Jezebel 
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New York, 11:10 AM
Thu Dec 10
68 posts in the last 24 hours
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08/06/09
Or, you know, that Unitarianism is another option.
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Words from my 15 year old cousin, upon his mother explaining homosexuality and the (Catholic) church: "But if we're all in God's image, does that mean God's gay?"
From the mouth of babes...
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Statements like this make me nervous because the right throws this argument in our face by bringing up pedophilia. Of course gays and criminals shouldn't be compared, and the situations are completely different, but the right doesn't see it that way.
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Well, I think it can be contained by drawing the line at harm to others and restricting acts between consenting adults.
08/06/09
27 years later, my uncles are married with three children and three grandchildren.
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@goldengirl11: Yes. My uncle married his first boyfriend. I've called said "boyfriend" "Uncle Jon" my whole life.
08/06/09
I don't understand the point of the story.
08/06/09
@1.1.1.: ... to point out the crazy shit some therapists believe/d and the efficacy of their treatment.
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08/06/09
Truth Wins Out (www.truthwinsout.org) is dedicated to busting the whole Ex-Gay movement, and it has a lot of great videos, testimonials, and other information.
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08/06/09
MADE
FAGS!!!
Enough said.
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That always stuck with me.
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How unusual that one side might acknowledge the other side as not being crazy. While I do NOT condone religions that shun homosexuals and believe they can change, I think it's important that the APA recognized that for some people, those connections they have with their religion are so important they would deny another part of themselves. And that rather than ridiculing those people, support them as well. The #1 thing I've learned from all of my therapists/physchologists/psychiatrists is that you can only change your own behavior, not those of other people. So props to them for following their own advice.
08/06/09
There are undoubtedly people who may have homosexual leanings, who are confused by their desires, but that's where simple counseling would help. They don't need to be "re-educated" or "repaired." This is the kind of mentality that led to women being tied to poles and set on fire, because they were "witches."
08/06/09
Does that mean God is wrong and mistaken? I never got an answer to that question, oddly enough.
08/06/09
Jesus never said anything about homosexuals. He never condemned prostitutes. He didn't condemn tax collectors. the only people He ever came down on were hypocrites.
know what Jesus did say? love your neighbor as yourself. love your neighbor as i have loved you.
if the biggoted behavior of the evangelical conservative Christian base is a reflection of God's love for them, i, for one, feel sad for them. i consider myself to be a faithful Christian, and my God has loved me much more than that. and He loves my lesbian sister, too, with every ounce of love He gives me.
08/06/09
Different religions are comprised by and sustained by the people who follow them, and their beliefs. It's not made from some inherent truths about doctrine, even if the followers cite their sources as divine.
Evangelicals are just as convinced as you are that their interpretation of the Bible is correct- and this is a religious belief that they do not feel they have come to by choice. And I think this is what the APA is getting at. They have no desire to revisit the tired old, "should we rehab teh gays" question, but they do recognize that some people think their religious beliefs are not a product of choice. I strongly disagree that religion is not a product of choice, and I think you exercised an element of choice when deciding which scriptures to follow, and how to interpret them. I think it's a good reflection of your character, but I don't necessarily think it means you have been more divinely inspired, or have a better means of interpretation than the evangelicals.
The APA is throwing in the towel and recognizing that many religious people will never admit their beliefs come by choice, and therefore there must be a way to help gay people who also think they are sinners.
What I am curious about, is why they didn't have a study examining how "reparative therapy" for getting the evangelical out of a gay would work.
08/06/09
it's hard to explain to someone not religious that, sometimes, it really isn't a choice. you are led to certain things, certain conclusions. i think that reparative therapy is an awful idea, but if one wants to subject themselves to it by choice, that's their choice. my problem lies more with the forced therapy and "lose the gay" camps for kids and teens. i think the idea that religious fervor and homosexuality can coexist in the same person is also perfectly reasonable, and i think the APA is more trying to say that than say to someone religion is a choice. because it isn't necessarily.
08/06/09