Prayer incapable of altering sexual orientation

By Hannah Scroggs
Reporter

A fair amount of people believe that homosexuality is a choice, and that by choosing to have sexual desires for those of the same gender, they are actively sinning. This is an untrue and outdated belief.

More than a few Christian groups have formed pray-away-the-gay ministries; groups that use counseling based around the fear of Hell, and fear of rejection by family and friends as a tool to encourage homosexuals to suppress or abandon their romantic feelings.

These fear based tactics have had very negative effects on some people; promoting self-hate and extremely low self esteem. With an incredibly low success rate, for complete conversion to heterosexuality, with 99 percent of converted people still having homosexual urges, many converted people still feel shameful for their feelings.

In June of 2013 Exodus International, the largest “homosexual conversion” Christian group, announced they would be closing their doors for good.

For 37 years, this group asserted that reorientation of same-sex attraction was possible, through abstinence, lessening of homosexual temptations, strengthening their sense of masculine or feminine identity and altering how they related with the same and opposite gender.

Upon closing down, the groups president, Alan Chambers, issued an apology. “I believe we’ve come to a time in the church when it’s time to lay our weapons down,” Chambers said. “We fought the culture and we’ve lost. But I think we’ve lost for a good reason; because it’s time for peace.”

Chambers, a converted homosexual, with a wife and children, has stated that not all homosexuals can be converted, even he still has homosexual urges. “If someone professes to love God, they will have a place in heaven, 99percent of people cannot change sexual orientation.”

The belief everyone is naturally straight, and some simply choose to be gay, is false and hurtful to those who have tried and failed to change. These beliefs cause more hurt than help. Those who believe homosexuality is wrong, consider what is being improved by voicing that opinion before doing so.