Mean-Spirited Tweet of the Day

Jim Burroway

July 23rd, 2010

You know a counterfeit is a counterfeit when the happiness and freedom it initially promised ends up leading to deeper bondage.

— Exodus International president Alan Chambers

“Counterfeit” is ex-gay code-speak for gay people getting together, falling in love, forming families, and living the American dream. “Bondage” is ex-gay code-speak for just going about your life — that is if you’re gay. If you’re straight, then the term is just “living.” But whatever.

Alan Chambers will spend next week taking his counterfeit message to Brazil. He will be speaking for six days at a Summer Institute next week at the Igreja Bautista Central in Magé, near Rio de Janero. Here’s the Google translation:

We are glad to realize another Institute. This time, in partnership with Exodus International. Exodus International is the largest evangelical institution that works to restore and evangelization of the world’s homosexuals. Together, we are bringing the topic: “Grace That Makes Reborn.”

Our purpose is to show the grace of God as the unconditional and sole agent that enables a real transformation in the lives of those who struggle with homosexuality and who are often marginalized by society and the Church of Jesus Christ.

The instrument used by God to bless us in these days will be Mr. Alan Chambers, president of Exodus International. He will minister every day talking about the emotional and spiritual causes of homosexuality, will speak about the myths we create about homosexuality, the importance of a Christian attitude toward homosexuals, and speak of the structure of this ministry to be applied in the Church to bless the lives of people living this conflict.

We have no doubt that these days will mark our history and our lives, for this reason we invited you to join us. We believe that, as a church, or simply, individuals must have an attitude of love and compassion for those who also loved Jesus. After all, the cross of Christ is not for a privileged few but for all, including homosexuals. God has no favorites when it comes to saving people from their sins. His love and grace are the essential ingredients for a sinner can be reborn. Therefore, we believe this can make FREE qualqur again sinner.

Sign up and receive this blessing.

Timothy Kincaid

July 23rd, 2010

In the Conservative Christian dictionary:

Bondage = being “bound” to sin = living your life in accordance with what is natural without concern about whether it will destroy your immortal soul.

Freedom = free in Christ = living according to all of the minutia of the OT Law and religious do’s and don’ts so that you won’t burn in hell forever.

Candace

July 23rd, 2010

In that pic, Chambers is gay X 10.

Emily K

July 23rd, 2010

He’s just jealous.

Richard W. Fitch

July 23rd, 2010

Alan must have a fascinating life living in a constant state of denial as he does.

Burr

July 23rd, 2010

Hmm.. You could say that about 50% of heterosexual marriages, which are so bad they end in divorce! :)

Richard Rush

July 23rd, 2010

It’s too bad that the survival of people like Alan requires spending lots of time reinforcing their own delusions of superiority. Feeling superior requires, by definition, other people who are deemed inferior, and never letting them forget it.

So while Alan descends more deeply into a delusional quagmire, my partner and I will be celebrating our very real and wonderful 29th anniversary next week.

kosle

July 23rd, 2010

It doesn’t matter whether he still has that inclination. What matters is that he’s living a liberated, empowered life, which he clearly is. This is possible for everyone here.

B John

July 23rd, 2010

Or, perhaps someone should just say to Alan, “You know a counterfeit is a counterfeit when the happiness and freedom it initially promised ends up leading to deeper bondage, Alan.”

Lindoro Almaviva

July 23rd, 2010

Let’s hope he does not fall prey to any of those hot dark skinned Brazilians whose door tends to swing both directions.

Candace

July 23rd, 2010

kosle said: “It doesn’t matter whether he still has that inclination. What matters is that he’s living a liberated, empowered life, which he clearly is. This is possible for everyone here.”

1. If you’re still aroused by members of your sex, you’re still gay– so it does matter. It matters because by describing yourself as “ex gay,” you are lying to the entire world and, more importantly, to yourself.

2. If you don’t want to be gay but after years and years of attempts to become straight, you’re still gay, then I wouldn’t say you’re living a “liberated, empowered life.” I’d say that you are desperately trying to be something you’re not, and lying to all concerned about your success in doing so. A life of denial and repression and lies is not “liberating” and it’s not “empowered.”

3. He is clearly a closeted gay, is what he is.

4. Thanks, but no. I’d rather be a proud gay woman than live in an unending “struggle” to become straight–all the while knowing that not only is it not possible for me to do that, it isn’t possible for the hundreds of desperate, gullible and naive people who believe the lies I tell them.

kosle, I hope that one day you will stop living a shame-based life and take pride and joy in who and what you are.

Until then, know that NONE of us will receive the poison that you offer.

Burr

July 23rd, 2010

If he was so liberated and empowered he’d stop making a living off of his struggle and stop trying to drag other people into it. If he’s really no longer gay, he should just go off into the sunset and live his happy straight life. Why can’t he do that? Hmmm…

Joe in California

July 23rd, 2010

Congratulations to Richard Rush & his partner (husband) for 29 wonderful years!
Celebrating 10 yrs with mine later this year.

Truthteller

July 23rd, 2010

@Kosie

You write:
“It doesn’t matter whether he still has that inclination. What matters is that he’s living a liberated, empowered life, which he clearly is. This is possible for everyone here.”

How do you know this?

Show me the scientific proof.

You come here and state your opinion as fact, relying on what a supposedly ex-gay tells you, but completely disregard what GLTB people say about their own lives because it doesn’t fit your agenda.

That makes you a hypocrite and anti-truth, and since God is truth, it makes you anti-God.

I am living a liberated and empowered life from liars and their ignorant self-repression that seek to turn me into a bagasse of a human being.

Roger

July 23rd, 2010

Oh sh!t, Mr. Chambers is coming spew his lies in MY beautiful state. Why can´t this people keep their delusional selfs in their neighborhood and at least avoid meddling in other countries business?
@Lindoro: I only lament that La Chambers is no coming to Rio in the summer… he wouldn´t survive the wonderfully sculpted, tanned and half naked boys walking around… let him stay one month in Ipanema and we will have one more ex-ex-gay… ;)

AdrianT

July 24th, 2010

Exodus is a business at the end of the day. As society accpets people for who they are, Chambers and his co-fanatics will be forced to find other markets to promote their holy bigotry.

anteros

July 24th, 2010

i could be wrong about this, but i think mr. chambers fell into a trap that many of us have fallen into at least once in our lives. i saw mr. chambers on youtube explaining that “homosexuality will make your heart sore” because it’s a “counterfeit”. he also described how he had been disappointed by the gay people in his life… one night, they didnt turn up at the bar and some people from church found him hurting and used the opportunity to evangelize away the gay.

that’s like the trap i found myself in years ago… blaming one’s unhappiness or loneliness on homosexuality… i was about to write “blaming… on one’s sexual orientation” but that’s exactly the point. straight people (and gay people and everybody else) dont go blaming heterosexuality for their unhappiness, loneliness, interpersonal and relationship misfortunes. in desperation, too many people buy into the lie that whatever problems they have – relationships, spirituality and everything else – will be solved if they quit being gay… and the only way to do that, is to become born again and get mixed up in ex-gay programs. the level of desperation dictates that quitting isnt an option, despite the motorcycle cuddles and whatever other crazy stuff an ex-gay program will have people invest in. the higher the investment, the harder it is to quit… until the gay is gone and elusive peace is attained… and if that doesnt happen… fake it till you make it, all the way to the marriage altar.

Mike

July 24th, 2010

But I think his most telling tweet:

“Thanks to @GreysonChance I can’t get Paparazzi by Lady GaGa outa my head.”
12:20 PM Jun 3rd via web

Mmmhmmmmmmmm.

grantdale

July 24th, 2010

Of course I know what a counterfeit is Mr Chambers.

You, for one.

Dan L

July 24th, 2010

I’m actually not terribly bothered by the tweet. The words themselves are pretty true, generally speaking. If it were someone other than Alan Chambers saying them–if I got them in a fortune cookie or something–I’d probably consider it an insightful saying. Of course, since it _is_ Alan Chambers, your reading is probably on the mark.

But it’s worth pointing out that if one comes out/gets into a relationship/etc because it “promises happiness and freedom” and then it actually, you know, *delivers* happiness and freedom, it’s not actually being called a counterfeit. Indeed the opposite.

In fact, I kind of like it. If you tweak it just a little bit, it could just as easily be employed to help struggling young gay people, especially from conservative backgrounds–who certainly might feel trapped in “bondage”–to reject the arguments of people like Chambers, and to accept who they are:

“It’s only a counterfeit if it leads you into still deeper bondage, rather than delivering the happiness and freedom it promises.”

William

July 24th, 2010

I can’t claim any special expertise in such matters, but whenever I see Alan Chambers on video it does seem to me that his body language, particularly his facial expression and the way that he moves his head, and his vocal intonation are highly suggestive. It’s as though he’s pleading not only with his hearers but also with himself: “Yes, what I’m saying is total cant and flim-flam but please, please, please believe it!”

homer

July 24th, 2010

A friend of a friends spent thousands of dollars at one of those Exodus conferences. After it was over he told my friend, “I am no longer gay!” Such utter bullshit.

How many people have killed themselves because of the fraudulent actions of people like Alan Chambers. He is con artist who makes his living preying off of other people.

ZRAinSWVA

July 24th, 2010

“After all, the cross of Christ is not for a privileged few but for all, including homosexuals.”

Oh, my! Even homosexuals!?

How insulting. How predictable.

Kosle, I am–and I dare say most who read this blog are–living a liberated, empowered life. I don’t have to lie to myself or others about who or what I am. I am comfortable in my skin and very happy with my relationship of 23 years. The only struggle I had was to find the strength to say ‘NO’ to the demands and expectations of society. My life is full of joy, not denial or self-loathing.

Mr. Chambers, when you’re 70 and look back on your life, how empty will your life have been?

Greg

July 24th, 2010

So now he’s thinking that all same-sex couples are involved with bondage? Projection much?

ClinPsych

July 24th, 2010

I wonder if Alan Chambers would allow a neutral, unbiased, non-aligned, “objective” straight colleague of mine perform a psychological assessment on him. At this point my differential diagnosis would include: Delusional disorder, exceptionally low self-esteem (or its flip-side Narcissistic Personality Disorder) … or … as others have implied Antisocial Personality Disorder. This man needs help!

Richard Rush

July 24th, 2010

You know a counterfeit is a counterfeit when the happiness and freedom it initially promised ends up leading to deeper bondage.

How could I have been so dense (no comments, please)! Alan was really talking about his personal experience with religion and how it ended up leading to ever-deepening bondage, which included living in denial of his sexual reality. It fits perfectly.

GreenEyedLilo

July 24th, 2010

Is it wrong that my first instinct was to giggle at the word “bondage”?

Seriously, he’s got a point. I mean, I just spent almost $200 on my wife’s 35th birthday present. And now I’m being dragged to go see MIA in concert on a hot, humid, possibly stormy night. And we have to share books, forcing each other to wait to read them. And we got each other addicted to our favorite sports, thereby wiping out each others’ leisure time. One week a month, there’s never enough chocolate in our house and we bicker. In a few days, it’ll be the 18th anniversary of the day we met–we’ve known each other literally for half our lives. Complete misery, total counterfeit, right?

Man, I sure wish I could live a happy life like Alan, with someone I have to force myself to fake sexual attraction to, no real marketable skills beyond the ability to sell snake oil for Jesus, scaring a shrinking base of donors about Teh Eevhul Gays for income, and trying to sucker a new generation of scared LGBT teens from conservative backgrounds into ruining their lives. Mean? Well, yeah. But I thought that’s we were doing, Alan.

GreenEyedLilo

July 24th, 2010

BTW, happy counterfeit relationship anniversaries to Richard Rush, Joe in California, and their partners! Here’s to many more years of deep bondage to every partnered person reading, and counterfeits for the LGBT singles who are looking for them!

Richard Rush

July 24th, 2010

A big Thank You to Joe in California and GreenEyedLilo. My wish for your counterfeit relationships is many more happy years in bondage.

I met my partner within two days of my birthday in 1981, and he is obviously the best birthday gift I ever received. We’ve lived happily in bondage ever since.

Timothy Kincaid

July 24th, 2010

Kosie,

Just one question: from what has Alan been liberated?

Timothy Kincaid

July 24th, 2010

Guys,

I think we should not rush to assume that we know Alan’s life any more than he does ours. We have no reason to doubt that Alan is contented in having a wife he loves, a conflicted but satisfactory sex life, two kids he adores, faith that he finds meaningul, and a job that he believes to be important.

It is possible that he might have been even happier had he settled down with a nice man instead of Leslie. And it is also possible that he is secretly miserable. We can’t know.

But we can do what we ask him to do: take his word for it. He says that he’s happy and I accept that.

And, ya know something, I hope he really is. I hope that he never finds the life he’s crafted to be less than fulfilling.

I only wish he’d stop assuming that he knows our lives more than we do and just leave us alone.

Jonathan

July 24th, 2010

Alan Chambers has a particular personal insight into counterfeit relationships. He’s a gay man married to a woman.

His life is a lie perpetuated by religious shame. If that isn’t the definition of counterfeit then I don’t know what is.

I pity him the day when he realizes he spent his life living for others approval and denied himself the authentic life he was too afraid to live.

Candace

July 24th, 2010

No one said Alan isn’t happy or unhappy with the life he has allowed christians to foist on him: we simply point out that he is still as queer as a $3 bill, no matter how much he protests that he isn’t.

Regan DuCasse

July 24th, 2010

Kosle, I think after looking at this thread that I’m the only ever heterosexual to post at this point.

Let me put it this way, I know the difference between leather and naugahyde. Know what I’m saying?
And the buyer should beware the naugahyde is trying convince it’s real leather.

Selling heterosexuality like it’s the magic affect to keeping up with the straight Joneses IS insulting.
NO hetero has to try that hard. And he’s insulting everyone by assuming that heterosexuals DON’T have similar problems, but aren’t required to reveal their lives and be scrutinized like gay people are.

And no one would question the integrity of Alan’s assertions of being free and happy, if he didn’t have to do it at gay people’s expense.

He should go off and profit in OTHER ways that aren’t about the marketing of stereotypes.
Stereotypes AREN’T real. Whether it’s the stereotype of straight people and their lives, or gay people and their lives.

He’s playing to a crowd eager for deception. He’s judging someone else’s happiness by that deception.
So. Wrong. And WE know it.

William

July 25th, 2010

“And no one would question the integrity of Alan’s assertions of being free and happy, if he didn’t have to do it at gay people’s expense.”

Yes, Regan, you have zeroed in on the crux of the matter there. It seems that Alan can’t be content with the life that he has chosen without knocking gay people’s relationships as “counterfeit”. And he opposes any legal recognition of gay relationships because had that legal recognition been available some years ago, he might have gone for it himself and might not now have been living his present chosen lifestyle. Therefore the option shouldn’t be available to anyone else now. How much more bloody selfish can a bloke get?

David Farrell

July 25th, 2010

You know a counterfeit is a counterfeit when the happiness and freedom it initially promised ends up leading to deeper bondage.

That is exactly what Exodus was for me.

GreenEyedLilo

July 26th, 2010

Timothy, you’re right. As a bisexual woman, I know what it’s like to have people on all sides tell me wildly inaccurate things about my life. Not ask, *tell*. So I try not to do it to others. But I did it to Alan, and I shouldn’t.

So strike part of the sentence:

Man, I sure wish I could live a happy life like Alan, with someone I have to force myself to fake sexual attraction to, no real marketable skills beyond the ability to sell snake oil for Jesus, scaring a shrinking base of donors about Teh Eevhul Gays for income, and trying to sucker a new generation of scared LGBT teens from conservative backgrounds into ruining their lives.

As for the rest, well, it’s a matter of public record, and he’s got plenty to answer to on those scores.

nikko

July 28th, 2010

Of course Alan is not a happy, straight man. If he were, he wouldn’t go around telling/judging other gay/bi people that they’re wrong. No happy person does that. So yes, Alan is a counterfeit, because we all know you cannot willfully change your homo/bisexual orientation. He’s a deluded christian. He tries hard to believe his own testimony, and makes a career out of it. Pathetic.

ricky lee

September 6th, 2010

Oh, BTB, so sad you use the guise of political correctness to push your brand of hate and intolerance towards anyone who isn’t a far-leftist lemming. It’s sad your site is reduced to spreading the hate you say you’re trying to prevent. It’s pointed only at those with a moral fiber because we have the audacity to tell the world the simple logical truth that living the gay lifestyle that’s currently marketed to gays that chances are pretty good you will get an STD. That’s a fact. Funny how the next comment will be those who defend the proliferation of STD’s by stating there’s no way to prove that being gay will give you an STD more than it won’t. I guess Hooked oh Phonics didn’t work for you.

Tommy

September 6th, 2010

Oh, BTB, so sad you use the guise of political correctness to push your brand of hate and intolerance towards anyone who isn’t a far-leftist lemming.

Oh, Ricky Lee, you should probably pay closer attention to this site. There’s quite a spirited discussion about where on the political spectrum it falls, and occasionally if it is too kind to Republicans.

Although I would like a definition of what qualifies as “far-leftist.” My feeling is that it shall be quite humorous.

It’s sad your site is reduced to spreading the hate you say you’re trying to prevent.

And what, exactly, is this “hate?” I’ve read the article and the following comments and while they have a breadth of reaction (apathy, disillusionment and cynicism, irony, and occasionally helpfulness), none of them could be described as “hate[ful].” So please, educate us.

It’s pointed only at those with a moral fiber because we have the audacity to tell the world the simple logical truth that living the gay lifestyle that’s currently marketed to gays that chances are pretty good you will get an STD. That’s a fact.

I rather question your moral fiber. But please define “pretty good.” As it stands you made a useless claim. I can say anyone’s chances are “pretty good” of getting an STD. After all a virgin’s chances of getting an STD are “pretty good” if we include all forms of Herpes.

Funny how the next comment will be those who defend the proliferation of STD’s by stating there’s no way to prove that being gay will give you an STD more than it won’t. I guess Hooked oh Phonics didn’t work for you.

Funny how you failed to substantiate your claim, nor did you set up objective standards for it. Looks like you are engaging in projection as you were the one who set such a subjective, unverifiable claim as “pretty good” without setting up what, exactly, you mean by that.

In the future, try harder.

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