Tag Archives: religion

You may recall the deranged “ex-gay” advocate Richard Cohen, whose ridiculous “reparative therapies” such as beating out one’s homosexual tendencies with a tennis racket and a pillow became the laughingstock of YouTube. Well, it turns out that Cohen isn’t quite the relatively harmless lunatic we all thought. His book’s completely fabricated “statistics” about gays “recruiting” and molesting children (courtesy of …

Carl Siciliano, executive director of NYC’s Ali Forney Center, writes to direct us to a story in today’s New York Times about the aid recently given his organization by the Long Island Episcopal Church. Since 2002, when he opened the Ali Forney Center, which helps homeless gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender youth, Carl Siciliano says, he has often witnessed the …

A Quaker group in Minneapolis-St.Paul has announced that they will no longer certify marriages until the right is granted to everybody. “We’re simply trying to be consistent with the will of God as we perceive it,” said Paul Landskroener, clerk of the Twin Cities Friends Meeting, in an interview with MPR’s All Things Considered on Monday. The congregation will continue …

Equality activists scored a preliminary victory in New Jersey tonight! The New Jersey Senate Judiciary Committee has narrowly voted to pass a marriage equality bill to the full state Senate. The final tally was 7-6. Whew! That voted is scheduled for Thursday. It is not yet known when, or if, the state Assembly will vote on the issue. The debate …

In response to the anti-gay Manhattan Declaration, a document calling for the disobedience of LGBT rights laws and co-signed by hundreds of religious leaders, comes The Affirmation Declaration, which calls for pro-LGBT people of faith to sign on as supporters of civil equality. An excerpt from the just-posted document: We assert that the pain brought upon our GLBTI brethren in …

In an editorial about their October court victory in forcing the Catholic Church to turn over secret documents about the child molestation cover-up scandal, yesterday the New York Times noted the starkly differing reactions to such abuses by former New York Archbishop Edward Egan (pictured) and Dublin Archbishop Diarmuid Martin. Referring to the Rev. Raymond Pcolka, whom 12 former parishioners …

Students at Yale really know how to handle wingnut street preachers, don’t they?

Over the last seven days… North Carolina: Pastor Robert Adams arrested in camouflage gear after weeks on the lam from authorities after sexually assaulting a five year old child. Adams’ wife has also been arrested for convincing the child to have sex with her husband.England: Rabbi Baruch Chalomish convicted of cocaine possession. Chalmoish, a multimillionaire, was acquitted on other charges …

You may recall Ted Cox, the straight, formerly Mormon, reporter who went undercover at an “ex-gay” conversion therapy retreats in two states. Cox was unable to tell his story because his publisher feared legal reprisals if Cox were to break the confidentiality agreement the “ex-gays” made him sign. This week Cox has broken the agreement in an interview with Alternet. …

The Black Gay Men’s Network today published a full-page ad in the NYC daily newspaper Metro in reaction to attacks on the LGBT community by black clergy and in response to “ex-gay” preacher Donnie McClurkin’s recent outrageous and hateful rantings, which were posted to YouTube. It reads in part: Pastor Donnie McClurkin -We love you brother and in ways the …

Stinging over his defeat in the DC marriage battle, “Bishop” Harry Jackson vows that there will be a “bloodletting” when city council members come up for re-election. In future races, religious people are going to start going after people’s political careers. In D.C., some very vulnerable black councilmen went along with the city council, and some of these guys will …

Pam Spaulding dug up this gem about a woman who changed her name to “Jesus Christ.” I frickin’ love the last line. Jesus Christ was called for jury duty this week in Jefferson County. Court officials were skeptical at first when on Monday a potential juror submitted a name change form with “Jesus Christ” on it. But the 59-year-old Birmingham …

In a Christian Post article about an upcoming biography of Saddleback megachurch Pastor Rick Warren, we learn that Warren freely admits that when he married his wife, he didn’t love her, was not attracted to her, and had “no feelings” for her at all. But he married her anyway because the marriage had been arranged. By God. Perhaps one of …

The Gay & Lesbian Straight Education Network will be hosting a fundraiser in NYC on Dec. 8th. And of course the haters of gay children are screaming. Hang on for delirious ranting from Focus On the Family. Yet more evidence revealing the dark side of GLSEN–the Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network—has surfaced. (GLSEN is the group founded by President …

Bigotry makes strange bedfellows. Catholic Online’s head hater Deacon Keith Fournier has published an effusive praising of NY Sen. Ruben Diaz’ anti-gay performance yesterday. Senator Ruben Diaz is a “man with a chest”. He stands out in an age of men (and women) without chests. The reaction to the vote defending marriage against its opponents has been swift. Those in …

Uganda’s infamous “kill gays” bill is about to pass in the country’s parliament, but it is expected that the “gay death sentence” portion will be changed to life imprisonment. The draft Anti-Homosexuality Bill is part of a growing campaign against homosexuals in Uganda, rights groups say. Critics say the aim is to divert attention from corruption and other political issues …

“Transsexuals and homosexuals will never enter the kingdom of heaven and it is not me who says this, but Saint Paul. People are not born homosexual, they become homosexual, for different reasons: education issues or because they did not develop their own identity during adolescence. It may not be their fault, but acting against nature and the dignity of the …

Hundreds of Vallejo, California residents turned out yesterday to protest (and support) the mayor’s recent comments that his was a “city of God” and that gay people don’t go to heaven. The protesters waved rainbow flags, held signs demanding the separation of church and state and some called for Davis’ resignation. And then there was a roar. From inside City …

From a four-page letter (PDF) from the Family Research Council’s Tony Perkins to their members…. Imagine… *The government prosecuting a small business owner — perhaps a Christian bookstore — for declining to hire an open-homosexual or cross-dresser. *Your employer telling you to remove the Bible from your desk because it is offensive to the homosexual or cross-dresser he was forced …

Talk about the “Christmas spirit.” In Houston the Salvation Army wants proof of legal U.S. residency before giving out Xmas presents to needy kids. In a year when more families than ever have asked for help, several programs providing Christmas gifts for needy children require at least one member of the household to be a U.S. citizen. Others ask for …