Dec 02, 2005  |  By: KATHERINE VOLIN  | COMMENTS     

Critics of a new series of television commercials sponsored by a local church claim the ads imply a link between homosexuality and sexual abuse, a contention disputed by the pastor at the church.

Lynn Carter, associate pastor at Arlington Assembly of God, in Arlington, Va., said the ads were intended only to extend a welcome to people who might have felt demonized by Christianity.

"This is a new ad that we're doing just to let folks know that we love 'em and that we care about them," Carter said. "We have various commercials that are on. Some deal with gay issues, some do not."

The commercials spotlight at least two "ex-gays." One commercial features a man, the other features a woman, and each says they were sexually abused as a child and later lived a "gay lifestyle." Both commercials end with the person claiming they are now heterosexual and Christian.

Carter said Arlington Assembly of God was not trying to suggest sexual abuse causes homosexuality.

"That's not a link that we draw. This is just one particular person," Carter said.

Gay activist Wayne Besen, author of "Anything But Straight: Unmasking the Scandals & Lies behind the Ex-gay Myth," said that linking sexual abuse with homosexuality is a familiar message from ex-gay groups.

"It's very central to the ex-gay industry," Besen said. "Particularly with lesbians, this is their explanation for why women are lesbians. With men, they talk about a distant father, men become gay because they weren't loved by dad. On the other side of the coin, they portray lesbians as man hating and it's a result of sexual abuse. They're playing off that stereotype."

Besen also said that such sentiments are often promoted by churches.

"They have to logically explain homosexuality, and they can't do it," Besen said. "They can't explain why we're here, and this is a convenient explanation for them. Once they address it, they don't have to address the issue any more."

Regina Griggs, executive director of Parents & Friends of Ex-Gays & Gays, a Virginia-based ex-gay group, said her group does not support a sexual abuse causal theory for homosexuality.

"We do know that sexually abused men and women, depending on their age, sometimes do get involved in same-sex attractions, but that is not exclusively the case, and there are many men and women who have never been sexually abused who do have same-sex attractions," Griggs said.

Dyana Mason, executive director of Equality Virginia, described efforts to promote the possibility of becoming ex-gay as dangerous.

"Promises to 'cure' people of their sexual orientation are false and misleading and even dangerous," Mason said. "There's some good research out there that shows that these people that go through these things are more likely to suffer from depression and isolation."

‘Accepting’ or not?

The commercials were produced by Faith Highway, a Tulsa, Okla.-based company that produces commercials and Web sites for evangelical Christian churches and organizations. Carter said the people who appeared in the spots were not Arlington Assembly of God congregants.

Despite the church's attempts to spread a loving message, Carter said the response from gays who had seen the ads was mixed.

"We've gotten calls that people were offended and calls that people were touched - that they didn't know that God cares for them and God loves them," Carter said. "We want to convey a message of acceptance or love."

The commercials were intended to counteract anti-gay messages from churches, Carter said.

"I think many gays and lesbians feel that they weren't accepted," Carter said. "God hates liars, too, but God lets liars come to church. If someone's looking for an out [from homosexuality] that's fine, and if they're not that's fine, we just want to let them know that we care."

Mason said that churches should accept gays as they are.

"One would hope that this church and other churches would welcome gay and lesbian congregants into their congregation happily without making them litmus tests," Mason said.