Editors' Note: The Reverend Jonathon Edwards is a pastor in the United Church of Christ and has been active on a local level in the glbt movement since his youth. He currently pastors a congregation in Southern California and has been active in working for marriage equality.

By now many people are aware of the drama unfolding in Florida around George Rekers, the co-founder with James Dobson of Family Research Council (now Focus on the Family), board member of National Association for Research and Therapy of Homosexuality (NARTH), frequent "expert" in anti-gay and "ex-gay" trials and legislative settings. Retired professor and discredited neuropsychologist Rekers is a major player in the "ex-gay" movement, an indispensable leader in one of the most destructive anti-gay industries.

He is also, not surprisingly, a self-loathing, closeted gay man. Rekers was recently caught returning from a 10 day European vacation with a male escort he hired through the website rentboy.com. Naturally, Rekers denies the conclusion most are drawing. He first claimed that he hired the 20-year-old (Rekers is 61) to help him carry his luggage post-surgery and that he didn't know the young man was a gay call boy. When the patent absurdity of this claim became obvious as media swarmed to rentboy.com - there is no doubt, from the name of the site nor its contents what these men are selling - he then backtracked and claimed that he routinely hires young gay men so that he can evangelize them and try to help lead them out of homosexuality. (Update: the young man has since confirmed that the arrangement between the two was sexual.)

Larry Craig. Ted Haggard. Tim Foley. Roy Ashburn. Roy Cohn. Et cetera. Et cetera. Et cetera.

Continue reading "On George Rekers, Homophobia and Compassion"...

Published Date: 05/07/2010
SECTION: Religion | GENRE: Youth
SOURCE: The Bilerico Project

Category: Guest posts