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Does the American Psychological Association Want Gays to Switch Churches?

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I`m a psychologist and I can tell that a homosexuality is a mental disorder. Every well educated psychologist or psychiatrist know it. And I know the reason they don`t tell that it is true, but it`s true. Homosexuality is changeable.

Katherine of CA 7:54PM June 27, 2010

Literal interpretation of Scripture is more in line with Christianity's belief of absolutes. Liberal readings and translations of the Bible allow for personal beliefs to become more authoritative than the Word of God that was divinely inspired by God Himself. Jude is considered canon and therefore part of God's Scriptures. To question otherwise is to question if God is able to prevent His Words from being corrupted, which is an entirely different subject. Homosexuality is considered an abomination and Sodom is best known for this.
If we must throw out the Old Law on the account that it offends homosexuals, let's throw everything out: condemnations on lying, adultery, those annoying parts about pride and idolatry, etc.
Biblically, sex was intended for married couples to continue on the human race. No where do we find that sex was meant for anything else. Marriage is about one man and one woman the intimate union between the two. If God in His omniscience knew that there would be such a debate about this, wouldn't He have included a homosexual account that He approved of in the Bible? Yet this is not found at all. Instead we verses condemning homosexuality along with other things like heterosexual sins.

Dr. Shade of NC 10:15PM August 27, 2009

It is interesting to read the comments. My blog post documented that the APA report does not promote leaving church if one is same-sex attracted. Yet several commenters (e.g., kgdmwork, aes7878) continue to react as if the APA guides people to change churches. The APA also acknowledges that same-sex attracted may clearly choose celibacy from homosexual behavior. The APA report did not condemn those people. Some conservative groups are confusing the matter and building on pre-existing distrust of the APA. I urge readers to re-read the post and if interested view the APA report: http://www.apa.org/pi/lgbc/publications/therapeutic-response.pdf

Warren Throckmorton of PA 8:20AM August 27, 2009

"My children, the Book of life, your Bible, has been rewritten--written to suit the modes of modernism and humanism. Satan can also quote the Scriptures. And you must understand that satan will cover himself by deception by appearing through human beings as angels of light. In one hand they hold the Bible but in the other a dagger akin to satanism

DC 5:04AM August 27, 2009

Yes, DS, Ezekiel 16, including verse 50 says the people of Sodom did abominable things. They were haughty, they were prideful, they overindulged in food, but worst of all they "did not aid the poor and needy." That has nothing to do with sexual immorality!
The author of Jude clearly did not read the Sodom story in Genesis, nor the explanation of it in Ezekiel; instead he/she indulged is some of the cultural bathwater of that day with invoking some arcane legends of fallen angels kept in eternal chains in some "undisclosed location."
Then, there is dor, who got the Pharisees exactly wrong. They were the sticklers for the laws of the Torah, going out of their way to insist on a literal reading of them--no doubt including the favorite proof texts of the homophobes--all of the hundreds of the moral and holiness requirements. The Pharisees would have never excused those who engaged in any same-sex intimate relations. They were the poster children for today's homophobes. Jesus challenged such literal minded nonsense as a perversion of the love of God. Interestingly, none of the prooftexts dor cites to prove Jesus condemned homosexuals are statements attributed to Jesus. But they would easily fit in with the thinking of the Pharisees.
So, dor, take your own advise, "So learn what he actually said before you start misinforming people about what Jesus said and what he didn't say."
Then there are the rantings of kdg with his lousy analogies. By the way, although alcoholics can be helped to quit drinking, they still remain alcoholics until they die. For more appropriate analogies consider the notion of getting a left-handed person to change their nature to being right-handed, or a black person changing into a caucasian, or a color-blind person learning how to no longer be color-blind. Your analogies beg the question at issue. Your mindless, uninformed, dismissal of the work of psychologists tells us a lot more about you than it does about them. And, then there is that obviously false claim that Jesus points out that humosexuality is wrong. That is a damnable lie, or a clear indication of Biblical ignorance.
Let's not leave out aes####, who assumes that the church she/he likes has a corner on the "laws of God." How naive! There are serious disagreements among numerous Christian churches regarding what are God's directives, guidelines for how we are to live our lives. For that matter there are such disagreements evident in the Christians' Bible too. Apparently, you favor the Pharisiacal version of God's law.
By the way, the Bible never mentions, much less discusses "homosexuality." There was no Hebrew, Aramaic, or Greek word or words for "homosexuality." The concept of homosexuality is a 19th century CE discovery.

Asinus Gravis of TX 11:26PM August 26, 2009

I don't understand these comments. Don't conflate faith and science and try to argue against APA's findings with religion.

missdk of WA 7:41PM August 26, 2009

Hm. I wonder why there are comments about how Jesus was part of a cultural milieu and catered to it. Circumstances were quite the opposite. The LORD went against the traditions of the Pharisees that were out of line with God's law. Everywhere he went, he challenged sin and evil, both large and petty.
The Pharisees were hypocrites and had no shame about being a law unto themselves. Sounds familiar, doesn't it? Those who think they should excuse homosexual behaviors because they are becoming more popular, or condone sexual relations outside of marriage because they are so common, are not in line with God's law.
God is not answerable to men's culture. His ways are above our ways.
I've got news for the people who think Jesus never said anything about homosexuality: read the Bible. (Lev. 18:22, Lev. 20:13, Rom 1:26-27) Jesus clearly condemns all such crimes. That isn't a politically correct way of saying it, because it's a biblical way of saying. Oh, so there are people who want to say the Bible isn't Jesus' word? That's just because they, like the Pharisees, want to be a law unto themselves, rather than obey God's laws.
Talking around the subject isn't going to convince God that he said homosexuality wasn't a sin. So learn what he actually said before you start misinforming people about what Jesus said and what he didn't say. Better yet, why don't you go to the source by praying about it. What, pray instead of consult experts, philosophers, psychologists, and clergymen? Now there's a thought, isn't there?

dayofrest of CA 6:19PM August 26, 2009

If you continue reading Ezekiel 16 onto verse 50, you'll find that Sodom also did things that were detestable to God. In Jude 7, the apostle also mentions the perversion and sexual immorality that was committed in Sodom and Gomorrah.
Biblically, sex for married people. Period. Jesus may not have spoken on gays, but He did say that marriage was between one man and one woman.

Dr. Shade of NC 5:51PM August 26, 2009

Switching churches because the church you attend teaches the Bible is like throwing Jesus out because he doesn't approve of your sin. Sure, people can do it, but, hey, they can also jump out of an airplane without a parachute because they like the way the wind whistles past their faces on their way to certain death.
Finding a church that teaches what you want to hear instead of what Jesus said is ludicrous. You don't dictate the laws of God -- He does. You can't mosey up to the gates of heaven and demand entrance on the claim that you were "born to sin." The only way to enter heaven is to repent. And, whatever fancy psychology you drum up about needing to be "authentic" to yourself is not going to make a difference. There are a lot of people being authentic to themselves instead of obeying Jesus -- that is, there are a lot of them in hell.

aes7878 of CA 5:46PM August 26, 2009

Telling a homosexual that he cannot stop "gay" behavior is like telling an alcoholic that he can't stop drinking. It's like telling someone he should keep lacerating a wound on his arm instead of stitching it up and letting it heal. It's like driving on the wrong side of the road in heavy traffic because you think you were "born" to do it that way and refuse to admit the truth: behaviors are governed by personal integrity and convictions. Throwing common morals aside so you can justify illicit behaviors is nothing you can expect God to condone. So if God doesn't condone it, neither should we.
Psychologists make a living by helping people to "feel good." If one church doesn't validate your behaviors, then just find one that does. That way, you can feel more "authentic" about yourself and reject your ambivalence about obeying the Lord by doing whatever you feel like.
This is like saying if you don't like the Jesus in the Bible, who clearly points out in no uncertain terms that homosexuality is wrong -- he calls it a vile abomination -- then just toss that Jesus aside and make up your own. In that you will not be alone, after all. Hey, when you get to heaven, you can just hang out with all the other heathens who worship false idols.
Oh, that's right. Jesus said those who disobey him and who don't repent can't be admitted to heaven, because no unclean thing can enter his kingdom. Oh, well. Let's find a church that ignores that so we can ignore it too, until we wake up in hell and wonder where the heck we went wrong. That will certainly clear up ambivalence and show us how authentic we really are to our own spiritual beliefs.

kgdmwork of CA 5:17PM August 26, 2009