There are well- meaning Christians, and there are hypocrites. As one who was religious for a long time, I would agree with Christians who defend the faith saying that not all believers are blatant sinners, and that some are true followers of Jesus.
Yes, some church goers do try hard to follow the regulations, as they go around beating their chest saying “mea culpa.” However, the group of hypocrites is larger—much larger—than most devotees perceive it to be, and it DOES include George Alan Rekers, the gays-can-be-healed-by-Jesus proponent.
But who is this guy? As per Wikipedia,
In 1983 Rekers was on the founding board of the Family Research Council, a non-profit Christian lobbying organization, along with James Dobson and Armand Nicholi Jr.[3] He is currently an officer in the National Association for Research & Therapy of Homosexuality,[4] an organization offering conversion therapy intended to change homosexuals into heterosexuals. Rekers has testified on the allegedly destructive and sinful nature of homosexuality in a number of court cases involving organizations and state agencies working with children.
Yeap, he is another “gem” who alongside James Dobson is working hard against gay rights in the United States. But as it turns out, he is a homosexual who hired a male prostitute to accompany him on a European vacation, providing a list of hogwash excuses when he was found out.
Following medical advice Professor George Rekers requires an assistant to lift his luggage in his travels because of an ongoing condition following surgery.
Like Jesus Christ, I deliberately spend time with sinners with the loving goal to try to help them.
Georgy is gay. We know that. He knows that. I don’t have a problem with it. But I do have issue with his right-wing agenda and with the message he has helped to spread: that homosexuality is some sort of illness or deviant behaviour of which a person can be healed. No, it isn’t a disease; therefore, it can’t be cured. And George has become yet another illustration.
But not only has he erred in slandering the gay community and hindering their prospects of adopting children. He has also made money off of his position: enough money to go to Europe with a hired escort. And that, my friends, is hypocrisy.
He isn’t part of a well-meaning yet deceived group of believers. He is a deceiver. He is one who knows the truth about the congenital origin of homosexuality and has chosen to lie about it for the love of money.
But the worse part is that his false “scientific discoveries,” which supposedly proved that homosexuality could be cured, will stand. James Dobson may distance himself from George, but he will keep advocating against gays. That won’t change. He will just find another “expert witness” to endorse his false beliefs.
Yes, some Christians will declare him satanic, evil, liar, and hell-bound. They will go on to shun him from fellowship but will still believe what he said about gays. And that’s interesting, because it’s a pattern. Throughout the centuries, Christian leaders at all levels have demonstrated the religion’s futility and its ability to con the masses with unfounded false claims, yet followers continue to believe.
Furthermore, were Rekers to leave the closet and to confess publically that he lied and that homosexuality can’t be cured, he won’t be believed.
This proves, once again, that when we’re taught to shelve our brains and close our eyes, we will obediently ignore anything and believe anything. I know I did it, as a Christian.
In a way, I feel sorry for George Rekers. I wish he would throw the towel and admit who he really is. But until he does it, in my book he will remain a hypocrite.
i think it’s a particularly sad version of homophobia when it is internalized homophobia of a gay person who seeks to oppress other gay people, because deep down they cannot accept who they are in self-love and wholeness.
i think gay bashing can even come out of this. self-loathing manifests as violence against people who are brave enough to live lives being true to themselves.
thanks for this post, lorena. i always appreciate when you stand up for gay rights
I generally agree with what you’ve written, except for the part that Rekers may truly believe that homosexuality can be “cured”. The whole impetus for his homophobic crusade may be the fact that HE wants to be “cured” of it. While I agree that it is nothing to be cured of, in his “bible” eyes, it is. And his fervor in this area simply is evidence that he is beating himself up (off too, probably) for being so vile that the “cure” just doesn’t seem to stick for him.
Katie
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Yes, self-loathing is a serious problem. Makes you wonder how many latent homosexuals there are out there.
TRT
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It’s perfectly possible that he still believes homosexuality can be cured. But, personally, I have a hard time believing that he is not a hypocrite.
As a gay man who grew up in a fundy home, I can tell you it suuuucked. I was fed all of the traditional messages about homosexuality, and it messed me up good for many years. But I survived to become a happy healthy guy, with a terrific partner.
Rekers can preach and misinform all he wants about praying the gay away. For his ilk, there is a distinction to be made between gay thoughts and gay actions. They use phrases like “active homosexual.” This sets up a delusion wherein he can go to Rentboy.com and hire a prostitute, but as long as he never kisses him or has any kind of penetrative sex or physical release, and as long as he also ‘ministers’ to him (all of which I believe happened) then he isn’t being ‘actively’ gay, and he’s actually working toward saving a soul. Members of my own family still hold this position.
This underscores a fundamental problem with traditional Christian perception of gayness; it’s ‘just sex’ Or, more precisely, it’s ‘just deviant sex.’ And as long as you don’t HAVE that kind of sex, you’re OK by Jesus, even if you always secretly WANT that kind of sex. But, as any straight person in a relationship knows, that heterosexual relationship involves a lot more than sex. (In fact, over time, the sex can become less and less important: doesn’t have to, but it can and often does.) In a relationship, you share your thoughts, your time, your life. You make yourself vulnerable, you get hurt, you grow and change as a result of interacting constantly with this other person. Gay people get pretty tired of being told that all they really want is to be selfishly sexually deviant, when in fact we want (and get) all the same things out of our relationships that straight people do.
Here’s what breaks my heart about Rekers: he is desperately lonely. What struck me as the story was breaking was that if he wanted sex, he would have just had it discreetly. But what he wants is romance. He wants vacation, companionship, erotically charged encounters, conversation. His contract with Govanni stipulated that they spend 8 hours a day together, including two meals and a massage. And he can’t get these things from another man without paying for it, because he can’t break his own delusion. And he can’t even think about actually having sex. How’s that for tragic? You hire a prostitute not for sex, but to keep you company for ten days.
That, however, is where my sympathy ends. He IS a hypocrite, and his actions and “work” hurt more people than just himself. Have you read about the case in FLorida that he was hired to testify for? It’s absolutely terrible; here’s a tidbit -
http://wakingupnow.com/blog/the-evil-of-george-rekers
What should also get your ire up is the fact that a nationwide “exhaustive search” by Florida AG Bill McCollum turned up a grand total of TWO expert witnesses willing to testify (at a steep price) in Florida’s case against gay adoption. One of these was Rekers, whose testimony in a similar 2004 Arkansas case led the judge to say this:
“It was apparent from both Dr. Rekers’ testimony and attitude on the stand that he was here primarily to promote his own personal ideology…Dr. Rekers’ willingness to prioritize his personal beliefs over his function an expert provider of fact rendered his testimony extremely suspect and of little, if any, assistance to the court.”
Needless to say, they hired him anyway. There’s a movement afoot to sue Rekers to get the $120,000 back.
Lorena – I really appreciate what you’ve said here. Thank you.
That is all. (For now!)
Joel,
Thank you so much for your comment. It is neat to have the opinion of somebody who knows the topic first hand.
One of the things that bothers me most about people like Rekers is that many christian followers get all the hate and misconceptions about homosexuals from them.
Imagine the guilt imposed in homosexuals in the church and the psychological damage imposed by Rekers.
I was talking to a catholic friend about the recent shelved sex education in Ontario, and I was amazed by his homophobic comments. I am sure he got all of that from people like Rekers who make their lives spewing hate.
Rekers might not be a hypocrite in the sense that he truly believes the bible 100%, which says that homosexuality is evil. On the other hand, he has a genetic predisposition to it, which he cannot get rid of. A person in that position has no choice but to condemn the sin (in order to be on God’s side, and hence get to heaven).
On the other hand, to get tonnes of money to malign people who are no different from him, now that’s just wrong.
The bible apologetics people have to bear some responsibility for all these, too, for making people like Rekers believe that the bible is truly God’s words.
Brian,
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That’s exactly the problem: not necessarily what they say, but how they influence millions of people who instead of thinking just swallow spoon-fed “expert” opinions.
Temaskian
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I can buy that he truly believes that the Bible is 100% correct. But the problem is that as an expert witness, in court, he didn’t defend the Bible. He supposedly used science to prove that homosexuality is a choice. Since I don’t believe legitimate science can ever prove that homosexuality is a chosen, learned behaviour, I am left with no choice but to think of him as a liar and a hypocrite.
Nice post, balance between compassion and correctly identifying hypocrisy. I haven’t read much but the headlines until today, and it looks really bad for the hypocrisy angle. It seems the guy should be spending more time issuing “no comment” statements than the doubtful defenses of his actions which I have read.
Joel, I really appreciate your comment and unique insight here as well. And thanks for the link you provided as well, eye opening and heart breaking. Evil really.
I was getting very emotion. OK, I still am, but feel much better after skipping to the end of the court document found in the article Joel linked to above. At least justice was served in some measure in *that particular* case. Basically put, Rekers was testifying against a gay couple being allowed to parent two neglected children, and his side lost.
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This Court finds Fla. Stat. §63.042(3) violates the Petitioner and the Children’s equal protection rights guaranteed.
…
Accordingly, it is ORDERED and ADJUDGED that John Doe and James Doe be declared the legal children of Petitioner. The Children shall from this day forth assume the names JOHN DOE and JAMES DOE and by such names shall be hereafter known.
Yes, the judge in Florida basically restated what the judge in Arkansas had said regarding Rekers’ testimony, and ruled in favor of the defendants.
Now Florida AG Bill McCollum is APPEALING! It never ends, I tell you. And they wonder why we’re “so angry.”
I met George Rekers 10 years ago under similar circumstances that resemble the recent scandal of which he has suffered.
I am tired of the hypocrisy of the religious right, and I’m ready to come forward.
I’ve set up a live podcast episode for May 20 at 9:00 PM Eastern. Please click on my username for the website. I will also be taking telephone or voip calls to answer any questions that you may have.
ATTR
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Thank you for your detailed comments. When I wrote the post, I was sure that the hype was gone and that I was too late with the “news.” But the topic seems to have resurfaced just on time to make this post relevant.
Rentboy2
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OMG! It sounds as if you’re for real.
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