Peter Stokes, chief
executive of Christian ethics group Salt Shakers, said Chambers was "off
the planet".
"Alan Chambers has
said I have tried this and failed, therefore it's not possible for anybody else
to come out of homosexuality," he said.
"It's a bit like a
drug addict saying I tried to stop and I couldn't do it so nobody else can do
it."
He accused Mr Chambers of
undermining Christian values.
"It's very sad to see
a good organisation being ripped apart by one individual," he said.
"This organisation
has helped many people over the years."
I sent this to the media.
The Reverend Ron Brookman,
statement that "the organisation had acknowledged damage caused by
treating homosexuality as something that could be "cured" " is
untrue. There has never been an acknowledgement of harm. In fact quite the opposite.
In the documentary, The
Cure, he stated that he couldn't recall a single
person who had been harmed or attempted suicide.
Exodus Asia Pacific, part
of the continuing Global Alliance, may have ambitions to continue perpetrate
the myth that homosexuality is a choice and can be changed but the writing is
on the wall (to use a biblical analogy).
Ambassadors & Bridge
Builders International research has shown that two
thirds of ex-gay ministries in Australia and New
Zealand disappeared in the last decade. Since that research was done another
ministry, Mosaic, disappeared after the suicide of one of its participants, the
only worker at Liberty Christian Ministries just resigned and Ministry One has
also gone from the Global Alliance site as the founder and director, Simon
Tinkler, came out as gay.
The vast majority of
Australians don't see being gay as an issue and an increasing number of
Christian churches are becoming welcoming and affirming. What's left of the
struggling Australian ex-gay organisations are swimming upstream against a
tsunami.
Hope you enjoy the
interview.
© Anthony Venn-Brown
Anthony Venn-Brown is the co-founder and former leader of Freedom2b, Australia’s largest network of LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender) people from Christian backgrounds. He is also an educator and consultant on LGBT/faith issues and leader in deconstructing the ‘ex-gay’ myth. Anthony’s autobiography 'A Life of Unlearning', details his journey from married, high profile preacher in Australia’s mega-churches to living as an openly gay man. Anthony has been twice voted ‘One of the 25 Most Influential Gay and Lesbian Australians’ (2007 & 2009) and was one of four finalists for the 2011 ACON Community Hero Award. He is also the founder and director of Ambassadors & Bridge Builders International.
Labels: anthony venn brown, conversion therapy, ex-gay, exodus, Peter Stokes, Ron Brookman, Salt Shakers, unwanted same sex attraction
