Conference ads target gays: Billboards tout a Christian alternative to homosexuality
Hatred is peddled in many forms. Some forms are quite subtle, some quite open and overt, and some deceptively packaged as Love.
What I find so truly disturbing about this latest effort is that it is a cleverly packaged way one can justifying marginalizing those who live and think differently than you. Imagine somthing so (in your mind) obviously despicable and sinful that you would stop at nothing, not even deceit and deception, in an effort to win the “sinners” to your side. If you’re an evangelical Christian, and you can couch your message of hatred and disgust in terms of Scripture and Christian charity, many people will think you’re some sort of hero and visionary. Such is the sad, disingenuous story of B. Joe Cline.
Billboards displayed throughout Galveston County and south Houston targeting homosexuality have sparked concerns from at least one gay and lesbian group.
The advertisements, which depict either a smiling man or woman, bear the message, “I questioned homosexuality. Change is Possible. Discover how.”
The billboards are in promotion of the evangelical Christian group Focus on the Family’s “Love Won Out” conference scheduled for Feb. 19.
“The conference is meant to help people understand what causes homosexuality and how to prevent it,” said B. Joe Cline, a Galveston resident who organized advertising effort that uses 15 billboards.
I suppose if you are willing to buy into Cline’s demented theory that homosexuality is a disorder along the lines of a poor decision, this simplistic attitude may make sense. To anyone with a functional intellect, Cline’s reasoning should be seen as specious at best and hate speech at worst.
There is, of course, much debate regarding whether or not homosexuality can be laid to nature or nurture. Are some people born gay, or is it merely a learned behavior that, as such, can be unlearned? Speaking only for myself, and only for myself, I believe that it is entirely possible that both points of view are true or at the very least contain elements of truth. Nonetheless, to treat homosexuality as a the equivalent of a disease and gays and lesbians as carriers of that “disease” is to me the height of arrogance and disdain. Thankfully, this is at best a minority viewpoint.
The billboards, however, have drawn the ire of Parents, Family and Friends of Lesbians and Gays of Houston. A spokeswoman for the gay advocacy groups denounced the campaign, describing the effort as “lies” and “myths.”
“For an organization to spend their time and money promoting untruth and lies against gays, lesbians, bisexuals and transgenders is a deplorable situation. Our children are perfectly fine the way they are,” said Sue Null, an advocacy chairwoman with PFLAG.
Null, the mother of a gay son and lesbian daughter, said Focus on the Family’s claims are not plausible, especially when it says intense religious pressure can change a person’s sexual orientation.
“Intense religious pressure?” What we’re dealing with here is deprogramming. While the concept of deprogramming is hardly novel, it is representative of the hatred and disdain that Cline and his followers harbor towards homosexuals. The idea that applying “intense religious pressure” (read- “coercion”) can convince a person to willingly change their lifestyle is laughable.
At it’s core, Cline’s program is simply one more attempt to marginalize and dehumanize those whose lifestyle and sexual orientation Fundamentalist Christians despise. Cline and his followers can paint themselves as caring, committed Christians while they peddle their hate-filled agenda. Hatred camoflaged is still hatred.
“Love Won Out?” Not from where I sit.
