You See, These Three U.S. Evangelicals Went To Uganda, and . . .

I’m sure by now you’ve either read or heard the story of the three U.S. evangelicals who went to Uganda to do a series of talks on “the gay agenda” to both politicians and police officers. The three evangelicals were presented as experts on homosexuality, though one is a missionary who has written several books against homosexuality; one is a “former” gay man who leads “healing seminars” now, and one is a board member of Exodus International, whose mission is to “mobilize the body of Christ to minister grace and truth to a world impacted by homosexuality” (whose grace and truth, I wonder). After the evangelicals’ visit, the Ugandans have proposed a bill that would impose a death sentence for homosexual behavior. The three evangelicals are now back peddling in hopes of distancing themselves from the flame they fanned in Uganda with the toxic intolerance they espouse. Particularly interesting is the fact that one of the evangelicals, Scott Lively—a missionary no less, acknowledged meeting with Ugandan lawmakers to discuss the bill the Ugandans drafted. Later, according to the New York Times—Mr. Lively said he was very disappointed that the proposed legislation was so harsh.

Having grown up in a Southern Baptist Church as a gay man with Jesse Helms as state senator, you’d think I’d be used to the religious right and its hate mongering and prejudice against anything outside of its realm of experience. I guess I’m not all that surprised that its ideology prevails, but I surely get weary of them hijacking Jesus and God, and dragging them--kicking and screaming, along with them.

Don Schmeirer, a board member of Exodus International, and one of the three visiting evangelicals was invited to speak on parenting skills for families with gay children. He acknowledged telling audiences that homosexuals could be turned into heterosexuals.

According to The American Academy of Pediatrics: “ The current literature and most scholars in the field state that one’s sexual orientation is not a choice; that is, individuals do not choose to be homosexual or heterosexual. There is no scientific evidence that abnormal parenting, sexual abuse, or other adverse life events influence sexual orientation.” But what can the American Academy of Pediatrics possibly know that Don Schmeirer, author of An Ounce of Prevention: Preventing the Homosexual Condition in Today’s Youth, and Scott Lively, author of Seven Steps To Recruit Proof Your Child, don’t?

To be fair, I should mention that Don Schmeirer and four others at Exodus International (including a “former” homosexual) have sent a letter (whose contents may be read at the link below) to Uganda’s President Museveni.
http://www.exodusinternational.org/content/view/1007/37/

If one is a Christian, as I happen to be, there is not a God of “homosexuals” and a God of “heterosexuals.” There is but one God who created us all. I can no longer sit silently when the attitudes and behaviors of others perpetuate violence against homosexuals (lgbt [lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgendered]).

I am an ardent supporter of the First Amendment, and I appreciate that, in America, we have the right to say what we choose, even if we choose to ignore the wisdom of professionals (like that of the American Academy of Pediatrics) and dogmatically adhere to the strictures of our religious beliefs—we can still say it. And we can continue to live our lives in an uninformed, uneducated, unenlightened manner. But our words—spoken and written, our attitudes and behaviors do have a pronounced effect upon others, as in Uganda. Our behaviors do indeed have consequences, and when those consequences impact the very lives and liberty of lgbt, I am compelled to speak.

In my lifetime, I have never wished that others would be like me, or that they’d live their lives the way I see fit. Their precious lives are just that—theirs, and I would not begin to have them be what I think they should be. I haven’t walked in others’ shoes, so I have no idea what is going on inside them. Could be they’re living an extraordinary life under the circumstances. None of us could ever know the rich tapestry and fabric of others’ lives unless each person sat down and told his or her life story. But even then, they’ve managed to get through their lives without my intervention. And that is the beauty of our differences. How uninteresting life would be if we each had the same story to tell—if we each had lived the same life.

It is this would-be intervention of these evangelicals as touted in even the titles of their books (An Ounce of Prevention: Preventing the Homosexual Condition in Today’s Youth, and Seven Steps To Recruit Proof Your Child) that makes me shudder.

The American Psychological Association, American Psychiatric Association, and National Association of Social Workers state: “Sexual orientation has proved to be generally impervious to interventions intended to change it, which are sometimes referred to as “reparative therapy.” No scientifically adequate research has shown that such interventions are effective or safe. Moreover, because homosexuality is a normal variant of human sexuality, national mental health organizations do not encourage individuals to try to change their sexual orientation from homosexual to heterosexual. Therefore, all major national mental health organizations have adopted policy statements cautioning the profession and the public about treatments that purport to change sexual orientation.”

I have lived for fifty-seven years and have never known another lgbt person to “recruit” someone into homosexuality. Truth is—even if someone tried to “recruit” another, it’s not possible. One’s sexual orientation does not change and cannot change regardless of having a single homosexual experience or multiple homosexual experiences in one’s lifetime.

If, as a Christian, one takes away a single notion from all of its tenets, that notion—for me—is that the heart of the law of Christianity is love. It is compassion, kindness, treating others as we would have them treat us. Jesus said that we are the light of the world, and I believe that is so, and will forever be. There is no limit to how we human beings can impact the world in a good way—healing, taking care of one another, supporting, loving, creating, problem-solving—and make the world a better place because of our presence in it. I expect that the evangelicals believe that, in their misguided “love-the-homosexuality-right-out-of-you” way, that they are fulfilling the heart of the law as well. But the greater sense of love to which I believe we are called is to love another for who we are, and who we were created to be. Not one of us can ever know the potential of goodness that another is capable of. But his/her delicious presence on this earth, and our chance to get to know him/her as we live, is but one more affirmation of the richness and awesomeness of life. We must learn to let each other be.