supposed “gay Christians,” is all the rage these days in some Christian circles (see the “Revoice” controversy). Visit Lopez’s blog, English Manif, and keep coming back; you will not be disappointed. — Peter LaBarbera, AFTAH.org; Twitter: @PeterLaBarbera
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Christians Who Oppose Conversion Therapy Need a Reality Check
To be loving does not mean to be gullible. Jesus Christ mentions that we will come across dishonest people, especially among those who have prestige (or are seeking it). We should love people, but that does not mean we should let them take advantage of us. Or fool us. Or trick us.
In that spirit, I want Rosaria Butterfield, Sam Allberry, and Jackie Hill Perry to answer a simple yes-or-no question. No long filibustering paragraphs. No detours into extensive complaints about what other Christians are supposedly doing. No lifeline block-quotes from Augustine. Just yes or no. Here:
Here’s why this question is urgent. Butterfield, Allberry, and Perry are currently superstars in the world of Protestant Christianity, constantly summoned to discuss issues of sexuality in the church. They all had experience with same-sex attraction. They all say they believe in Christ.
And they all attack conversion therapy. According to her profile on Alchetron, Rosaria Butterfield believes the following:
She does not identify herself as “ex-gay” and does not think any Christians should identify themselves as “gay Christians.” She notes that “[t]he job of the adjective is to change the noun.” Butterfield has criticized conversion therapy for contending that the “primary goal of Christianity is to resolve homosexuality through heterosexuality, thus failing to see that repentance and victory over sin are God’s gifts and failing to remember that sons and daughters of the King can be full members of Christ’s body and still struggle with sexual temptation.” Butterfield suggests this is a version of the prosperity gospel.
Don’t be misled into thinking that this bill bans only professional counselors from trying to alter same-sex attractions. It goes well beyond that.
Robert Gagnon. For more pro-family (and pro-freedom) resources on AB 2943, go HERE. Also see SaveCalifornia.com. See Gagnon’s excellent website at RobGagnon.net.
The biggest effort at book-banning, the banning of counseling services and church conferences, the banning of academic courses, and a general banning of free speech in the history of the United States is well underway in California. This is reminiscent of when Southern states in the pre-Civil War era banned any literature suggesting that slavery might not be a good thing; what we are fighting now is slavery to same-sex attractions and gender dysphoria.
The bill in question is California Assembly Bill 2943. It would treat as a criminal violation of the state’s consumer fraud act “the sale or lease of goods or services to any consumer” that consists of “advertising, offering to engage in, or engaging in sexual orientation change efforts with an individual.” Don’t be misled into thinking that this bill bans only professional counselors from trying to alter same-sex attractions. It goes well beyond that.
“Orientation change” can be as innocuous as stating at a paid conference that homosexual and transgender desire can be overcome (not necessarily eliminated) by the Spirit of Jesus. Or even complying with an attendee’s request for prayer that the Spirit of God empower the attendee not to succumb to the power of same-sex attractions.
That’s not all. More than “orientation change” is at issue, for the bill expressly states:
‘Sexual orientation change efforts’ means any practices that seek to change an individual’s sexual orientation. This includes efforts to change behaviors or gender expressions, or to eliminate or reduce sexual or romantic attractions or feelings toward individuals of the same sex.
Did you catch the part that says: “This includes efforts to change behaviors or gender expressions,” not just orientation change? You cannot treat homosexual expression or transgenderism as the product of disordered desires.
No Tolerance for Christians: Self-styled “Moma Bear” Sara Cunningham of the pro-homosexual/pro-transgender group Free Mom Hugs crusades against ex-“gay” ministries, saying, “To agree to disagree on this issue and this type of ministry is no longer acceptable.” Cunningham said on Facebook that a Christian documentary film “Tranzformed: Finding Peace with Your God-Given Gender,” featuring interviews with men and women who have overcome transsexualism in their lives, is “dangerous” and amounts to “hate speech.” Above is Cunningham’s Twitter page graphic. Click to enlarge.
The following press release was issued by my friend and Christian pro-family leader Stephen Black, Board Chairman of Restored Hope Ministries and executive director of First Stone Ministries in Oklahoma City. Black was the keynote speaker at AFTAH’s 2017 banquet, and gave several wonderful talks. It’s clear that the LGBTQ movement is in the vanguard of attacking Christian speech in the Public Square–to the point of directly attacking transformative ministries at Christian churches. This is why I’m proud and excited to be traveling to Oklahoma City this Friday to stand in support of Stephen and the life-changing Gospel of Jesus Christ. — Peter LaBarbera, AFTAH; Twitter: @PeterLaBarbera
Tranzformed Documentary info: For more information on David Kyle Foster’s documentary “Tranzformed: Finding Peace with your God-given Gender” (produced by Pure Passion Ministries) go HERE. For info on Stephen Black’s public showing of the film in Oklahoma City this Friday, April 6, go HERE.
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LGBT Activists Vow to Shut Down Christian Ministry, ‘Your Faith be Damned’
No longer content with widespread acceptance, activists are fighting to eliminate any program aimed at helping those struggling with same-sex attraction or gender identity
Contact: Don Otis, 719-275-7775
OKLAHOMA CITY, April 3, 2018 /Christian Newswire/ — “The level of hatred and bullying is not like anything we’ve seen,” says Stephen Black, who lived as a gay man for 8 years, over 35 years ago, and now Executive Director of First Stone Ministries is in the crosshairs of gay activists.
Black is the author of a ground-breaking book that reveals that 70-percent of people who want freedom from a destructive same-sex lifestyle find it. In Freedom Realized, Black and his colleagues examined 25 years of case files and found incontrovertible evidence that people can and do change.
On April 6, First Stone Ministries (firststone.org) is hosting a public screening of the documentary film, Tranzformed: Finding Peace with Your God-Given Gender (tranzformed.org/). “This documentary is about 15 people who were unhappy as homosexuals and transgendered and wanted more in their relationship with Jesus Christ,” says Black. Gay activists have already sent death threats to a Michigan pastor and his family and are now setting their sights on Black.
Gay advocate and protestor, Sara Cunningham, vowed to close First Stone Ministries (she appealed for a $25,000 grant from Starbucks for her mission). Her goal is to mobilize and eliminate any mention of the possibility of change, even if people want it and even if it means a transformed life. “To agree to disagree on this issue and this type of ministry is no longer acceptable,” says Cunningham. But Black sees it differently, “In the last ten years, there has been an increasing attack on the gospel-centered message of freedom from homosexuality.” Activists are intent on shutting down any counseling that leads to new life in Christ and freedom from homosexuality.
“Just so, I tell you, there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who need no repentance.”– Jesus Christ (Luke 15:7, ESV)
We rejoice with Emily over God’s mercy, grace and goodness, and His unbounded love for sinners. Full information about the Anchored North ministry can be found following the video (after the jump). — Peter LaBarbera, AFTAH; Twitter: @PeterLaBarbera
John McCartney has been proclaiming the truth about homosexuality and abortion in the Chicago area for decades.
The following open letter was published late last month (in print only) by my friend and longtime pro-life and pro-family advocate, John McCartney. For decades, John has reached out locally in the Chicago area with the truth on two critically important cultural issues: the defense of unborn life and opposition to the homosexual (LGBTQ) agenda. With his steadfastness and reasonable, winsome approach he is a model for morality advocates everywhere. And he never quits–doing more as an octogenarian to defend truth in the public square in a single month than most people do in a lifetime.
For the uninitiated, “Reparative Therapy” is talk therapy designed to help people overcome and manage unwanted homosexual desires, aka “same-sex attractions” (SSA). Many people like David Pickup and Christopher Doyle, have been helped by such “ex-gay” therapy [see my LifeSiteNews piece on the late RT pioneer, Joe Nicolosi]. Nevertheless, LGBTQ ideologues are now heavily invested in demonizing and discrediting the practice, usually by “focusing on the failures,” i.e., people who claim to be harmed or abused by Reparative Therapy. (This in itself is strange, as John alludes to in his letter: in what other area of life–say, people overcoming drug addiction or obesity–do we focus only on the failures as opposed to the heart-warming successes of struggling people who got professional or ministerial help?)
In a seismic assault on liberty, RT for minors has been banned in nine states and the District of Columbia, according to this pro-LGBTQ website. (Interestingly, three governors who signed anti-RT bills into law were Republicans–Chris Christie (New Jersey), Susana Martinez (New Mexico) and Bruce Rauner (Illinois).) Yet it is important to remember that many people who have overcome the strong pull of homosexual impulses in their life, like Stephen Black, did not rely solely on RT-like counseling, and credit God with all or at least a big part of their transformation.
No matter to the neo-totalitarian Left, which is hellbent on destroying the practice and the freedom of people–even childhood victims of homosexual predators–to pursue healthy change away from homosexuality. Note that one method LGBTQ activists and their media echo chamber use to smear Reparative Therapy is to mislabel it as “conversion therapy.” That sounds more menacing and plays to the Left’s anti-Christian prejudices, making RT sound like some sinister cult. It also befits the LGBTQ activist narrative of portraying homosexuality as innate (inherent), thereby unchangeable, and “gays” as perpetual victims. Kudos to John McCartney for rebutting the LGBTQ lies and biased media groupthink. — Peter LaBarbera, AFTAH; Twitter: @PeterLaBarbera – americansfortruth@gmail.com
P.S. Special Book Offer: Regarding McCartney’s proper assessment that homosexuality is NOT a normal variant of human sexual behavior, I recommend the thoroughly-documented, 600-page Mass Resistance book, “Health Hazards of Homosexuality,” which we are making available through AFTAH for $20 postpaid. Order online here with your gift of at least $20 [note your book order in the comments box], or send your check to: AFTAH, PO Box 5522, Naperville, IL 60567-5522, noting the book order.]
Links and some explanatory notes have been added to this printed Open Letter:
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An Open Letter to the Deniers of Reparative Therapy
By John McCartney
For years, “gay” activists have waged a disinformation campaign against reparative therapy (RT), a service available to the those with unwanted same-sex attraction (SSA). It got national attention decades ago when, using it, [sexologists] Masters & Johnson relieved 60 percent of such persons from SSA. Such therapy consists of conversation between a therapist and a client seeking the source of this unwelcome felling. That there is a source is attested to by the fact that there is no replicated study supporting the born-that-way argument. Anti-RT activists advance assertions that warrant scrutiny, assertions in addition to born-that-way, such as:
SSA is not a disorder, i.e., a divergence from nature. In support, they cite the 1973 removal of homosexuality from the [American Psychiatric Association’s] Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Psychiatric Disorders II at a meeting that made a travesty of psychiatric deliberation by politics and the ever-present threat of 1971-type disruptions [Editor’s note: see this “pro-LGBTQ psychiatric site, which notes: “There were a series of dramatic encounters between activists and psychiatrists at the annual meetings of the APA between 1970 and 1972.” Also see psychiatrist Dr Ronald Bayer’s book, Homosexuality and American Psychiatry: The Politics of Diagnosis, which documents how “gay” militants bullied and harassed psychiatrists leading up to the APA vote depathologizing homosexuality.] In a subsequent referendum, psychiatrists without experience with homosexuality were polled; their votes outweighed the votes of psychiatrists who did have it. Psychiatrists with such clinical experience in counseling clients with SSA were marginalized in the proceedings.
The late Dr. Robert Spitzer, who equivocated on whether people could leave homosexuality (a supposed “orientation”) behind. See this compelling article on Spitzer, who once declared in a letter, based on his observations: “In homosexuality…something’s not working.”
Dr. Robert Spitzer, who quarterbacked the 1973 removal of homosexuality as a mental disorder (with a narrow exception), retracted his 2003 endorsement of RT, which he made after listening to the self-reports of 200 men and women for whom RT worked. Spitzer, after ten years, was convinced by “gay” activists that he really didn’t know what he once knew, that his endorsement was putting homosexuals in jeopardy, and that self-reporting of change was unreliable, even though he had expertise evaluating it. The [then] 80-year-old psychiatrist yielded to the same intense lobbying that his fellow psychiatrists did in the 1973 “scientific” [APA] meeting–to truth’s detriment.
The assertion that the showcased dozen or so victims of unqualified counselors constituted proof that RT doesn’t work and is often harmful is as unreasonable as asserting that Alcoholics Anonymous is a failure because it has only a 40 percent success rate.
Former “gay” Stephen Black addresses Americans For Truth “Teach-in” Oct. 20. Black said he grew up feeling “shame” after twice being molested as a boy by adult homosexual male predators. AFTAH presented Black with its 2017 American Truth Teller Award. Black runs First Stone Ministries in Oklahoma City and is Board Chairman of Restored Hope Ministries. Click on photo to enlarge.
The following videos cover the full Americans For Truth About Homosexuality (AFTAH) banquet and Teach-in, held October 20-21, 2017 at Grace For Life Bible Church in Naperville, Illinois. Our featured speaker was Stephen Black, who shares from his experience as an ex-“gay” man who was twice victimized as a boy by homosexual adult male sex predators–yet whose life was radically transformed by a relationship with Jesus Christ. Stephen, who has become a good friend, is the author of Freedom Realized: Freedom from Homosexuality & Living a Life Free From Labels.
[Special Double-Resource Offer to Help AFTAH: receive Stephen Black’s book “Freedom Realized” PLUS a 2-DVD set of the entire 2017 AFTAH conference for your gift to AFTAH of $40 or more (postpaid). Give online or send your check to: AFTAH, PO Box 5522, Naperville, IL 60567-5522. Or order the book alone for $20 postpaid or the 2-DVD video set alone for $25 postpaid.]
Black is executive director of First Stone Ministries in Oklahoma City and Board Chairman of Restored Hope Network–two wonderful Christian ministries that reach out to the “sexually broken” from a biblical perspective. His testimony and others at the conference are a reminder of the politically incorrect truth that homosexuality can be overcome as in person’s life, and that Jesus Christ is alive and still in the life-transforming business.
Like all AFTAH banquets and educational events, this was a tremendous time of learning as our speakers–each a truth warrior in his or her own right–confronted the myths and lies of the LGBTQ (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer) lobby. Stephen’s love for Jesus and his call for obedience in the Church to the gospel of Christ alone was compelling, but please take the time to watch all five videos below. And please share them far and wide to educate your network of friends. And to help us, if you are able, please support Americans for Truth with your donations, perhaps with our Special Offer below. — Peter LaBarbera, AFTAH; Twitter: @PeterLaBarbera
This story contains all videos from the conference. We will isolate out separate portions of the conference in forthcoming posts.
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Here are some introductory teaching remarks opening night by my pastor and our host, Grace for Life Bible Church pastor Steve Schroeder (Video 1 of 5):
The following are my (Peter LaBarbera’s) opening remarks Oct. 20, followed by Stephen Black’s banquet night “overview” presentation (Video 2 of 5):
Here is the opening of the Saturday Teach-in, including remarks by LaBarbera. Black, who received the 2017 AFTAH American Truth-Teller Award the previous night, comes to the stage at the 29:00 mark (Video 3 of 5):
In this segment, two men who came out of homosexuality, Darren and Jeff, share their testimonies. Note the cruelties growing up faced by Darren and the sexual abuse and family dysfunction (and the miracle!) in Jeff’s story. Stephen Black then gives his final presentation (Video 4 of 5):
[Special Offer to Help AFTAH: receive Stephen Black’s book “Freedom Realized” PLUS a 2-DVD set of the entire 2017 AFTAH conference for your gift to AFTAH of $40 or more (postpaid). Give online or send your check to: AFTAH, PO Box 5522, Naperville, IL 60567-5522. Or order the book alone for $20 postpaid or the video set alone for $25 postpaid.]
Folks, this is a short, edited and condensed interview I did Oct. 21, 2017, with my friend and AFTAH’s 2017 banquet speaker Stephen Black, about his new book “Freedom Realized: Freedom From Homosexuality and Living A Life Free From Labels.’ Stephen is executive director of First Stone Ministries and Board Chair of Restored Hope Network–two wonderful Christian ministries. The book is available for a donation of $20 or more to Americans For Truth; give safely online or send your gift noting the book offer to: AFTAH, P.O. Box 5522, Naperville, IL 60567-5522. — Peter LaBarbera, AFTAH; americansfortruth@gmail.com; Twitter: @PeterLaBarbera
Changed Life: Stephen Black of First Stone Ministries and Restored Hope Network once lived his life as a “gay” man [see his powerful video testimony HERE]. Now he helps others leave the homosexual lifestyle. Stephen will give four presentations on understanding homosexuality and reaching out to those trapped in sexual sin and gender confusion—in the love and truth of Jesus Christ. Full banquet details HERE. Sign up for just $25 for both days HERE.
Dear AFTAH Supporters,
Americans For Truth About Homosexuality (AFTAH) is holding its annual banquet this Friday, Oct. 20, followed by a “Teach-in” Saturday, Oct. 21. There will be a total of four presentations by our keynote speaker, my friend Stephen Black, a godly Christian man who came out of homosexuality and now helps others do the same. [See his powerful video testimony HERE.] We also have an “all-star” Q-&A panel Saturday featuring: Denise Shick, whose father told her he wanted to be a “woman” when she was a young girl; stellar writer Laurie Higgins of Illinois Family Institute; and AFA-Pennsylvania pro-family warrior Diane Gramley.
This Teach-in is ideal for anyone with loved ones trapped in homosexual and/or transgender lifestyles. Like all our events, it will be highly educational and spiritually uplifting—loaded with information that you can put to use in your life and relationships. It is only $25 for both days and will be held at Grace for Life Bible Church in Naperville, Illinois, Oct. 20-21. Full details are HERE.
WHEN: Banquet with casual dinner (catered by Portillo’s) is Friday, Oct. 20, 6:00-9:30 PM. Doors open at 5:30 PM Friday, and 8:30 AM Saturday. Teach-in seminars led by Stephen is Saturday, Oct 21, 9:00 AM to 3:00 PM. A casual lunch will be served Sat., and the Q&A panel begins at 1:30 Sat.
WHERE:Grace For Life Bible Church, Naperville, Illinois (west of Chicago), 7S201 S. River Rd., Naperville, IL. [at the corner of River Rd. and Aurora Ave.; entrance is on River Rd. across the street from “Safety Town” and the Naperville PD.]
COST: Just $25/person to attend either or both events. Table of 10 at banquet for $250. Separate gift offerings will be taken both Friday and Saturday. Mail check to: AFTAH, PO Box 5522, Naperville, IL 60567-5522 — or pay online HERE
RSVP and AFTAH contact info: americansfortruth@gmail.com, or call 312-324-3787.
AFTAH Reboot
This year’s banquet is a little different from past ones in that it launches what is essentially AFTAH’s “reboot” as an organization. For the last year, I have been writing full-time for LifeSiteNews.com, an excellent pro-family news site for which I will continue to write blog articles. But my Americans For Truth work in the last year has been limited mainly to doing dozens of interviews on conservative and Christian media relating to LGBTQ issues [see HERE, HERE, HERE and HERE]. Moral-minded conservatives are big fans of AFTAH because we are direct and honest in speaking the truth about homosexual-bisexual-transgender activism, in the love and grace of Christ.
Beginning at the Friday banquet [casual dinner catered by Portillo’s], I will again be devoting my full energies to AFTAH, which I formed more than two decades ago (an offshoot of my “Lambda Report”) and has always been my first love when it comes to opposing Big Gay and its cheerleading media enablers. (We veterans of the fight against the LGBTQueer lobby could tell Donald Trump a few things about “fake news.”)
Our website will return to doing that for which AFTAH is known (and which drives LGBT militants and the Left crazy): telling the hard truths about homosexuality and “transgenderism” that so many others—even people on our side—are often unwilling to tell. Yes, that includes publishing disturbing (albeit boxed-out) photos of unsavory “gay” events that remind us why, for centuries, homosexuality has been regarded as deeply immoral and an unnatural perversion.
