Teresa: I am feeling well these days, thanks for asking. Recovery is going well.

On Hamilton, I agree she says things that sound like SITF. However, I don’t believe it. Reparative therapists need to acknowledge what they tell most clients instead of say what we want to hear from them.

As for theology .. medical analysis and theology are two different things. They are not related. The theological term “disorder” is a Catholic term. Catholics would call anything “disordered” that is not according to design. For example .. Using a form of birth control (other than the rhythmn method) is also disordered because it goes against God’s creative design. In other words .. their term has nothing to do with the psychological term. I know of celibate gay Catholics who are not too happy with the term “disordered”.

As a pastor (not a Catholic one) I don’t see it as disordered in either sense. It just is…like being left handed just is .. or like being heterosexual just is. While scripture does say that we can choose what to do with our desires .. it does not guarantee a change of desire. To claim that it does .. or claim any sort of moral imperative that a particular desire (in the case SSA) can and must be changed is to go outside of what scripture guarantees. These types of attitudes or ideals typically produce a lot of false guilt or shame that is not helpful to people. It is my personal opinion that groups such as these (reparative therapists) and others have built a house of cards based on certain assumptions they are making that are not biblical. I call it the Galileo effect .. re: where people take an assumed (but not true to scripture) idea and try to inform science with it.

Blessings,

Dave

I’ll need to explore some of this research and your previous article and get back to you.

Thanks,

Christopher

Thanks for your response and so glad to hear your are feeling well.

The point is Matt, licensed therapists have an obligation to ascribe to the DSM. If religious counselors, clinicians, spiritual directors are going to ‘therapize’ clients; then they’re obliged to state upfront that they are not licensed therapists following the DSM. This is perfectly OK to me.

These folks can’t have it both ways. They can’t claim to be in the secular licensed world; and, yet, mix and match when and how they want with their religious beliefs; and, then claim they’re victims.

NARTH is a religious organization. They have a belief that homosexuality is not God’s design. I’d be happy if they simply stated that; and, then went about their business in an honest way. They need to stop the appearance and camouflage of being a scientific organization.

They simply should state we’re not abiding by the DSM. We (NARTH) offer help to men and women with SSA that want to live chaste lives. If a client manages to develop OSA, and then marry … good for the client.

NARTH needs to follow the path that Exodus and the Mormons are now on.