All of this is dangerous. In the South you are hard pressed to get folks to question these programs. Many times when God is invoked well meaning people turn a blind. I have a deep faith but it is rooted in otherworldly matters rather than a book, doctrine or dogma. I am comfortable questioning where many are not.
I am imagining the outrage that would have occurred had the clause stated that "arbitration will be conducted under Sharia law."
I am imagining the outrage that would have occurred had the clause stated that "arbitration will be conducted under Sharia law."
Exactly!
It is astounding how they can take a perfectly good idea (trying to cure young folks of addiction instead of jailing them) and muck it all up with this faux Christianity. I guess as long as there are zealots (of any religion) there will be atrocities like these.
I am imagining the outrage that would have occurred had the clause stated that "arbitration will be conducted under Sharia law."
Amid all of the sound and fury over encroaching Sharia Law, most folks have ignored or been unaware of the fact that rabbinical courts have existed in this country for well over a century.
No outrage, no dire warnings of "Jew courts" taking over the nation's legal system, not even fears of a matzoh ball riot.
I suspect that most rabbinical courts will support "de-gayification" efforts, yes? The real question is, would a Christian based program like Teen Challenge accept a gay Jew in their midst, or would they be too busy checking to see if the kid had horns.
This is outrageous! What ever happened to treating those as you would wish to be treated? That is what Christ taught. The way described in this article sounds more like Satan masquerading as a Christian. These centers should be illegal. They are akin to torture. Their methods are cruel and unusual punishment. Isn't there an amendment against practices of these sorts?
This is my biggest concern with these kinds of things - this was, apparently, being paid for by the State. That being the case, including scriptural anything is contrary to the First Amendment (and as applied to the States by the 14th Amendment). But using the coercive power of the State to force indoctrination is particularly barbaric, and a specific violation of the First/Fourteenth Amendment. I'd hope (but seriously doubt) that the Judge was unaware of the basis of Teen Challenge's "counseling" - if he did, impeachment would be the appropriate result. Again, not that it would ever happen.
This is my biggest concern with these kinds of things - this was, apparently, being paid for by the State. That being the case, including scriptural anything is contrary to the First Amendment (and as applied to the States by the 14th Amendment). But using the coercive power of the State to force indoctrination is particularly barbaric, and a specific violation of the First/Fourteenth Amendment. I'd hope (but seriously doubt) that the Judge was unaware of the basis of Teen Challenge's "counseling" - if he did, impeachment would be the appropriate result. Again, not that it would ever happen.
Yes, I doubt that the Judge didn't know. But even if he really didn't, some prior investigation might have been in order.
This is truly medieval and barbaric and (I would think) qualifies as cruel (hard to know if prison would have been worse).
I Googled this subject, and conversion therapy(as it is known) is banned in some states for minors. California, New Jersey, Oregon and the District of Columbia are the only four.
Maybe we can get this done nation-wide.
Stuff like this amazes. The United States is noted for being one of the most religious countries in the world. We used to control such. It used to be that any preacher who preached politics simply lost their tax exempt status. The laws on politics and tax exempt status are quite clear - its just not allowed. Well, it used to be but no longer.
What is even possibly more interesting is that most of this is passed off as 'Christian'. As far as I can tell this kind of stuff has little or nothing to do with Christ. What it does seem to have a lot to do with is the Old Testament. If you have studied the Old Testament you will find you can make a case for either side of just about anything you can think of. There are three religions which revere the old testament; Islam, Pentecostal/Evangelicals, and conservative Jews. I have included the Pentecostal/Evangelicals, mainly, because they do not seem to be exactly high on forgiveness and a loving God (personal opinion). Christ, for instance, was pretty much all about forgiveness, love, etc.
Anyway, the current crop of religious elected, seem determined to tell the rest of us how to live according to their lights. They also seem to have been able to turn around the laws that have served us so well for so long. I fear we are, probably, on what can only be thought of as a long, slippery slope to perdition - oh, with a lot of help for those who claim the exact opposite.
