This post is in response to an article about Apple and a ridiculous app from Exodus ministries:
Original article here
I find this absolutely deplorable, and I think these so-called “Christian” groups who espouse reformation of what they don’t like (or couldn’t be bothered to understand) are malignant and soul-destroying parasites. And how do they know what “God’s creative intent” is anyway? Sure, there is the Bible, but I think it’s fairly well-known now that the fundamentalists like to pick and choose what they quote, allowing some actions and condemning others. BUT, having stated this, I think it’s clear what Apple’s intent is: to make money. Apple is a business, and that is its purpose. And I think it’s clear that the real issue here is whether this app violates free speech. Are they (Exodus or even Apple for that matter) encouraging anyone to go out and kill homosexuals? If so, then they need to be shut down immediately. If their purpose is to help those who wish to live as heterosexuals, then that’s a different story. OUR purpose is to see through all the well-turned phrases and quotes from the scriptures and make decisions that are based on our own personal feelings and beliefs. I find organizations like Exodus reprehensible and would not, therefore, lend any credence to anything they promote/say/publish. It is up to each of us to sift through the debris and decide what we believe and what we do not believe. If organizations like Exodus exist, it is because there are still too many people out there who buy what they’re selling (and please do not think for one moment that business is not booming!). And if Apple can make money off of it, it will. Don’t buy the app – obviously – but if we boycott every company that is even remotely homophobic, what remains? Do I stop shopping at Safeway because the stock boys call each “fag” as in insult? Do I report them just because they don’t know any better? Do I stop shopping there because they carry iTunes gift cards? Do I stop shopping there because they’ve hired a cashier who assumes I’m shopping for my wife? Where do WE draw the line as rational, intelligent homosexuals? Would our energies not be better spent helping those younger LGBT adolescents learn that there is nothing wrong with them, instead of wasting our energies screaming at these kinds of organizations that will never go away? There are battles we will win and there are battles we have lost before we’ve even begun to fight. I think it’s time we spend more time and energy helping the future LGBT generation win the most important battle, which is not hating what they see in the mirror every morning. And that will only happen when those of us who’ve already been through the struggle – and survived – give them our full attention.
Dreamspinner Press