A college psychology professor's observations about public policy, mental health, sexual identity, and religious issues
In a Dallas Voice article out today, James Stabile talks to John Wright about his experiences with Heartland World Ministries Church and Pure Life Ministries. Rev. Joe Oden is quoted as well. Oden’s statements in the DV article are consistent with the interview he gave to me on the 18th. The Light the Highway folks have … Continue reading “James Stabile speaks out; apologizes for actions”
Recently, I have posted about the James Stabile saga involving the young man filmed during an event sponsored by Heartland World Ministry Church. Mr. Stabile left home and became involved with the church, eventually filmed by Christian Broadcasting Network, then enrolled in Pure Life Ministries and is now back at home with his parents. I … Continue reading “Rev. Joseph Stabile wants to put controversy to rest”
On December 15, I posted a lengthy account of a young man, James Stabile, who was featured in a CBN segment extolling the healing power of a ministry in Dallas. According to the story, he met Dallas area minister Joe Oden, while cruising the gay bars in the Oak Lawn neighborhood. Rev. Oden, at the time believed the young man … Continue reading “Follow up on the James Stabile story”
Although my name won’t show up for awhile, I just added my name to the signers of the letter below. It appears to me that the letter is clearly aimed at Donald Trump, his evangelical defenders and particularly Trump’s ambiguous response to the racist protests in Charlottesville. The letter was posted this morning at the … Continue reading “An Open Letter from Christian Scholars on Racism in America Today”
Sad. Conn. church creates stir with gay exorcism video By JOHN CHRISTOFFERSEN – 1 hour ago BRIDGEPORT, Conn. (AP) – The video shows the 16-year-old boy lying on the floor, his body convulsing, as elders of a small Connecticut church cast a “homosexual demon” from his body. “Rip it from his throat!” a woman yells. … Continue reading “Connecticut church tries to cast out homosexuality”
I recall reading an article as an undergraduate regarding legalism. I do not remember the name of the author, nor the title of the article. I do remember a line from the article. The author was noting that many churches have rules for behavior that are not derived from the Bible. The rules seem important … Continue reading “More strict than God”
Since it was so much fun last year, I decided to compile a top ten list of stories of the year on the blog. Since I am the only voter, the list is subjective and regular readers might arrange them differently or think I should have included another story over one of these. The stories are … Continue reading “Year in review: Top Ten Stories from 2007”
Commenter isea metaphor referred to another video featuring a gay man involved in a Purity Siege in Cedar Springs area of Dallas. This man’s story does not involve a sudden change but rather he gives a sincere description of his inner experience of struggle between his sexual desires and his beliefs and faith. In the comment section … Continue reading “Heartland Church purity siege video describes sexual identity struggle”
CNN’s Gary Tuchman previews a segment to air tonight about the I-35 revival campaign called Light the Highway. I discussed that project in relationship to the James Stabile story. Joe Oden of the Heartland School of Ministry in Dallas tells me that James Stabile’s situation did not come up in the interviews. Tuchman interviews Cindy … Continue reading “I-35 Light the Highway campaign featured on CNN tonight”
Sometimes stories come along that leave me speechless for awhile and then with so many things to say, I can’t get the words all out at once. There are so many directions I could go with this story. There is the no-wonder-people-outside-the-church-think-Christians-are-looney angle and there is the sexuality angle. But, for now, I think it … Continue reading “I-35 revival: A new straight and narrow way?”