Multiple hats

You may recall that on this blog I linked to the press release sent out by "The American College of Pediatricians" (ACPEDS) which sought to advise school superintendents and educators about homosexuality. The organization turned out to be just another promoter of NARTH and Focus on the Family viewpoints under the guise of an official-sounding name that might be mistaken for the more reputable American Academy of Pediatrics.

While I linked to the ACPEDS press release, I didn't take a look at the actual letter they sent out to the district superintendents. Turns out MSNBC's Rachel Maddow did and found . . . George Rekers' name on it. Take a look at the left margin of the letter under the heading "Pediatric Psychosocial Development Committee."

Small world? Not exactly. What we've learned about Rekers' career, and the multiple hats he has evidently worn, suggests that while there may appear to be many organizations touting the same message--NARTH, Focus on the Family, ACPEDS--they typically involve the same key players. Clearly these people want to give the appearance of having a multiplicity of professional opinions confirming their particular brand of science, when in reality there are only a small handful of "experts" doing the opining.

This may not be news to many gays and lesbians who have been following these organizations, but it is to most straight Christians who are targeted for this kind of deception. I've learned to read the fine print, check the footnotes, and take time to look at the sources cited. It's surprising how often the same names--Joseph Nicolosi, Charles Socarides, Paul Cameron, James Dobson--pop up. And now there's a new name I'll be looking for: George Rekers.

Thankfully, this won't be you

There's only one thing I want to say with regard to George Rekers. If you are gay or lesbian, and you have found the courage to admit that to yourself, be thankful. Otherwise you might have ended up where Rekers has. You might have spent your life running. You might have hurt others by turning your self-hatred into hatred against the very people with whom you could identify all too well. You might have become so good at rationalizing that you might even have crafted it into a sophisticated doctrine, dressed it up in scientific terminology, and built a career on selling it to the public. All because you could not face the truth.

But if you have faced the truth, be very thankful.

And if you're straight and you know someone who is trying to grapple openly with the truth of his or her own homosexuality, please be supportive. Don't think of that person as "pushing homosexuality in your face." Rather see them as trying to save their own sanity, or perhaps even their own soul.