‘Restoring Hope to Those Broken by Sexual and Relational Sin, Especially Those Impacted by Homosexuality’
Â
Â
San Diego residents this weekend will be forced to contend with a Christian group that advocates “converting” gay people into straight people through prayer. The anti-gay, pro-conversion therapy Hope2017 conference, created by the Restored Hope Network, begins Friday. Some San Diego residents are joining together Thursday evening to show their disapproval.
“Disgusted,” is how council member Chris Ward, a Democrat, describes his feelings about the conference. “Again, this is San Diego, we are an inclusive community, this is not consistent with the values we share here,” he told KGTV.
Ward says conversion therapy is illegal in California. He believes Restored Hope Network will only be having a conference, not actually performing any therapy. Ward and many others believe it is an abusive, traumatic and ineffective practice.
Rev. Dan Koeshall tells KGTV he went through “years of therapy,” which taught him “how to stuff my feelings and emotions and the damage this did to my psyche and self-esteem. After, he says, he “was able to finally realize God loved me for exactly who I was and I was not a mistake, but I was God’s miracle.”
Conversion therapy and other Sexual Orientation Change Efforts (SOCE) have been deemed to be harmful and potentially dangerous by every major medical group in the U.S., and many around the world. The practices have also been linked to depression and suicide.
“Sexual purity is a life-and-death matter,” according to the Restored Hope Network. “Sexual holiness for Christians matters to such an extent that living an unrepentant sexually immoral life can get even self-professed Christians excluded from the kingdom of God. For some this may mean that such persons were never true Christians to begin with,” their website reads.
“Marriage between a man and a woman prefigures the union of God and his people or Christ and the church and has as its highest purpose the self-giving integration of the two sexes into a single sexual whole.”
The group’s mission is “restoring hope to those broken by sexual and relational sin, especially those impacted by homosexuality. We proclaim that Jesus Christ has life-changing power for all who submit to Christ as Lord; we also seek to equip His church to impart that transformation.”
Anne Paulk is Restored Hope Network’s executive director. The organization is led by several members of the now-defunct Exodus International, an ex-gay advocacy group.
The Restored Hope Network retweets professional anti-gay activists like Franklin Graham and James Dobson. Last week they took to Twitter to attack a gay Christian announcing her engagement:
Attendees to the conference must agree to a code of conduct, which includes, “conduct in keeping with Christian professional standards. This includes abstaining from all forms of immoral behavior.”
To comment on this article and other NCRM content, visit our Facebook page.