Introduction

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​I do not direct LGBT+ people toward heterosexuality. Rather, I promote sexual purity through Biblical ethics like chastity and discipleship. I define sexual purity as either 1) faithfulness in the marriage of one man and one woman; or 2) chastity in singleness. My goal is to help same-sex-attracted Christians become so deeply rooted in Christ that He becomes the focus of their lives, because “where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom” (2 Corinthians 3:17). The endpoint is not heterosexuality. I acknowledge that while some Christians may experience dramatic changes in sexual orientation during their lives, these changes are the exception rather than the norm, and can't be used as a rigid benchmark for sexual purity.

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This statement on conversion therapy is important because in recent years, there has been a groundswell of conversion ministries, usually under other descriptive names, such as "transformation ministry" and even "sanctification ministry." The use of these terms to describe conversion therapies is misleading, since these are biblical terms and, as such, give people the impression that conversion therapy is somehow grounded in scripture.

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​Why is conversion therapy harmful?

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Conversion therapy is misleading for the same reason as any service that promises an outcome when the provider knows full well that the outcome is atypical. Take just about any consumer protection case for example: a business wants to sell an outcome (such as wealth) and offers a "program" or "training" to help clients achieve this outcome. To do so, it understates the investment on the part of the client and overstates the "typicality" of the outcome. As a result, clients dedicate time and money to "training" so that they can achieve this outcome. Failure to achieve the outcome is typically attributed to inadequate discipline, thereby compelling the "trainee," who has by now invested considerable time and money, to invest even more time and money. And so it goes on. Numerous examples of cases of this type can be reviewed at the FTC (Federal Trade Commission) website.

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Not surprisingly, several ministries that hold up heterosexuality as a goal or outcome have been targeted for engaging in false advertising. One of the most high-profile cases was brought against the conversion ministry JONAH (Jews Offering New Alternatives to Homosexuality) in 2015. In that case, a New Jersey judge ruled that the organization's promised outcome—heterosexuality—had violated the state's Consumer Fraud Act. Of particular interest was JONAH's overstatement of the success rate of its therapy with statements like "In most instances, people who [undergo therapy] feel the force of same-sex attractions diminish, and feel heterosexual attractions grow."

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​A second way conversion therapy is potentially harmful is its approach to sin and grace. While conversion therapists hold out heterosexuality as an attainable outcome, failure to reach that outcome is typically attributed to lack of persistence or even lack of faith on the part of the person seeking conversion. In other words, success is based entirely on change of orientation, and this can only be achieved with the seeker's full cooperation. Rosaria Butterfield has suggested that this approach is a kind of prosperity gospel in that it equates positive outcomes to strong faith and negative outcomes to weak faith. Prosperity theologies generally proclaim that people are entitled to things like health and wealth. To gain these things, a person need only pray whole-heartedly and have sufficient faith in God's goodness. If a person does not achieve good health or good wealth, it is because of a spiritual failing on their part. In the same way, conversion therapy holds up heterosexuality as something that all people are entitled to. When an LGBT+ person fails to experience a transition to heterosexuality, conversion therapies would say it is because of a lack of faith, insufficient prayer, or a divided heart that simply isn't committed to change. But this advances a dysfunctional view of faith as a form of entitlement. In a 2015 Gospel Coalition article, David W. Jones warns against this view:

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​Prayers for personal blessing aren’t inherently wrong, of course, but the prosperity gospel’s overemphasis on man turns prayer into a tool believers can use to force God to grant their desires. Within prosperity theology, man—not God—becomes the focal point of prayer.

 

​Conversion therapy potentially competes with faith in the same way, since it unplugs individuals from the grace of the Holy Spirit through Jesus Christ and refocuses their spiritual reliance on the efficacy of prayer and therapy, essentially denying the sovereign grace of God in the nurturing of sexual purity over the long term.

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​Conclusion

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Conversion therapy and all its associated identifications, such as reorientation therapy, reparative therapy, and SOCE (sexual orientation change efforts), is a largely discredited ministerial angle, even in conservative Christian thinking. Sanctification in the heart, soul, and mind of the believer involve lifelong transformation that may or may not include a change in sexual orientation. Scripture does not say that believers are promised or even entitled to a change in sexual orientation. On the other hand, followers of Christ are called to sexual purity (1 Corinthians 6: 13, 18; Colossians 3: 5; Hebrews 13: 4), defined as either 1) faithfulness in the marriage of one man and woman; or 2) chastity in singleness. Sexual purity transcends all forms of sexual attraction, including attraction to the same sex.​