After Careful Examination Of Biblical Texts The Catholic

Because these feelings of self-hatred and the attitudes from others toward the LGBT community are so strong, many people are put into “reparative” therapies in order to “cure” them from their condition of homosexuality. The majority of therapies that people go through are extremely unpleasant and the American Psychological Association states, “there have been no scientifically adequate research to show that therapy aimed at changing sexual orientation is safe or effective.” (Sutton 11). However, many institutions still partake in these controversial therapies. The means by which certain people are treated is inhumane, and can worsen the ideology of inferiority and self-devaluation. While some therapies seem pleasant, such as prayer and meditation, some of the most controversial means of therapy include Prostitution, Hypnosis, Exorcism, Fetal Intervention, Electroconvulsive Therapy, and Genital Mutilation. None of the aforementioned therapy methods are without harm. These

An individual’s sexuality should not define who they are as a person. What is Conversion Therapy? Sexual Orientation Conversion Therapy has a range of treatments that are designed in hopes to turn a person’s sexual orientation to heterosexual. Conversion therapy is also used in attempts to convert a transgender person’s gender expression to match with the gender given at birth. It is currently banned for minors in 5 states (California, New York, New Jersey, Oregon, and Illinois) and the other 45 states have no law against it. Many teens in this current time period are coming out as either lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and/or queer. Homosexuality is often seen as a negative effect towards society.

Most Christians do not think about the canon of scripture or know what it is or means in theology. Most take for granted the Bible they have and never question how it came into being. Today, we have 39 books of the Old Testament and 27 books of the New Testament. There was a time, however, that we did not have a canon. Bruce defines canon as books of the Bible that were recognized to be considered scripture (p. 17). The importance of the canon and how it was developed was intriguing to professor and author F.F. Bruce. He dedicated his book The Canon of Scripture to explore and explain the formulation of the canon we have today. Bruce taught in universities, including the University of Manchester, where he began to lecture students on the

The purpose of this paper is to explore various considerations when counseling members of the lesbian, bisexual, gay and transgender community (LGBT). When counseling LGBT members, the psychology professional must be aware of various factors that may influence effective treatment. For instance, the historical treatment of the LGBT community by the mental health profession is important to understand in order to make strides at improving institutional attitudes and approaches. Other factors such as community perceptions, interfamily relations and cultural bias are all relevant to successful therapeutic outcomes. This paper aims to discuss these factors in order to present a comprehensive review of the cultural considerations involved with counseling the LGBT community.

Conversion therapy, also known as reparative therapy, or Sexual Orientation Change Efforts (SOCE) has a troubled history within the United States and abroad. Conversion therapy is the use of a variety of means to attempt to change an individual’s sexual or gender orientation. Current practices include inducing vomiting or paralysis while showing a subject homoerotic images, having a subject snap a rubber band on their wrist whenever they have certain thoughts, or using tactics to create shame or aversion to same sex or transgender thoughts. Many established institutes claim that the therapy does or doesn't work and offer contradicting evidence for their position. The Movement Advancement Project, a group dedicated to providing research for the advancement of LGBT people, states in an infographic that nine states, plus the District of Columbia and a handful of municipalities have banned conversion therapy from being provided by licensed medical professionals to minors (“Kids” 1). Based on the established evidence and the overwhelming number of psychologists and sociologist that disavow conversion therapy, along with the multitude of horror stories from children who were persuaded, or forced, to participate by their parents, the federal government should ban conversion therapy for all minors.

Electroconvulsive shock therapy, copper heating wires and mind altering drugs seem like something straight out of a terrifying horror film, but these are all painful realities for some victims of conversion therapy. Conversion therapy is also known as reparative therapy, and is the widespread practice of trying to change the sexuality of gay men and women all over the world. It is an inhumane process that only hurts patients. Gay conversion therapy is a horrifying term used to rationalize physical torture, psychological damage and systematic oppression towards the LGBT community that needs to be banned.

Seized by Truth: Reading the Bible as Scripture is written by Joel Green, a New Testament scholar, and Professor of New Testament Interpretation at Fuller Theological Seminary in Pasadena, California. Prof. Green, has participated and contributed greatly on a wide range of topics related to both New Testament scholarship and theology.

The study that provides evidence that conversion therapy is both ineffective and harmful is provided by the American Psychological Association (APA) in a report entitled, Appropriate Therapeutic Responses to Sexual Orientation. The report concluded that, "efforts to change sexual

Thesis: Conversion therapy receives little support from the American psychiatric community due to a lack of evidence confirming its supposed effectivity and the measurable damage it causes to the individuals subjected to its outdated practices.

Upon the reveal of homosexuality in the bible, many young men confessed to their pastors that they were having homosexual feelings and from this, pastoral counseling exploded. Many pastors were relying on their psychology companions to aid in this movement, however, we begin to see an influx of literature on how to handle these sinners. During this time, pastors were trying to “cure” people of their homosexual thoughts through compassion and understanding. Ultimately, becoming heterosexual was the goal optimal goal. White unveils this novelty of Protestant sex-same behavior therapy.

Reparative therapy, is a range of dangerous and discredited practices that falsely claim to change a person’s sexual orientation or gender identity or expression (Human Rights Campaign). These practices have been banned by many mental health doctors and practitioners. This particular therapy is mainly used on the youth of the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender

Having a platonic relationship with the same sex isn’t always easy due to the fears a heterosexual may have when they have a homosexual friend. The lack of same sex friends can allow for one to often feel isolated. Carl Charles, a survivor of conversion therapy, had his pastor say “you think Jesus wants you to be a dyke? You think Jesus died so you can march down the street with all your faggot friends?” (advocate.com) This so called “therapy” made Carl feel isolated:  “I couldn’t tell my friends, and adults I thought I could trust” (advocate.com). Not only is isolation one of the effects of conversion therapy but an APA study done in 2009 concluded that “ depression, guilt, helplessness, shame, social withdrawal, suicidality and self-blame” are risks taken when enacting in the therapy. The study also concluded that these “risks are even greater for youth. Minors who

al., 2013, p. 253). With treatments such as “professional therapy and paraprofessional/religious ministry contexts”, Sanders and his colleagues report that thirty percent of those who participated in this form of therapy achieved “positive outcomes” (2013, p. 255). Although critics to changing one’s sexual orientation claim that there are many factors that limit the support of the research proving the success of this treatment option, Sanders states that there is data supporting successful conversions (2013, p. 255).

Beginning in the 1950s, conversion and reparative therapy began. As stated in the book Hear Us Out by Nancy Garden "... in addition to supposedly being morally evil, homosexuality was widely believed to be an illness. To "cure" them, gays and lesbians were sometimes subjected to painful electroshock treatments or to aversion therapy. ... You may have heard of the modern-day version of 'curing' homosexuality - 'reparative therapy,' which is practiced by

In today’s society many disorders may arise. Some of these issues include eating disorders, anxiety, gender-identity disorders, depression, addictions, and many others. However, there is another issue that brings individuals in the counseling setting, and that is the issue of sex and sexuality. Issues stemming from sex and sexuality can arise from same-sex attraction, pornography, infidelity, hormonal issues, and/or negative, inadequate beliefs and perceptions concerning sexuality. Licensed professionals, such as psychologists, psychiatrists, therapists, etc…, are trained and usually prepared for these types of disorders, however, certain types of counselors, licensed or not, are not trained in this area. There are various distorted views on sexuality, and these distorted views are across the board. So it begs the question are Christian counselors equipped to handle these types of disorders and many others. If so, what models do they follow in order to help an individual struggling with these issues? This critique will interview a Christian counselor/Addition specialist concerning her viewpoint on human sexuality and her personal model for decision-making in dealing with individuals who struggle in the area of sexuality and/or in any of the other aforementioned areas.