In a press release, the Christian Anti-Defamation Commission is positively outraged over the negative reactions to the exorcism performed at a Connecticut church. The procedure was intended to drive out a young boy's gay "demons." These days, fundamentalists are gratuitous in the use of the word "tolerance." They use it to dishonestly suggest that, when gays respond to bigotry, they are being intolerant of Christians. It is a form of turnspeak.

Where is the tolerance for a church who tried to help a young man who freely asked for help to overcome homosexual temptations?" asked Dr. Gary Cass of the Christian Anti-Defamation Commission. "No church deserves to be maligned for trying to help a troubled teen who asked for prayer.

In point of fact, what the church has done is extremely damaging. Sexual orientation is not some form of demonic possession. Suggesting otherwise is extraordinarily demeaning to gay people who, by inference, are being described as evil. It perpetuates the false basis for most discrimination based on sexual orientation. In this case, a young boy was presumably gay before these rites – and remained gay after these rites. However, that young boy now believes, falsely, that he is responsible for something that isn't a problem to begin with. If that boy believes that his sexual orientation is the product of insufficient prayer, his self-esteem may be permanently damaged. Being gay is not a problem. It is the oppression, and prejudice towards gay people that is a problem. The words of Thomas Jefferson seem particularly appropriate:

I have recently been examining all the known superstitions of the world, and do not find in our particular superstition [Christianity] one redeeming feature. They are all alike founded upon fables and mythologies.

CADC goes on to say:

This church is being unjustly maligned for a spiritual practice that goes all the way back to Christ and the Apostles. The New Testament records very strange activity associated with demonic spirits. Jesus and the Apostles confronted these bizarre situations by praying for deliverance. The fact that the video may be strange or uncomfortable should not be surprising, but it is not a reason to attack people who are simply trying to help.

People have been delivered out of homosexual lifestyles ever since the church began.

There are many practices that date back to Christ and the Apostles. Among those are witch burning. The New Testament is rampant with slavery. That a practice goes back to Jesus seems irrelevant – even dangerous  – as the criterion for acceptance. At best a handful (and just a handful) of people have been able to deny their true sexuality. The overwhelming majority of those who have attempted to pray away the gay have failed to do so. They are worse off for having done so.

Related content:  Church Exorcises the Gay

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Related:
* Homosexuality Demons Being Cast Out On The YouTubes