Well, this is rather embarrassing.
The Christian Institute, an antigay hate group based in the U.K., just published a blog post by 25-year-old “ex-gay” activist Matt Moore titled “Why my love for Jesus means I refuse to identify as ‘gay.'”
In the piece, 25-year-old Moore, who claims to have renounced his homosexuality in 2010, writes: “Homosexual desires exist within people because people possess sinful natures.”
He also that said if he labelled himself as gay, he would be “uniting” himself with “worldly, godless identity,” whatever the hell that means.
How about we take this to the next level?
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“It is entirely possible to be transparent and communicative about one’s continual struggle with same sex attraction without identifying as gay,” Moore says. “I know, because I’ve been doing it every day for the past four years.”
But there’s a problem. Moore hasn’t been doing it every day for the past four years. In February 2013, he was outed for having a Grindr profile.
At the time, Moore confessed: “Basically I just wanted to see who was on it and who was around me. I can honestly say that I didn’t have any kind of sexual conversations with anyone. Anyone who sent me any kind of explicit photos or conversations, I blocked immediately.”
He continued, “The first time I got on it, I wanted to go out and I wanted to go to the gay bars in New Orleans. So I was trying to meet someone on there to basically tag along with. That was the reason I was originally on it.”
He apologized for having the profile, calling it “wrong” and a “major disobedience to Christ.”
“Thankfully,” he said, “I believe that He forgives me for this disobedience. I believe the blood of Christ covers this disobedience. And I won’t be on Grindr again… ever.”
Evidently, this promise to stay off Grindr forever was enough for the Christian Institute to endorse Moore’s latest rant. And as far as we can tell, the young man has made good on that promise. He no longer maintains a profile on that particular dating app. Of course, there are plenty others he can choose from.
Related stories:
Ex-Gay Activist Caught On Grindr: “Everyone Is A Hypocrite”
It’s “Ex-Gay” Awareness Month! Here Are Five Former Homos And What They’ve Been Up To Lately
New “Christian” Documentary Depicts Tombstone For Gay Past Of Ex-Gay Man
IvanPH
Mary, Mary, Quite Contrary.
Kieru
I find it difficult to take any enjoyment from knowing he’s struggling with his ‘conversion’.
It has to be difficult for some to bridge the disparity between their sexual orientation and their faith. Some people choose to give up their faith, others manage to find a way to accept themselves, and some like this guy choose to deny their sexual orientation. It’s not healthy … the therapies are so psychologically damaging. Anyone who finds this guy on a dating app ought to invite him out for dinner and drinks and just give him a hug and let him know that it’s okay to be himself; regardless of what some homophobic zealot says.
And really… any Christian who considers Homosexuality a sin based on Leviticus is a pretty bad Christian. According to Christianity, Jesus’ sacrifice did away with the Old Testament (which is where Leviticus has his soapbox to rant about shrimp and such) and brought in the New. No Christian is bound to any law from the Old Testament – there are a couple of contended references to Homosexuality in the New Testament but no one ever seems to rest their homophobia on those laurels.
Saint Law
It says ‘single’ which is a lie apparently as Jesus is fucking him.
Cam
The Ex-Gay movement is a money making Scam where a few self hating baggage heavy pit stains feel that they are somehow not sinners if they sit around cry and then attack the rest of the gay community.
Sorry douches, but your inability to deal with your own baggage means nothing to anybody other than yourself.
NoCagada
SICK FUCK…Probably a republican
martinbakman
@Kieru: Closet cases bring so much hate and tyranny against us, all the while hanging out on grinder or at the public bathrooms.
martinbakman
@IvanPH: Laughing! Good one.
DarkZephyr
@Kieru: “Some people choose to give up their faith”
I gave up my faith. It was not easy to do, but I had to do it. I had to be true to myself and I could no longer believe in something that is the cause of SO MUCH misery for LGBT people. It causes violence against us, legislation against us, self loathing in men like his one, etc. I really hated to admit it to myself, but, if I believe in evil then this is the very definition of evil. Jesus himself said “by their fruits will you know them” Matthew 7:16. For gay people, the fruits of Christianity has been castigation and pain. Often even death because of its very core teachings on sexuality.
DarkZephyr
@Kieru: But it was hard. I REALLY loved God, I had a powerful devotion to the Virgin Mary and for a significant period of my life, the Church was absolutely everything to me. So the realization that I could no longer endorse it was heart breaking at the time. But now, I have to say that I am happier than I have EVER been and I am with the the love of my life.
That being said, I do acknowledge the pro-gay Christian of every denomination and stripe (Catholic and Protestant alike) who do support us and vote in favor of our rights. I just cannot join them as a believer. But I DO accept them as friends and allies.
Stache99
I always find if funny how it’s the crazy ones that always find religion. You just never see that with atheists.
Funny how they’re always so good at cherry picking at everything and ignoring the blatant facts that don’t support their blind biases. I guess it takes a certain type of mentality to throw away any and all logic and believe in the unbelievable ie faith.
AtticusBennett
Grady Smith, Matt Moore, Jonathan Merritt – even this queen here, http://lancesrhodes.tumblr.com , need to be called out.
i have true pity and sympathy for their weaknesses of integrity,and for the sheer sad fact that they belong to ignorant and bigoted families….but how many others come from families just as bigoted and ignorant and bible-thumping who DON’T act like adult cowards and go out into the world spreading lies?
i’d have more sympathy for them if they just kept to ruining their own lives, but the second they spread this B.S. dogma to others, they deserve every ounce of criticism and hate that they receive. they are now the force that has oppressed them. they hurt others to get the pain once thrown at them off their backs. they are wimps and cowards and are harming people with what they promote.
as for the ongoing way they cite Levitical law, Kieru is right – for a “Christian” to cite levitical law is for that Christian to declare that “Christ’s sacrifice on the cross was a failure”
thing is, as I’ve found with my own personal interactions with every “gay is a sin” gay that i mentioned (and i’ve convered with all of them) they ignore that! they don’t have a reason for their beliefs. just excuses. they cite leviticus, then move on and ignore when you ask why they don’t follow any other levitical laws.
the point? it’s not about fidelity to the bible. at the end of the day it it literally nothing more or less than going along with what their bigoted families say. truly.
AtticusBennett
@Stache99: and i’m always about how all the “bible believing celibate/ex-gays” were all magically molested and had absent fathers. it’s actually hilarious. “i’m not gay! i was just molested so it made me think i was gay and now i’m celibate because i’ll never be into women because i was molested by a man” or “my daddy didn’t hug me. so i thought i was gay”
no and no and no and no.
it’s an easy lie for them, though, as they only ever hang around equally-stupid people who believe it.
Stache99
@Kieru: These poor fools always go back to Leviticus including this one. Now like you say if you bring up their glaring inconsistencies they’ll immediately shut down and attempt to change the subject. This is called willful ignorance. I’ve tried conversing with them. They’re not looking for the truth though. It comes down to shame. Every one I’ve known is deep into it.
Most don’t even have a clue what’s even in the bible. They like to throw big words out without having a clue to it’s real meaning.
It’s more of a social thing. A family that hates together stays together I guess.
Stache99
@AtticusBennett: Yeah, funny how it always seems to be a male issue too. You never hear of women getting molested and turning to bush. Nor do you ever hear of the distant Mother BS story. It’s usually always men that have these issues.
Damn. I didn’t realize guys were such delicate flowers. Lol
Xzamilio
@Kieru: Can you point to where in the NT Jesus says the OT is no longer applicable? I mean, I’m an atheist, but as someone who has read the bible, Jesus is much more clearer on keeping the OT laws than anything else. Matt. 5:17-18 much?
AtticusBennett
@Xzamilio: the reason modern-day Christians don’t follow ANY Levitical laws is that Chirst;’s sacrifice supposedly saved mankind from them. He took those sins with him, and that’s why we’re free from them.
Now – if what you’re asking for is consistency and logic you’re out of luck. There’s none. There’s a decided absence of both.
The OT was only ever intended to be allegorical – Jews and some Catholic churches acknowledge this, as do the more progressive protestant denominations. Alas, the baptists and evangelicals have decided that the OT is a literal collection of actual literal events. but even then, only selectively – when it serves THEM.
Jesus didn’t “say the OT is no longer applicable” – in those words. but again, Christ is also attributed ( in the sermon on the mount) with commanding people to pray in PRIVATE – and those who make a big public spectacle of prayer are not pleasing Him. but that’s one of those “things jesus apparently said” that right-wing Christians choose to flat out ignore. why? it doesn’t suit THEIR demands.
Xzamilio
Whether it be evangelical or progressive religion, neither serves to benefit mankind in the least. All progressive religion does is serve as a smokescreen to fundies and attempts to rewrite history while squeezing secularism into the box of religion. Seriously… listen to a moderate religious person and you’ll notice something fairly quickly: They support many of the things non-religious moderates and progressives do and THEY don’t use scripture to support their stance. Why? Because they can’t… they’ll either come across clearly contrarian views or have to strain their eyes hard enough to tie some vague BS about love into “Well, that means Jesus love LGBT/abortion/single mothers, etc.” Dude, it’s old writings… welcome to the 21st century
Stache99
@AtticusBennett: I’m glad you grew up in healthy surroundings including your church. I grew up listening to my dad who was a pastor saying ugly things like Jews were agents of Satan and killing them would be righteous with god.
Anyone that wasn’t white wasn’t fully human and meant to be our slave. He absolutely hated blacks. As a kid I had to listen to all that from different preachers preaching nothing but hate and violence towards anyone not like us. You could easily find passages in the bible to support those views.
Look at someone like our good ol pastor David Manning. Same level of hate but from a black man. Same damn bible. Just a bit different interpretation. The only thing that changes is the hated group for the bigots.
Xzamilio
@AtticusBennett: And ultimately, this is my issue with religion, but Christianity in particular, although I’ll accept your interpretation any day of the week.
AtticusBennett
well, yes and no. i was raised in the united church of canada, with a gay minister, and a rather large number of non-Christians in our congregation. the UCC has been on the forefront of promoting LGBT Equality in Canada for quite a while – when i came out, as a teenager, it only meant my congregation loved more – it put me in context.
even though i am now an atheist, like my father, i don’t actually have any negative memories or feelings towards the specific faith congregation i was raised in – it was humanism; scripture was only ever used to parallel – if you have a struggle today, here’s how our species tried to relate such struggles centuries ago (always with an eye firmly kept on awareness of historical context). no dogma. no piety. no “one true faith” nonsense – and the congregation was largely made up of people who’d been raised in other denominations – who no longer felt they could support them. many ex-cahtolics, ex-evangelicals, etc. they sought a spiritual outlet, but could not in good conscience support an institution that worked against all the truth they’d already learned in life.
churches like the one i was raised in serve a very useful purpose – not everyone is ready to be an atheist like me. until then, i’m quite happy with there being progressive , inclusivity-promoting religious outlets that don’t talk about, nor preach about, “SIN” – but reminders to be good, generous and compassionate.
to make an analogy – prayer and meditation, church and yoga. thats almost what a sunday at my old church was like. a place to let go of the stresses of the week, recharge with new positive thoughts and outlooks, and a few hours to be around similar people who choose to use faith as a galvanizing force for positivity. and they’ve been outspoken, very outspoken, about religious bigotry and exclusion.
alas, i’m well aware that my religious experience is in the minority.
Stache99
Also, not to point myself as little miss perfect but I used to hate others including myself too. You live with these people and you want their approval badly as a kid.
Unlike Matty I got away from it all though. I believe he will one day himself. He’s still young and more then likely embarrassed at himself looking back.
AtticusBennett
@Stache99: i hear ya, brother. and it’s an insidious hatred that the religious right espouses – it seeps into your very being, poisoning your views of the world, your self, and anyone who is not walking in lockstep with what the church chooses to focus on.
your story is the story of so many of my best friends; and their lives are actually all the better from saying goodbye to not just the church, but in many cases their own families.
Stache99
@AtticusBennett: ..and he will too. Matt needs to grow a spine first though. “Hey I’m gay. Deal with it”. Most will including his parents eventually. Growth will never happen though as long as he keeps up the “I promise to pray harder” BS for their approval. He probably will just have to move away for awhile first.
Btw. My family did get over it. Minus my dad of coarse. Mom divorced him and my family circled the wagons around me which meant coming out of the hate lifestyle. Moms even been to a gay pride parade which is big if you knew where she came from.
AtticusBennett
here’s hoping he gets to THIS place
http://joemygod.blogspot.com/2014/11/former-ex-gay-leader-marries-man.html
Kieru
@Xzamilio: Luke 22:20 should have the answer to your question. This is where Jesus pronounces a new covenant to follow (The new Testament) and is generally interpreted as the Old Testament no longer applying.
In short; if you believe Jesus Christ is the Messiah you follow those teachings; all of which are part of the New Testament. If you think Jesus was just a really bad carpenter and the Messiah is yet to come you follow the Old Testament.
Xzamilio
@Kieru: Or if you’re like me and reject it as woo woo nonsense that heavily borrowed from myth and folklore before it, then you’re an atheist. That scripture answers the question on the surface, but without context, it doesn’t answer my question, namely because it demonstrates the lack of harmony between the Gospels and the bible in general. If the OT is irrelevant, why is it still there? What happens to textbooks that carry irrelevant information? It’s updated and that info is removed.
DarkZephyr
@Xzamilio: I am not sure you can find anywhere in scripture that says literally “The Old Testament is no longer applicable” but there are to positions about that that exist that I am aware of. There are probably many more, but these are the two that I am familiar with.
1. The Jewish position. Non-Jews are only required by G-d to follow the seven Noahide Laws (which can be googled). Under this view the Old Testament was NEVER fully applicable to non-Jews. Some Jews say that Christianity fulfills the Noahide laws (others say that the Noahide Laws and Christianity are contary).
2. The Catholic position. The way it was explained to be by a Catholic Scholar I once knew is that Jesus Christ among many other things is the “perfect Jew” and that as such, he “fulfilled the Jewish Code perfectly”. As the “perfect Jew” he followed all the laws perfectly. Even ones that he was not personally required to follow given his supposedly personal sinless state. Add to this the teaching that the Church is the mystical Body of Christ and that through baptism, Christians are united to this body, the body of the perfect Jew who already kept the old laws perfectly. Because of this, Christians no longer have to worry about those aspects of the OT that they no longer follow because Jesus already did it for them and they are now mystically a part of his Body so everything He did in obedience to the Old Laws are applied to them as well.
Disclaimer: Neither of the above two views are MY view. This is just what I have read and have been told.
Cam
@Kieru: Not really, the line is simply “Likewise He also took the cup after supper, saying, o“This cup is the new covenant in My blood, which is shed for you.”
______________________________
Interpret it at will, but frankly, there is also anti-gay sections in PAul’s Letters to the Romans.
The B.S. of Christians who claim that this is their reason to hate gays, is that the anti-gay lines were from Paul, while Christ himself is quoted as speaking out against divorce, and yet I never see ANY of these anti-gay folks coming out against divorce.
That is how I know that all of their claims about being religious are B.S.. They claim to be religious, but ignore the words of the person they claim to believe is the song of God, but rally around the words of a disciple simply because they are the excuse they need to be bigots.
Again, they aren’t religious, they are just hateful bigoted bullys who are looking for any excuse to defend their bigotry.
TrekBear
Before you know it, he’ll be hooking up with the “I’m not gay no more” guy!
Hillers
Based on their methodology, can’t you just continually fuck up and ask for forgiveness and still “make it out okay” in Christ’s eyes? What a delightful loophole.
Xzamilio
@DarkZephyr:Okay
Alan down in Florida
One of these days God will send him his Mr. Right and you’ll see this Groom of Christ drop to his knees and not for prayer.
Chris
Meh, who cares?????
Captain Obvious
1) Giving these people a platform for their self-hatred and bashing them seems really wrong.
2) They all deserve sympathy because some of them will never learn to love themselves over those who hate them.
Honestly all this negativity rather than understanding doesn’t make any sense. Maybe some of you have the luxury of coming from very open areas, but for those of us who grew up in rural areas the closet is more understandable. Not everyone has it the same when it comes to coming out.
AtticusBennett
@Captain Obvious: as long as guys like you from “not so open areas” continue to remain silent and invisible, it will take the rest of us to call out the harmful lies that this pathetic coward is spewing.
i don’t care if he thinks being gay is a sin. i don’t care if he dies alone. but the moment he evangelizes his hateful lies we have the right to call them out for what they are.
know why it’s hard for rural gays to come out? because of people like Matt Moore. my sympathy ends the minute he opens his mouth and spreads his lies to others.
matt moore is the reason so many rural “Christian” gays struggle with coming out.