MILLIONS IN FRAUDULENT TAX REFUNDS TO ILLEGALS USING IDENTICAL ADDRESSES

The New American reports in http://thenewamerican.com/usnews/item/15795-irs-refunded-tens-of-millions-of-dollars-to-unauthorized-illegal-workers, that illegal immigrants have received millions of dollars in fraudulent tax refunds as follows, following an audit:
1) 23,994 tax refunds totalling $46,378,040. all to the same address in Atlanta, Georgia.
2) 11,284 tax refunds totalling $2,164,976. all to another single address in Atlanta, Georgia.
3) 3,608 tax refunds totalling $2,691,448. all to another single address in Atlanta, Georgia.
4) 2,386 tax refunds totalling $1,232,943. all to another single address in Atlanta, Georgia.
5) 2,507 tax refunds totalling $10,395,874. all to another single address in Oxnard, California.
6) 2,408 tax refunds totalling $7,284,212. all to another single address in Raleigh, North Carolina.
7) 2,047 tax refunds totalling $5,558,608. all to another single address in Phoenix, Arizona.
8) 1,972 tax refunds totalling $2,256,302. all to another single address in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida.
9) 1,942 tax refunds totalling $5.091,027. all to another single address in San Jose, California.
10) 1,846 tax refunds totalling $3,298,877. all to another single address in Arvin, California.

FIFTH AMENDMENT OF THE CONSTITUTION TRAMPLED BY SUPREME COURT

The New American reports in http://thenewamerican.com/usnews/constitution/item/15787-supreme-court-bombshell-no-right-to-remain-silent, that:

"The Supreme Court handed down a decision on June 17 that has been ignored by most media outlets, despite its devastating effect on one of the most fundamental rights protected by the Constitution.

In a 5-4 ruling, the justices ruled that a person no longer has the right to remain silent as guaranteed by the Fifth Amendment. In relevant part, the Fifth Amendment mandates that no one “shall be compelled in any criminal case to be a witness against himself.”

Thanks to the Supreme Court’s decision in Salinas v. Texas, that part of the Bill of Rights has been excised — and has joined the list of so many other fundamental liberties that now lie on the scrap heap of history."

That, despite the Miranda rights:

PETITION TO BAN CREATIONISM FILED ON WHITE HOUSE WEBSITE

From the white house website: https://petitions.whitehouse.gov/petition/ban-creationism-and-intelligent-design-science-classroom-federal-law/pNY6mCBg:

See: Christian News Network: http://christiannews.net/2013/06/22/petition-filed-on-white-house-website-to-ban-the-teaching-of-creation-and-intelligent-design-in-u-s-schools/.

"WE PETITION THE OBAMA ADMINISTRATION TO:

Ban Creationism and Intelligent Design 

in the science classroom as federal law.

Since Darwin's groundbreaking theory of Evolution by Natural Selection, scientists all around the world have found monumental amounts of evidence in favor of the theory, now treated as scientific fact by 99.9% of all scientists.

However, even after 150 years after the establishment of evolution, some schools across the US are "teaching the controversy," including Creationism and Intelligent Design. Both of these so-called "theories" have no basis in scientific fact, and have absolutely zero evidence pointing towards these conjectures. These types of loopholes in our education are partially to blame for our dangerously low student performances in math and science.

Therefore, we petition the Obama Adminstration to ban the teachings of these conjectures that contradict Evolution.

Created: Jun 15, 2013"

"PRACTICING & RESPECTFUL CATHOLIC" NANCY PELOSI DEEMS LATE TERM ABORTION "SACRED GROUND" FOR WOMEN

PELOSI'S MORAL RELATIVISM ON DISPLAY:

Back in 2008, "ardent, practicing Catholic" Pelosi 
said that the Catholic Church has never been clear 
about when life begins:

Pelosi on the Word of God: 
"Fill it in with whatever you want":

As you will hear, Nancy Pelosi condemns abortionist Kermit Gosnell of Philadelphia, but defends a woman's right to choose in her dismissal of a reporter's question about the "moral difference":

Nancy Pelosi: Late Term Abortions Are Sacred Ground:

American Family Association Radio critique:

Outrage from Catholics expressed by 
priest Frank Pavone:

Letter to Nancy Pelosi by Frank Pavone:
http://www.priestsforlife.org/pelosi/:

Full Text:

Open Letter to Nancy Pelosi

Tweet

Tuesday, June 18, 2013 Dear Mrs. Pelosi, Last Thursday, June 13, you were asked a question in a press briefing that you declined to answer. The question was, "What is the  moral difference between what Dr. Gosnell did to a baby born alive at  23 weeks and aborting her moments before birth?" Given the fact that the Gosnell case has been national news for months now, and that Congress, where you serve as House Democratic Leader,  was about to have a vote on banning abortion after 20 weeks fetal age, this  was a legitimate question. Instead of even attempting to answer the question, you resorted to judgmental ad hominem attacks on the reporter who asked it, saying,  "You obviously have an agenda. You're not interested in having an answer."  Mrs. Pelosi, the problem is that you're not interested in giving an answer. Your refusal to answer this question is consistent with your failure to provide an answer to a similar question from me and the members of my Priests for  Life staff. Several years ago, we visited your office with the diagrams of  dismemberment abortion at 23 weeks, and asked the simple question,  "When you say the word 'abortion,' is this what you mean?" In response,  nothing but silence has emanated from your office. In what way is this refusal to address an issue of such national importance consistent with the leadership role you are supposed to be exercising? Public servants are supposed to be able to tell the difference between  serving the public and killing the public. Apparently, you can't. Otherwise, you  would have been able to explain the difference between a legal medical procedure  that kills a baby inside the womb and an act of murder -- for which Dr. Gosnell  is now serving life sentences -- for killing the same baby outside the womb. Moreover, you stated at the press briefing on June 13, "As a practicing and  respectful Catholic, this is sacred ground to me when we talk about this.  I don't think it should have anything to do with politics." With this statement, you make a mockery of the Catholic faith and of the tens of millions of Americans who consider themselves "practicing and  respectful Catholics" and who find the killing of children -- whether inside or  outside the womb -- reprehensible. You speak here of Catholic faith as if it is supposed to hide us from reality instead of lead us to face reality, as if it is supposed to confuse basic moral  truths instead of clarify them, and as if it is supposed to help us escape the hard  moral questions of life rather than help us confront them. Whatever Catholic faith you claim to respect and practice, it is not the faith that the Catholic Church teaches. And I speak for countless Catholics when I  say that it's time for you to stop speaking as if it were. Abortion is not sacred ground; it is sacrilegious ground. To imagine God giving the slightest approval to an act that dismembers a child he created is  offensive to both faith and reason. And to say that a question about the difference between a legal medical procedure and murder should not "have anything to do with politics" reveals a profound failure to understand your own political responsibilities, which start  with the duty to secure the God-given right to life of every citizen. Mrs. Pelosi, for decades you have gotten away with betraying and misrepresenting the Catholic faith as well as the responsibilities of public office. We have had enough of it. Either exercise your duties as a public servant  and a Catholic, or have the honesty to formally renounce them. Sincerely, Fr. Frank Pavone National Director, Priests for Life

SUPREME COURT WILL DECIDE TWO CASES ABOUT GAY MARRIAGE ON JUNE 24, 2013

From American Family Association, a request for prayer:

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Pray for the Supreme Court and the Nation June 20, 2013 This weekend America is poised at the edge of a moral cliff. On Monday the United States Supreme Court will decide two cases that ask it to redefine marriage to include homosexual couples. We do not know whether the Court will declare homosexual marriage to be a constitutionally guaranteed right or will leave the definition of marriage to be decided state by state. Neither of those options are a clear victory for the institution of marriage as God created it. The cases: Hollingsworth v. Perry - Proposition 8 U.S. v Windsor - Defense of Marriage Act The question is: Does a law that defines marriage to be only between a man and a woman deny homosexual couples the Fourteenth Amendment guarantee of "Equal Protection of the Law?" We are at a crisis point similar to the weekend before the Roe v Wade decision was announced, which declared abortion a constitutional right. It is a horrible time to face, but a good time to pray. AFA asks you to pray this weekend for our country and especially for the Supreme Court. A sample prayer is printed below. Please forward this call to prayer request to your praying friends and family. Prayer for the Supreme Court and the Nation Heavenly Father, we praise You for Your unchanging truth, holiness, righteousness, mercy and grace. You have given us a nation founded upon the principles of Your word. You have blessed us, but we have squandered Your grace and turned away from Your principles. So we come to You to plead for our nation. Specifically, we pray for the pending Supreme Court decision on same sex marriage. We pray that next week the Court would not impose a false definition of marriage on our nation. Father, we confess that we in the Church have already sinned against You and have not been good stewards of the gift of marriage through our own issues with unfaithfulness, selfishness, pornography, homosexuality and divorce. Forgive us, Lord. Now our nation is following our imperfect example and seeks to redefine and corrupt the gift of marriage in order to satisfy its own lusts. We acknowledge that through Jesus Christ we can repent and turn to You. So help the people of this nation to turn to You with repentant hearts, that we all may be covered in Your grace. Lord, have mercy on us. Lord, let Your purity and truth shine in this situation. Help us to proclaim to those enslaved by homosexuality, and any other sin, that liberty and identity is available in Jesus Christ. Help us to lovingly embrace the repentant. Fill us with Your Spirit so that our thoughts, words and actions reflect Your love and not our judgment. Help us to trust in Your plan, and to act justly throughout it. We ask this in the name of Jesus Christ, Your Son and our Savior. Amen. God is faithful to His Word and shall accomplish that which He has spoken. (Isaiah 55:11) Please forward this to others who will also pray. Sincerely, Tim Wildmon, President American Family Association

MARK DRISCOLL WHO "SEES THINGS"~NOW AN AVOWED "REFORMED CONTINUATIONIST"~GLOSSOLALIA (TONGUES) TO BE USED AS PRIVATE PRAYER LANGUAGE

About a year ago, Mark Driscoll of Seattle, Washington's Mars Hill Church, a "Reformed Charismatic", delivered was has been described as an offensive sermon because of its pornographic descriptions. At least Phillip Johnson of Team Pyro called it 
"Pornographic Divination". 
http://teampyro.blogspot.com/2011/08/pornographic-divination.html, with transcript:

Todd Friel of Wretched Radio reveals that Driscoll believes that cessationism is like atheism. Driscoll believes in continued revelation to him personally in dreams and visions:

The Christian Post reports that Driscoll believes that cessationism is wrong:
http://www.christianpost.com/news/cessationists-are-wrong-about-speaking-in-tongues-says-pastor-mark-driscoll-95341/.
More recently, Mark Driscoll on

"Common questions about the gift of tongues":

There is a parallel here with Wayne Grudem's continuationism. See our previous posts:

http://ratherexposethem.blogspot.com/2013/01/wayne-grudems-pneumatology-identifies.html.

http://ratherexposethem.blogspot.com/2013/01/beth-moore-wayne-grudem-both.html.

http://ratherexposethem.blogspot.com/2012/12/wayne-grudem-darling-go-to-guy-of.html.

http://ratherexposethem.blogspot.com/2013/01/randy-clark-bill-johnson.html.
_____________________________________________________________
Ex Catholics For Christ http://www.excatholicsforchrist.com/, recommends 
John MacArthur's book, "Charismatic Chaos":

Also see their full article: "Are Tongues And Healings For Today?":
http://www.excatholicsforchrist.com/articles.php?PageURL=tongues.htm:

Are Healing and Tongues for Today? (1 Corinthians 12) John MacArthur:

Published on Apr 23, 2013

http://www.macarthurcommentaries.com/
A thorough examination will yield the truth that spiritual gifts fill two major purposes: the permanent gifts edify the church and the temporary gifts are signs to confirm the Word of God. God will continue to give the permanent gifts to believers for the duration of the church age, and those gifts are to be ministered by His people at all times in the life of the church. Those gifts include first the speaking or verbal gifts—prophecy, knowledge, wisdom, teaching, and exhortation, and, second, the serving or nonverbal gifts—leadership, helps, giving, mercy, faith, and discernment. The temporary sign gifts were limited to the apostolic age and therefore ceased after that time. Those gifts included miracles, healing, languages, and the interpretation of languages. The purpose of temporary sign gifts was to authenticate the apostolic message as the Word of God, until the time when the Scriptures, His written Word, were completed and became self--authenticating...

John MacArthur on the charismatic movement. 

"The reason the Church is in the mess it's in today":

The Modern Blasphemy of the Holy Spirit - John MacArthur:

Why Confront the Charismatic Movement - John MacArthur:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Eqs74mo11fs.

John Piper: 

Have You Ever Seen a Vision or Spoken In Tongues?

What Is Speaking in Tongues By John Piper: A Middle of the Road:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SztHMn8wFHk.

CHRIS ROSEBROUGH ON JOEL OSTEEN'S TYRANNY OF POSITIVE DECLARATION THEOLOGY

Rosebrough from "Fighting For the Faith" audio:

OBAMA SWEET TALKS THE IRISH AND THEY FAWN OVER HIM~IRISH DEPUTY CALLS OBAMA A HYPOCRITE AND WAR CRIMINAL~OBAMA LECTURES STUDENTS AND PROPOSES ELIMINATING CATHOLIC AND PROTESTANT SCHOOLS, REPLACING THEM WITH STATE SCHOOLS

Obama fever sweeps Ireland, 

"home of his great, great, grandfather",

anointed there as the personification of
"The American Dream":

Barack Obama calls on children to protect Northern Ireland 

peace process:

Published on Jun 17, 2013 on YouTube:

US President Barack Obama addresses students at the Waterfront Hotel in Belfast after being introduced by his wife Michelle. The Obamas made a joint appearance at the Waterfront Hall conference centre in Belfast, where the president and his wife spoke to an invited audience of 2,000 young people about the future of Northern Ireland.

They were introduced by sixteen-year-old student Hannah Nelson 

Belfast schoolgirl Hannah Nelson steals show before 

Barack Obama speech:

whose essay on the peace process had impressed the White House. The president is in Northern Ireland for the two-day G8 economic conference at the luxury Lough Erne golf resort in Enniskillen, Co Fermanagh, where the leaders of the world's eight wealthiest countries are meeting to discuss trade deals and the crisis in Syria.

MUST SEE:

"Irish Patriot Calls Out Obama's 

hypocrisy on Ireland and Syria:

Published on Jun 21, 2013 on YouTube: 
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DUwjohTQ5mY:

An inspiring woman ! Lioness Clare Daly accuses parliament of 

pimping out her nation like prostitutes for Obama. 

She accuses Obama of absolute hypocrisy calling for peace in northern Ireland but not in Syria . The Collaborator who answers her questions shows an affinity to other cockroaches and collaborators around the world, such as his counter parts in Syria."

COLLECTIVIST/MARXIST OBAMA PROPOSES DOING AWAY WITH CATHOLIC AND PROTESTANT SCHOOLS IN IRELAND, BECAUSE HE THINKS THEY ARE DIVISIVE. YOU MUST REALIZE THAT HIS GLOBAL ONE WORLD PLAN WILL REPLACE THEM WITH STATE SCHOOLS DEVOID OF RELIGIOUS EDUCATION, SPEECH AND THOUGHT. OBAMA THE DRONE KILLER AND TERRORIST BACKER, LECTURES IRISH STUDENTS ABOUT PEACE AND OFFERS HIS SECULAR HUMANIST REASONING:

ALAN CHAMBERS OF EXODUS INTERNATIONAL ISSUES APOLOGY TO GAY COMMUNITY, EXPANDS ON STATEMENT FROM AUGUST 2012

ALAN CHAMBERS OF EXODUS INTERNATIONAL WAS ONCE NAMED 

"2011 DANIEL OF THE YEAR" 

BY WORLD MAG NEWS IN A GLOWING FOUR PAGE ARTICLE.

SEE: http://www.worldmag.com/2011/12/2011_daniel_of_the_year. 

APPARENTLY HIS MARRIAGE TO A WOMAN WAS ENOUGH TO CONVINCE THEM HE WAS "REPAIRED" FROM HIS HOMOSEXUAL TENDENCIES. BUT AFTER TWENTY YEARS OF DENYING SELF PRODUCED A HURTFUL SHAME FOR HIM AND OTHERS HE HAS A NEW AND BETTER PERSPECTIVE ON GAY FEELINGS. WHEN COUPLED WITH A TWISTED UNBIBLICAL THEOLOGY OF THE ASSURANCE OF SALVATION MARRIED TO DEEP SEATED HABITUAL UNREPENTANT SINFULNESS AND A JESUS OF HIS OWN MAKING, IS IT ANY WONDER? HIS OWN WORDS REVEAL HIS INCOMPLETE TRANSFORMATION BASED ON A FAULTY CONCEPT OF CHRIST. NOW HE IS SORRY, NOT FOR HIS SIN NATURE, BUT RATHER FOR ALLEGEDLY HURTING HIS PEERS IN THE SO-CALLED "GAY CHRISTIAN" COMMUNITY. MAYBE THE EMPHASIS OF EXODUS WAS "REPAIRING" BASED MORE ON HUMANISTIC PSYCHOLOGY ALL ALONG, AND NOT REALLY BIBLICAL?

First,
AMERICANS FOR TRUTH ABOUT HOMOSEXUALITY REPORTED THAT ALAN CHAMBERS APOLOGIZED TO GAY CHRISTIAN NETWORK LAST YEAR:
http://americansfortruth.com/2012/09/02/exodus-international-president-alan-chambers-apologizes-to-gay-christian-network/:

UPDATE: Gay militant smears AFTAH, again: Shortly after we posted the article and video below about Exodus International’s tragic embrace of “gay Christianity,”  AFTAH founder Peter LaBarbera was attacked by notorious homosexual militant Wayne Besen (who came up with the hateful smear “Porno Pete”): see Besen’s lie-filled “report” here:http://www.truthwinsout.org/blog/2012/09/29105/

____________________

Words cannot express my disappointment in Exodus International President Alan Chambers’“exodus” from biblical truth on homosexuality. This 17-minute video of Chambers addressing a pro-homosexual, ostensibly ”Christian” group (Gay Christian Network) aptly sums up his tragic defection. [For a rebuttal, see Prof. Rob Gagnon's paper, "Time for a Leadership Change at Exodus?] Poor Alan is way beyond his pay grade here: imagine heading up an “ex-gay” umbrella group — which is how Exodus once described itself — and apologizing to unrepentant homosexuals for the simple slogan “Change is possible.” Shame. Substitute another sexual sin (say, pornography) for homosexuality (“sexual orientation”) – and Chambers’ “apology” makes no sense at all. (For that matter, would anyone take a “Porn-using Christians Network”–or a “Christian Lusters Network”–seriously and “dialogue” with them?)

Sad but true: these days when Christians ”dialogue” with homosexual activists, as Chambers often does, it is usually the Christians who bend toward the world (sin) rather than vice versa. Stay tuned for more on this stunning story of Exodus’ and Chambers’ break with historic Christian teaching on homosexuality. — Peter LaBarbera, AFTAH

This video was produced by Oklahoma City-based First Stone Ministries, led by our friend and former homosexual Stephen Black. First Stone recently broke away from Exodus International and is now part of a new, biblically-faithful umbrella group for sexual struggers, 

Restored Hope Network, http://www.restoredhopenetwork.com.

From YouTube
Published on Aug 31, 2012

Recently, Alan Chambers, President of Exodus International, has communicated controversial statements revealing a shift toward emergent theology and an acceptance of gay Christianity:

Published on Jun 6, 2013 on YouTube:

The story of Exodus International, the LGBT men and women who have been affected by the organization and the nationwide dialogue that surrounds this topic continues in an Our America special report.

For almost 40 years, Exodus International claimed to offer a "cure" for homosexuality. Alan Chambers, the leader of Exodus, decided last year to stop endorsing the controversial practice of gay-reparative therapy. And now, he has a new message: an apology.

In a special episode, Lisa Ling is joined by a group of survivors of the (so-called) condemned and damaging practice of "reparative therapy" as they confront Alan Chambers. Chambers recently asked Ling to help orchestrate an opportunity in which he could formally apologize to those who felt deceived and defrauded by Exodus' practices and to announce that the organization will cease to be an "ex gay" organization.

Here is the more recent full apology from 

Alan Chambers of Exodus International. 

Bold and underlining is ours for emphasis. 

http://exodusinternational.org/2013/06/i-am-sorry/:

I Am Sorry

JUNE 19, 2013 BY ALAN CHAMBERS

Three years ago, Leslie and I began a very public conversation with Our America’s Lisa Ling, from the Oprah Winfrey Network (OWN) regarding some of our deeply held beliefs about Christianity and the LGBT community.  Today, we have decided to carry this public conversation even further. While this conversation has and may well continue to be met with many different responses from supporters and critics, it is our desire to keep having these honest discussions in the hopes of arriving to a place of peace.

Several months ago, this conversation led me to call Lisa Ling to take another step on this messy journey.  I asked if she would, once again, help us add to the unfolding story by covering my apology to the people who have been hurt by Exodus International.  Our ministry has been public and therefore any acknowledgement of wrong must also be public.  I haven’t always been the leader of Exodus, but I am now and someone must finally own and acknowledge the hurt of others. I do so anxiously, but willingly.

It is strange to be someone who has both been hurt by the church’s treatment of the LGBT community, and also to be someone who must apologize for being part of the very system of ignorance that perpetuated that hurt. Today it is as if I’ve just woken up to a greater sense of how painful it is to be a sinner in the hands of an angry church.

It is also strange to be an outcast from powerful portions of both the gay community and the Christian community.  Because I do not completely agree with the vocal majorities in either group and am forging a new place of peaceful service in and through both, I will likely continue to be an outsider to some degree. I imagine it to be very much like a man I recently heard speak at a conference I attended, Father Elias Chacour, the Melkite Catholic Archbishop of Israel. He is an Arab Christian, Palestinian by birth, and a citizen of Israel. Talk about a walking contradiction.  When I think of the tension of my situation I am comforted by the thought of him and his.

My desire is to completely align with Christ, his Good News for all and his offer of peace amidst the storms of life. My wife Leslie and my beliefs center around grace, the finished work of Christ on the cross and his offer of eternal relationship to any and all that believe. Our beliefs do not center on “sin” because “sin” isn’t at the center of our faith. Our journey hasn’t been about denying the power of Christ to do anything – obviously he is God and can do anything.

With that, here is an expanded version of the apology I offered during my recent interview with Lisa Ling to the people within the LGBTQ community who have been hurt by the Church, Exodus International, and me.  I realize some within the communities for which I apologize will say I don’t have the right, as one man, to do so on their behalf.  But if the Church is a body, with many members being connected to the whole, then I believe that what one of us does right we all do right, and what one of us does wrong we all do wrong. We have done wrong, and I stand with many others who now recognize the need to offer apologies and make things right.  I believe this apology – however imperfect – is what God the Father would have me do.

To Members of the LGBTQ Community:

In 1993 I caused a four-car pileup.  In a hurry to get to a friend’s house, I was driving when a bee started buzzing around the inside of my windshield. I hit the bee and it fell on the dashboard. A minute later it started buzzing again with a fury. Trying to swat it again I completely missed the fact that a city bus had stopped three cars in front of me.  I also missed that those three cars were stopping, as well.  Going 40 miles an hour I slammed into the car in front of me causing a chain reaction. I was injured and so were several others.  I never intended for the accident to happen. I would never have knowingly hurt anyone. But I did. And it was my fault. In my rush to get to my destination, fear of being stung by a silly bee, and selfish distraction, I injured others.

I have no idea if any of the people injured in that accident have suffered long term effects. While I did not mean to hurt them, I did. The fact that my heart wasn’t malicious did not lessen their pain or their suffering. I am very sorry that I chose to be distracted that fall afternoon, and that I caused so much damage to people and property.  If I could take it all back I absolutely would. But I cannot. I pray that everyone involved in the crash has been restored to health.

Recently, I have begun thinking again about how to apologize to the people that have been hurt by Exodus International through an experience or by a message. I have heard many firsthand stories from people called ex-gay survivors. Stories of people who went to Exodus affiliated ministries or ministers for help only to experience more trauma. I have heard stories of shame, sexual misconduct, and false hope. In every case that has been brought to my attention, there has been swift action resulting in the removal of these leaders and/or their organizations. But rarely was there an apology or a public acknowledgement by me. 

And then there is the trauma that I have caused. There were several years that I conveniently omitted my ongoing same-sex attractions. I was afraid to share them as readily and easily as I do today. They brought me tremendous shame and I hid them in the hopes they would go away. Looking back, it seems so odd that I thought I could do something to make them stop. Today, however, I accept these feelings as parts of my life that will likely always be there. The days of feeling shame over being human in that way are long over, and I feel free simply accepting myself as my wife and family does. As my friends do. As God does.

Never in a million years would I intentionally hurt another person. Yet, here I sit having hurt so many by failing to acknowledge the pain some affiliated with Exodus International caused, and by failing to share the whole truth about my own story. My good intentions matter very little and fail to diminish the pain and hurt others have experienced on my watch. The good that we have done at Exodus is overshadowed by all of this.

Friends and critics alike have said it’s not enough to simply change our message or website. I agree. I cannot simply move on and pretend that I have always been the friend that I long to be today. I understand why I am distrusted and why Exodus is hated. 

Please know that I am deeply sorry. I am sorry for the pain and hurt many of you have experienced. I am sorry that some of you spent years working through the shame and guilt you felt when your attractions didn’t change. I am sorry we promoted sexual orientation change efforts and reparative theories about sexual orientation that stigmatized parents. I am sorry that there were times I didn’t stand up to people publicly “on my side” who called you names like sodomite—or worse. I am sorry that I, knowing some of you so well, failed to share publicly that the gay and lesbian people I know were every bit as capable of being amazing parents as the straight people that I know. I am sorry that when I celebrated a person coming to Christ and surrendering their sexuality to Him that I callously celebrated the end of relationships that broke your heart. I am sorry that I have communicated that you and your families are less than me and mine. 

More than anything, I am sorry that so many have interpreted this religious rejection by Christians as God’s rejection.  I am profoundly sorry that many have walked away from their faith and that some have chosen to end their lives. For the rest of my life I will proclaim nothing but the whole truth of the Gospel, one of grace, mercy and open invitation to all to enter into an inseverable relationship with almighty God.

I cannot apologize for my deeply held biblical beliefs about the boundaries I see in scripture surrounding sex, but I will exercise my beliefs with great care and respect for those who do not share them.  I cannot apologize for my beliefs about marriage. But I do not have any desire to fight you on your beliefs or the rights that you seek. My beliefs about these things will never again interfere with God’s command to love my neighbor as I love myself.   

You have never been my enemy. I am very sorry that I have been yours. I hope the changes in my own life, as well as the ones we announce tonight regarding Exodus International, will bring resolution, and show that I am serious in both my regret and my offer of friendship. I pledge that future endeavors will be focused on peace and common good.

Moving forward, we will serve in our pluralistic culture by hosting thoughtful and safe conversations about gender and sexuality, while partnering with others to reduce fear, inspire hope, and cultivate human flourishing.

__________________________________________________________________

Feedback from ex-homosexuals:

See: The New American: http://www.thenewamerican.com/culture/faith-and-morals/item/15776-prominent-ministry-to-homosexuals-folds-leader-apologizes-to-gays.

Excerpt:

But many individuals and groups who have successfully helped people deal with unwanted same-sex attraction questioned the motives of Chambers and the other Exodus officials. “We do not owe an apology to the gay community,” said Regina Griggs of Parents and Friends of Ex-Gays and Gays, http://pfox.org/default.html, an organization that supports those leaving homosexuality. “Nobody's ever forced to change. That's an individual's right.”

Janet Boynes, http://www.janetboynesministries.com/, a former lesbian who now uses her Christian faith to help people leave homosexuality, recalled how in 2010 she appeared with Chambers on Our America With Lisa Ling, where “we were able to share how our behavior had changed and how we were no longer living the homosexual lifestyle. But just three years later, here we are again, and the message Alan Chambers has for those struggling with same-sex attraction is very different.”

At the time Chambers declared: “Change is possible. I stand by that phrase, and I live by it. The opposite of homosexuality isn't heterosexuality; it's holiness.”

Boynes said she was puzzled by what message Chambers could offer homosexuals if not that they need to abandon their lifestyle. “I know many men and women who, with the help of different ministries, have walked away from homosexuality, and their freedom has always come through the truth of God’s Word,” she said. She conceded that leaving homosexuality is not easy, but through faith in God it is possible. “For me, coming out of homosexuality did not happen overnight,” she recalled. “It was a long process, during which I increasingly chose to let go of everything that had the slightest power to drag me back into a lesbian lifestyle. It took the work of a dedicated team that included God (the most important one), the many wonderful people He put in my life, and me as a willing participant. You see, each of us is given a free will, and it is ultimately up to us to decide how we will live our lives.”

R. Albert Mohler Jr., president of the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, told Baptist Press News that Chambers' apology and the decision to shut down Exodus International appeared to be “a capitulation” rather than a “course correction.” Mohler said the organization's statement indicated that Chambers and others at Exodus had “lost confidence in both the Bible and the Gospel of Jesus Christ. The normalization of homosexuality contradicts the Bible's consistent condemnation of all same-sex sexuality as sin. The rejection of the hope for change for homosexuals … indicates a tragic loss of confidence in the Gospel of Jesus Christ.”

Mohler added that “while Alan Chambers is right when he insists that our beliefs do not center on 'sin' because 'sin' isn't at the center of our faith, he seems to have lost sight of the fact that Christ came to save us from our sin. Thus, sin is inseparable from our story of salvation in Christ.”

The Baptist leader expressed deep concern that the ministry's closing will send the wrong signal to those struggling with unwanted same-sex attraction. “The greatest tragedy” about the closure “is that persons experiencing same-sex attractions or involved in same-sex sexuality will be further confused by the capitulation of Exodus International,” Mohler said.