Well you asked me to get back in it so here I am

An article I copied in toto from Townhall.com including links because I felt this was central to one of the precepts that I have been saying that homosexuality was a choice not a disability.


WEEK OF SEPTEMBER 10, 2004

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Current Headlines
Professor's Video Proves Homosexuals Can ChangeInterviews with former homosexuals and lesbians contradict American Psychological Association.A handful of notable members of the mental health field are countering the American Psychological Association with an alternative media approach that will help those struggling with same-sex attractions, as well as their parents, pastors, and teachers.-->
Anglican Communion Will Be Reshaped, London Office May CloseQueen will not permit the break up of the Anglican Communion over the gay issue.Commission's report "will be disastrous for the Anglican Communion's pansexualists."-->
Commentary: How Will the Religious Vote?40 liberal religious leaders and 40,000 citizens sign a petition declaring that "God is not a Republican...or a Democrat."Liberals urge Americans to consider a wider range of moral issues and ask, "How did the faith of Jesus come to be known as pro-rich and pro-war?" Conservatives were disappointed in the 2000 election by four million evangelicals who did not vote at all.-->
Baptist Leader Urges Church to Prepare for Terrorist AttackSBC President Bobby Welch tells Baptist leaders, "We can do better next time.""Baptists could have touched so many more lives and helped so many more people."-->
CULTURE NEWSCourt victories: teachers and other school employees may participate in after-school religious clubs; clergy confidentiality upheld.Washington state judge rules that homosexuals have a constitutional right to marriage, and they are a protected class; lesbian Senator in Calif. promotes "Pedophile Protection Act"; gay-rights groups are spending heavily to defeat a measure banning same-sex marriage in Oregon; abortion's lost generation: Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan warns that the country is facing a Social Security and Medicare funding crisis; TV watching makes teens more sexually active; Michigan and Louisiana citizens can vote on constitutional marriage amendments; study shows Christian divorce rate is identical to non-Christians.-->
DENOMINATION NEWSCanadian congregations deny bishop's request to vacate church property worth more than $1 million.Pope denounces Canadian efforts to legalize homosexual "marriages" and "same-sex unions"; Catholic and Anglican Archbishops join forces to stop euthanasia; Southern Baptists launch home-schooling organization.-->
EVANGELISM & MISSIONS NEWSCBN founder Pat Robertson will be the keynote speaker at the 'Day of Prayer for the Peace of Jerusalem'.Hundreds will gather Oct. 1 in Hollywood for inaugural National Media Prayer Breakfast; 500 Southern Baptists in the Bronx painted a 5-story middle school; American Baptist Churches USA must close a $1.5 million budget gap to avert the recall of missionaries.-->
HUMAN RIGHTS & RELIGIOUS PERSECUTIONAnother Christian in Pakistan dies, severely tortured in police custody.Taliban militants target converts to Christianity, kill five Afghan Christian men; Baptists in Belarus are set to have their personal property confiscated and their pay docked for visting a hospital to sing hymns and hand out Bibles; another Vietnamese house church leader is arrested and held for eight days of interrogation; Florida church wins right to continue holding worship services in a county community center; Catholic priest is stabbed in the back and killed while praying before Mass in India; masked gunmen storm a church in Columbia, killing three worshippers and injuring 13 more.-->
LIFE ISSUESCatholic bishop says abortion is "the greatest crime ever committed in history."Federal judge in Nebraska strikes down the Partial Birth Abortion Ban Act; pro-abortion groups team up to push their agenda at international meetings; bishop condemns a Dutch proposal to extend euthanasia to children under the age of 12; U.S. in vitro fertilization clinics create more embryos than they will implant, and 80 percent say they are willing to destroy extra embryos; wife's forced abortion helps Chinese man win asylum in U.S.; Utah attempts to circumnavigate the law to fund abortion on demand and euthanasia.-->
Professor's Video Proves Homosexuals Can ChangeInterviews with former homosexuals and lesbians contradict American Psychological Association.By ED VITAGLIANO(Agape Press) While organizations like the American Psychological Association (APA) are throwing their considerable weight behind the homosexual movement, a handful of notable members of the mental health field are countering with the truth about sexual orientation.One of those professionals is Dr. Warren Throckmorton, director of college counseling and an associate professor of psychology at Grove City College, a private Christian college in Pennsylvania. His research on the possibility of changing sexual orientation was published in the June 2002 issue of Professional Psychology: Research and Practice, an official publication of the APA.The subject of changing sexual orientation is an issue Throckmorton emphasizes in his counseling and teaching. "I've seen people change, people I've interviewed and even my own clients," Throckmorton told AFA Journal. "I remember one of my clients, who is no longer gay, said to me, 'Tell them that I exist.' "And that's exactly what Throckmorton has been doing. He recently released a new video, I Do Exist!, which tells the stories of five ex-homosexuals who now boldly proclaim that people can change.I Do Exist! opens with "man-on-the-street" interviews, as average Americans answer the question, "Can homosexuals change?" Former "gay" man Noe Gutierrez, Jr., then begins explaining how he began the process of change. Gutierrez is so sincere and transparent that he draws the viewer into his story.Also featured are the testimonies of former lesbians Sarah Lipp, Joann Highley, and Cheryl Quinlan, as well as former homosexual Greg Quinlan. All present a message of hope that will encourage those struggling with same-sex attractions.Supplementing the ex-gay testimonies are interviews with Throckmorton himself, Dr. Mark Yarhouse of the Regent University Department of Psychology, and Dr. Robert Spitzer, professor of psychiatry at Columbia University.In 1973, Spitzer was one of the men who was instrumental in getting the American Psychiatric Association to officially remove homosexuality from its catalog of mental illnesses. He has since come to the conclusion that some homosexuals can change their sexual orientation, and last year released the results of a study to that effect.Both the American Psychological Association and the American Psychiatric Association -- along with almost every other major mental health organization -- have been forcefully promoting the homosexual agenda in recent decades.Throckmorton said it isn't science that is driving that promotion. "It's just old-fashioned politics. All of these professional [mental health] organizations have official gay and lesbian groups within them that have an agenda," he said. "They believe that homosexuality is simply another variant of human sexuality, and they have a vested interest in making sure the organization keeps promoting that view."A case in point, he said, was when the American Psychological Association adopted a resolution at its annual convention in July, advocating the legalization of same-sex marriage. The resolution was steeped in scientific language.However, Throckmorton said, the members of the committee that put forth the resolution were all homosexuals. He said, "How objective could [the committee] be? There was almost no discussion [of opposing viewpoints]. The council representatives simply voted, and it was all done internally."He said the resolution was "a political consensus, not a scientific consensus."Such actions seem to make Throckmorton even more determined to publicize a message of hope. "I feel these [ex-gay] folks are marginalized," he said. "They are afraid to talk in the church because they don't want to be viewed as gay, and they don't want to talk to people in the mental health profession because they won't be believed."I Do Exist! is a powerful way to get out the message that homosexuals can change. It is compelling and informative, and helps to explain the process by which some people come to experience same-sex attractions, act on those attractions, and enter the homosexual lifestyle.The film also makes recommendations concerning the role of church and schools in providing help to those who are experiencing same-sex attractions but do not want to take on a "gay" identity.The video could be a great tool in helping religious leaders, counselors and church members understand the complexities surrounding this controversial issue. This is especially needful because, Throckmorton said, the homosexual lifestyle is prominently displayed in our culture."There is an incessant drumbeat of emphasis on sexuality in our culture. More and more people are defining themselves in terms of sexuality," he said. "And kids are labeling themselves as gay or lesbian earlier in life than ever before."Throckmorton has also produced a CD entitled The Truth Comes Out, which contains testimonies from ex-homosexuals, information about sexual orientation from Throckmorton, and some selections of contemporary Christian music."There are already a lot of books on the market about these issues, and so we thought there was a need for an alternative media approach to help parents, pastors, and teachers who are dealing with young people who were questioning their sexual feelings," he said."And the CD and DVD were accessible to kids," he added, who might not read a book but who might listen to a CD or watch a DVD.
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