J-Elijah, the evangelical hip-hop artist who raps about leaving homosexuality, is giving Megan Phelps a run for her sanity. And while Megan will probably always operate in a deeper end of the lunacy pool, J-Elijah scores by mixing the ex-gay movement with religious fundamentalism that needs to be read to be believed. Or dismissed.
You’ll remember J-Elijah from this post, where he eviscerates The Downlow and talks about how, through Christ, he overcame his homosexuality. Which is great news for him. But for all of earth’s other Christians, he’s got bad news: Until we conquer this gay thing, Jesus is never going to resurrect himself. Again.
“I believe homosexuality is one of the last strongholds the Lord wants to break before the return of Jesus Christ,” says J-Elijah in an interview with Gay Christian Movement Watch, a website as awesome as its sounds. “It is a sensitive issue because we know people who deal with the issue, whether it’s us, or someone in our family, our church, our community. There is so much pain with homosexuality. Either we minister from a place of condemnation or compromise. Condemnation nor compromise is not the answer but compassion. Love, compassion, and truth emphasizing the mercy and grace of God through Jesus Christ will deliver brothers and sisters from homosexuality and all of it’s shame. Everyone is not anointed to minister in this area.”
But J-Elijah is!
How about we take this to the next level?
Our newsletter is like a refreshing cocktail (or mocktail) of LGBTQ+ entertainment and pop culture, served up with a side of eye-candy.
And thank god, because we didn’t know where else to turn to find out how to leave this terrible lifestyle. What do we need to do?!
The best way to leave the lifestyle behind is to finally become dissatisfied and fed up, like, “I can’t live like this anymore. I’ve got to get out of this. I’ve got to stop this.” You’ve got to be like, “Nah, I can’t do this anymore.” Leave your partners. Don’t answer their late night phone calls, emails, etc. Refuse them and refuse yourself. Want more out of life. Know that the Lord has more for you. He’s got a purpose that is beyond your fleshly desires. The internet is a powerful resource. Look up websites and books about repenting from homosexuality. Join a support group, which I highly recommend, become part of a network that will pray for you and love you through.
Craigslist.org, we are told, does not qualify.
(And in case you’re wondering how J-Elijah got his name, he explains: “J-Elijah is my pseudonym for rap and poetry. When I chose my name as a lyricist, emcee, poet, I wanted to make sure it was spiritually significant. J-Elijah is based on the scriptures of Jeremiah 1:4-10 and Luke 1:13-17. God chose Jeremiah to be His mouthpiece. Before John the Baptist was born, the angel told Zachariah, his father, that John would go forward in the spirit and power of Elijah. J is short for Jeremiah and John the Baptist. Jeremiah, John the Baptist, and Elijah were chosen by The Lord of Hosts to minister repentance to their generation.”)
Dionte
I’ve been abstinent for 39 months, even if I never have sex with another man again, I will always be gay. That’s all!
David
His T-shirt says “EX Homosexual”… his face says otherwise.
terrwill
“There is so much pain with homosexuality” fcuking ignorant asshole didn’t even know that ya’ gotta use lube…………
mojojojo
Just another example of the rampant homophobia in the black community!
Fitz
This is the kind of repressed sad sack who ends up acting-out his pent up sexuality in the least healthy ways possible. Has has pretty eyes. I hope he doesn’t get one of them poked out at the glory holes.
Synnerman
It’s not like Jesus did much the first time around. He can stay gone.
Sam
@mojojojo: The VAST majority of the “ex-gays” are white. Your ignorant comment is another example of the racism that is TRULY rampant among Queerty commenters.
soul_erosion
Look, little precious eJ-Aculation, we all know what “second coming” you’re thinking about and it has nothing to do with Jesus.
romeo
The guy is such a fucking bore I can easily understand why the gay life didn’t work out for him. Who among us would put up with such a tedious, self-absorbed douchebag? He can stay on the down-low. LOL’d at his advice for going “ex.” Is he serious?!
BTW, Jesus is staying off this planet because he’s too fucking embarrassed by dipsticks like this.
terrwill
@romeo: Brilliant!
……Am fairly certain if you were bored enough to follow this ignorant douchefag you would surely find him in certain places getting barebacked by anonymous guys…….
David
“craigslist” LOL. I read Queerty every day and the one thing that is consistent are the jokes. Keep ’em coming.
J. Clarence
How fantastic! Now fundamentalist Christians are blaming we gays for holding up the rapture. Nice. The human brain is really a wonderful biological device to allow someone come up with this stuff and not have their head explode.
It’s just another scare tactic to solicit more support from a base that is becoming smaller and smaller, because Americans are growing up and seeing that gays really are not the menace, or cockblocker to the divine, that Christians like this fella likes to portray us, himself as well, as.
romeo
What is that “boob” thing, and what is it doing here? :/
Chitown Kev
@Sam:
That’s the only thing that poster ever posts, I take that for a troll and leave it at that!
@David:
Beat me to it.
I pliss
20 years from now he will be in the news for child molestation! Or an escort will go to the press and re-out him! lol what a sad sad man he is. he will never be an ex! back in the closet but we’ll see for how long. he better hide his dildo’s and lube good. Now the question is what woman in their right mind would marry him. He can’t be with a man and can’t get hard for a woman. why put yourself through that!
B
“I believe homosexuality is one of the last strongholds the Lord wants to break before the return of Jesus Christ,” says J-Elijah in an interview with Gay Christian Movement Watch, a website as awesome as its sounds.
What a perfect excuse for why there has been no “second coming” in nearly 2000 years! And if he’s right, “Judgement Day” won’t happen until Hell freezes over!
believe
I love how we’re always the reason for, well, the end of the fucking world.
schlukitz
Who really cares what J-Elijah has to say about anything? Yawn.
mojojojo
@Chitown Kev: That is most certianly not the only thing I ever post. You would do better to ask your self why I so often have cause to post that.
Chitown Kev
@mojojojo:
Uh, no, YOU would do better to ask yourself why white folks are spending so much money and putting out so much bile to deny you your rights. ‘Cause black folks ain’t doing that.
In the context of this particular thread, you would also do well to hit that ex-gay tag and look at the color of the faces.
Ian
@mojojojo
Youre a perfect example of racism in the gay community so stfu already.
Horace
“You never know” when Adam Lambert will be joining this guy in his new venture. He was asked again when he was going to start dating women, and he seems open to the idea.
Cassandra
Wouldn’t it be fun to get this guy on a no-lie MRI on TV and see if he really is “ex-gay”?
It is a safe bet that if he were offered the opportunity to be tested on TV to confirm his “I am ex-gay” story, he’d refuse faster than you can say “con artist”.
hephaestion
Lying fool. Very sad.
simon
I agree with J-Elijah that the “homosexual lifestyle” can be awful. If he’s referring to monotonous nights out at gay bars waiting to find someone who fits the “ideal man”, I agree that it can be quite dreadful. It can be life-sapping simply waiting around for the right man and drinking lots of alcohol to while away the boredom.
However, what J-Elijah needs to understand is that there are many different lifestyles that a homosexual person can lead. There is not a single homosexual lifestyle. Some homosexual persons are well-rounded individuals who integrate into society and don’t let their social lives revolve around sex. Perhaps J-Elijah should take a leaf out of their book.
schlukitz
No. 25 · simon
I agree with J-Elijah that the “homosexual lifestyle” can be awful. If he’s referring to monotonous nights out at gay bars waiting to find someone who fits the “ideal man”, I agree that it can be quite dreadful. It can be life-sapping simply waiting around for the right man and drinking lots of alcohol to while away the boredom.
J-Elijan also needs to understand this could just as easily be representative of the “heterosexual lifestyle” as well.
And, you are right. Everyone has the ability to make good choices, as many gays obviously do.
His opting to live a lie, was not a good choice, in my estimation. But as my grandmother used to say “We all make our beds and in the end, we all have to sleep in them.”
Daniel
He sounds like another hiv-positive guy going back in the closet to deal with homophobic churchgoers and family… sad… pathetic. He probably got drunk off his gay ass and f*cked around without using commonsense, just like a lot of straight people do. Condoms and lube people will save your spirit more than any archaic book.
schlukitz
No. 27 · Daniel
Condoms and lube people will save your spirit more than any archaic book.
Now, if we could just get da Pope to say that, think of all the lives that could be saved and of the people who could be spared of all that suffering?
Oh, wait. Silly me. Suffering is what Christians are all about, isn’t it?
I always did think that a guy nailed to a wooden cross hanging from people’s necks, was a bit masochistic.
Flex
9 inches. Oops, I mean 9 minutes. That is all it would take to get his attention!
Flex
@Daniel: Dude, how do you know what his status is? If you could tell, why would you use it as a negative against him?
Tom Degan
Here is what I believe Christianity is all about. It was written by a very young (24) woman named Sarah Rachel Thomson, an Alabaman by birth. Her words are light. At the bottom is a link to her blog. Happy reading, folks!
Tom Degan
*********
Monday, February 8, 2010
thinking day
When I lost my job almost exactly one year ago, I immediately began looking for work both in Huntsville, Alabama and in Memphis, Tennessee. I came in contact with the Church Health Center in Memphis and signed on to do some volunteer work. I met with directors and editors and took home faith-related books to review. Then I found a job in retail, then a few months later I landed the job I have now. In between I was juggling being a newly married woman and living on my salary alone for the two of us. I had, to say the least, a lot to figure out.
The books lay neglected in my bookshelves, forgotten and dusty. A few days ago I received an e-mail asking me to bring the books back if I was not going to review them. I mentally calculated the months I had these books in my possession, and then the months of empty promises of reviews I had committed.
This weekend I opened the first of three books I took home last year, called “Making Poverty Personal” by Ash Barker. I diligently took notes, read carefully, and then found myself skimming through the last third of the book. I tried to explain what lacked in the book to Stephen, and I couldn’t. The message was clear, and good. Everything was oriented in scripture. But…I don’t know. I didn’t jump up and run out the door to DO something.
Now, because I am a Thomson and my father’s child, I feel I MUST complete this task. But I don’t know where to begin. Perhaps I was the wrong reader for this book. I referenced a number of my own books, from the desert abbas to Joachim Jeremias. As the day dragged on, I found other things to occupy my time, rather than writing. The challenge is, how do I make this message and call relevant, interesting, and motivational?
I think for me, this task is less about saying whether a book is good or not and more about providing some sort of hope. Stephen and I live below the poverty line, intentionally, but we are not poor in spirit, and we have the kind of life that is full and happy. But many are not so fortunate. The poor and impoverished in spirit have been a central theme in Christian teachings since the ministry of Jesus, yet it is so easily ignored. We tend to think as Americans that poverty exists in slums in third world countries, or on commercials advertising sponsorship for African children.
As we see our own American economy decline, and as it is sure to only get worse in the coming years, more Americans that never thought about “being poor” are now dealing with the very realities that come with loss of income. Those who exist solely in their belongings have identity crises because their self-worth cannot be tied to what they own. What will their friends think? What will their children, their parents say? Poverty, as it seems, is not just a bank account–it is indeed a state of mind.
For those who are wrapped up in what they own, in the “right” lifestyle, in the “right” stuff, Jesus’ message may fall a little flat. The attitude is off. They are self-suffering, martyrs to their own god of money. But for the downtrodden, the working man and woman, the child on free lunch, the mother working two and three jobs to pay bills, Jesus’ message is a ray of light and hope. A day of judgment will come. God is both mighty and merciful, and He is not blind to the injustice that happens in this country and around the world. Greed will be punished. Those who take so others may not have will be judged on the day of reckoning. Jesus came with a sword to judge the quick and the dead.
So where are we in all of this? What is, in fact, our call?
We look after the least of these. Whatever our talent, we use that to the greater glory of God’s will. We feed people, we clothe them, we house them, we educate their children with the best resources. We elect officials who will care for those who have no voice. We will sacrifice so that all of God’s children can live a life of peace, happiness, and light. We will look around us, at the things we do not need, at the wealth we have amassed, and we will strive for something Higher, Greater, more heavenly. We will give our riches to the poor, and we will, yes, we will, take up that cross and march to Higher Ground.
In the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost, Amen.
http://www.liedownandsleep.blogspot.com
Sarah Rachel Thomson
schlukitz
Greed will be punished.
Rolls eyes to the heavens and sighs.
Another fucking guilt trip…from a religious freak.
Those of us, who are still lucky enough to have a job or a business, are going to be punished by a vengeful god for working our asses off and paying taxes, so those who “choose” to live below the poverty level, intentionally, can have access to all of the “social programs” that we who choose not to be poor have to pay for.
give our riches to the poor
Same old battle cry that the Church has been making since it’s inception. Of course, we all know that the church is ever so much better in handling money and that it does not corrupt them the way it does us sinners.
What utter clap-trap.
In the name of my father (who worked his ass off to raise me), His son, who worked his off to support his progeny) and the holy, but wonderful customers who keep my ass in business.
And now I lay me down to sleep.
schlukitz
Correction. holy, should read un-holy
man-loving.man
@David:
Phil
I have my masters in Psychology and have studied homosexual behavior throughout the course of history and in pop culture today. My only argument is– if people are open minded enough to accept homosexuality (accept, not tolerate!), why are people so closed minded to accept people who desire to be heterosexual? It’s working for him! He’s not killing or raping anyone. How does his personal decision effect you? It doesn’t!
-Phil
Lukas P.
@Phil: Better question? My dog wishes he were a cat. Should I encourage him?
J-Elijah may be able to reduce the incidence of homosexual activity that he engages in, but that in NO way equates into a desire to fuck women.
If he is bisexual, then he may choose to have intercourse with women, but that doesn’t mean he’s lost his interest in men.
This isn’t a zero-sum game.
schlukitz
No. 35 · Phil
I have my masters in Psychology and have studied homosexual behavior throughout the course of history
Wow. You must be the thousand year old man Mel Brooks spoke of. lol
Joking aside, however, what would make you think that homosexual people are not accepting of heterosexual people? You are our grandparents, parents, brothers, sisters, nieces, nephews and neighbors, as well as our friends. Many of you were/are our teachers, clerics, doctors, dentists, lawyers, plumbers, electricians, carpenters, business people and the many heterosexual folks we deal with in our daily lives.
You did not choose or desire to be a heterosexual. You were born that way, just as we homosexuals did not choose to be gay. We too, were born that way, despite the wild claims that some members of the religious community insist on making.
You did not choose or desire to be a heterosexual. You were born that way, just as we homosexuals did not choose to be gay. We too, were born that way, despite the wild claims that some members of the religious community insist on making.
And that DOES affect us. Very much so, in fact.
schlukitz
Oops…sorry for the duplication of paragraph four. A combination of staying up late and bad editing, I am afraid.
Adrianus
He is apparently a bisexual so it’s easy to change side. Why people always forget the B letter in LGBT abbreviation. BISEXUAL, folks.
Lukas P.
@schlukitz: LOL! Thanks for your take on the “inspirational story.” I was gagging like an ingenue porn star from about the third sentence!
For your birthday, I’m getting you a bumpersticker that says “Don’t blame me. Jesus just loves me more than he loves you.”!
I may have to print one up for myself as well…..
1EqualityUSA
If Christ was so bothered by this, why was this subject NEVER brought up? Not even once did Christ mention a word about gays. The entire 33 years on the Earth, the subject of gays was NEVER mentioned. Could it be that He understood what Paul, Saul, could not? People take their own phobias and prejudices and attempt to justify them. Powerless leech off of the powerful, but, in so doing, convict themselves for their lack of understanding.
“The tendency to turn human judgments into divine commands makes religion one of the most dangerous forces in the world.”
–Georgia Harkness
Phil
@schlukitz: If we constantly use the claim “born that way” we completely eliminate the truths of development and behavior throughout the course of our lives, which would also be an argument against what scientific evidence has proven. The APA has never confirmed a gay gene or homosexual genetics. EVER. There is, however, evidence that supports predisposition to feminine traits and qualities accompanied with elevated hormone levels in the bloodstream.
Human nature desires to enjoy sexual activity, and clearly the argument is what gender it biologically prefers. Anytime someone bashes what the church has done, we immediately point the finger at them and hold them responsible for the attitudes and actions of society when the fact is the percentages of Americans proclaiming Christianity is 76%, but less than 40% of that 76% actually attend a church weekly. “Real” Christians? Based on statistics, my homosexual encounter and Christian conversion at the age of 19, it has led me to pursue unbiased information regarding the effects of homosexuality in politics and social issues, and my journey has taught me to provoke positive thought into the minds of citizens in pop culture today.
Jesus said this was the second greatest commandment, Mark 12:31, “Love your neighbor as yourself.” Christ also makes a reference in Matthew 25:40(ish) explaining what you do to others is what you do to Him. How about that for some faith?
Jai
Phil makes no sense, like most know-it-alls. =P
schlukitz
No. 42 · Phil
I was was willing to attempt to hold a discussion with you on this topic, based on first sentence in your post number 35.
You shot me down in a Godwin’s Law manner, when you introduced religious rhetoric into the mix.
Conversation over.
schlukitz
No. 40 · Lukas P.
Glad that you got a laugh out of my take on the “inspirational story”. Truth be known, it made me gag too.
Your suggested bumper-sticker sounds like a bit of er, ah…heaven. ;P
Bring it on. My Expedition bumper would wear it proudly. LOL
Alan A Katz
@Phil:
Of course, his decision hurts us. You may be a psychologist, but you certainly are not politically aware at all, at all.
Every study ever done finds that orientation is not changable. You may be bisexual and fall either way at different times, but to change from gay to straight is simply impossible- which you well know.
The problem in faking it is that it gives our enemies food for the “choice” argument, that gays are just sinners who “choose” to suck dick and therefore must be condemned.
If, on the other hand, orientation is built into the organism, that heinous argument goes down the toilet where it belongs.
You’re buying into our enemies’ rhetoric and promoting their agenda with posts like this one. Shame on you.
Alan A Katz
@Phil:
Phil, you’re making up your facts as you go along. Many biological studies have found many physical differences between gay and straight people. And several researchers have pinned down genes that “seem” to control orientation – but human sexuality is complex and it appears to be some combination of genes that express sexuality.
On the other hand, what you’re putting out here is just more religious claptrap and judgmental shit dressed up to look like compassion and science.
Go crawl back into your hole. Your sermon is falling on deaf ears.
Rob Moore
I have to say he makes a compelling case for the ex-gay movement as something to use to try covering over underlying problems that have nothing to do with homosexuality and everything to do with unhappiness. I cannot remember a time, I wasn’t more aware of other boys than girls. When I went out to play, I almost always had more fun playing with boys than girls. As I grew up, I preferred being around boys and remained uninterested in girls for anything other than friends.
I was also very unhappy. I tried to be religious even though I never felt God was real or that Jesus was anything other than a man who might have lived a long time ago or that Mary was a virgin who was the mother of God. I talked to my priest about my persistent desires to be with other guys. His suggestion of praying the rosary more was well-meaning but useless. Only when I began to participate seriously in therapy and to look at deeper secrets I didn’t want to confront did I begin to understand my unhappiness. Understanding leads to remedies, which led me to feel happier. I am still gay, but now, I am also happy in my life.
I pity people like J-Elijah who are so unhappy that they deny what they are and feel compelled to make up a new name for themselves. Something is wrong, but it is not his homosexuality I wager.
coffeeheathtoffeecrunch
@Alan A Katz:
it is also harmful because it promotes self-hatred, and a feeling of inadequacy about feelings and instincts that we cannot control. an impressionable teenager who is exploring his/her sexuality for the first time would be harmed by hearing that there is something wrong with being gay and that they should pray to God to change this horrible thing about themselves. if they pray to God and still cannot find a “cure” for their “illness”, they make seek relief elsewhere, in dangerous practices (drugs, alcoholism) or even worse, committing suicide because they can’t bear to live a life in “sin.” it is dangerous to disseminate information that promotes trying to change yourself to be something that you’re not, especially when it’s based on negative precepts. too many people suffer with their own issues – we don’t need someone in the public eye reinforcing their bigoted, closed-minded beliefs as straight-from-God rhetoric. we have a responsibility to young gay men and women to create a safe and welcoming environment, an environment that affirms their sexuality, and he is not doing that with this bullshit.
landspirit
Oh for heaven’s sake (literally). The genetic correlates with homosexuality are delineated more every day. No doubt the environment as it always does plays a role in the genetic expression. More than likely there is a genetic quantitative set up leaving complete homosexuals and heterosexuals at the ends of the spectrum with bisexuals in the middle. Environment (however it is presented) likely influences sexual orientation little on the ends and increases until bisexual where one can go either way depending upon the environmental influence at the time. Either this man is repressing his sexuality because he is convinced it is ‘bad’ or his genetic makeup is simply more toward the middle of the spectrum of bisexuality and the influencing ‘environment’ is his desire to not be gay or be seen as gay.