“Conversion therapy” is the boogeyman used by progressives to make counseling LGBTQ community members on their lifestyle choices sound dystopian in nature. It invokes imagery of electric shock therapy and exorcisms styled after 1970s movies, but in reality it’s just what it claims to be – counseling.
But California wants to mandate how churches are able to work with willing members of their community. For the sake of “inclusion,” they’re singling out pastors and the people who seek their counsel by passing ACR 99 in the state House. It now goes to the Senate.
As CBN reports:
‘The Church Is Under Attack’: CA Lawmakers Pass Measure Forcing Pastors to Embrace LGBT Ideology
The California State Assembly has passed a resolution telling pastors to affirm homosexuality in violation of their biblical beliefs.
Assemblyman Evan Low and three dozen other lawmakers pushed the resolution in the state Assembly Judiciary Committee that’s aimed at telling religious leaders in California what they should preach from their pulpits.
The measure passed this week, thanks in part to the help of Dr. Kevin Mannoia, Azusa Pacific University chaplain and the former head of the National Association of Evangelicals.
But what really makes this measure reprehensible is the false premise upon which it was established (emphasis added):
“The stigma associated with being LGBTQ often created by groups in society, including therapists and religious groups, has caused disproportionately high rates of suicide, attempted suicide, depression, rejection, and isolation amongst LGBT LGBTQ and questioning individuals”
This is a patently false statement. This so-called stigma was not created by religious groups. It has been a part of every society by people of every religion or no religion at all. People who believe in the Bible did not corner the market on stigmatizing homosexuals. In fact, much of the violence perpetrated against the LGBTQ community is done from within the LGBTQ community itself, and they’re not hitting each other with Bibles.
Then, there’s the “caused” element of their measure. There has never been a conclusive study demonstrating the cause of higher suicide and depression rates among those in the LGBTQ community is associated with being stigmatized by religious groups. On the contrary, the suicide and depression rates among church-going LGBTQ community members is lower than that of those who do not hear the Word of God.
We should never condone forced conversions, but that’s not what this bill targets. They want people SEEKING help from churches or counselors to no longer have that option. It’s California. It could be the nation someday soon.
We are currently forming the American Conservative Movement. If you are interested in learning more, we will be sending out information in a few weeks.
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