Chapter 21 A Life of Unlearning (2nd edition) - Moving forward The first and second editions of A Life of Unlearning sold out. Information about the 3rd edition HERE The week after the launch of the first edition of A Life of Unlearning, I invited the Honourable Justice Michael Kirby to lunch. This would be a [...]
FAITH AT WORLD PRIDE Sydney is about to experience our annual Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras on steroids. For 17 days, Sydney turns queer for Sydney World Pride. There will be parties, exhibitions, cultural events, discussions, our world famous parade, fair day, the Harbour Bridge will be closed for a Pride March and there will [...]
Disgusting, abominable, and reprehensible are the politest words I can find to describe the behaviour of some conservative Christians. As gays and lesbians, we have endured decades of accusations, condemnation and lies about our supposed “lifestyles”, lifespans, and the quality of our relationships. We’ve been labelled evil, perverts, deviates, abominations and child molesters. AIDS, [...]
Sadly, not all conversion therapy survivors get an apology. If you’ve read my autobiography, you’ll know that in 1972, I was in a residential Christian program operating out of a church in Sydney’s south to rid myself of my homosexuality. I thought it was my last resort after I'd already fought against it daily for three [...]
This Sunday, something I never imagined in my wildest dreams is going to happen. If you’ve read my autobiography, you’ll know that in 1972, I was in a residential Christian program operating out of a church in Sydney’s south to rid myself of my homosexuality. This was before the founding of Exodus (1976), or the [...]
I’m not a betting man, but I’d be happy to make a wager that the person who wrote the statement below in the Citipointe Christian College contract was rather aged. It could have been lifted from the writings of Socarides, Bergler or Bieber. In the 1950s and 1960s, these men were the “experts” on homosexuality [...]
Citipointe Christian College, in Brisbane, has done the unthinkable. The college has created a new enrolment contract which states, “We believe that any form of sexual immorality (including but not limited to adultery, fornication, homosexual acts, bisexual acts, bestiality, incest, paedophilia and pornography) is sinful and offensive to God and is destructive to human relationships [...]
Hearing Bishop John Spong speak in Sydney in 2007 was memorable for me. I’m not usually one to avail myself of the opportunity of a question time. Prodded on by others, I felt this was a good chance to draw on the wisdom of the retired Bishop. After all, he’s been an amazing advocate for [...]
LGBTQ Religious Suicide Why we'll never be able to count the cost The higher risk of LGBTQ suicide, which includes ideation and attempts (See stats here), is well documented. But thoughts of suicide and attempts are much higher for LGBTQ people from faith backgrounds. Why? Research is now demonstrating something I have been pointing out [...]