The following was written by Dr. Robert Gagnon, a Presbyterian pastor and professor of New Testament Theology at Houston Baptist University, and former associate professor of the New Testament at the Pittsburgh Theological Seminary. The article from Religion News that Gagnon references is titled Evangelical leader Russell Moore denounces ex-gay therapy and can be read at this link. This was originally posted on Dr. Gagnon’s Facebook page. — Jeff Maples, Reformation Charlotte
This may have some bearing on the termination of Robert Lopez from Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary. According to a Religion News Service article from Oct. 28, 2014, the President of the Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission denounced reparative therapy as “severely counterproductive,” despite the fact that many, and possibly most or nearly all, reparative therapists are Christians applying Christian principles….
Moore stated: “The utopian idea if you come to Christ and if you go through our program, you’re going to be immediately set free from attraction or anything you’re struggling with, I don’t think that’s a Christian idea.”
This was pure slander of good people doing good work. I know of no credentialed reparative therapist and no leader in ex-gay transformation ministry of the kind that Restored Hope Network houses who believes that a person who comes to Christ and goes through their “program” will be assured of being “immediately set free from [same-sex] attraction.” Not one. I suppose when lacking a credible argument, yet still intent on denigrating, a straw man is one’s only recourse.
To my knowledge, he has never apologized for the misrepresentation or claimed that he was misquoted, even though his remarks did terrible damage. If anyone knows otherwise let me know. It is a public statement, widely reported, that still, five years later, needs public retraction.
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