Christian News from Scotland

News stories from Scotland and beyond

Wednesday, September 19, 2007

"CHANGE IS POSSIBLE FOR GAYS"

CONTROVERSIAL STUDY CONCLUDES CHANGE IS POSSIBLE FOR GAYS

Sources: Baptist Press, Religion Today

In what some are calling groundbreaking research, a new four-year study concludes that it is possible for homosexuals to change their physical attractions and become heterosexual through the help of Christian ministries.

The data was released Thursday, Sept. 13, at a news conference in Nashville, Tenn., and is published by InterVarsity Press in the, "Ex-Gays?", authored by psychologists Stanton L. Jones and Mark A. Yarhouse.

Thirty-eight percent of the subjects followed in the study said they had successfully left homosexuality while an additional 29 percent said they had had only modest successes but were committed to keep trying.

In another significant finding, the authors said attempts at conversions do not appear to be psychologically harmful.

“These findings contradict directly the commonly expressed views of the mental health establishment that change in sexual orientation is impossible, and that if you attempt to change it’s highly likely to produce harm for those who make such an attempt,” Jones, a professor of psychology at Wheaton College in Illinois, said at a news conference.

Labels: , , ,