The Exodus From Exodus

Exodus International holds out the promise that anyone experiencing same-sex attractions can find a way out of homosexuality into the glorious world of heterosexuality, where milk and honey flow freely down streets of gold. They use a combination of faith and quack science in order to convince those conflicted over their sexuality that change is possible.

The problem....

Their claim is complete crap and does not work. While some people are able to deny their sexuality for a number of years...which exodus will be quick to tout as a success story....still others find the emotional pain to much to bear and  leave the program and their faith behind. Still others lose all hope that they will be o.k. and chose to end their lives. The damage that ex-gay programs do to their members is incalculable yet they continue to operate despite evidence of the harm they cause. How much will it take before they are completely discredited to the extent that no one will seek out their services? How about one of the founders of Exodus who, having fought his own sexuality through exodus, has come out to say that the program doesn't work....at all....not even a tiny little bit. Michael Bussee, one of Exodus co-founders, is attempting to set the record straight regarding the organization and the harm it can do....including the fact that the program never helped even its original founders...Michaels words after the jump.




Oh my...so you mean Exodus continued to represent itself as capable of changing an individuals sexual me orientation when it couldn't even change its own founders same-sex attractions? What a surprise....



And there we have some pretty damning testimony, if not a smoking gun. While Mr. Bussee still avoids saying that no one has succesfully changed their sexual orientation under Exodus' care, making the claim "I never saw it happen" pretty much amounts to the same thing.

While Bussee has come out against Exodus before the current round of interviews serve something like a video confessional, further shedding light on a program that NEVER worked...not even for its founders. And lest you think Mr. Bussee is a rogue...he is one of three Ex-Exodus members to come forward with apologies and denunciations of Exodus' work, as recorded two years ago via Box Turtle Bulletin. Darlene Bogle an ex ministry leader for Exodus has issued and apology to all who came under her care during her tenure at Exodus.



Also from BTB's original interview series: Jeremy Marks of Exodus International Europe...



Even with these sources taking a stand against an organization that they help found AND all of the credible science community denying the efficacy of  reparative therapy, they continue to operate. Parents who think their child is possesed or deluded into believing they are gay still check them in for a good ol' fashion brain washing to set them straight(pun intended)t. Its just too bad that some of us don't check out and those that do make it out carry the scars to show their journey through darkness. And its all the more shamefull for the admission of what we knew all along...that it doesn't work. We find the love and happiness we seek by accepting who we are NOT by further denying the truth and burying it deeper.

So the next time you see ads like this one from the Parents and Friends of Ex-gays:

Remember these stories and know that you don't need to change. We are not broken and certainly not in need of repair.