Change for the homosexual is difficult, but still possible, researchers of a newly released study say.
"The Thomas Project: A Study of Religiously-Mediated Change in Exodus Group Participants" presents evidence that there are people who have successfully changed, or experienced "conversion," from homosexuality to heterosexuality.
The study, conducted by longtime Wheaton College professor of psychology and provost Stanton L. Jones and Regent University professor Mark Yarhouse, followed about 100 people entering ex-gay programs under the umbrella of Exodus International – the nation's largest Christian organization dealing with homosexuality issues – for over four years.
The researchers, who presented the results on Thursday in Nashville, found that not everyone experienced a successful change through the religious ministry.
"Not even a majority is successful," Jones pointed out to CitizenLink, a publication of Focus on the Family, "but a very substantial group of people report fairly dramatic change."
Results showed that 15 percent of the sample claimed to have successfully changed their sexual orientation, reporting substantial reduction in homosexual desire and addition of heterosexual attraction. These subjects were grouped as "Success: Conversion."
There were also a higher percentage of people (23 percent) who experienced satisfactory reductions in homosexual desire as they embraced the Christian discipline of chastity. This group is described as "Success: Chastity."
Together, 38 percent of the sample experienced significant change while another 29 percent experienced only modest change in the desired direction but expressed commitment to continue.
Additionally, 15 percent experienced no change and were conflicted about the future even though they had not given up; 4 percent reported no change, were confused and had given up but did not label themselves as gay; and 8 percent reported no change, no pursuit and had entered as gay – a group described as "Failure: Gay Identity."
Jones pointed out that change does not come easy even for the successful ones.
"It needs to be said that this process is not like a light switch that switches from one switch point to the other,” the professor said, according to CitizenLink. “Life is still complicated for these people, and some still have some residuals of their homosexual attractions. However, they are people who report being able to function as heterosexuals, they're happy with their marriages and they feel that their lives have changed dramatically."
Jones and Yarhouse wrote in their upcoming book Ex-Gays?: A Continuing Study of Religiously Mediated Sexual Orientation Change in Exodus Participants that change was complex for most of the individuals who did report successful conversion to heterosexuality and that sexual orientation for those in the study may be considerably more complicated than commonly conceived.
"We believe the individuals who presented themselves as heterosexual success stories at Time 3 (end of the study period) are heterosexual in some meaningful but complicated sense of the term," they write.
Also addressing the highly disputed question of whether the attempt to change causes harm to the individual, Jones and Yarhouse found no change in their psychological distress over time and thus felt there is no evidence that the change attempt is harmful.
Comments
"Lets do the math, out of 100 people 25 dropped out of the study, giving 11 participants that claimed to be cured. This is considered a success?"
Yes, mburkel. That's why they've now changed the wording to "change is POSSIBLE." Lots of things are possible, but they sure as heck aren't probable!
Thank you for doing so much to educate people regarding God's Law. When someone tries to defend the homosexual lifestyle, for example, I simply remind him that Leviticus 18:22 clearly states it to be an abomination. End of debate.
I do need some advice from you, however, regarding some of the specific laws and how to best follow them.
When I burn a bull on the altar as a sacrifice, I know it creates a pleasing odour for the Lord (Lev. 1:9). The problem is my neighbors. They claim the odour is not pleasing to them. Should I smite them?
I would like to sell my daughter into slavery, as sanctioned in Exodus 21:7. In this day and age, what do you think would be a fair price for her?
I know that I am allowed no contact with a woman while she is in her period of menstrual uncleanliness (Lev. 15:19-24). The problem is, how do I tell? I have tried asking, but most women take offense.
Lev. 25:44 states that I may indeed possess slaves, both male and female, provided they are purchased from neighboring nations. A friend of mine claims that this applies to Mexicans, but not Canadians. Can you clarify? Why can't I own Canadians?
I have a neighbor who insists on working on the Sabbath. Exodus 35:2 clearly states he should be put to death. Am I morally obligated to kill him myself?
A friend of mine feels that even though eating shellfish is an abomination (Lev. 11:10), it is a lesser abomination than homosexuality. I don't agree. Can you settle this?
Lev. 21:20 states that I may not approach the altar of God if I have a defect in my sight. I have to admit that I wear reading glasses. Does my vision have to be 20/20, or is there some wiggle room here?
Most of my male friends get their hair trimmed, including the hair around their temples, even though this is expressly forbidden by Lev.19:27. How should they die?
I know from Lev. 11:6-8 that touching the skin of a dead pig makes me unclean, but may I still play football if I wear gloves?
My uncle has a farm. He violates Lev. 19:19 by planting two different crops in the same field, as does his wife by wearing garments made of two different kinds of thread (cotton/polyester blend). He also tends to curse and blaspheme a lot. Is it really necessary that we go to all the trouble of getting the whole town together to stone them? (Lev.24:10-16)
Couldn't we just burn them to death at a private family affair like we do with people who sleep with their in-laws? (Lev.20:14)
I know you have studied these things extensively, so I am confident you can help. Thank you again for reminding us that God's word is eternal and unchanging.
Oh lovely statistics. I LOVE statistics (Note the words Dripping w/sarcasm). Statistics are a bunch of LIES. Oh please statistics oh yeah real convincing. There is not truth behind any statistics because for those of you who don't realize it...statistics can be written to reflect any person's views or what they wish the results to be. As for being homosexual...well...its part of a person and it is not a choice. And for all of you who believe that homosexuality is a choice please come prove this to me because there is not choice in the matter. Sure the people who are trying to avoid pain and hurt...thats a choice but for people who have always been that way it is not a choice. It is what exists and all that is known so please do not presume to know what homosexuality is and isn't. It is not always the choice it is portrayed as.
While I respect the attempt, DannyPoo, there are unfortunately several big holes in your argument (beyond the fact that you're relying on surveys and studies conducted more than 20 years ago, during a time that was indisputably homophobic and intolerant of gays). So let's work through them one by one:
1. Gay men are more prone to unhappiness, largely stemming from personal conflicts. -- First of all, the fact that homosexual men tend to be more in touch with their feminine side often entails being more open to their feelings and thereby more prone to be upset by personal conflicts than the typical heterosexual male. Moreover, especially at the time of the study, society was very disapproving of their lifestyle. Wouldn't you be prone to unhappiness if you had to hide who you felt you were out of fear of persecution or bodily harm? Wouldn't you find that you were more prone to be unhappy if you as a devout Christian lived in Saudi Arabia and were subjected to intolerance by Muslims and hounded to give up your heresy and embrace the one true way of life?
2. The propensity towards sexual compulsion, large numbers of partners and the disconnection of sex from love. -- Although these were treated in separate points they meld together in their overlooking of the same counterargument. In a society that frowned upon, persecuted and harassed homosexuals isn't this the logical outcome? When society is set up in such a manner that a healthy, monogamous relationship between two men or women is so vehemently condemned what else could you expect? Because at the time of the study these individuals were forced to hide in the shadows and gather at random to engage in their chosen lifestyle it's no big shock that they would have many partners and separate love from sex. Monogamous loving relationships are a luxury that are not permitted to homosexuals by religious fundamentalists. They don't prevent you from walking down the street, holding the hand of the person you love. Why must you prevent them from indulging in that indulgance?
3. Health issues. -- While it's noble that you worry about the physical well being of these individuals, especially that of their sphincters, this is a slippery slope that doesn't hold too much water. On that basis we should ban all alcohol, and cigarettes and french fries and sugary foods. People do a lot of things that may not be the most healthy things; however, by virtue of the self-determination afforded to us both by law and by whatever higher power you believe in, we are free to indulge in whatever behavior we so choose so long as it does not infringe on the rights or health of others.
Care to try again?
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Here's an open challenge to any of the people posting comments to this story, especially DannyPoo: Make an argument regarding why homosexuality is wrong and should be combatted WITHOUT turning to the bible or other religious teachings. No bible verses or religious quotes. I'm talking about reasoned, rational arguments explaining to the average non-Christian why such a lifestyle is so threatening to society and people's well-being.
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Good question, I will be the first to admit that most of my arguments are based on scripture, and if the God of Christianity is real and is the God of the universe this would be a fair thing to do. However, there is much information on the net about the negative health effects of homosexuality - http://www.frc.org/get.cfm?i=IS01B1
But going behond simply health effects we can delve into deeper issues with Homosexuality.
In a 1977 survey of members of the American Psychiatric Association, 73% of the psychiatrists responding said that they thought that homosexual men are less happy than others. Seventy percent said they believed that the homosexuals' problems were due more to personal conflicts than to social stigmatization.
Harold I. Lief, Sexual Survey Number 4: Current Thinking on Homosexuality, Medical Aspects of Human Sexuality 2 (1977), pp.110- 111 (Cited in Growing Up Straight by George A. Reker)
Statistics give evidence of widespread sexual compulsion among homosexual men. The Kinsey study cited above revealed that 43% of the homosexual men surveyed estimated that they had had sex with 500 or more partners; 28% with 1,000 or more partners.
Bell and Weinberg, Homosexualities, p.308
The same Kinsey study revealed that homosexual men have to a great extent separated sexuality from relationship. The survey showed 79% of the respondents saying that over half of their sexual partners were strangers. Seventy percent said that over half of their sexual partners were people with whom they had sex only once.
Bell and Weinberg, Homosexualities, p.308-309
Some physical issues:
Certain common homosexual practices are physically destructive apart from transmission of disease. Anal intercourse, an extremely common practice among homosexual men, can seriously damage internal tissues and can permanently weaken the anal sphincter, causing incontinence and other serious medical problems.
In a survey reported in the official publication of the American Public Health Association, 78% of the gay respondents reported that they had been affected by a sexually transmitted disease at least one time.
Enrique T. Rueda, The Homosexual Network, (Old Greenwich, Conn., The Devin Adair Company, 1982), p.53
Because of the limitation of character limits put on posts, I will stop there. But there are more in various categories that provide at least a reasonable reason to be concerned even apart from scripture.
Lets do the math, out of 100 people 25 dropped out of the study, giving 11 participants that claimed to be cured. This is considered a success? And the rest, maybe they didn't pray hard enough?
Here's an open challenge to any of the people posting comments to this story, especially DannyPoo: Make an argument regarding why homosexuality is wrong and should be combatted WITHOUT turning to the bible or other religious teachings. No bible verses or religious quotes. I'm talking about reasoned, rational arguments explaining to the average non-Christian why such a lifestyle is so threatening to society and people's well-being.
Forgot to mention, the reason we know this author was referencing the Old Testament Sodom and Gommorah story is because of his refrence in Jude 5 "Now I want to remind you, although you once fully knew it..." He then goes into two Old Testament stories(v5-7), one of those is the one we are discussing.
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How do you connect "strange flesh" to homosexuality?
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To start, the reference in Jude 7 is Sodom and Gommorah,
"...just as Sodom and Gomorrah and the cities around them..."
The author of the chapter of Jude, is obviously referencing to the story of Sodom and Gommorah to help us understand this section. What do we know about Sodom and Gommorah? We know that Sodom and Gommorah were overall sinful, refused hospitality, wicked, and practiced Homosexuality.
None of those other sins listed even come close to becoming a possibility for "strange flesh" other than homosexuality. The assumption of the author is that the reader knows the story of Sodom and Gommorah and makes the connection in this manner.
We know that the strange flesh is not Angel flesh because the verse states that the cities around them were also involved in "gross immorality and going after strange flesh", the angels in the story of Genesis 19 only go to Sodom & Gommorah.
That I think is a fair and logical interpretation. In order to refute it one would have to justify that "strange flesh" refered to inhospitality.... This requires a great stretch of logic.
God's Word tells us what sin is, He defines sin, He sets the boundaries, it is man that has fallen away from God, and homosexuality is one of those sins. God did not create anyone homosexual nor did he create anyone an alcoholic; these are choices. We have a society where many people are abused as children, I was one of those children, and I know many children who've been sexually abused, and they are living the either in the gay lifestyle or they are living very promisicous lifestyles.
I was sinned upon by adults, and then I became what I had been sinned on, and that cycle gets passed on down. We live in a fallen, sinful world. We all fall short of the glory of God! I battled with same-sex issues for years. Well, I began looking into Jesus Christ, and what I found was astounding. HE died for all of this sin, HE is the only way that true and lasting change occurs. Jesus took this sinful dead woman and HE cleansed her, and HE showed me who I was truly created to be, His child! I was created to be a Princess of Heaven, I am the KING's daughter, people do not know their own identity, they have allowed Satan (and he is our enemy, not flesh and blood) to steal their identity. JESUS CHRIST is the only way for restoration to be real and lasting! I praise HIM every day for the change (and change is ongoing for a lifetime). But today I am free, whom JESUS sets FREE, is FREE indeed!!!
If you really want to be free from bondage to sin (God has defined what sin is) go to GOD, not to man, and confess that you have sinned against HIM, and done evil in HIS sight! Tell HIM, that you really want the life that HE created you for! Don't let any man tell you that change is not possible, it may be with man, but NOTHING is impossible for GOD! HE makes change lasting for eternity! HE has given me a new heart, a new life and a real joy in my spirit! The joy of the LORD is our strength! Don't let anyone keep you in chains, JESUS wants to set you free, it's what HE came for, to set the captives free!!! For all you folks that don't believe change is possible, well let me tell you from personal experience, this world didn't care two figs for my life, but I met Jesus Christ and HIS love is what changes me! Knowing that nothing can separate me from His love, that alone showed me that this world is a liar and that HE is my all in all! My prayer for those struggling with this issue, run to JESUS, HIS arms are open wide and waiting for you to come to HIM to be set free! First, you have to want to be well! When we walk in sin, we are sick, and dead (no matter what that sin is) no sin is greater or lesser to Jesus Christ, HE died to make us right with God and anyone who calls upon HIS name shall be free) In His love and forgiveness, Annie
"just as Sodom and Gomorrah and the cities around them, since they in the same way as these indulged in gross immorality and went after strange flesh, are exhibited as an example in undergoing the punishment of eternal fire. " Jude 1:7
How do you connect "strange flesh" to homosexuality?
Josiah, where in the context do you see a response to "the way" homosexuality is being enacted? I certainly don't see it. Romans 1 condemns a host of sins....why is homosexuality the only sin that is intricately connected to the idol worship sin mentioned in the chapter? this seems odd...
No, but a response to the way homosexuality was being practiced.
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I refer to context as in the history, culture and what was releveant to the true definition to homosexuality in that day and age. The way people thought about homosexuality and what they most comonly connected homosexuality with.
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Well consider that Homosexuality was an accepted practice in Roman culture....The bible's statements surely aren't a reflection of the culture.
I almost forgot another Powerful verse that removed Homosexuality from being a viable option. This statement was actually made by Jesus Christ himself.
Anyone who is interested, turn in your bibles to Mark 10. The pharisees ask Jesus Christ a technical question about divorce. Jesus in turn...Defines marriage.
"But from the beginning of creation, 'God made them male and female.' 'Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and hold fast to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh.' So they are no longer two but one flesh. What therefore God has joined together, let not man separate."
Jesus first defines the genders that are involved, and how those genders are allowed to join together. By this very statement Jesus eliminated the biblical backing for Homosexuality. Jesus did not say "God made them people...therefore they shall be joined", he says he made them Male, and Female, and therefore they shall be joined.
And I think few will disagree that Sexual Relations outside of marriage are considered a Sin. So if marriage is limited to a Male with a Female...BY JESUS.......