(17) Whose Choice and what kind of change?

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLc7nB8Z7S2L-T_cK6NdJWYNFkxbiYnFzc

click link above for videos

Senate Bill 5722 - CONVERSION THERAPY

WHO'S CHOICE?  AND WHAT KIND OF CHANGE?

All Parents have concern about their children; 

Some out of concern have sought: 

Gay Conversion, or Reparative Therapy. 

Others have sought: 

Gender Transition Therapy for similar reasons. 

Could either of these, life changing actions cause harm? 

The studies say yes!

Senate Bill 5722 restricts professionals from providing Gay Conversion, or Reparative Therapy to minors. Sadly it does not address harm done to children receiving cross-sex hormones in Gender Transition therapy. Is this bias due to a failure of the Gay Lobby to police their own, much like the failure to address sexual abuse that plagued the Catholic Church? Although the Bill does not address this harm, Clip 11  in the playlist does.  

(The remaining clips are as follows.)

Clip 1 A musician's story of fear, rejection and faith.

Clip 2 Presents accusations from a client of Conversion Therapy and a practitioner's defense. 

Clip 3 & Clip 4: Alan Chambers and the rationale for shutting down the largest Conversion Therapy Provider (Exodus International). 

Clip 5 Regeneration and how it affects identity, sexuality and lifestyle explained by an ex gay activist.

Clip 6 Surrender and Re-examining false perceptions of the past.

Clip 7 Christian Church Position/Views of Gay Identity and Practice.

Clip 8 An overview of LGBTQ history in America and stories of many who are offended by any consideration of Reparation or Conversion Therapy.  

Clip 9  Surprising stereotypes broken. 

Clip 10  Effects of regeneration explained by female ex gay activist.

Clip 11 Transgender therapies and children.

So what about It? Does Conversion Therapy work? 

Without regeneration, probably not, but many say it provides strategies for self regulation which is usually an important goal in therapy. So?

Shouldn't people just embrace their tendencies as,"their Identity," as stated by the protagonist in the second clip?

If so, how should we address those who struggle with behaviors that still lay outside of our widening array of social norms. Those who struggle with pedophilia, or child pornography, or necromancy, or bestiality... e.t.c.? Should these like so many other behaviors become a cause for, "Pride" or be presented as a person's "Identity?"

But isn't resisting just DENIAL, a pretense of something that isn't true? 

If a person is minimizing or ignoring the proclivity they experience, then a degree of self deceptive denial is present. 

But when fully and completely acknowledged and presented with both spiritual and behavioral choices it becomes a denial of one of two choices. 

(choice 1) to commit to absolute allegiance to self and personal autonomy in practice and identity. or,

(choice 2) to surrender at least some portion of our individual identity, autonomy, and personal freedom to a higher power on an ongoing basis. 

But why would someone seek or choose to surrender portions of their autonomy?

Matthew 16:24-25 (AMPC) states.. Then Jesus said to His disciples, If anyone desires to be My disciple, let him DENY himself [disregard, lose sight of, and forget himself and his own interests] and take up his cross and follow Me cleave steadfastly to Me, conform wholly to My example in living and, if need be, in dying, also. For whoever is bent on saving his [temporal] life [his comfort and security here] shall lose it [eternal life]; and whoever loses his life [his comfort and security here] for My sake shall find it [life everlasting]. 

It is a denial of self based on faith and internal conviction, not external manipulation or coercion or social oppression. (Hence the Exodus shutdown.)  See clip 2 on the Playlist. 

This form of denial is common in the Christian Faith in the heterosexual community as well as it is a refusal to participate in (concupiscence) described in the King James Bible at Romans 7:8; Collossians 3:5; 1 Thessalonians 4:5. 

Denial of the self traditionally results in an abstinence from both heterosexual and  homosexual promiscuity as well as preoccupations with autosexuallity (pornography and masturbation etc. so often preceding criminal activity.

See a PDF of the overview of this bill provided to our legislators at http://lawfilesext.leg.wa.gov/biennium/2017-18/Pdf/Bill%20Reports/House/5722%20HBR%20APH%2018.pdf

As a support group leader dealing with varieties of addictive behaviors, my job has been to listen carefully and to, "hear each person tell their story" as we travel this road of life together. It is to humbly present a pathway of reasonable hope as a co-traveler on a Road to Recovery of personal identity and meaningful purpose as well as autonomy from compulsive and addictive behaviors and beliefs.

I hope that you find these clips and this article both help and informative. I did. And do remember to vote and stay informed as our culture is being remodeled to fit the humanistic model.