The British Medical Association (BMA) at their Annual Meeting on 02 July 2010 has discredited the “conversion / reparative therapy” of gays and called it harmful. A call has been made for the Royal College of Psychiatrists and other medical bodies to ban these practices. The meeting also called for Health Departments to investigate alleged cases of this therapy publically funded under Britain’s NHS further to the undercover report in the “Independent Newspaper” on Feb 2010. It was reported that zealous Christians giving "psychological torture" to their gay clients all funded by the British government.

"Sexuality is such a fundamental part of who a person is, that attempts to change it just result in significant confusion, depression and even suicide. You can't just wish away same-sex attraction no matter how inconvenient it might be.", said Tom Dolphin, vice-chair of the BMA's junior doctors committee.

(1 Tim 4:1 NKJV)  Now the Spirit expressly says that in latter times some will depart from the faith, giving heed to deceiving spirits and doctrines of demons,

(1 Tim 4:2 NKJV)  speaking lies in hypocrisy, having their own conscience seared with a hot iron,

 With Singapore normally following British precedence, such destructive therapy may soon be banned here. We are reminded the Anglican Church of Our Savior running the Choices/ Exodus conversion groups for the last two decades should be held accountable for the damage caused.  Some friends who have undergone such therapy (and have left the anti-gay group) are obviously psychologically harmed, delusional, and self centered. Some are even suicidal. It is an offence against the victims and against God for manipulating the person’s faith and emotions to cause harm. For the Christian Right, they have lost all conscience to do whatever the end justifies the means and have departed from a biblical faith represented by Jesus Christ.

We are reminded of Sy Rogers, the pioneer at Choices/Exodus and regular speaker at City Harvest Church. Hopefully he will not be sexually confused whether he was a transvestite or a gay man (he claims he was both when they are fundamentally different). City Harvest should not be associating with the parties behind such discredited “treatments”. In a show by Jack Neo called “Being Human Being Singapore” talks about health slimming centers using illegal substances in the slimming pills to cut costs. It is about money and the highest profit just as the conversion therapy is about being “theologically” correct (according to their American Based theology) rather than for the good of innocent lambs. The end justifies the means even if it means the client is emotionally damaged or becomes suicidal.

In 1973, the American Psychiatric Association removed homosexuality from its list of mental disorders in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual. Two years later, the American Psychological Association followed with a similar action. In Year 2000, the American Medical Association resolved to “oppose any psychiatric treatment, such as “reparative” or “conversion” therapy which is based upon the assumption that homosexuality per se is a mental disorder or based upon the a priori assumption that the patient should change his/her homosexual orientation.”. In other words, sexual orientation is innate. In Year 2009, The American Psychological Association declared that there was insufficient evidence for conversation therapy and instructed that they not be offered. These were deliberate outward behavior changes to ignore inward sexual orientation and do not last long. Many Gay Christians have committed suicides because there is nothing left emotionally or spiritually after letting themselves be destroyed by the Christian Right. They are oppressed with self hate. I guess their lives don’t matter as we can see in Uganda where the Christian Right is out to kill gays. But God cares and weeps.

An ex-minister, Scott Harrison, who went through this therapy, called it a spiritual rape as it made people believed that they were somehow demonized and it is their own fault or choices. We can see so much of life being robbed by the Christian Right, the virgin faith and trust in God of Gay Christians. Lies were manipulated as truth in the name of God leading many to self rejection, and self hatred because they loved God. They become self centered and inward focused, as the Christian Right has deliberately attempted to distort the core of their very being, their nature and character, and in doing so destroyed and deconstructed their makeup. A disillusion sets in, about themselves, about Jesus Christ, about God. If they can’t love themselves, how can they love others, how can they love God.

 Rape has a tendency to destroy us making us feel violated, soiled, damaged with dignity lost. When we are spiritually raped, not only is our faith violated, we lose our self dignity being treated without worth nor humanity where only the agenda of the Christian Right matters but not who we are as a person. Our humanity and pride has been stolen. The Christian Right has tried to destroy and deconstruct the core of our being; they have forcefully penetrated many by emotional abuse and brain wash, leaving them mortally wounded spiritually and psychologically. They have destroyed the dignity and humanity of gay people, and blaspheming Jesus by claiming that people could be “healed” in Christ. We reached to a point where our harmful actions as a Christian Church are almost unforgivable and without much mitigation. We could have just left the gay community alone and said nothing.

Thousands were said to be raped by Priests whom they have trusted and was a great let down of people who abused their authority. We probably have many more who have been spiritually raped by the Christian Right, many in Singapore. Does this glorify God? On the contrary, it will set in confusion and distorts the Gospel message, and undermines the moral credibility of the church. There is so much unrighteousness done that we have grieved the heart of the Holy Spirit because we have raped these innocent children of God and called it “Christianity”.

We were not really raping the gay community weren’t we, for Jesus was there and we were doing it to Him. Jesus was there, and He is here today and He cares and loves the GLBT community. It is time for the mega churches in Singapore to undergo conversion / reparative therapy to be changed and be repaired to be more like Christ instead of the devil.

The Senior Pastor of New Creation Church, Joseph Prince, once asked whether being gay gives Glory to God as if it was a choice. This is a biased question for we do not ask the same of being a man, a woman, or a Chinese or Indian, or half Indian/Chinese. God has created mankind with different varieties, and flavors, all for His glory. Who are we, to take the glory and beauty of creation away from God and called it a sin. God has created Gays wonderfully and beautifully, people of precious and sacred worth and dignity. It is time, we see them, as how God sees rather than letting our dogmatic theology, and prejudice to mislead us to cause harm and negate God’s grace and mercy. They are the innocent children, gone astray from God, because of us. In mitigation, we may have brought thousands to know Christ, but thousands also have left and many more will never enter the church because our gates have been shut to the GLBT community.

May the glory and the Spirit of God change our hearts and minds, and convict us of our sins against the gay community because of Jesus Christ and His redeeming grace. May we develop a soft heart and a new conscience full of God’s grace and mercy, and a deep fear of God, for our God is a Holy God and we represent Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior.

We pray today for healing to those so wounded emotionally, psychologically, and spiritually by the ex-gay conversion and reparative treatment. It is time to forgive, to let go, and let God judge those who have sinned against us that there may be true healing and restoration in our lives. It is difficult, for our faith has been broken by those who should have protected it. We are a broken people, our lives wounded deeply from those who thought they were doing God’s work. We cry out, our voices not heard above the loud voice of condemnation. Our pain treated with scorn and our lives, who we are, thrown out to the gutter. Lord forgive them, for they do not know what they have done. Be quiet my soul today, rest in the peace of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Be Still my Soul (Amy Grant)

Be still, my soul: the Lord is on thy side.
Bear patiently the cross of grief or pain.
Leave to thy God to order and provide;
In every change, He faithful will remain.
Be still, my soul: thy best, thy heavenly Friend
Through thorny ways leads to a joyful end.

Be still, my soul: thy God doth undertake
To guide the future, as He has the past.
Thy hope, thy confidence let nothing shake;
All now mysterious shall be bright at last.