All in the room are agreed however that every person is born heterosexual and it
All in the room are agreed, however, that every person is born heterosexual and it is childhood influences - nurture - that determine who becomes sexually "broken" before Christ."We don't believe that people have orientation to homosexuality," explains Freeman. "You become oriented to whatever it is you give your heart to over and over again. Whatever it is you say yes to over and over again, you become oriented to that thing - until something comes along to divert you."Rich, who lived as an openly gay man in the Village in New York for 25 years, through gay pride and the Aids crisis, says homosexuality is a "distortion" "We're all born heterosexual. It has not helped its cause that two of its own founders, both men, left the organisation after falling in love with each other. No fewer than 13 of the Exodus ministries have had to close their doors because their directors returned to homosexuality.At Harvest, however, John Freeman and the men at this evening's session are sanguine. "For every John Paulk, I can show you 10 so-called ex-gays who have failed in their attempt to change their sexual orientation. For some that has shattered their lives."Exodus, founded in 1976 and now boasting 83 chapters in 35 states, including Harvest in Philadelphia, has no figures on exactly how many homosexuals have attended the programmes orhow many have emerged "cured".
Last year, the American Psychological Association passed a resolution stating that anyone still advocating conversion therapy for homosexuals was damaging the self-esteem of their patients and feeding societal prejudice towards them."This campaign might be hurting a lot of people," commented Wayne Besen, spokesman for the Human Rights Campaign, the largest political organisation for gays and lesbians in the US. As far back as 1973, the American Psychiatric Association jettisoned the idea that homosexuality was a pathological illness that could be chased away by electrocution and various aversion therapies. At the very least, they said, the ads implied that homosexuality was a disease with a cure.Most gays probably thought that that debate had been put to rest. It charged that the advertisements were politically inspired and meant to stir up hatred and discrimination against homosexuals. The not-so-subtle message, they argued, was that gays choose the lifestyle they are in and could just as easily choose to leave it.
Another, in The Washington Post, carried a picture of hundreds of self-described ex-gays. Its headline blared: "We're standing for the truth that homosexuals can change."The response from the gay community was fast and furious. "I'm living proof that Truth can set you free", said the headline on the page. Most belong to Exodus International, a non-denominational umbrella ministry based in Seattle, which takes the lead in preaching the ex-gay gospel.
The peace was disturbed this summer, however, when Exodus, with help from several ultra-conservative political groups, such as the Christian Coalition, published full-page advertisements in several leading US newspapers, including The New York Times, trumpeting its mission.The Times ad featured a picture of Anne Paulk, a former lesbian married to John Paulk, who was once a transvestite and now sits as board chairman of Exodus. In other words, it is the genes of a person that determine whether he or she turns out to be gay or straight, not the environment they grow up in.Even so, scores of ministries such as Harvest, which was founded in 1983, have for years quietly been reaching out to unhappy gays and offering them the possibility of change. At the very least, it repudiates the theory, which is sacred to most gay people, that the homosexual condition is about nature, not nurture. For every gay there is the option of becoming an "ex-gay".The very notion of an "ex-gay" alternative does not sit well with many in the gay movement, however.
