www.truthwinsout.org

Tim Wilkins #homophobia #fundie truthwinsout.org

Isn’t it amazing how people, when they go through the woodchipper known as the “ex-gay industry,” consistently go one of two directions? They either end up back out of the closet and hopefully living healthier lives than before [even if it takes years and years for them to heal from the experience], or they end up cashing in at the teat of the people who brainwashed them in the first place, thus perpetuating the cycle of abuse. They never just end up being “ex-gay” and settling into a happy “ex-gay” life. No, they have to engender hatred toward the rest of the LGBT community.

So here’s an example of the latter, by the name of Tim Wilkins, speaking on a panel encouraging North Carolina to write discrimination into its constitution. Brian at Right Wing Watch sets it up:

Wilkins began his remarks by describing how he is “ashamed” of his “past homosexuality.”

Wilkins in fact, is a professional “ex-gay” activist whose ministry “stems from his own freedom from homosexuality some thirty years ago.” He is also a member of NARTH, the National Association for Research and Therapy of Homosexuality, and organizes a conference that “addresses such topics as If a Friend Says ‘I’m gay’, Debunking the ‘Gay Gene’, ‘What’s a Parent to Do?’, Untwisting ‘Gay Theology’, Counseling the Homosexual, Preventing Homosexuality, and A Biblical Bridge Out of Homosexuality.’”

[—]

Wilkins argued that homosexuality should be reduced to a “temptation” just as Pluto— was relegated from its status as a planet to dwarf planet by the International Astronomical Union.

Oh, wow, this man must hate himself something fierce. Let’s watch the video together and I’ll live-blog it below:


First thirty seconds: “I once was gay but now am wingnut.” Amaaaaazing grace, etc.

0:30-1:00: Same sex marriages are “unequal” because two people of the same gender can’t possibly complement each other in a relationship, due to—

1:00-1:30: There are not enough various and sundry genitals in same-sex relationships, therefore they are not supporting diversity!

1:30-2:00: “I believe that same sex attraction is a temptation, not an orientation.” The fact that this conflicts with what every single mature adult scientist and mental health professional has to say on the matter is of no consequence, as that interferes with my being a wingnut.

2:00-2:30: The only real sexual orientation people have is sin. Dirty, dirty sin. If there was no sin, there would be no gayness, QED.

And to bring it home, 2:30 until the end: “Pluto— used to be a planet, a gay, gay planet, and then one day it went to Alan Chambers’ office and when it came out, it wasn’t a planet anymore! Pray away the gay planet!”

And scene.

Frank Worthen #fundie truthwinsout.org

(=Note: This applies to Exodus, as well as Mochael Bussee's family, but Frank Worthen is the only named fundie with specific words attributed to him in this article. He's also the "father" of ex gay ministries and passed away in 2017=)

When Michael Bussee and other Exodus International co-founders and early members admitted that Exodus’ reorientation counselors had failed to change their sexual orientation, one might expect Exodus to have compassionately asked what it had done wrong, help counselees find competent therapists, and take responsible action to ensure that any future counseling actually worked.

And considering that Exodus boasts that it supports families and friends, one might expect that Exodus helped Bussee’s parents, siblings, and wife adapt.

That’s not what happened.

Bussee’s siblings kept their kids away from him and deprived his mother of a family Thanksgiving dinner. His mother felt worse than when his father died, and said she wanted to drive her car off a cliff. Bussee’s sister said she would pray that God makes him miserable for the rest of his life — just as Exodus president Alan Chambers and Focus on the Family activist Mike Haley do today. Bussee’s wife and her church sought to prevent him from having any custody.

Exodus exiled Bussee, and continues to exile whistleblowers and to threaten counselees with ostracism and prayers for damnation.

How Exodus treated Bussee then, it continues to treat people today:

"In terms of Exodus’ response, I got this very loving letter from Frank Worthen of Love In Action telling me that I was cursed, I was an anathema, that I had forfeited my salvation and he ended the letter with very graphic descriptions of the flames of hell that awaited me and he said that his heart was going to be grieved to see me pushed into the fiery pit by the angels on the final day. He’ never apologized for that."

A small group of fellow Exodus ministry leaders came to my house and sort of begged me to turn back. And I told them that there was no turning back, that I had never changed, that I was never really ex-gay and I was just accepting the truth about myself. But they made that one attempt, I think they felt biblically obligated to plead with me one last time but then after that nothing.

So when [my partner] Gary and I left we were pretty much abandoned."

Support is slowly building from LGBT groups and affirming therapists for people who are abandoned by Exodus — but no one tells them that.

"I didn’t get a warm welcome from the gay community because I didn’t know there was a gay community to become a part of so it was a very isolating kind of experience. I’ve talked to people who are considering, even now after 30 years of marriage, after presenting themselves as ex-gay that are considering coming out and leaving Exodus, but they’re terrified of that abandonment they know they’re going to experience. And they’re terrified of the rejection by family and friends and it’ a real fear."

Christopher Doyle #fundie truthwinsout.org

In a shocking admission, Christopher Doyle, a board member for Parents & Friends of Ex-Gays (PFOX) and blogger for the Christian Post, admits that while he was an adolescent he got in trouble for molesting “little girls” that his mother was responsible for watching in her daycare center. According to “Christopher’s Story,” which was previously posted on PFOX’s website, Doyle confessed:

“I tried to have sex with the little girls that my mother watched in her daycare, and eventually, one of the girls told her parents what I was doing. The shame that was placed on me by my parents was more than I could bear. Rather than rescue me, teach me, and put me in counseling, the ‘bad boy’ was left alone to deal with all of this shame.”

Doyle claims that he was only ten years old at the time of the illegal incidents. Still, such disturbing behavior is rather unusual and raises enormous red flags in our view, considering Doyle’s access to youth as a therapist. He is currently a counselor at the International Healing Foundation (IHF), a business where the therapists regularly pet vulnerable clients in a technique called “touch therapy.” IHF has long focused on youth and its founder, Richard Cohen, has written a bizarre “ex-gay” children’s book “Alfie’s Home.” Doyle is also a key member of the National Association for Research and Therapy of Homosexuality (NARTH), which claims that 50% of their clients are LGBT youth.

Perhaps most alarming, Doyle has started a company, Acception Productions, that is working to get its anti-gay videos — that deceptively pretend to be anti-bullying videos — into public schools. At the time of publication, Doyle has not provided the ages of the girls he admits to “trying to have sex with.”

It could be that Doyle’s confessed youthful perversion only occurred during that time period, many years ago. However, one must take pause when looking a his career, one that disturbingly goes through great lengths to place Doyle in close proximity to youth.

The question that parents should ask: Do they want Christopher Doyle, given his notorious past, engaging in touch therapy with their sons and daughters?

Linda Harvey #fundie truthwinsout.org

Ohio-based Religious Right activist Linda Harvey today expressed outrage that a district court judge ruled on behalf of a gay couple, who are both Ohio residents but were married in Maryland, against the state’s ban on same-sex unions. One of the men has Lou Gehrig’s disease and is seeking to have his partner listed on his death certificate as his surviving spouse and be buried in the same family plot.

Harvey called their lawsuit “nonsense” and charged that if the men wanted to be married, they should have married women: “There’s no discrimination or inequality, either of these men could be married to a woman.” She said that the couple is in a pretend marriage, just like a girl who pretends to be a doctor simply because she believes she is one:

“Can marriage just be what anyone thinks it is? Here’s a possible analogy. Sophie wants to be a doctor, she’s never gone to medical school but in her mind she’s qualified to treat patients, even perform surgery. But the law only allows the practice of medicine by those who have attended medical school, passed the state board exams and so on. But isn’t this unequal protection? Aren’t Sophie’s fantasies valid? She believes she should be allowed to practice medicine therefore the requirements to be a licensed MD are unconstitutional for her.”

Russian Neo-Nazis #fundie truthwinsout.org

Russian Neo-Nazis Using Social Media To Find And Torture LGBT Teens

To add depth to the portrait of just how horrific Russia is these days for LGBT people, for journalists, for women and for political protesters, we now have a report that Neo-Nazis are using the Russian social media site VK.com to lure LGBT teens into being tortured and outed to their communities:

President Putin’s crusade against LGBT community in Russia took a new turn.

Infamous Russian ultranationalist and former skin head, Maxim Martsinkevich, known under the nickname “Cleaver” (or “Tesak” in Russian) spearheaded a country wide campaign against LGBT teens using a popular social network VK.com to lure unsuspected victims through personal ads. Mr. Martsinkevich’s numerous and enthusiastic followers started two projects: “Occupy Pedophilyaj” and “Occupy Gerontilyaj”. Allegedly they are trying to identify and report pedophiles using these “movements”. In reality, over 500 online groups have been created inside VK.com social network in order to organize illegal militant groups in every Russian city. Oddly enough their idea of fighting pedophiles targets exclusively male teenagers who respond to the same-sex personal ads and show up for a date. Captured victims are bullied and often tortured while being recorded on video. These self-proclaimed “crime fighters” perform their actions under the broad day light, often outside and clearly visible to general public that indifferently passes by or even commend them. Video recordings of bullying and tortures are freely distributed on the Internet in order to out LGBT teens to their respective schools, parents and friends. Many victims were driven to suicides, the rest are deeply traumatized.

Putin’s government, of course, has taken no action against these groups. This is the world that Vladimir Putin is creating, a nation that a close friend of mine, who has lived and studied in Russia, now refers to as a “thug petro-state.” We can also thank American extremist Evangelicals like Scott Lively for helping to plant the seeds.

Steve Crampton and Matt Barber #fundie truthwinsout.org

(on the Seattle anti-gay preacher beign attacked at a Gay Pride parade)

[Steve] Crampton and Barber warned that these sorts of attacks on anti-gay Christians will only increase in the months and years ahead because, as Crampton explained, “the life of the average homosexual is not controlled by reason” but a perverted lust and passion that has “overwhelmed them.” And thus, when you couple that “a lack of self-control” with “the taste of blood,” you have a recipe for further bloodletting.

[Matt] Barber agreed, declaring that gays “define their entire identity based up aberrant sexual behaviors and sexual temptations and acting on those temptations” and so, as Scripture proclaims, they are eventually consumed by this “lust-filled, sex-centric, perversion-centric lifestyle” and ultimately driven by a “dark soul” to commit this sort of violent behavior.

Bryan Fischer #racist truthwinsout.org

Welfare has destroyed the African-American family by telling young black women that husbands and fathers are unnecessary and obsolete. Welfare has subsidized illegitimacy by offering financial rewards to women who have more children out of wedlock. We have incentivized fornication rather than marriage, and it’s no wonder we are now awash in the disastrous social consequences of people who rut like rabbits.

NARTH #homophobia truthwinsout.org

Nicolosi co-founded NARTH in 1992 and has served as the organization’s leader since its inception. From the beginning, the group combined a combatively homophobic agenda with bizarre pseudoscientific theories. For example, Dr. Nicolosi has said factors in the causation of homosexuality include “fear of tall bridges” a “phobia of the phone” and once claimed that gay men are more likely to be “pee shy.”

He has encouraged his clients to become more masculine by drinking Gatorade and calling friends “dude.” The doctor also applauded a patient in one of his books as making progress toward heterosexuality after he didn’t give a man his phone number at a bathhouse after they already had sex. Even more ludicrous is Nicolosi’s notion that, “non-homosexual men who experience defeat and failure may also experience homosexual fantasies or dreams.”

NARTH does not keep track of its failure rate. When asked by a Newsweek reporter why he kept no statistics, Nicolosi claimed, “I don’t have time.” More troubling is that Nicolosi does have the time to analyze children as young as three, telling the Advocate magazine that, “It’s my job to increase the possibility of a heterosexual future for these effeminate boys.”

NARTH member Dr. Jeffrey Satinover once reported that Prozac might be a cure for homosexuality. Another major NARTH contributor is Holocaust revisionist Scott Lively, co-author of The Pink Swastika, a book that partially blamed gay people for the Holocaust. “The Pink Swastika will show that there was far more brutality, torture, and murder committed against innocent people by Nazi deviants and homosexuals than there ever was against homosexuals,” wrote co-author Kevin E. Abrams in the preface describing the book.

The organization’s methods are so eccentric and bizarre that the American Psychological Association specifically condemned NARTH by name at the APA’s annual convention in August.