A church in Bridgeport, Connecticut has caused a stir among gay activists, like that’s real hard to do. Manifested Glory Ministries had posted a video on You Tube of a teen who was apparently undergoing a gay exorcism. The only problem is, that’s no gay exorcism.
Abuse or Religious Freedom?
The video shows a 16 year old, lying on the floor, at times vomiting; with elders of the church casting the “homosexual” demon out of him. Gay rights groups are fit to be tied over the 20 minute video that quite frankly is none of their business. If you disagree, see the Constitution.
“We believe a man should be with a woman and a woman should be with a man,” the Rev. Patricia McKinney told The Associated Press. “We have nothing against homosexuals. I just don’t agree with their lifestyle.”
Officials from Manifested Glory Ministries deny that the youth was hurt in any way or that the church is prejudiced against homosexuals. Another problem with this is most are calling it a gay exorcism, this is not an exorcism. What is taking place on video is simply a casting out of unclean spirits, quite different from a full exorcism performed by the Catholic Church.
Robin McHaelin, executive director of True Colors, an advocacy group for gay youths says that her group is aware of 5 cases of gay exorcism. Once again what you call an exorcism I call religious freedom. The boy wasn’t hurt and he went for help, he wanted the “gay exorcism”. Robin McHaelin and people like her may find it hard to believe, but everybody who’s gay doesn’t want to stay that way.
“I think it’s horrifying,” McHaelin said of the video by Manifested Glory. “What saddens me is the people that are doing this think they are doing something in the kid’s best interests, when in fact they’re murdering his spirit.”
That’s rich, murdering his spirit? One minute it’s a gay exorcism, the next their murdering his spirit; it’s funny that gay advocacy groups are outraged over the video, despite the church having the religious freedom under the Constitution to do as they will, as long as nobody was hurt. I think if someone was actually hurt, not “spiritually murdered”, then do something. True Colors and other gay groups are just outraged over a Christian Church once again not agreeing with their lifestyle.
Manifested Glory Ministries will no doubt be vilified by the MSM for their so called “gay exorcism”. But I maintain that they have the religious freedom to do so if they wish. Like it or not, the 16 year old boy had the right to ask for help if he wanted.
Homosexuals have the right to march in the streets in Gay Pride parades, do they not? Then why doesn’t Manifested Glory Ministries have the right to perform gay exorcisms? Why doesn’t the 16 year old have the right to not be gay if he wants?
Religious Freedom
June 25th, 2009 at 8:10 am
This is pretty stupid.
There is no right to have a gay parade. There is a right to have a “parade”. Let’s make that clear. Religious right in this country is an oxymoron. Anyone can make up any thing they want in regards to religion. Remember the breakaway Mormon sect that had multiple wives and had sex with kids.
Is there something wrong with performing “gay exorcism”? No, IF you don’t care about the mental well being it’s being done on.
Maybe we should have something like “adulterer exorcism”. You would have more clients that way.
The over the top preoccupation of religion with gays is what’s turning people off. It sure made me think twice about my religion.
June 25th, 2009 at 8:15 am
This article is disgusting in the depths of its author’s ignorance.
This poor young man is, and has long been, a victim of severe psychological abuse at the hands of his culture. The desire to belong to a “community” is so strong that he will do whatever is necessary to achieve acceptance by his “family.”
This subject has NOTHING to do with religious freedoms. Believing it does is as intelligent as believing that all left-handed people are really disciples of Satan.
This young man and his cult are battling biology. He was born with his sexual orientation, just as he was born with his skin color. Ignoring that simple fact of life is what has us “gay activists” outraged.
I feel the purpose of any religious community is to foster a closer relationship between their followers and their God. This pack of spiritually devoid wolves has failed to achieve that on so many levels.
If their hateful teachings have damaged this teenager to the level where he asks a mob to attack him, just consider the level of hatred being cultivated in the minds of the other children in this community.
Ms. McKinney (and there is nothing reverent about her) is a deeply disturbed individual, who needs to locked up, for the safety of her community. Those unfortunate souls suffering from her brand of mass hypnosis need deprogramming and education.
I don’t believe the people in this video have any right to subject the children of their congregants to this level of harmful, hate-building stupidity.
Just as you advocate for religious freedom, this “gay activist” prays that parents will take responsibility and educate themselves BEFORE breeding hatred and prejudice.
June 25th, 2009 at 8:21 am
First of all, I certainly think this young man has been subjected to harmful psychological and emotional events at the hands of his parents and church. This is not a valid way to deal with sexual orientation, and the people advocating this sort of treatment are way off base.
That said, I do agree with Shannon that this is not something that should be subject to legal action. As much as we may dislike the results, this child’s parents have every right to raise him as they see fit. In the end, this is a private family matter that, yes, is none of anyone else’s business.
Short of demonstrable proof that this young man has undergone some sort of legally defined abuse at the hands of his parents, there’s nothing we can do other than lament the situation and act differently in our own private lives.
June 25th, 2009 at 11:35 am
Well, it’s clear that slapping the $hit out of one of these little froots doesn’t convert them. If it did we’d see Perez Hilton in line down at the military recruiting office.
June 25th, 2009 at 11:53 am
What a piece of work that fruitcake is. I saw his YouTube video on the Factor and was literally rolling with laughter.
I can’t believe that he wasn’t pummeled on a regular basis throughout his life.
June 25th, 2009 at 11:54 am
Yo…Bell!
You’s right! We gotta go beat up our mis-behavin children tills they’s dead! Isn’t that what the Bible says. Isn’t that RELIGIOUS freedom, in it’s purest sense?
Come on Bell, God created Gays for a reason…YES, GOD…WHO ELSE? Gays don’t choose to be Gay! Would you choose to be condemned, crucified, and hated by your evangelical parents and friends?
Trust in God’s plan. Maybe to curb the overpopulation of the world…maybe to find good, loving, homes for children abandoned by straight parents!
As for this Church … they can do what ever they want…it will come back to them tenfold though, in ways they may never realize, as “what one sows, so shall they reap” is universal!
Steve Leong
Hawaii
June 25th, 2009 at 2:45 pm
God knows whether or not it would be the case; that perhaps if this was a story about Muslims at a mosque in America trying to exorcise a demon out of a boy because he was gay, some of these same people here on this blog who are saying that this is a matter of religous freedom would not be saying that.
God help us! They would probably be using it against the Muslims and trying to say “What a savage faith, look how they handled this poor boy just cause he was gay.”
They would probably be advocating the prosecution of those involved in the alleged exorcism and charges of child abuse being brought against them and maybe even shutting down the entire mosque in which the matter took place. And perhaps they would use the incident in a propaganda movie against Islam, that they would distribute to hordes of mindless red-necked sheep throughout the nation.
And if it was said to them that the boy had desired to be freed of this/these demon(s) and this gayness, this same crowd who is advocating religous freedom for Christians might just say that he was brainwashed into the matter.
Some would most likely be using this as a tool to advocate clamping down on religous freedom for Muslims. And as a crying point to continue to advocate the severe restriction of immigration from middle eastern and Islamic countries in particular, and as a tool along with all of their other tools to help them keep promoting the invasion and conquering of Muslim lands to bring to them “freedom” and “democracy” and “human rights”.
Therein lies the hypocrisy. You say you are all about religous freedom, but thats only when it comes to your own religion!! You are all full of it! If you had it your way you would try to ban the Qur’aan like that fool in the Netherlands. If you had it your way you would try to ban the women, who chose to do so, from covering themselves like some in Europe. Why, if some of you had it your way you would even try in vain to ban the mention of the word “Allah”, and God willing you would never achieve that.
Now of course I dont claim to know that which is unseen or to know that which would have happened in every circumstance had things happened differently then they did, only God knows. This from me is only a mere hypothesis. But a hypothesis none-the-less based on what we have seen in reality of these hypocritical people. Freedom and justice are not for all people just for them.
Now if you are a “Good Christian” and you dont think you would have any of the above reactions if this were a story about an alleged Jinn or demon extraction done by Muslims on a homosexual minor in hopes of ridding him of his homosexuality, then just say-so, but be truthful and dont lie to us or yourself. But I fear I can not trust some of you to speak truth for indeed falsehood is at the core of the methodology of Paul, nor is it something all too many “evangelicals” care for, if you only knew. And God knows all that is in the hearts.
June 25th, 2009 at 3:11 pm
**CLARIFICATION: Nor is the TRUTH something that all too many “Evangelicals” care for.
June 25th, 2009 at 3:54 pm
“I feel the purpose of any religious community is to foster a closer relationship between their followers and their God. This pack of spiritually devoid wolves has failed to achieve that on so many levels.”
Andy, I think you miss the point that the boy ASKED for help.
June 25th, 2009 at 3:55 pm
Hey Yazan, quit ranting about what we would say if this were a Muslim church. Don’t Muslims condemn Homosexuals to death?
June 25th, 2009 at 3:56 pm
“You’s right! We gotta go beat up our mis-behavin children tills they’s dead! Isn’t that what the Bible says. Isn’t that RELIGIOUS freedom, in it’s purest sense?”
What exactly are you talking about, Steve?
June 25th, 2009 at 3:58 pm
By the way Andy, are you sure that left handed people aren’t disciples of Satan?
June 25th, 2009 at 4:33 pm
It’s true that many Christians demand protection of their own religion to the point of entangling it with politics, while attempting to suppress those who practice another religion or — even worse — no religion at all. That is a deplorable state of affairs to be sure.
However, I see no real evidence that Shannon has done that here, or in the past. It’s dangerous to project broad group characteristics onto a single person unless there is something to back up the connection.
June 25th, 2009 at 6:59 pm
I though that exorcism was a religious thing, like Jewish people usu. have their little boys exorcized, but Christians do not. I didn’t know it had something to do with sexual preference.
Ha…ha…ha….
June 25th, 2009 at 9:10 pm
“Come on Bell, God created Gays for a reason…YES, … Trust in God’s plan. Maybe to curb the overpopulation of the world…maybe to find good, loving, homes for children abandoned by straight parents!” steveleong
in the case of gay men it was to develop fashion, style hair, and manage retail clothing store.
lesbians … i don’t know much about them … but i think they run motorcycle shops and make black band tee shirts
June 25th, 2009 at 9:16 pm
No Rhayader, Shanon in this article has not tried to defame Islam or advocate for less religous freedom for Muslims, in this article. My point was not at all to accuse her of doing so, in this article. My point was to highlight how SOME Christians, and I am not accusing Shanon in particular, are two-faced in their approach to religous freedom and Im asking you to consider how some of the same people who might scream for religous freedom and shout “just leave them alone” and “its none of your business” in this case mentioned in the article would not take the same attitude if the article were about Muslims perfoming Jinn or devil extractions in their places of worship. They would likely not “just leave them alone” and they would try to make it everybodies business. And God knows all.
June 26th, 2009 at 5:12 am
@Yazan: Yeah I completely agree with you there. Being what is typically considered an atheist, I know all too well the hypocrisy typical of the religious right.
August 16th, 2009 at 2:18 pm
I can’t believe that anyone in their right mind would call this crap religious freedom in the year 2009. Maybe if you believe in fairy tales, like walking on water, talking bushes and spending three nights in a whales mouth but to me, religion reflects nothing but man made crap built around mythology. Give me freedom FROM religion and the wing nuts that perform “exorcisms”, catholic or otherwise.