"I believe that any sexual expression outside of heterosexual, monogamous marrige is sinful according to the bible." ... Alex Chambers. "I believe that any sexual expression outside of heterosexual, monogamous marrige is sinful according to the bible." ... Alan Chambers, Exodus president. Photo: Reuters

FOR more than three decades, Exodus International has been the leading force in the so-called ex-gay movement, which holds that homosexuals can be "cured" through Christian prayer and psychotherapy.

Exodus leaders claimed its network of ministries had helped tens of thousands rid themselves of unwanted homosexual urges.

The notion that homosexuality is not inborn but a choice was seized on by conservative Christian groups who oppose legal protections for gays and same-sex marriage.

But Exodus has been convulsed as its president, in a series of public statements and a speech to the group's recent annual meeting, renounced some the movement's core beliefs.
Alan Chambers declared that there was no cure for homosexuality and that "reparative therapy" offered false hopes to gays and could even be harmful. His statements have led to a growing schism.

"For the last 37 years, Exodus has been a bright light, arguably the brightest one, for those with same-sex attraction seeking an authentically Christian hope," said Andrew Comiskey, founder and director of Desert Stream Ministries, based in Kansas City, one of 11 ministries that have defected.

His group left Exodus in May, Mr Comiskey said, "due to leader Alan Chambers's appeasement of practising homosexuals who claim to be Christian" as well as his questioning of the reality of "sexual orientation change".

Mr Chambers said virtually every "ex-gay" he had ever met still harboured homosexual cravings, himself included.

Mr Chambers, who left the gay life to marry and have two children, said gay Christians like himself faced a life-long spiritual struggle to avoid sin and should not be afraid to admit it.

He said Exodus could no longer condone reparative therapy, which blames homosexuality on emotional scars in childhood and claims to reshape the psyche. And in a theological departure that has caused the sharpest reaction from conservative pastors, Mr Chambers said he believed that those who persisted in homosexual behaviour could still be saved by Christ and go to heaven.

Only a few years ago, he appeared in advertisements with his wife, Leslie, saying, "Change is possible".

But now, he said, "Exodus needs to move beyond that slogan. I believe that any sexual expression outside of heterosexual, monogamous marriage is sinful according to the Bible. But we've been asking people with same-sex attractions to overcome something in a way that we don't ask of anyone else."

Mr Chambers's comments come at a time of widening acceptance of homosexuality and denunciation of reparative therapy by professional societies that say it is based on faulty science and is potentially harmful.

A bill to ban "conversion therapy" is before the California state assembly. David Pickup, a California therapist, said restricting it would harm people who are unhappy with their homosexuality by "making them feel that no change is possible at all".

Mr Pickup, an officer of the National Association for Research and Therapy of Homosexuality, composed of like-minded therapists, said reparative therapy had achieved profound changes for thousands of people, including himself.

The therapy, he said, had helped him confront emotional wounds and "my homosexual feelings began to dissipate and attractions for women grew".

The New York Times