Category: Religion

NIH Director, Francis Collins, denounces American College of Pediatricians

As noted here at length, the American College of Pediatricians new website Facts About Youth falls far short of achieving the stated goals of being up-to-date and non-religious. The website also distorts the words of Francis Collins, National Institutes of Health Director. In a statement dated yesterday, he commented about the distortion on the NIH website:

Statement from NIH Director Francis S. Collins, M.D., Ph.D., in Response to the American College of Pediatricians

Francis S. Collins, M.D., Ph.D.

Director

April 15, 2010

“It is disturbing for me to see special interest groups distort my scientific observations to make a point against homosexuality.  The American College of Pediatricians pulled language out of context from a book I wrote in 2006 to support an ideology that can cause unnecessary anguish and encourage prejudice. The information they present is misleading and incorrect, and it is particularly troubling that they are distributing it in a way that will confuse school children and their parents.”

Read my earlier comments on this matter when NARTH first distorted the views of Dr. Collins.

According to this HealthLeadersMedia story, the ACP is contemplating a response:

A spokeswoman for the ACP said today the Gainesville, FL-based physician organization was made aware of Collins’ statement, and would issue a public statement after Benton attempts to speak with Collins.

ht:HealthLeadersMedia

Day of Silence, Golden Rule Pledge roundup

Today is the Day of Silence, where students attempt to remain silent for parts of the school day to bring attention to anti-gay bullying. This year has been much quieter than the first two years for the supportive Golden Rule Pledge. I am aware of students in a dozen or so communities who planned to pass out GRP cards, either while joining in the silence or indenpendently of it.

I have looked in on the Day of Silence twitter account a couple of times and this retweet caught my eye:

Today has been awful. Verbal and physical bullying. This is why we do this.

This pains me. I wish she had written that some kids were pledging the Golden Rule and standing up to the bullies. Maybe next time?

I have posted this song before but it seems fitting again. After the vid/song, check out the few news articles which mention the Golden Rule Pledge.

Charisma covered the GRP as part of a story on the Day of Truth, the walkout, and the Day of Silence. Christian Post took a similar line in this story.

Here is a link to a Crosswalk.com article I wrote a year ago, called “That’s So Gay” – The deadly consequences of bullying.

Pope urges repentance

Because I haven’t felt like I had much to add to the coverage, I have not posted on the megastory of the resurgent sexual abuse scandal in the Catholic church. However, I am looking into to the whole issue more and believe there are several really important theological and psychological issues involved. For now, though, I am just going to post some news stories as they come up and hope to add some commentary along the way.

Today, the Pope is quoted as urging the faithful to repent. Seems like repentance is a good place to start, if of course he means for one’s sins.

Pope Benedict XVI has called on Roman Catholics to “do penance” for their sins, an apparent reference to the recent child sexual abuse scandal.

He said Catholics were “under attack from the world which talks to us of our sins” and should see the necessity “to recognise what is wrong in our lives”.

Reparative shake up in Northern Ireland

Yesterday, Alan Chambers posted about a trip to Belfast in order to speak about his newest book, Leaving Homosexuality. In the post, he disclosed that the two men hosting the series (note: according to Dr. Davidson, the recent sessions of Bergner and Chambers are hosted solely by Core-Issues), Michael Davidson and Paul Miller have

broken ties with Mr. [Richard] Cohen and neither utilize or endorse his practices.

This would be a change for Dr. Miller since he is quoted on Richard Cohen’s website with a glowing endorsement about Richard Cohen’s “counselor training program.” On Cohen’s website Miller says:

The Counselor Training Program was delivered in an event co-sponsored with ABEO, JONAH and IHF in Northern Ireland. People attended from all over the world (UK, Ireland, Israel, Egypt, Estonia, Germany, Lichtenstein), and the outcome of the training was an amazing equipping for these professionals to work in an evidence-based way with people seeking to change their sexual orientation. It was one of the best training events I have ever attended: clear, evidence-based, stimulating and pragmatic.

Paul W. Miller M.D., BCh, BAO, DMH (Belfast), MRC Psych

Consultant Psychiatrist

Managing Director, ABEO

In 2007, Paul Miller hosted a healing workshop and training session in Belfast (the brochure remains on the Core-Issues website). Then in 2008, Miller was embroiled in controversy surrounding remarks about him by then MP, Iris Robinson. At that time, he described Cohen’s 2007 workshop as “very valuable.”

More recently, journalist Patrick Strudwick reported on alleged sessions with Miller. Charges filed over that event will apparently be heard this month by the General Medical Council there. Meanwhile, Dr. Miller has removed his website (www.abeoonline.com) from view. Prior to the recent removal, he advertised a link to Richard Cohen’s International Healing Foundation (archived copy). Note there that he offered trainings in collaboration with IHF.

ABEO also provides training to those professionals working in the area of unwanted SSA. Through links with NARTH, JONAH, the International Healing Foundation and a number of international experts we are seeking to spread evidence based skills that will help professionals working in this area.

Miller once served as NARTH’s UK representative but appears to have stepped down from that position as he is no longer listed on the NARTH website. I have asked Dr. Miller for additional description about this change and will provide any statement he gives.

Additional note: in contrast to the statement that Core-Issues does not endorse the practices of Richard Cohen, their website does offer his two books, Coming Out Straight and Gay Children, Straight Parents.

Joyce Meyer denounces Uganda’s Anti-Homosexuality Bill

Three and a half months after her loud no comment to me, Joyce Meyer Ministries issued a statement to Change.org denouncing Uganda’s Anti-Homosexuality Bill. Joyce Meyer is on television everyday there and has invested much money and goodwill in good works there. If known, this statement should have some positive impact. Here is her statement:

From: Joyce Meyer Ministries

Date: Mon, Apr 12, 2010 at 3:03 PM

It is increasingly evident that the proposed “Anti-Homosexuality Bill” introduced in the Ugandan parliament is a profoundly offensive, dangerous and disturbing attack on the very foundation of individual liberties and human rights afforded not only to the good citizens of Uganda, but on the at-large global community.

If enacted, this hostile legislation will also further, and adversely, serve as a major setback in the global health efforts to combat Uganda’s AIDS epidemic and reduce the record-high infection rates among the country’s HIV population, an already at-risk community that could be further ostracized, threatened, and targeted as potential criminals.

Our missions and ministry message has always been to teach that the Word of God is about helping people – all people – learn that God loves them and has a purpose for their lives, not put guilt or condemnation on them.

As a global society, we do not have to agree, endorse or condone the lifestyle choices of others. However, history has taught us that we equally cannot and should not excuse those who would hide behind religion or misuse God’s word to justify bigotry and persecution.

With this statement, our motivation and intent is not to interfere with Uganda’s political agenda or internal affairs. As believers, however, we have a moral and ethical duty that compels us to speak out against injustice wherever it may be in the world.

Joyce Meyer Ministries

This is a solid statement from a leading charismatic leader and one that I hope she will make sure gets some awareness in Uganda.

h/t: Boxturtlebulletin