Religious Left

A minister and former Christian college instructor has been found guilty of sexually assaulting a young man who sought counselling after he feared he was homosexual. Terrance Lewis, 60, will be sentenced at a later date. In earlier testimony, the alleged victim, now 29, told court he started meeting Lewis for counselling sessions in early 2000 after his parents caught him viewing gay pornography on the family computer. The man said Lewis started a program of “touch therapy,” which included the two kissing and fondling each other and engaging in sexual roleplaying. “He said I was to tell no one about it because no one would understand,” the man testified During “touch therapy” sessions in Lewis’ car, Lewis asked him to masturbate, the man said. Lewis also admitted to fantasizing about him, the man said. full article

James C. Dobson and his right winged "Focus on the Family" have been touting their "scientific study" regarding Gay Reparative/Conversion Therapy. The study has been debunked as junk science. As if that isn't enough, it's been a bit of a rocky road for them: Chris Austin, a preacher with Renew Ministries, received seven years’ probation John Paulk, board chair for Exodus International was photographed in a gay bar Ex-gay therapist and leaders in Australia denounced the therapy Of course they never mention the "therapy" has driven people to suicide.

"Pray away the gay" study flawed One of the authors of the latest "ex-gay" study is from the college that is considered the nation's evangelical flagship; the other is from Pat Robertson's university. They released their findings not in a scientific journal, but in a book published by a Christian press. The results were first announced - not to scientists but to a group of Christian counselors gathered in Nashville. Is it any wonder that the results of the study - to determine whether gay people can stop being gay - found that people can indeed turn off the homosexual attraction switch? Especially when the subjects of the study were participants in an evangelical Christian ministry and were already trying to "change"? And is it any wonder that the methodology of said study has been discounted?

An Irving, Texas "ex-gay" counselor has been convicted of sexually assaulting a male client, ordered to register as a sex offender, and sentenced to ten years in prison. AS Queerty reported in a Sept. 6 posting, Chris Austin, a preacher with Renew Ministries, received seven years’ probation even though he was sentenced to a decade in prison. Austin was also fined $2,500. "The abuse apparently involved a bit of unwanted penetration," Queerty reported, noting that a previous claim from 2001 pitted Austin against a man named Mark Hufford, who brought a civil suit against the preacher based on similar accusations, but later dropped it. Austin was the founder of Renew Ministries, which is a counseling center operating from an Irving, Texas church. Austin was affiliated with NARTH, the National Association for Research and Therapy of Homosexuality, and had presented a seminar at a NARTH convention in 2004 called "Understanding and Treating Compulsive Sexual Behav...

NEW YORK - Truth Wins Out expressed relief today that Christopher Austin, an 'ex-gay' counselor in Irving, Texas, was convicted of sexually assaulting a client. Austin was sentenced to 10 years in prison, but received seven years probation, had to register as a sex offender and was ordered to pay a $2,500 fine. After years of reported abuse - including several alleged victims who testified at the trial - it is welcome news that Austin has finally been put out of business, says TWO. Austin spoke of the "devastating spiritual effects homosexuality has on a mans heart." However, he failed to take his own advice when he once wrote, "Before addressing the brokenness in others, we must defeat all the responses of our own flesh." "As we have seen with Christopher Austin, Mark Foley and Larry Craig, gay people who do not learn to accept themselves act out in unhealthy ways," said Besen. "I hope Austin can use this experience to come out and have hea...