On July 30 2011, one of the ‘ex-gay’ healing ministries affiliated with Liberty hosted a conference about Christianity and homosexuality named ‘Someone I Know Is Gay’.  A number of speakers, including myself, attended the event.  One of the other speakers was Dr. Trevor, a former member of Liberty’s committee and a practicing G.P.  Dr. Trevor himself does not struggle with USSA, but his involvement in the establishment of Liberty and involvement in this key ministry has been substantial.

Yesterday Dr. Trevor spoke on two seminar topics and I have been given permission to add his notes to this website:

1) Biology and Homosexuality;

2) Pro Gay Theology (here are the associated End Notes).

Dr. Trevor also made mention of two very interesting articles in this month’s New York Times magazine.  The first is a man whom I really take my hat off to for going public about his journey from being a gay rights advocate to being a redeemed Christian.  The article is My Ex-Gay Friend, from the New York Times. It just goes to show that people don’t have to be gay: they have choices and can live beyond it!  The second article is called Living the Good Lie on how the American Psychological Association has recently shifted its position on homosexuality.  This second article is particularly intriguing as it describes a current shift in the A.P.A. -

In the final document, the A.P.A. clearly stated its opposition to conversion therapy and unequivocally described homosexuality as normal. But it also offered a nuanced view of religious gay people who did not want to come out. The A.P.A. considered the kind of identity therapy proposed by Throckmorton and Yarhouse to be a viable option. No effort needed to be expended trying to change a client’s religion or sexual orientation. Therapy, in fact, was to have no particular outcome either way, other than to guide the client closer to self-acceptance, whatever the client believed that to be. The difference between sexual orientation and sexual identity was microscopically parsed. “Acceptance of same-sex sexual attractions and sexual orientation may not mean the formation of an L.G.B. sexual-orientation identity,” the report stated. “Alternate identities may develop instead.” It further stated that acting on same-sex attractions might not be a fulfilling solution for everyone …

 

The chairwoman of the task force, Judith Glassgold, remains pleased with the outcome. “People might want to adopt an identity that fits with what their religion proscribes,” she explained. “Or they might want to be celibate rather than identify as a gay person. Some people prioritize their religion over their sexuality, like priests and nuns. That’s an identity.” The goal was to help the client come up with an identity that worked for them. “The dialogue has changed in the last decade,” she continued. “Among therapists — both among gay activists and the religious — we can have a discussion. We all agree that arousal and orientation are not under someone’s volition. What we can work on is self-acceptance, integration identity and reducing stigma.”

 

Clinton Anderson, director of the A.P.A.’s Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Concerns Office, put it another way: “The task-force report is more of an acknowledgment than was true in the past that not everyone who is coming to this dilemma with a strong religious background is going to find an adaptation that is positive with regard to their sexuality. There may be people who are just not going to get there.”

 

Another helpful reference that I picked up from the conference is the site of an American theologian named Robert Gagnon whose expertise is in sexuality in the New Testament.

Throughout the course of the July 30 conference, I came across a number of helpful resources on the topic, which I am free to link here:

Internet filters –

Websites –

Support Groups -

God bless, Haydn (Liberty Pastoral Worker).