Healing From Homosexuality

        In a recent conversation with a friend she said that her son, Samuel, had  just told her that he was homosexual.   He said that he would never choose to be as he was.  He asked: "Why would anyone choose rejection by friends, being looked at as strange or sinful, being misunderstood and suspected by both genders,  give up hope of having a spouse, children, and a happy family life?"

        Many homosexuals like Sam wish they could change,  but believe they have no choice in the matter. Why have they come to this conclusion?

        There are some  psychological and psychiatric  groups that   have voted  and promoted statements that the homosexual lifestyle  should be accepted as "normal."  For most of this century homosexuality was regarded as a pathological condition, which  needed  therapy.  In 1972 and 1973  the homosexual leadership co-opted the leadership of the American Psychiatric Association  and promoted the idea that same-sex sex  was not a disorder, but merely a condition as neutral as left-handedness.  Their agenda was to brainwash America into accepting same-sex sex  as being as normal as heterosexuality.   To date, they have been very successful in doing this.

        Others suggest that homosexuality may have a genetic link, and that, if so,  a genetic cure may be possible. But many homosexuals would not accept that.  They want acceptance for their lifestyle, not a cure.

       On the other hand,  writing in America (Nov. 18,1995) Dr. Charles W. Socarides , clinical professor of psychiatry at Albert Einstein College of Medicine in New York said:
       "Gay is not good. Gay is not decidedly free. How do I know this? For more than 40 years, I have been in"...therapy sessions with hundreds of homosexuals...."But I do not help them by telling them they are O.K. when they are not O.K."
         He declared that one third of his homosexual patients (hundreds and thousands)   changed their ways and were happily married with children.  Another one third had not fully given up the practice of same-sex  sex  but had  more control over their impulses because  they now understood  the roots of their need for same-sex sex.  Some of them are beginning to turn to the opposite sex.  It should be noted that there is no indication  of religious implication in Dr. Socarides' article.

        Dr. Socarides' statements and the testimony of many ex-homosexuals from groups like EXODUS, indicate that inspite of Sam's dismal conclusion, the homosexual does have a choice.   It is strange  that  Christians  seem to be the only ones  claiming that homosexuality can be healed.  They reject homosexuality as a lifestyle because God has  rejected it.  But  the Gospel is a message for all people, regardless of lifestyles, to  repent and  be transformed from our old ways of life to the new life in Christ.

        The Christian view of the homosexual lifestyle is that change is possible. The church at Corinth in the first century  had all kinds of people with all kinds of problems.  The Bible says: "Do not fool yourselves;  people who are immoral or who worship idols or are adulterers, or homosexual perverts or who steal or who are greedy or are drunkards or who slander others or are thieves--none of these will possess God's kingdom.  Some of you were like that. But you have been purified from sin; you have been dedicated to God; you have been put right with God by the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God." (1 Cor. 6:9-11 TEV)

        The good news is that God is in the business of transformation.  The message is that  anyone can be "born again" (John 3:3). God is in the business of making new persons in Christ.  "...for you have put off the old self with its habits and have put on the new self.  This is the new being which God, its Creator, is constantly renewing in his own image, in order to bring you to a full knowledge of himself." (Col. 3:9-10)    In another place in the Bible it says,  "Do not conform yourselves to the standards of this world, but let God transform you inwardly by a complete change of  your mind.  Then you will be able to know the will of God--what is good and is pleasing to him and is perfect."

        If you find yourself in Sam's misery,  reconsider.  There is a change possible by means of therapy, and  full commitment of one's life to Jesus Christ as Lord.

    Investigate the following resources:

Exodus International   There are a number of sources that one can peruse at Exodus International.
                Phone: 206-784-7799

Stonewall Revisited.    A number of testimonies of former homosexuals, articles,
    and  FAQ

Keys Ministry        Featuring  a number of keys or steps on the way out of
homosexuality.

Responding to Pro-Gay Theology    By Joe Dallas, an ex-homosexual.

Parents and Friends of Ex-Gays

Jonah (Jews Offering New Alternatives to Homosexuality

International Healing Foundation 

Questions Youth May Have

Exodus For Youth

Pure Intimacy and Recovering the Heart of Sexuality

Parents and Friends of  Gays and Ex-Gays

Stephen Bennett Ministry to Homosexuals

National Association for Research and Therapy of Homosexuality, an oranization of nearly 700 professionals who treat homosexuality,   Contact NARTH by writing to 16633 Ventura Blvd., Suite 1340, Encino, CA 91436.  Phone: 818-789-4440.   Or click on the following.

NARTH

Books to Read:

John and Anne Paulk,  Love Won Out

Jeffery Satinover,  Homosexuality and the Politics of Truth

    For Information on how to become a Christian, check out  How To Get To Heaven From Wherever You are....