Comments on: How the Ex-Gay Movement “Reaches Out In Love”

By: Anthony Falzarano

Anthony Falzarano — Fri, 29 Aug 2008 23:38:08 +0000

Dear Darlene, I would not be so happy about the fact that you no longer feel conviction about living as a practicing lesbian. Romans Chapter 1 beginning about vs. 18 describes you now. I pray that you have not blsphemed the Holy Spirit. Keep doing what your doing Darlene and you will give an account to God for all the OTHER people you deceived into the gay lifestyle with you “gay theology”. The Word of God tells us that in the “last days” many will depart from the FAITH and will tell you what you want to hear VS. WHAT YOU NEED TO HEAR……….

By: Mike Airhart

Mike Airhart — Mon, 11 Aug 2008 05:01:42 +0000

Oops, I meant “that is not all that different” in my previous comment’s last sentence.

By: Mike Airhart

Mike Airhart — Mon, 11 Aug 2008 05:00:30 +0000

I nominate Mary to be honorary president of Exodus.

While we await the results of that nomination…. feel free to glance at my article:

Ex-Gay Anthony Falzarano Espouses Faith in A Death-God

I believe it is an act of moral cowardice for people to affiliate with Exodus so long as the organization’s leaders tolerate or affirm a culture of war and death that are is all that different from Falzarano’s worldview.

By: Mary

Mary — Sun, 10 Aug 2008 20:45:08 +0000

People will seek out whatever they want. If they want to see Alan Chambers- then they will. Whether or not we agree with him is a person’s personal choice.

As far as the ex gay venue goes, not all ex gays tow the party line. Not all ex gays are like Falzarano. But many do choose to leave the homosexual life they had (not the one other gay people have) but the life they had – and they do something different.

As much as I dislike the conservative christian right throwing all homosexuals into the same boat – I also dislike homosexuals throwing all ex gays into the same boat. Some of us are just people like you who made a different decision with how we are going to live.

By: Christine

Christine — Sun, 10 Aug 2008 10:32:13 +0000

Sadly, Falzarano’s message is typical fare in the ex-gay movement. All one has to do is attend an Exodus International conference and you can hear Alan Chambers and others using the threat of Hell to coerce people into making “the personal choice to leave homosexuality.”

If Falzarano, Chambers and others say these sorts of things in public venues, I can only imagine the kind of abuse they heap on vulnerable people who seek out ex-gay ministries.

What might that look like? Check out the Youtube clip of John Smid on the Tyra Banks show – how Smid made people in the Love in Action facility create their own funerals (thanks to Peterson Toscano for exposing that).

By: Darlene

Darlene — Sat, 09 Aug 2008 01:30:23 +0000

Thank you one and all for the positive comments, viritual hugs and good wishes. I love you all, and pray that Anthony will one say see how much harm those words could inflict. Thank God I am at peace with my sexual orientation and my faith.

By: Mary

Mary — Fri, 08 Aug 2008 20:59:14 +0000

Wow, maybe all those wives who had husbands die of prostate cancer were being given a message by God, too?

I am ex gay and christian but this idea by Falzarano is bizarre and mean. Does Falzarano understand that more women die each year of breast cancer than AIDS? And that those women are christians, wives, mothers, community leaders…etc… and yes lesbians!

To anyone who cares, I apologize for the comments made by Falzarano. And Darlene, I have read your story and am so sorry you had to lose someone you love.

By: Christine Bakke

Christine Bakke — Fri, 08 Aug 2008 19:36:02 +0000

I’m still planning to make a flow chart for fundamentalist Christians one of these days. It would help them decide whether God is punishing them for a sin (or has lifted his hand of protection), or if Satan is attacking them because they have been doing good work for God. If something good happens, my flow chart would help them determine if God is rewarding them or if Satan is leaving them alone because they are “lukewarm” in God’s sight. Something good could also be a reward from Satan for somehow disobeying God. And there are many more versions of this. It’s dizzying, really. I’m not sure how I did it for so many years.

By: Jarred

Jarred — Fri, 08 Aug 2008 17:48:08 +0000

Richard: I think you bring up a good point. Though not all such incidents are ignored. I’ve seen many fundamentalist Christians claim that troubles in their own lives are just “Satan’s attempts to discourage them.”

By: Richard Rush

Richard Rush — Fri, 08 Aug 2008 16:50:07 +0000

“Darlene is God sending you a message?”

This is another Fundamentalist favorite tactic. We heard it after Katrina, after the recent fires in California, and the list goes on and on.

But year after year after year the Bible Belt gets pounded relentlessly by tornadoes, and I don’t recall hearing that a God was sending a message.

They will take any incident, and if they can possibly use it to propagate their beliefs, they will. Other inconvenient incidents are just ignored.