http://usnews.nbcnews.com/_news/201...ting-down-leader-apologizes-for-pain-and-hurt 'Ex-gay' group says it's shutting down; leader apologizes for 'pain and hurt' A Christian ministry that led the so-called ex-gay movement, which professes to rid people of their homosexuality, has announced that it will shut down, and its leader apologized extensively to gays for causing “pain and hurt.” The ministry, Exodus International, was founded in 1976 and claims more than 200 branches, churches and counselors in the United States and Canada. It had insisted that people could overcome same-sex attraction through prayer and therapy. Mainstream psychiatric and medical groups have said that the movement, also known as reparative therapy, is unfounded in science and can be harmful. The American Psychiatric Association said 15 years ago that it could cause depression, anxiety and self-depressive behavior in patients. The president of Exodus, Alan Chambers, said late Wednesday on the ministry’s website that he had “conveniently omitted my ongoing same-sex attractions” but now accepts them “as parts of my life that will like always be there.” Addressing gays, Chambers, who is married to a woman, wrote: “You have never been my enemy. I am very sorry that I have been yours.” “I am sorry for the pain and hurt many of you have experienced,” he wrote. “I am sorry that some of you spent years working through the shame and guilt you felt when your attractions didn’t change.” He added that he could not apologize for his own biblical beliefs about sex and marriage but would not fight gays on their own beliefs or their push for rights. In a statement, Exodus International, which describes itself as the oldest and largest group of its kinds, said that its board of directors had decided to close down after a year of talking and praying about its place in a changing culture. Polls show that a narrow majority of Americans, a steadily growing share, support gay marriage, which has been legalized in 12 states and the District of Columbia. The Supreme Court is preparing to rule on two landmark gay-rights cases. “We’re not negating the ways God used Exodus to positively affect thousands of people, but a new generation of Christians is looking for change – and they want to be heard,” Tony Moore, an Exodus board member, said on the organization’s website. Chambers, over the past year, had caused turmoil in the ex-gay movement by changing course and saying that reparative therapy could hurt gays and that there was no cure for same-sex attraction. "I do not believe that cure is a word that is applicable to really any struggle, homosexuality included," Chambers told The Associated Press last year. "For someone to put out a shingle and say, 'I can cure homosexuality' — that to me is as bizarre as someone saying they can cure any other common temptation or struggle that anyone faces on Planet Earth." Evan Hurst, the associate director of Truth Wins Out, a leading organization opposed to the ex-gay movement, applauded Chambers on Thursday for “honesty, integrity and authenticity.” “It takes a real man to publicly confront the people whose lives were destroyed by his organization’s work,” he said.
Glad they are shutting down, and the leader apologized. That's a step in the right direction for sure.
It's a pretty short article and the title says it all. You should be able to read the whole thing in under a minute. Do you have an opinion on this?
texxx has had trouble answering direct questions lately. He couldn't do it in the other thread. It remains to be seen if he can do it here.
You post an article without any commentary or opinions of your own, then you ask for my opinion? how lazy can you get
Yeah he seems to be cranky lately. Anyway to answer Texxx, yes I think this is a good thing and applaud Alan Chambers for reevaluating his position.
like I said, he has problems answering direct questions lately. He couldn't do it in the thread about whether or not the administration planned to use chemical weapons and blame Assad. I see little promise that he'll be able to do it here. He's showing that daily.
is this the same group as james dobson's love won out? if so, great news...still won't bring back my friend from high school who killed himself after being forced to attend one of these "conferences", but maybe other gay kids will be spared the psychological torture.
This is actually quite a big gesture (given the history of this organization) and the impact of the message (i.e. we were wrong, we are sorry) could be much bigger if pushed by the larger media outlets.
Even if being gay were a choice, and it's not, it shouldn't matter. Gay people should have the same rights as everyone else.
Since Exodus International admitted being wrong, apologized, and is shutting down, the world is waiting now for you to pick up the slack and carry forth in your gay quest. You seem to have the perfect temperament for the job. We're all behind you.
A sad day indeed in America. How will the gays, homosexuals and Sodomites find salvation now? Certainly not at Pinkberry yogurt.
Are there any formal organizations out there that help turn straight people gay? I mean of course besides the boy/ girl scouts, women's softball teams, and seminary schools.
