Gay Conversion Therapy - Is It Biblical?

     Right now in New Zealand, gay conversion therapy is a rather hot topic. It is looking increasingly likely that it will be outlawed here. The governing Labour Party is certainly set on doing this, as is the Green Party (no surprises there). However, the opposition National Party has also decided to support it.

    On Friday, the Stuff site published an article by a homosexual man named Edd Coomber. He grew up in a Pentecostal church (specifically an Assemblies of God one) and underwent gay conversion therapy. In this post, I'd like to discuss his article and also examine whether gay conversion therapy is really Biblical. 

    Mr Coomber's article can be found here: https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/opinion/124284012/gay-conversion-therapy-is-harmful-hateful-and-doesnt-work

    Mr Coomber says that in his church, pastored by his grandfather, "just about everything was sinful". He lists smoking, alcohol and "a huge range of films, TV and music". Not being familiar with that church, I cannot say how much of their preaching against particular sins was truly Bible-based or whether they were imposing a bunch of rules and regulations. Pentecostalism in general though has a number of serious problems. A good site dealing with the many errors in this movement is Way of Life Literature (www.wayoflife.org). It covers a variety of topics, so be sure to do a specific search for Pentecostalism.

    After keeping his lust for members of the same sex secret for many years, Mr Coomber eventually talked to a youth pastor who told him to "pray the gay away".

    This was bad counsel. If a man has not been born again and had his heart changed by God, then no amount of "praying the gay away" will make one iota of difference (John 9:31). The same applies to any other kind of unclean lusts. The only way a homosexual (or any sinner) can be changed is by repenting of their sins (being sorrowful and grieved over them, and acknowledging that they have sinned against God) and being born again through believing on Jesus Christ. This is what the youth pastor should have said to Mr Coomber (but he probably wasn't born again himself, so it was a case of the blind leading the blind - Matthew 15:14, Luke 6:39).

     In his early 20s, Mr Coomber was baptised to "kill" his homosexuality. This was an unscriptural application of baptism, which is designed by God to symbolise a person's new birth (after they have repented and believed on Christ), and should only be done after someone has been born again. So being baptised merely to "kill" his homosexual lust was a vain exercise, and it was a foolish thing for his church to do.

    Mr Coomber describes his actual "therapy" as follows: "This meant a lot of prayer, receiving prayer, speaking to a well-known ex-gay pastor, courses, more books, more prayer and deliverance ministry – which is essentially exorcism under a different name. The belief being that my homosexuality was a demon or evil spirit to be cast out." He adds in a short subsequent paragraph: "This is what “conversion therapy” mostly looks like in New Zealand".

     There's a whole lot of Pentecostal error going on here, especially "deliverance" from sins by casting demons out. The only way a man can be delivered from sins is if he is born again and God changes his heart. Even then though, the flesh is not changed (that won't happen until the Rapture, or final resurrection), so temptation can still happen. But when your heart is changed by God, you no longer crave pursuing old lusts like before.

     Mr Coomber then began giving into his lusts, which is only to be expected since he was not born again and never got what he needed the most - the Gospel preached to him. However, in the article he says something which shows faulty logic. He asserts, "[I]f God wanted people to be straight, conversion therapy would work. It doesn’t".

     He is right that conversion therapy doesn't work, but not for the reason he gives. Here's the thing about gay conversion therapy: it is MAN-MADE. So he is wrongly attributing an invention of MEN to God. Now, homosexuality is very clearly called sin in both the Old and New Testaments. But conversion therapy is never ONCE mandated by Scripture. The Biblical answer to homosexuality is repentance and believing on the Lord Jesus Christ. When a man is in Christ, he becomes a new creature. Old things (like burning with lust for other men) are passed away and all things are become new. (See 2 Corinthians 5:17)

    Mr Coomber notes that he "was told regularly that you couldn't be gay and Christian". It is true enough that you cannot be gay and Christian (by Christian, I mean born again). However, there are many FALSE CONVERTS, who have never been born again, and who embrace a false form of Christianity while indulging their wicked homosexual lusts at the same time. You can absolutely be a false convert and gay, because you're unregenerate and still lost in your sins. But if you've been born again and God has changed your heart, then you won't be gay anymore, though your corrupt old flesh may still experience a few of the old lusts from time to time. Nonetheless, if you are a new creature in Christ, then your desire will be to please Him and not your flesh.

    It is tragic that while Mr Coomber has probably heard some Biblical truth in his life, it appears he has never had the true Gospel preached to him. Conversion therapy is a trap, because it doesn't lead anyone to Christ. It treats the symptoms but not the underlying disease. 

     Mr Coomber describes conversion therapy (but also preaching against homosexuality generally) as "extremely harmful to young people, torn between who they are, and trying to do what is right in the eyes of their church. When they fail each time, like I did, they feel immense guilt. Some feel that ending their lives is the only way out, because they cannot win".

    Note that these young people are "trying to do what is right in the eyes of their CHURCH". They are following men, not God. (Many Pentecostal churches are man-centred, however much they might claim to be God-centred, because the pastor's rules override the commandments of God.) "For they loved the praise of men more than the praise of God." (John 12:43) The reason why they fail is because of their unregenerate hearts. If you are a false convert, then you can "clean the outside of the cup" as much as you like. But sooner or later, the filth on the inside will, well, come out. And indeed, if you are not born again, you will never defeat the lusts of your flesh. You might suppress them for a while, but sooner or later, they will win out. The only hope for homosexuals, like all sinners, is in being born again.

     Mr Coomber then indulges some of the favourite charges against the Bible that scoffers frequently use: "The church will tell you opposition to homosexuality is in the Bible, and thus part of Christian beliefs. Not letting women speak in public, slavery, and the prohibition of divorced women remarrying is also in the Bible, but Christian beliefs on these topics have changed. So what is different? It would seem to be, at its core, homophobia."

     By "the church", he probably means his Pentecostal denomination, although most churches (except possibly the most apostate) would say the same. There is actually NO prohibition in the Bible against women speaking in public, just in the church (see 1 Corinthians 14:34). Outside the church, women can speak in public as much as they like, and there is no Biblical injunction against that. Jacinda Ardern and Judith Collins, for instance, are doing nothing against the Bible when they speak in Parliament or some other public place. Christian belief has changed on women speaking in the church though, but that is due to increased rebellion against God and His Word, not any sort of "enlightenment". As to slavery, the word "slave" only appears twice in the King James Bible. It speaks far more commonly of servants. Modern translations, however, frequently change the word "servant" to "slave", and sometimes in the most inappropriate contexts. For instance, the KJV says we're servants of Christ, but many modern translations say we are His slaves! A servant is generally in service willingly, but a slave is in service UNwillingly. So it is really modern versions that "promote slavery". In any case, the Mosaic Law commands humane treatment of those who might be considered slaves in a modern context, and also required many to be freed after seven years. So slavery in Israel had nothing to do with the slavery we know. (Recommended reading on this topic: http://www.creationliberty.com/articles/slave.php) There are prohibitions in the Bible against divorced men remarrying as well as divorced women. However, reasonable exceptions also exist (see for example Matthew 19:9). One reason Christian beliefs have changed on this issue is due to conformity with the world (see Romans 12:2 and also James 4:4). Most modern churches are full of false converts and doctrinal leaven and would rather conform to the world than separate from it. As for the term "homophobia", well that is a convenient slur that has been invented to describe any opposition to homosexuality.

    Mr Coomber declares that it is "high time for a ban" on gay conversion therapy (and it does look as though he will get his wish). He reiterates his assertion that it is "extremely harmful". I would agree that conversion therapy is harmful, though not for the reasons Mr Coomber argues. The reason I believe it is harmful is because it is man-made and un-Biblical, and will not succeed in changing anyone's heart. You cannot change anyone's heart by coercion or manipulation. I very much doubt whether one single homosexual has been born again as a result of gay conversion therapy. Some of them may have given up their lifestyles for a while, but if they remained lost, then they were always doomed to backslide. However, in the final paragraph, Mr Coomber lets slip what might just be the real agenda here:

     "I’m calling on the Government to not only ban the therapy, but to ban all anti-gay messages in churches and organised religions to reduce the high number of rainbow youth attempting suicide because they are told they must change something they simply can’t." (Emphasis mine)

    Homosexual activists are seldom satisfied with "reasonable" concessions. They are always demanding more and more. Just look at the last 50-60 years. First they wanted tolerance. Then they wanted decriminalisation. Next came civil unions. Still not satisfied, they demanded the right to be "married". They now have all these things, and still they want more. Calling for a ban on gay conversion therapy (at least, as it is described in this article) is not altogether unreasonable. But demanding a ban on "all anti-gay messages in churches and organised religions" is also demanding the outlawing of Christian preaching on the sin of homosexuality (although Muslims who speak against homosexuality could also be in trouble - you know it's really only Christians who would be targeted by such a ban, however). In this concluding paragraph, Mr Coomber is making a direct attack on freedom of speech and freedom of religion. Indeed, it may just be that the gay conversion therapy issue is a smokescreen for the REAL target: the preaching of the Gospel and any expression of Biblical or biological truth about homosexuality.

     In conclusion, it is tragic that Mr Coomber has grown up in a church that does not appear to have preached the Gospel to him, but relied on the traditions and inventions of men. He needs to hear the Gospel, though given how hard his heart is, he probably won't want to listen. All homosexuals do (though this also applies to all lost sinners, no matter what they're into). Gay conversion therapy is not saving souls and is probably only serving to harden hearts like Edd Coomber's. Thus the answer to whether it is Biblical is an emphatic NO! Whether it is outlawed or not, born-again believers in Christ should reject it. Homosexuals don't need conversion therapy, they need to be born again. If they're lost, conversion therapy will do them no good. And if they have been saved, they're already converted so there's no need for any therapy. It is futile either way. The only cure for homosexuality is the new birth.

UPDATE (25/2/21): Tonight on The Project, they did a piece about conversion therapy. One of the main hosts, Kanoa Lloyd, interviewed a gay "Christian" who had undergone conversion therapy and this had naturally failed. (For reasons I went into above, I am not in the least bit surprised by that.) Throughout the entire interview, sad music played in the background and Ms Lloyd also wore a sad and sympathetic expression the whole time (this is designed to manipulate viewers' emotions - the constant sad music and interviewer's sad face are intended to make you feel like this fellow has been through something horrendous). The interview took a somewhat softer approach to the Stuff article. Whereas Edd Coomber comes across as being quite embittered by his experience, the gentleman interviewed on The Project (my apologies, but I forget his name) did not give the impression that he carried any grudges. In fact, he looked relatively happy the whole time, by contrast with Kanoa Lloyd's constantly sad face! (You might be forgiven for thinking she'd had a traumatic experience, but he never came across like that.) One takeaway from the interview is that this fellow sought the therapy out, so he wasn't coerced into it. (For that matter, Edd Coomber was also seeking help.) He actually wanted a wife and children (nothing wrong with that!). A second point is that his feelings for other men didn't go away (the reason, as stated above, is that he's not born again). The sort of therapy he experienced seemed milder than Mr Coomber's. It mainly seemed to involve some sort of acknowledgement of his sin (probably to men rather than God) and having his online activity monitored. He claimed that he still loved God, went to church and sang songs. However, many false converts serve a God of their own imagination rather than the true God of the Bible. A "God" who is "chilled out" about certain sins will naturally be loved by those who partake in them. Also, he never said what church he went to. (At least Mr Coomber was a bit more specific about that.) He was nowhere near as condemning of conversion therapy as Mr Coomber, but still thought banning it was a good idea.

    While the therapy this man on The Project went through was rather less intense and probably less harsh than Mr Coomber's, it was still un-Biblical, ultimately. For the different methods they used, both therapies tackled the symptoms rather than the underlying cause. Both relied on the inventions and traditions of men, not the Word of God. What this man, like Mr Coomber, really needed was the Gospel. If he is born again by repenting and believing on the Lord Jesus Christ, and God changes his heart, that will have quite a radical effect on his homosexual lusts.

    We should pray for both these men that God would soften their hearts to repentance. And let us also pray that whatever happens with gay conversion therapy, the preaching of the Gospel will not be hindered by upcoming law changes in New Zealand.