People suffering consequently of unwanted same-sex attraction or gender confusion must be allowed to hunt skilled help, and the Church must offer a more hopeful message than simply telling them to be celibate for the remainder of their lives, a world gathering has heard.
Over 140 Christian therapists from all over the world are meeting in Poland this weekend to strategise about how they’ll support people combating unwanted attractions or behaviours at a time when many countries have either banned or are considering banning so-called ‘conversion therapy’.
The IFTCC rejects the term ‘conversion therapy’ and as a substitute uses ‘change-allowing therapy’. It advocates for the liberty of people to hunt skilled assist in leaving unwanted relational and sexual behaviours behind in accordance with their very own wishes and life goals, and argues that by permitting only affirmative therapy, individuals are deprived of this freedom.
In his opening remarks on Friday, Dr Mike Davidson, chairman of the International Foundation for Therapeutic and Counselling Choice (IFTCC ), which organised the conference, said there was a necessity to have interaction with the prevailing discourse within the Church around “celibacy versus transformation”.
His comments were in reference to the position of a bit of the Church that believes it is feasible to discover as Christian and gay, while remaining faithful to the teachings of the Bible on marriage and sexuality by committing to lifelong celibacy.
Dr Davidson suggested a greater message can be to inform people living with unwanted same-sex attraction that they “have selections”.
“If [we say that] an individual has no alternative aside from to announce himself or herself as a celibate person – in other words, there is no way out, that is my reality, and that is where I’ll be for the remainder of my life – I feel that is worrying,” he said.
“If you say to a 13-year-old boy that he has no escape, I do not think that’s doing the just thing.”
Dr Davidson said that Christian therapists should be able to help people of all faiths and none with compassion and kindness, and create a “protected space” for them.
“They may not yet have found Christ but we dare not close the door on them and surely we must stand for them wherever we’re, in whichever a part of the world that we’re a part of,” he said, adding that the Church “should be standing up for mankind, not only the Gospel”.
Writer and former lesbian Dr Rosaria Butterfield said in a pre-recorded panel discussion that on the subject of this issue, Christians must also engage on the political level and “be willing to stay our necks out”.
“The reason Christians are off-step straight away culturally and politically is that we weren’t prepared to defend the Gospel at the extent of nature,” she said.
“We were able to speak about all types of other things but we weren’t able to say that God created a female and male … not less than Protestants weren’t.”
She went so far as to say that in her view, Christians who discover as gay shouldn’t be ordained.
Speaking later within the evening, Dr Felix Boellmann, a lawyer with the Alliance Defending Freedom International (ADF), said that as parental rights come under increasing threat, Christians in Western nations must take an lively stand in the event that they wish to see meaningful change and “reclaim parental authority”.
“In my experience, sometimes it’s enough to be there and to rise up,” he said. “If you wish to know why things are how they at the moment are, it’s precisely because proponents of a really different worldview did the exact same thing: they showed up, they were community organisers, they mobilised people. So the query is: why have not we done that?”
He urged Christians to affix school boards and parent-teacher associations in an effort to be a part of the discussions into how schools are run.
“If we wish change, we should be there,” he said.
The first day of the conference also heard concerning the situation within the US where ‘conversion therapy’ on minors is currently banned in over 20 US states.
Dr Mercy Connors and Dr Shannae Anderson, of the American Association of Christian Counselors, told the conference about their work spearheading a campaign to introduce a conscience clause that may allow Christian therapists to practise in step with their beliefs, akin to the liberty of conscience already enjoyed by medical professionals. But Dr Anderson expressed fears that the situation may worsen before it gets higher.
“We may very well be facing the existential annihilation of our occupation,” she said.
