From chapter 10 (“Tell Your Story!”) of Dr. Michael Brown’s new book, The Silencing of the Lambs
David Pickup is a professional therapist who, himself, is ex-gay. And for years now, he has been testifying against the attempt to ban professional therapy for those struggling with same-sex attraction or gender confusion. In an email exchange with some conservative colleagues on February 21, 2021, he wrote:
After many years now of testifying in about 13 states against these therapy bans, and after seeing footage I have of one of the lawyers for this LGBT movement say their real mission is eventually to fight religion, everyone on this list needs to know that professional therapists are not really the LGBT activists target. Their target is Christianity and any religion that says LGBT lifestyles are sinful or unhealthy.
They are coming for the churches, and in my opinion, most denominations are essentially ignoring this fact by either doing very little assertive work, or attempting to lay low to see if our laws will uphold the truth instead. Faith is going to be tested in very open ways around the US and world, and already is. Religious rights and the truth are being taken away as we speak. And, it’s going to get worse whether we speak more candidly about it or not. Sooner or later Christians will have to make a decision to speak out and sacrifice. (1)
That time has really come. Christians must speak up and speak out, especially those whose stories threaten the PC narrative. And if enough of us do this at the same time, our voices will be irresistible.
Speaking of the ban on “conversion therapy” in Victoria, Australia, Bill Muehlenberg wrote:
Since Christians are often the ones at the forefront of offering genuine help and healing in this area, this is a direct assault on biblical Christianity. Indeed, the Bible is a book about transformation—about how God can set people free and make them into new persons with new desires.
So clearly the Bible itself is seen as a book filled with “hate speech” according to these militant misotheists. Surely Bibles and Christian literature will be among the documents seized by the authorities as they bring their reign of terror upon all those who dare to stand against the sexual revolutionaries.
There you have it: Christianity, Scripture and prayer are all now being criminalised in Victoria. This is not some bit of futuristic science fiction, or the stuff of some dystopian novel. This is reality right now, right here in Victoria. Every person who claims to be a true disciple of Jesus Christ should be utterly appalled at what is taking place here.
We are very quickly heading to the same things that we find in atheistic hellholes like North Korea. Hardcore persecution is always preceded by softcore persecution, and it builds up incrementally. Sadly I fear that by the time most Christians finally wake up to what is actually happening, it will be too late. (2)
I say we wake up now. Do you agree? With reference to things happening in America, Muehlenberg wrote, “If they can ban Dr Seuss books today, there is nothing to stop them from banning the Bible tomorrow. If even non-persons like Mr Potato Head and the Muppets can be considered to be hateful and the subject of bans today, you can count on it that Christians will be treated in the very same way tomorrow.” (3)
David Acevedo, a young man who writes articles for the National Association of Scholars, came to this same conclusion, recognizing the need to speak openly and boldly. But at first, he wrote under the pseudonym John David. Why? He didn’t want his career to be hurt. He didn’t want to be marginalized. He didn’t want to be rejected because of his conservative views. Then, one day, he appeared online under his real name, picture and all. Why? He explained:
First, I’m simply tired of living in fear. For many people, writing under a pseudonym is not a choice made out of fear or cowardice. But for me it was, and I feel compelled to leave it aside for the sake of my principles and character. How can I, for example, encourage you all to stand up to the academic cancel culture while at the same time avoiding my real name for fear of being canceled? This is exactly how the culture wins—by scaring people into silence. (4)
Well done, David. We will not allow the culture to scare us into silence.
The Stories That Must Be Told Today
One of the major PC narratives is that homosexuality is innate and immutable, meaning, you are born that way and you cannot change. Therefore, sexual orientation is equivalent to race or ethnicity. This is who you are, and there is nothing you can do to change that. How, then, can society not have special categories for those who identity as gay or lesbian, not to mention transgender, which, we are also told, is innate and immutable?
Hitching “LGBT rights” to the civil rights movement has been a brilliant strategy, one that has even become enshrined in our local and federal laws. But it is simply not true, as a host of scientific studies indicate (5) and as a host of personal testimonies demonstrate. (6) People can be changed, especially through the gospel. That’s why it is imperative that those who came out of homosexual practice or who used to identify as transgender tell their stories to the world.
Of course, there are some people who are ashamed of their past and who, for many good reasons, prefer not to talk about it. That is understandable. But others are only held back by fear. To each of them—to you?— I say this: We are standing with you. You are not alone. God has your back too! So let your voice be heard. The nation needs to hear what you have to say.
The Voices of the Multitudes Cannot Be Ignored
Did you ever see the movie Miracle on 34th Street? It tells the story of a man who believed he was Santa Claus, and he had an amazing effect on the people of New York City with his charitable spirit. But when he was tried for falsely claiming to be Santa, his attorneys shocked the court by bringing in mountains of evidence in the form of thousands of letters addressed to him as Santa. The evidence was overwhelming.
That, of course, was just a movie, and Santa Claus is just a myth. But ex-gay and ex-trans Christians are anything but a myth and their stories anything but a movie. When thousands share their stories across the nation (and the world)—powerful stories, poignant stories, moving stories, marvelous stories, those stories cannot be denied.
Take a moment and visit the Changed Movement website.(7) As the homepage explains, “We are a community of friends who once identified as LGBTQ+. Today, we celebrate the love of Jesus and His freedom in our lives.” Then, click on the page where many of them share their stories, (8) or check out the beautiful book they have published, containing many other stories. (9)
On October 30, 2019, NBC News reported:
A group of people from across the country who formerly identified as gay and transgender have descended upon Washington this week to share their stories and lobby against two proposed LGBTQ-rights bills.
The group is made up of 15 members of Church United and Changed, two California-based organizations that seek to provide community for, and protect the rights of, “formers” —individuals who formerly identified as lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender. (10)
This has now happened in other parts of the country as well, as ex-gays and ex-trans believers testify before congressional hearings and stand as one before the media. It’s hard to argue with their personal stories and smiling faces. It’s hard to argue with life and hope and joy. And it’s hard to pass a law saying, “We forbid you from seeking after that life and hope and joy.”
As former lesbian Elizabeth Woning said on a large Christian radio station in Los Angeles with reference to a dangerous bill that was being considered by the state, “AB 2943 would seek to block me inviting other people to go on that same journey that I went on… My faith journey involved questioning my sexuality as a lesbian, and so this bill would seek to block any kind of invitation, or any kind of encouragement from me, to another person to do the same.” (11)
Some will ask, “But what do you those who used to be ex-gay, only to renounce it? What do you say to those who are now in same-sex relationships and feeling happy and accepted by God? And how do you answer them when they say that ex-gay counseling almost destroyed their lives?”
My answer is simple. First, no one is forcing anyone to hear the gospel or to get counseling or seek out change. That is a personal choice. If someone else had a bad experience with counseling, that does not give them the right to stop someone else from seeking counseling. Second, we base on doctrine on what the Word says, not on personal experience. Third, I believe that this is their own story, and they have a right to tell it. I only ask them to believe those whose stories are different, whose stories point to the life-changing power of the gospel.
All things truly are possible with Jesus. Let us proclaim Him as both Lord and Savior, both King and Deliverer. That is who He is!
For more information on The Silencing of the Lambs, visit DrBrownBooks.com.
Notes:
Printed with his permission.
2 Muehlenberg, “Criminalising Christianity, Prayer, and the Bible.”
3 Bill Muehlenberg, “The Trans War on Everything,” Culture Watch, March 3, 2021, https://billmuehlenberg.com/2021/03/03/the-trans-war-on-everything/.
4 Acevedo, “From John David to David Acevedo.”
5 For an excellent summary, see Lawrence S. Mayer and Paul R. McHugh, Sexuality and Gender: Findings from the Biological, Psychological, and Social Sciences (Washington, DC: The New Atlantis, 2016), https://www.thenewatlantis.com/wp-content/uploads/legacy-pdfs/20160819_TNA50SexualityandGender.pdf.
6 See, for example, “About Us,” Brothers Road, accessed August 23, 2021, https://brothersroad.org/our-choice/.
7 Changed Movement (website), accessed August 23, 2021, https://changedmovement.com/.
8 “Stories,” Changed Movement, accessed August 23, 2021, https://changedmovement.com/stories/.
9 CHANGED: #OnceGay Stories, accessed August 23, 2021, https://changedmovement.com/changed-book.
10 Gwen Aviles, “Ex-Gays Descend upon D.C. to Lobby Against LGBTQ Rights,” NBC News, October 30, 2019, https://www.nbcnews.com/feature/nbc-out/ex-gays-descend-upon-d-c-lobby-against-lgbtq-rights-n1074211.
11 Amanda Casanova, “Former Lesbian Rallies Against Bill That Would Ban ‘Conversion Therapy,'” 99.5 KKLA, June 14, 2018, https://kkla.com/articles/blogs/religion-today-blog/former-lesbian-rallies-against-bill-that-would-ban-conversion-therapy {eoa}
American Faith 
Charisma Staff 
