Authors of a new therapy paradigm, aimed at helping people resolve conflicts between their religious beliefs and homosexual desire, are encouraging public and professional comments for possible revision.
The Sexual Identity Therapy Framework, which was released last April, will be reviewed this year in acknowledgment of continual changes that are occurring in the area of therapy for individuals experiencing same-sex attractions.
"We believe this area of counseling practice is changing rapidly and we want to be sensitive to how therapists and consumers of sexual identity therapy feel the framework helps or hinders excellent practice," said Dr. Warren Throckmorton, co-author of the framework. "We want to hear from professionals and consumers alike."
Throckmorton and co-author Mark Yarhouse are collecting comments on the framework they crafted over the next two months.
The framework was proposed last year as a means to help counselors work with clients struggling with homosexual desires and who want to align their values and religious faith with their lifestyle. It is designed as a general map to help clinicians work collaboratively with their clients to ultimately arrive at a place of congruence.
There are no other means of sexual orientation assessment that has found wide acceptance, according to the two authors. They have stressed that their recommendations "are not sexual reorientation therapy protocols in disguise."
The so-called reparative therapy, or sexual orientation therapy, remains a heated debate between gay rights activists who oppose such counseling and religious groups who argue that counseling should be offered to those who want to rid their same-sex desires.
Drs. Throckmorton and Yarhouse are anticipating a review by the American Psychological Association (APA) which is currently re-examining its 10-year-old policy on appropriate therapy for gay and lesbian people. The APA is expected to adopt a new policy statement on counseling for homosexuals mid this year.
A task force was appointed last year to review the old APA policy after years of pressure from homosexual groups that say the promotion of gay therapy is harmful.
As gay rights activists are hoping for a revised policy – banning attempts to change sexual orientation – in their favor, religious groups have expressed concern that the APA task force may not recognize persons who have religious commitments and unwanted same-sex attraction.
More than 250 religious leaders from various denominations and organizations as well as individual professionals signed a letter last year calling the task force to respect religious diversity.
"There are folks who struggle with same-sex attraction who, because of their religious beliefs, do not find living homosexually to be acceptable to them," said Carrie Gordon Earll, senior director of issue analysis at Focus on the Family Action, according to the ministry's Citizenlink publication. "They should have a right to have access to therapy, to therapists who can help them live out the fact that change is possible."
The Sexual Identity Therapy Framework has been commended as a work that transcends polarized debates about whether gays can change their sexual orientation, noted Robert L. Spitzer, professor of Psychiatry at Columbia University.
“This framework helps therapists work with clients to craft solutions tailored to their individual situations and personal beliefs and values," Spitzer has commented. "I support this framework and hope it is widely implemented."
On the Web: The Sexual Identity Therapy Framework can be reviewed at www.sexualidentity.blogspot.com.
Comments
"The Bible wasn't written by God nor was it written by Jesus. The bible was written by men. It has it's strengths and it's discrepancies. You should take in with a grain of salt. In addition, there are thousands of ways to interpret the bible. "
There arn't thousands of ways to interpret the bible, there are only 1000's of different people who say it is there way or the highway, the problem is 99.9% don't look to christ rather they look to themselves. The bible itself was written by man inspired by the holy spirt...
The Bible wasn't written by God nor was it written by Jesus. The bible was written by men. It has it's strengths and it's discrepancies. You should take in with a grain of salt. In addition, there are thousands of ways to interpret the bible.
Cross-Bearing by AW Pink
“Then said Jesus unto His disciples, if any man will”—the word “will” here means “desire to” just as in that verse, “If any will live godly.” It signifies “determine to.” “If any man will or desires to come after Me, (not a cross, but his cross) and follow me.” Then in Luke 14:27 Christ declared, “And whosoever doth not bear his cross, and come after Me, cannot be My disciple.” So it is not optional. The Christian life is far more than subscribing to a system of truth or adopting a code of conduct, or of submitting to religious ordinances. Preeminently the Christian life is a person; experience of fellowship with the Lord Jesus, and just in proportion as your life is lived in communion with Christ, to that extent are you living the Christian life, and to that extent only.
You can read the entire sermon here
http://www.gospel.com/topics/cross+bearing
Yashua said "let him deny himself", homosexuals don't seem to want to even acknowledge this. We all have ourselves to deny no one is perfect, but we must try.
Therapy is offered for many vices why not this as well?
Rand,
The problem with your logic is that Christians are not "diseased" at least not physically and sexually by their faith. Statistics do not support your accusations, but statistics do support that the gay lifestyle is very dangerous for one's health, and is often (though not always) related to other mental disorders. If I were coming to a pedophile, then I would not accept their actions and way of life out of love, rather I would tell them why it is wrong, and why they should change. Yes many Christians are hypocritical, but not the ones that actually follow the faith.
Also, homosexuality is not the only sin that deserves death, all sins do. But the Christian is forgiven and so has no right to exact the punishment from a Christian perspective (perhaps from a social perspective, but not from his religious beliefs).
1 Corinthians 6:9-11 (New King James Version)
9 Do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived. Neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor homosexuals,[a] nor sodomites, 10 nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners will inherit the kingdom of God. 11 And such were some of you. But you were washed, but you were sanctified, but you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus and by the Spirit of our God.
Footnotes:
a. 1 Corinthians 6:9 That is, catamites
continued:
1 Kings 14:24
24 There were even male shrine prostitutes in the land; the people engaged in all the detestable practices of the nations the LORD had driven out before the Israelites.
Leviticus 18:22
22 " 'Do not lie with a man as one lies with a woman; that is detestable.
The leviticus passage really leaves no room for interpretation does it?
continued:
A proverbial term of reproach applied to those who practiced sodomy (ritual homosexuality) (Deuteronomy 23:17; 1 Kings 14:24;15:12;22:46; 2 Kings 23:7; Job)
And is applied to males (Deuteronomy 23:17)
Destroyed by fire as a judgement (Genesis 19:24,25)
Wickedness of (Genesis 19:4-14)
The word "harlot" ("shrine prostitute" (N. I. V.)) appears in (Genesis 38:21,22)
And is the translation of a Hebrew feminine form of the word translated elsewhere "sodomite" (Hosea 4:14)
To be judged according to opportunity (Matthew 11:24; Luke 10:12)
See SODOMY"
The Bible nowhere exhorts us to be complacent in our Christianity; nor does it exhort us to accept Christ in a prayer one day, and then just live to please the flesh, and then rationalize like the gnostics did in the first century church - "after all, there is the love and grace of God; He understands, I can sin today, and just ask for foirgiveness tomorrow." This is illogical, and contrary to the Word of God. Some on this site, because of whatever reason have chosen to be more flax on homosexuality, and have gone as far as to say they are not sure it is a sin. Well, biblically speaking it is a sin, and if God says it's sin, who am I to say otherwise? My problem with some on this site is that they try to rationalize (water down) sin, or they misinterpret the Bible to adapt to a personal sin, or someone they love who is dealing with something that is a sin, so what do they do? rather than admitting that the sin is sin, and just confessing it to God as sin, and asking God to remove the "fleshly lust" or watever other sin from their lives, they refuse to acknowledge it as sin, and further, will mock, or antagonize those of us who rather follow the whole counsel of God.
We are commanded to love (NOT TOLERATE) homosexuals, as well as adulterers, fornicators, liars, etc; we are called to love all our enemies, but we are called to hate sin. Therefore, let the truth be told in love, but nevertheless, the truth must be proclaimed- we love the sinner, but cannot condone the sin. we cannot and should not as born again believers water down sin. This is the problem with the modern day church - they water down Scripture to suit the itching ears of those who are listening rather than just teach the Word of God and let the Holy Spirit convict their hearts unto repentance and following Christ out of a pure heart.
I must say again the Bible is the absolute truth of God. If everything else in this confused and twisted world doesn't make sense, then that is why we have the Bible. The Bible teaches us that all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God. Therefore, the fornicator, the adulterer, the thief, the pedophile, the pornographer, the bisexual, transsexual, homosexual, liar, etc all have sinned. We all need a Savior, and it doesn't matter the sin, all it takes is one sin to be separated from God. This is why we must all come to repentance; whatever the vice is. We all suffer from one common thing, and that is a fallen sinful nature. I have never said that homosexuality is the unforgivable sin; however, I have always said that just like the adulterer, the homosexual needs to acknowledge that his/her desires are contrary to the natural uses God made us humans to be, and come to grips with his/her fleshly desire that is contrary to God, and repent if he/she wants to be born again. You cannot be born again and be openly practicing the homosexual lifestyle, because it would contradict the new life that we have in Christ. Please don't misinterpret me, this is not to mean that a person who has come out of that lifestyle who just gave their life to Christ will not struggle with this sin, but if they are born again, they will willfully acknowledge their temptations, their weaknesses, and their struggles, and go back to God with them, confess them to Him, and ask Him to grant more Grace for them to turn their backs on the sin, and to pick up their crosses daily and follow Christ.
Rand503 said >> First, it clearly says that these are people worthy of death. So if you take the Bible literally, then you must agree that the death penalty is needed for all gays. <<
I said >> If you notice, God does not make distinctions between gay and straight. Even Romans only slightly alludes to it. Every place in Scripture (both Testament compilations) where these acts are described as sinful, it's almost always lumped together with other impure acts that even straight people commit. <<
So, Rand ... We all deserve death. That's why we are doomed without Jesus. So no, I don't think any man-made punishment is in order. Christ will be our Judge; yours and mine. Spiritual death (damnation) is probably something much worse than anything we could dream up on our own.
>> So if you take the Bible literally, <<
I take the literal parts literally and the figurative part figuratively.
>> Of course people on this site hate gays <<
The ones who don't agree with you.
>> Not everyone, of course <<
Those who do.
>> What if I were to start saying how diseased Christians are, that they live a destructive lifestyle, that they are mentally ill, that they focus on regulating everyone sexual behavior, that they are hypocrites. <<
Here, let me fix that.
[What if I were to start saying how diseased (SOME) NOMINAL Christians are, that they live a destructive lifestyle, that they are mentally ill, that they focus on warning everyone, sometimes in a judgemental fashion, of the consequences of immoral sexual behavior, that they are hypocrites.]
I'd agree with you. And some of us are not hypocrites (anymore) but people with learned regrets.
>> 1Therefore thou art inexcusable, O man, whosoever thou art that judgest: for wherein thou judgest another, thou condemnest thyself <<
Scripture also states:
John 5:22 - "Moreover, the Father judges no one, but has entrusted all judgment to the Son,"
NOT:
John 5:22 - "Moreover, the Father judges no one, but has entrusted all judgment to MuggleBorn,"
I'm not judging you. I'm "pointing out" (*groan* what a repetative argument this is) that some of your actions are immoral ... very particular ones that I don't personnally commit but I know I'm not a saint.
Hebrews 13:4 - "Marriage should be honored by all, and the marriage bed kept pure, for God will judge the adulterer and all the sexually immoral."
Hey, that one will definitely apply to me for things I've done before I was married.
You know, Muggleborn, it's really strange that you would cite Romans in saying that homosexuality is a sin. First, it clearly says that these are people worthy of death. So if you take the Bible literally, then you must agree that the death penalty is needed for all gays. Second, everyone who has ever quoted Romans fails to quote this part in the second chapter: 1Therefore thou art inexcusable, O man, whosoever thou art that judgest: for wherein thou judgest another, thou condemnest thyself; for thou that judgest doest the same things.
You, who judge gays therefore condemn yourselves, right?
Of course people on this site hate gays. Not everyone, of course -- many do not. But I see repeatedly comments about how destructive the lifestyle is, how diseased, how gays focus on sex, not love, how everyone here is against homosexuality and doesn't want it 'promoted.'
As a gay man, I take these things personally. What if I were to start saying how diseased Christians are, that they live a destructive lifestyle, that they are mentally ill, that they focus on regulating everyone sexual behavior, that they are hypocrites. Would you not take offense at that? I couldn't get away by saying, oh, but I only say that out of good Christian love for you, could I?
Chris333,
To be fair, I was actually the one that pulled Westboro into the conversation. They've gotten so much media attention lately, I guess I overanticipated where the topics might lead. Sometimes my responses are a little preemptive. Sorry about the confusion :^|
jesus4me,
>> Was not the Apostle Paul commanded and exhorted to preach the Word of God by Jesus Christ HImself? <<
That's a very good point. I'll need to re-read the Gospels and Acts with greater scrutiny. That will be helpful on more than one topic. Thanks and God bless.
ifeelfine, you said to me one time that so many people on this site hate homosexuals, no one, not one said they hate homosexuals, even though you tried to egg it on by bringing westboro into this. It seems like you are trying to make Christians hate gays so that you can have an argument.
Just in case ifeelfine tries twisting what i say, i have added this side note:
jesus4me said to ifeelfine:
"The Word of God clearly condemns homosexuality as well as any sinful sexual contact that does not involve one man and one woman joined in holy matrimony. Sex is for the sole purpose of bringing pleasure, union and intimacy between ONE MAN and ONE WOMAN who are MARRIED. The marriage bed is undefiled for one man and one woman in holy matrimony. Stop trying to find loop holes in Scripture. Sin is Sin. Just cause you haven't come to grips with that reality and that absolute truth spoken by God and written by His Elect Apostles does not keep it from being a sin. "
I forgot to mention and include sexual union between one man and one woman in holy matrimony is also a very important means of procreating the human race. God created it to be this way.
ifeelfine said:
"Jesus didn't say that homosexuality is a sin. Paul did. "
Was not the Apostle Paul commanded and exhorted to preach the Word of God by Jesus Christ HImself ? Was he not stopped on the road to Damascus, and Jesus Christ Himself appeared to Him, and Paul had his conversion experience?
What is your point ifeelfine? Does not the Apostle Paul have the authority to speak for Christ, just as John and Peter, and Mark, and Matthew, and Luke, etc? What is your point. You continue to refute the Word of God on every post that deals with homosexuality, only because you wish to relativize it for modern times.
The Word of God clearly condemns homosexuality as well as any sinful sexual contact that does not involve one man and one woman joined in holy matrimony. Sex is for the sole purpose of bringing pleasure, union and intimacy between ONE MAN and ONE WOMAN who are MARRIED. The marriage bed is undefiled for one man and one woman in holy matrimony. Stop trying to find loop holes in Scripture. Sin is Sin. Just cause you haven't come to grips with that reality and that absolute truth spoken by God and written by His Elect Apostles does not keep it from being a sin.
If you wish to follow your post modern error, you may, but the Truth of the Word will continue to be absolute, and you my friend have a choice to accept or reject it. We're living in the end times my frined, and please repent, so you are not drawn into the error and decption of the current age. We are called to be holy, just as God is holy. A person who once practiced homosexuality, or adultery, or bestiality, or fornication, or pornography, etc, can come to Christ and be made whole again in the sight of God. However, that person needs to be consciously willful in turning around, and repenting. God can restore them unto Himself, however, they must repent adn follow Christ as Lord and Savior of their lives. They can't continue to openly and blatantly live in that lifestyle and call themselves a Christian. It is an oxymoron and it does not work. Be not deceived. The Word of God clearly says that we are to be set apart for His (God's) good pleasure and service.
I pray that God would remove the blinders from your eyes and that you would repent of your error ifeelfine, based on the Scriptures, you are being deceived by what your itching ears want to hear. Repent, and turn to Christ and His Word.
ifeelfine72: "Jesus didn't say that homosexuality is a sin. Paul did.”
I think that most people would consider Christ’s death and resurrection an integral part of the Christian faith, wouldn’t you agree? Jesus didn’t say that you had to believe in His death and resurrection, so what does that prove?