LJ-SEC: (ORIGINALLY POSTED BY gairid)

I wonder how many gays and lesbians raised in families that practice the varied dominionist forms of christianity submit to this psycological and emotional torture? I am a lesbian who spent far too much time in the closet and as a result I was severely depressed. My reasons stemmed from guilt associated with my Catholic upbringing, which, compared to these sorts of tactics, seems pretty tame to me at this point.

(AgapePress) - Ex-homosexuals and "reparative therapy" advocates recently gathered in Marina del Rey, California, for the 13th annual conference of the National Association for Research & Therapy of Homosexuality, or NARTH. Reparative or reorientation therapy is designed to help men and women in conflict with their homosexuality attain the goal of reaching their heterosexual potential.

Here is the rest of the article:

http://headlines.agapepress.org/archive/11/182005a.asp

Here is the most chilling paragraph:


But Chambers feels it is the councilman and the other protesters who are promoting persecution and prejudice. "It's the ultimate of hypocrisy among the small minority of the gay community and this local politician who is denying people the right to their self-determination -- denying the right for someone to choose their path in life," the Exodus International spokesman says, "and I think that's not only un-American, it's inhumane."

LJ-SEC: (ORIGINALLY POSTED BY sunfell)

From the New York Times:

University Is Accused of Bias Against Christian Schools
By CAROLYN MARSHALL

Cody Young is an evangelical Christian who attends a religious high school in Southern California. With stellar grades, competitive test scores and an impressive list of extracurricular activities, Mr. Young has mapped a future that includes studying engineering at the University of California and a career in the aerospace industry, his lawyers have said.

But Mr. Young, his teachers and his family fear his beliefs may hurt his chance to attend the university. They say the public university system, which has 10 campuses, discriminates against students from evangelical Christian schools, especially faith-based ones like Calvary Chapel Christian School in Murrieta, where Mr. Young is a senior.

Mr. Young, five other Calvary students, the school and the Association of Christian Schools International, which represents 4,000 religious schools, sued the University of California in the summer, accusing it of "viewpoint discrimination" and unfair admission standards that violate the free speech and religious rights of evangelical Christians.( Read more... )

LJ-SEC: (ORIGINALLY POSTED BY sunfell)

The Darwin exhibition frightening off corporate sponsors
By Nicholas Wapshott in New York
(Filed: 20/11/2005)

An exhibition celebrating the life of Charles Darwin has failed to find a corporate sponsor because American companies are anxious not to take sides in the heated debate between scientists and fundamentalist Christians over the theory of evolution.

The entire $3 million (£1.7 million) cost of Darwin, which opened at the American Museum of Natural History in New York yesterday, is instead being borne by wealthy individuals and private charitable donations.

The failure of American companies to back what until recently would have been considered a mainstream educational exhibition reflects the growing influence of fundamentalist Christians, who are among President George W Bush's most vocal supporters, over all walks of life in the United States.( Read more... )

LJ-SEC: (ORIGINALLY POSTED BY navytron89)

How many people here know former Attorney General John Ashcroft is a member Assembly of God (AoG)?

Appearently he has been going around the country and having breakfast prayer meetings with local law enforcement.

As the grand schemer behind the Patriot Act and the Patriot Act II (which was shot down by Congress due to pressure from  intelligent and well-informed people thankfully).

He is now trying to make the Patriot Act 2.1 come to life and has been getting support from local law enforcement senior officers and government.

This past Thursday he spoke to 1,100 people at the Annual South Hampton Roads Leadship Prayer Breakfast (a gathering of the local forces of governmental corruption and tyranny).

The breakfast was sponsored by the Law Enforcement Officers Fellowship (a hardcore Christian Police brotherhood with a near
all-white membership), and was billed as part of a national movement "to support prayer (dominionism) in government at all levels."

More about Ashcroft is that he teaches locally as a distingusted professor of law and government (Bullshit!)  here in Virginia at Regent University (A pro-Religious Reich campus founded by Pat Robertson) and spends two weeks on campus lecturing (probably expouting the virtues of Christian dominionism and drapped in the America Flag). 

The University has refused the local paper and press a chance to interview him or attend one of  this lectures he gives, they are actual screening people to get into the class Ashcroft speaks (which sounds kinda hinky to me).

He was honored this week by Regent University as part of his working in protecting (controlling) America and its people (sheeple).

I still find it funny that John Ashcroft lost to a deadman (and his wife) as the governor of Missouri.

Mr. Ashcroft was the governor which was he lost and was viewed by most of the people in the state of Missouri as an extremist (dominionist) leader of Christian values and would overuse God in every speech he used.

This actual turned off more people than it did to raise the believability of the quality of leadership and "The Show-Me-State" people basically saw right through him.

While this story was covered by our local press person Steven G.Vegh, I since learned that Mr. Vegh has done alot of so-called positive spin doctoring for and on our local religious scumbag Pat "I'm an Complete Asshole"Robertson.

Mr. Vegh is also a graduate of Regent University and has been working as member of the local paper, mainly covering religious storylines for the paper.

I've noticed a  pattern, that Mr. Vegh is often writing revisionisms of events with a special spin towards Christianity (dominionist) values everytime his words are printed in the paper.  

LJ-SEC: (ORIGINALLY POSTED BY gairid)

I have some questions--I don't want anyone to think I am being disingenuous here, I really want opinions and, if possible, links to anything that might shed light upon my questions.

dogemperor, you have been so very helpful as well as forthcoming regarding your upbringing and what you had to endure, as have others on this extremely informative and erudite group.

Anyway, here goes--these leaders of dominionist groups, Jim Dobson, Ted Haggerd, Jerry Falwell, etc.--what's the real story on them personally? Do they really believe what they are selling or are they in it for the power/money? Are there sources for first hand accounts of what these people are really like?

What about the pastors or whatever they call themselves that some of you are personally acquainted with?

(more behind the cut, so as to not clog up the page!)

( Read more... )