Link: AP Wire | 05/13/2006 | Orlando ministry says it helps heal 'unwanted homosexuality'.
ORLANDO, Fla. - Matthew Walker was always teased as a kid for being small, awkward and different. He felt different, too, but wasn't sure exactly why.
He must've been about 7 or 8 years old when he pointed toward a bouncer at a country music festival in Branson, Mo., telling his brother something like, "You know, if I was a girl I would date him."
By the time he got to Oklahoma State University, Walker was dating guys. But now, at age 34, he has been out of homosexuality for more than seven years.
He's one of thousands of former homosexuals who enlisted the help of an Orlando-based Christian group called Exodus International, an organization with 135 member ministries in the United States that works to "heal" gays and lesbians through prayer, counseling and group therapy.
The ministry is at the forefront of an increasingly high-profile "ex-gay" movement that claims it's possible to leave homosexuality behind, and estimates it has successfully treated tens of thousands of people since it began three decades ago in San Francisco.
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Chambers is quick to point out that Exodus isn't about "curing" anyone or "turning people straight." In fact, many who go through the program might never have a heterosexual relationship, he says.
Instead, it's about refraining from activities that violate their beliefs - in God or anything else - and addressing "unwanted homosexuality."
"These are people who have identified that they struggle with same-sex attractions and are conflicted about that, and they want to find some sort of level of support and ability to overcome those feelings, move beyond them or live with them in conjunction with their Christianity," Chambers said. ...
Go read the rest of the story ... it's rare to find a truly balanced article and this one is. Thank you Mr. Reed.
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