A month after our article on homosexuality, the Boston Globe has agreed with our two fundamental points. 

In its Sunday edition of February 7, the Globe had two separate stories which agreed with the following: 

 — The "gay gene" is a myth.

 — Homosexuals can change.

 "Gay Gene" is Lead Story 

A story about the "gay gene" was the lead article in the "Focus" section.   Under a headline, "The Fading ‘Gay Gene,'" it said: 

"The gene still has not been found, and interest in — and enthusiasm for — the ‘gay gene' research has waned among activists and scientists alike.  And there is a growing consensus that sexual orientation is much more complicated than a matter of genes." 

But the Globe did not tell its readers the whole story.  It did not report that it was quoting two scientists throughout its article who are not unbiased.  One of them, the man who "discovered" the gay gene back in 1993, Dean Hamer, is a homosexual himself; but the Globe referred to him only as a "molecular biologist at the National Cancer Institute." 

The other scientist who was quoted, Dr. Richard Pillard, is a professor of psychiatry at Boston University School of Medicine, who stated in his well known paper that his goal was to "counter the prevalent belief that sexual orientation is largely the product of family interactions and the social environment." 

Those are not uninvolved, dispassionate scientists. 

There is no question that the Globe agreed with our article in its concluding paragraphs when it said,   "It means there are no easy answers about where sexual orientation comes from, only questions about how we respond." 

But then it totally distorted the image of Christians when it ended the story with the following quote: 

"We are left with the question of, 'Do we accept people who are sexually different?'" 

The answer for any Christian is, "Of course we accept them."  As an example, one of the most "virulent" groups in the minds of the Globe would be the American Family Association from Mississippi, which devotes ten of the 24 pages in its magazine of January 1999 to homosexuality, which is summarized with the following: 

"[O]ur sin is on a grander scale than that of the homosexual...Scripture never singles out homosexuality for special disapproval.  It comes from the same heart that generates greed, envy, strife, disobedience to parents, and gossip."  In other words, homosexuals are no worse than the rest of us. 

If you want an example of how this very active, Christian organization views the subject, without hate of any sort, you should obtain this issue of their Journal from the AFA, PO Drawer, Tupulo, MS 38803. 

The Catholic Church also has an interesting document for parents of homosexual children in which it agrees with our article that the child should always be loved but it cautions, "It is not to be understood as an endorsement  of what some call a 'homosexual lifestyle.'" 

The Catholic Church is clear, "God does not love someone any less simply because he or she is homosexual.  God's love is always and everywhere offered to those who are open to receiving it."  Its publication is Always Our Children, publication 5-131, available at 800-235-8722. 
 
Therefore, everyone appears to agree with the principle that we must accept people who are sexually different, and we must stop all of the hate and violence on both sides. 

Globe's Magazine Writes About "Change" 

The story about "change" was an empathetic story about two ex-homosexuals who are now working in a Christian ministry.  It was in the Boston Globe Magazine, under a headline, "Struggling to be straight."

It told the story of two former homosexuals who work with a local chapter of Exodus International to help homosexuals in Massachusetts who wish to change. 

The story, written by a freelancer, was a straight-forward account of the change in lifestyle and the continued struggle of these two former lovers who still live together but without intimacy. 

However, although the story was well-balanced about the two men, it still had the Globe bias in much of the other information.  For example, it said that the American Psychiatric Association changed its mind about whether homosexuality is a disorder in 1973 "after rancorous debate and heavy lobbying from gay activists."  It was not "lobbying" from the gay activists but violence and disruption at the APA meetings for four years that caused the change.  The Globe cannot change that documented history, although it will continue to try. 

Another example is that it was very subtlety biased in its treatment of NARTH, the organization of psychologists and psychiatrists who work with homosexuals who wish to change.  The story said NARTH "maintains that homosexuality is a disorder that should be changed."  [emphasis added]  This reinforces the old canard that NARTH wants to go out and capture all of the homosexuals and put them in a detaining cell until they change.  A correct statement would have been, "NARTH maintains that homosexuality is a disorder that can be changed, but only if the person desires to do so." 

The story also made a blanket attack on Christians when it said,  "Publicly, Exodus eschews the harsh, homophobic rhetoric of many fundamentalist groups..."   I have yet to see any "harsh" or "homophobic" rhetoric from any Christian group although I am sure you can find some if you look under enough rocks.  Certainly, there is none from the Catholic Church, American Family Association, Christian Coalition, Focus on the Family, Family Research Council, Rev. D. James Kennedy or any of the other responsible Christian organizations. 

Progress Is Made 

It is good to see that only one month after its publication, the Boston Globe has accepted the two major premises in our article. 

However, we have yet to see any change in what is taught to our children.  Hopefully, that will come as the truth starts to emerge...