The Guardian has denied the transformative effect of salvation by labelling a woman’s moving testimony: “conversion therapy”.
Emily Thomes appeared in a video made by Christian media group Anchored North, who describe themselves as “next generation evangelists, using media and evangelism to reach the lost with the gospel”.
Her video is entitled “Love is love” – a popular slogan among gay rights activists – but her story is one of becoming a Christian, rather than living as a gay woman.
God’s love
Emily grew up in Texas, where she engaged in a “wild”, promiscuous lesbian lifestyle, eventually becoming engaged to a single mother.
In 2014 she joined a bible study, intending to leave at the first mention of her ‘lifestyle’, but instead found herself confronted by her own sin.
“It’s not gay to straight, it’s lost to saved”
She became a Christian and turned from her homosexual practices and now shares her testimony to help others.
‘Anti-gay message’
The video has received over two million views on Facebook, but The Guardian attacked the message of gracious, heavenly love, because it sent an ‘anti-gay message’.
The newspaper said Anchored North’s videos amounted to conversion therapy, which the group rejected, saying instead: “What we’re saying is God changes the heart”.
Greg Sukert, co-founder of the website, added that Emily had received abuse and even death threats for her courageous decision to speak out.
‘Abuse’
The Guardian highlighted that conversion therapy is banned in parts of the US, and spoke to pro-LGBT minister-in-training Deb Cuny, who likened the video to her own experience of “conversion therapy classes”.
She said she wanted to “expose all the different subtle practices of the church that don’t have the label of conversion therapy, but clearly are”, claiming that “Any attempt to change someone’s sexual or gender identity, even through something as subtle as prayer, is conversion therapy.”
But in her video, Emily said: “It’s not gay to straight, it’s lost to saved. God calls us not to heterosexuality but to holiness.
“Even though the world would paint a totally different story of what sexuality is and isn’t, God’s word is clear, and he can save and he does and he will.”