Union Mills Confedctionery (Bakery) August 2011

Whisnant, Charles, & Charity & Family

Christianity.com: John MacArthur Predicts Reversal of the Reformed Reviv...

John MacArthur was asked in this video what he thinks may come about in the church in the years to come and MacArthur is quick to comment on the essential component missing from so many churches and pastors today in the reformed faith. In part one he talks about how having reformed soteriology doesn’t give you a pass in regard to the role as a shepherd or with the way you conduct yourself.
In part 2 of this interview, MacArthur again challenges us in a wonderful way. Are our pastors involved in the life of the church? Are you attending a church that has a video screen playing the sermon, which MacArthur calls “Flat Screen Preaching”? How can you tell if this man is qualified to be an elder and above reproach if he only exists on a video screen? What sort of church is that? We should not allow a rock-n-roll event on Sunday morning replace the  shepherding care of our souls.

Let us not forget how Paul instructs Timothy regarding overseers of the church in his first letter to Timothy. These words are tragically ignored, forgotten, pushed aside, and downplayed way too much today:

1 Timothy 3:1-7

The saying is trustworthy: If anyone aspires to the office of overseer, he desires a noble task. 2 Therefore an overseer must be above reproach, the husband of one wife, sober-minded, self-controlled, respectable, hospitable, able to teach, 3 not a drunkard, not violent but gentle, not quarrelsome, not a lover of money. 4 He must manage his own household well, with all dignity keeping his children submissive, 5 for if someone does not know how to manage his own household, how will he care for God’s church? 6 He must not be a recent convert, or he may become puffed up with conceit and fall into the condemnation of the devil. 7 Moreover, he must be well thought of by outsiders, so that he may not fall into disgrace, into a snare of the devil.

I

In the second video John talks about Grace Church.  150 are joining the church monthly, and many of them are 30 and under. So they are getting this age group into the church with out all the stuff some churches are doing.

Spiritual Depression - D. Martyn Lloyd Jones [Book Trailer]

I know, I’m late to the Spiritual Depression party. I’ve heard it quoted often. Many people have shared personal testimonies about how much it’s helped them. And on the strength of the quotes (often extended), the personal recommendation of friends, and my general love and trust for Lloyd-Jones, I’ve recommended the book a number of times myself. But until now, I’ve actually never read it. I’m excited to be correcting that omission over the next couple days. And along the way, I’m equally excited to hear the good Doctor’s original sermons that became this classic treatise on the Christian life.
So, over the next few days, Lord willing, I hope to post some reflections and thoughts as I read through the book. Today, I want to offer a brief summary of Thomas’ biographical foreword and Lloyd-Jones’ brief preface.
Thomas, a faithful Welsh minister himself, gives us a helpful introduction to Lloyd-Jones and his counseling philosophy in eight summary statements. As much as a biographical introduction to Lloyd-Jones, Thomas’ summary gives us insight into Lloyd-Jones’ dependence upon the word of God as the means of change and growth. Below are the eight major headers and a couple sentences from those sections used by Thomas to introduce us to Lloyd-Jones:

1. He was such a well-rounded, intelligent, and tender personality. Although a mighty intellect with a formidable presence he was accessible and not at all intimidating. There was not a trace of snobbery in him whatsoever; he loathed that sin.
2. He was also utterly committed to the faith of the Scriptures. Confessionally he stood in the tradition of the 1823 Confession of the Calvinistic Methodist Church of Wales. In 1952 he began a series of sermons on Friday nights which was to last for three years on the Great Doctrines of the Bible. They have been published in an 800 page book and they show his grasp of the subtlety of biblical theology, his total trust in the teaching of the Bible and his desire that all his thinking should be controlled by it.

If I might, I want to commend Lloyd-Jones’ Great Doctrines of the Bible (Crossway) to anyone interested in (a) studying their Bible’s more systematically, (b) interested in getting to know the Doctor, or (c) interested in learning to preach doctrine with light and passion. Through these volumes, Lloyd-Jones became my first teacher in systematics. I will forever sing God’s praises for leading me to purchase these volumes as the first books I read as a new Christian.

3. He was a man who maintained the disciplines of private devotion. He had from the early days of his ministry adopted Robert Murray M’Cheyne’s daily Bible passage as his own…. (pdf | app)
4. He was a man to whom people went for spiritual help. Thomas includes this instruction on counseling from Lloyd-Jones to a gathering of medical doctors:

“What is needed is great patience and sympathy, and the power to put oneself in those people’s situation. The adviser must not hold to his own rigid position otherwise the man will simply become a tangent to a closed circle. The adviser may end by feeling that he has taken the ‘Christian stand’ and said all that was right. He may feel happy; but he may, by this very fact, have left the person in extreme misery. This is obviously bad counseling. The point is that we must be very careful not to foist our opinions on others. The counsellor is not a dictator, he is simply there to give help. While he may give his views and, with care, put them quite strongly if asked, yet all that is put to the patient must be in a spirit of real sympathy, love and understanding. As counsellors we must never be in the position of dictating to another person’s conscience. We have no right to imagine ourselves as ‘the conscience’ of another! We are there to share with those who consult us experience, knowledge, wisdom and suggestions concerning the way of cure. There are, unfortunately, Christians who feel it their duty to impose their own legalistic views of others. Our business, however, is to persuade, never to force. We must always be careful to avoid condemnation–especially in the case of a sick or agitated person. If the plain truth of the situation comes home to the patient that is one thing; but it is not our place to condemn.”

5. He believed in the sufficiency of Scripture. This meant he had confidence that the weekly preaching of the Bible would encourage Christians to understand and appreciate the person and work of Christ, that they would come thus under the power of the indwelling Holy Spirit, and would be so energized by him as to give obedience to the ethical demands of the Word of God. Preaching the Word in the power of the Spirit, he believed, would itself lift up the downcast–transforming, elevating, ennobling and enriching their lives beyond measure.
6. He was a man who was prepared to help people in every way he could. He would stay at Westminster Chapel until the last person had been counseled. He would write letters to people all over the world. … He also journeyed extensively all over the United Kingdom to support ministers and evangelical causes.
7. He was a man with a lucidity in explaining the human condition, engaging men’s minds in such an interesting and increasingly gripping manner that the troubles and fears that they had brought with them soon became forgotten distractions. The were being filled with the word of the Lord as they felt themselves addressed by the Lord of the word. So their cares were put into perspective as God was magnified before them.

I love that second sentence as a partial statement on what should be happening, with God’s blessing, in our preaching. We should fill the people with the word of the Lord so that the people know they are being addressed by the Lord of the word. Thomas is exactly correct to see that such preaching puts cares in perspective and magnifies the majesty of God. As Lloyd-Jones himself said, “I can forgive a man for a bad sermon, I can forgive the preacher almost anything if he gives me a sense of God, if he gives me something for my soul, if he gives me a sense that, though he is inadequate in himself, he is handling something which is very great and very glorious, if he gives me some dim glimpse of the majesty and the glory of God, the love of Christ my Savior, and the magnificence of the Gospel.”

8. He was a man persuaded that the person who had come to seek his counsels had more knowledge of all the circumstances involved than he himself had. So he would interrogate the inquirer, who might have wanted a straight directive word to his problem, asking him, “Now what do you think?”

Lloyd-Jones writes a short, direct preface to the original volume. In his foreword, Lloyd-Jones states the reason for preaching these sermons and compiling this volume. ”Believing as I do that the greatest need of the hour is a revived and joyful Church the subject dealt with in these sermons is to me of greatest possible importance. Unhappy Christians are, to say the least, a poor recommendation of the Christian Faith; and there can be little doubt but that the exuberant joy of the early Christians was one of the most potent factors in the spread of Christianity.” Lloyd-Jones preached these sermons, he says, “‘for the common people’ and those who are in need of help’.” It’s my pastoral experience that “the common people,” everyday Christians, which is to say all of us, need from time to time biblical help to acquire spiritual joy. That spiritual joy goes hand-in-hand with flowering revival.

For my own joy and revival, I’m looking forward to prayerfully and meditatively reading Spiritual Depression. For those new to Spiritual Depression and Lloyd-Jones, you might enjoy this trailer for the book.

Knowing the Text You Preach

HAVING THE RIGHT TOOLS TO KNOW HOW DO DIG OUT THE NUGGETS OF SCRIPTURE

Charles e Whisnant

When I was growing up my Dad was my pastor, and I heard him preach for over 17 years (if you count my childhood).  When he opened his bible and preached I just took his word that what he was saying was true.  Is this called child like faith?  I don’t remember or really knew how he prepared sermons each week.  

My desire was to preach and teach the word of God.  As I look back in those years, I am grateful that my Dad had a good library of Christian books.  I remember that I would read and study from the books by  A.W. Pink, and  H.A. Ironside, of course we had Oliver B Greene books too.  Dad had the Treasure of David by Charles Spurgeon which I read a lot while teaching Psalms in the Youth Class.  These studies gave me a good foundation, even if I didn’t know it.

In Seminary I was never exposed to any of these theologians or preachers or teachers.  While they taught books of the Bible they never taught us how to come to a good biblical interpretation of scripture.

Of course we were always having theological challenges in the theology class.  Dr. George Norris made sure that we were challenged in our thinking.  The doctrines of the Bible was always a challenge to me, and one that I always was willing to get involved in.

Some of the most heated debates were over election and sovereignty of God. Of course as a  19 year old I was not up to great details on the subjects. I had not heard of John Calvin yet.

Now 45 years later the theological challenges are still rampant in many forms today.  The people in the pew are still uninformed and still have trouble with Biblical truths.  Theological debate over doctrines of the Trinity, Christ, and Scripture just to name a few are still on the hot seat of debate.  Even the doctrine of separation is heating up.  And this is nothing compared to the truth about the doctrine of salvation, election and heaven and hell.

Of course it all starts with the understanding  and explanation of the teaching of Scripture. The debate over the authority of the Bible, is in fact if  the Bible is really the Word of God and if it is  really true in the first place.

Then you have the area of biblical interpretation. Now in my early days preaching was more about application then interpretation. The idea is to be able to understand and interpreted the Bible, this is called Hermeneutics: the science of interpreting the text of Scripture. What is the methodology of interpreting texts, especially the books of the Bible? It’s the branch of theology that is concerned with explaining or interpreting religious concepts, theories, and principles.

The understanding of scripture of course is vital in the lives of pastors/teachers and pew sitters alike.  Much of the problem of what makes it unnecessarily complicated, though, is that those within the church sometimes pick up tools for interpreting the Bible without giving a thorough inspection or asking whether they are the right tools to apply to Scripture. After all what we hold in our hand and place on the pulpit  each week as we teach should not be treated like any other book.

When you go to interpreted the Bible and you are the interpreter of the Word of God, what tools do you have before you that is going to help you hollow out the precious nuggets:  that are firmly and sometimes seems elusive but clearly in the text?

Something that seems abstract such as knowledge or information, and regarded as very precious are to be sought out with care.  Too often I am afraid the theologians and pastors/teachers will use a grid, a method and approach that starts hammering away at the meaning of a passage of Scripture, only to find that the results conflict with what Scripture (i.e. the God-breathed revelation record of God’s saving words/deeds in history) and what it demands (i.e. obedience of faith among all the nations for the sake of the crucified and raised Messiah: Romans 1:5)

I often wonder over the years, just how the preacher before me was getting his information about the sermon he was preaching.  I can tell you what he was preaching and the verses he was using just didn’t seem to match up.

The tools that many of my fellow preachers wanted you to believe they were using was not what they were using.  Many preachers and teachers want the pew-sitters to believe they received the sermon from the Holy Spirit.  I really didn’t believe that, because I couldn’t believe the Holy Spirit would tell them what I was hearing.

Many times I was confused if they were preaching the title of the sermon or the text they were using.

Of course one should honor the title, but preach the text, true but more than that, one should preach the title by using the text.  Way too often preachers have a great sermon title which they do very well in explaining but they don’t use the text to prove their thought.

Photos of the Day

The challenge of John Stott

The challenge of John Stott
 Read this article about John Stott very good

John Piper, a hugely influential exponent of Calvinism, wrote:

To this day I have zero interest in watching a preacher take his stand on top of the (closed) treasure chest of Bible sentences and eloquently talk about his life or his family or the news or history or culture or movies, or even general theological principles and themes, without opening the chest and showing me the specific jewels in these Bible sentences. John Stott turned the words of Bible sentences into windows onto glorious reality by explaining them in clear, compelling, complete, coherent, fresh, silly-free, English sentences... This is what I was starving for and didn’t even know it. Amazing! Someone is telling me what these sentences mean! Someone is making light shine on these words. It is shining so bright, I can’t sleep in this light! I am waking up from decades of dull dealing with God’s word. Thank you. Thank you. I could care less if you tell me any stories. I want to know what God means by these words!

Grace Is Sufficient For Every Circumstances

http://vimeo.com/28014548

John Stott on "When I Feel Most Alive"

John Stott in his later years. Great video of him.

2 The Testimony of Nebuchadnezzar.mov

Four Ways To Know If the Pastor Has A Good Sermom.mov

The Blind Boys Of Alabama "Someone Watches Over Me"

The Blind Boys Of Alabama "Amazing Grace"

The Roll of the Bible in Preaching?

 POSTBIBLICIST PARADIGM OF PREACHING?

Edward Farley agrees with Buttrick's negative assessment of the text of Scripture when he says,

In a postbiblicist paradigm of preaching, scripture is the through-which of the sermon not simply in the form of isolated passages. While the passage may serve to explore something in the world of the gospel, more often than not, because of its isolation, it turns the preacher away from the world of the gospel. Scripture as a set of writings is multidimensional.... Accordingly, in the new paradigm for preaching, the tyranny of the passage over the sermon will give way to a multivalent use of scripture.¹⁰²

Think of it! A "postbiblicist paradigm of preaching" ... the "tyranny" of the text of Scripture must be overthrown so as not to "turn the preacher away from the world of the gospel." Something about that statement takes my breath away! Must we be postbiblicist in our homiletic to be postmodern? Is this to be the road upon which homiletics travels in the new millennium? Is there no sure word from God in the text anymore? Is there no "thus saith the Lord"? Is the idea that the words of the Bible are the very speech of God no longer tenable? Cannot the "sense" of the text connect with its reference in a way that is both historical and yet leaves room for the multi-dimensionality of language? 

Cannot the revelation of God be both propositional and personal at the same time without reducing to a static "propositionalism" or evaporating into an esoteric encounter with the ground of being that has no cognitive content? May we not respect metaphor and narrative in the Scriptures without reducing them to "pure propositions" and at the same time affirm that since they all appear in Scripture God inspired them all? Can we not respect the narrative structure of Scripture without neglecting other discourse genres or placing them on a procrustean bed of narrative? May we not maintain both the Christological center and the doctrinal center of truth while also recognizing that though we know in part, we may in fact know truly? There is, there must be, another road for homiletics than Farley's "postbiblicist" road. Indeed there is -Jeremiah's "old path" (Jeremiah 6:16); a road nowadays less traveled, but once traveled by many.

And what more can I say, for time would fail me to tell of the many who once traveled that road; of Paul, Peter, and John; of Chrysostom and Augustine; of Wycliffe, Savanarola, Luther, Calvin, Wesley, Whitfield, Knox, Jasper, Moody, Spurgeon, to name only a few, who through preaching subdued kingdoms, stopped the mouths of critics, and launched reformations. Some were beheaded, others were crucified upside down, or exiled on a lonely isle in the Aegean Sea. Some were burned at the stake for their preaching, others languished in prisons, though the word of God which they preached was not bound.

Some preached in pulpits, and others in the fields. Some preached under the banner of Calvinism, others under the banner of a more Arminian persuasion. These all died preaching-either with tongue or pen or life.

Therefore, seeing we are surrounded by a great cloud of preachers, and laying aside every inadequate view of language and any homiletical approach that does not properly acknowledge Scriptural authority, let us preach the word, having our eyes fixed on Jesus the Logos of God, who is indeed, according to Hebrews 1:1–2, God's final revelation.

http://www.theologicalstudies.org.uk/article_homiletics_allen.html#11

Homosexuality Acceptance Will Lead To Pedophilia As Aceptance

HOMOSEXUALITY ACCEPTANCE WILL LEAD TO PEDOPHILIA AS ACCEPTANCE

Research by Charles e Whisnant  August 18, 2011

I was on Facebook and read Fred Butler’s note about “The Canalization of Western society continues: He linked to an article on “Academic confere3nce seeks to normalize pedophilia:” (Sexual desire felt by an adult for children or the crdime of sex with a child.)

I HAVE SAID ALONG WITH MANY OTHERS, THAT WHEN YOU NORMALIZE HOMOSEXUALITY AS A SEXUAL NORMAL FEELING, THAN THE NEXT STEP IS TO NORMALIZE PEDOPHILLIA…….

1A    Academic conference seeks to normalize pedophilia[i]

·       BALTIMORE, MD, August 16, 2011 (LifeSiteNews.com) – Researchers from several prominent U.S. universities will participate tomorrow in a Baltimore conference reportedly aiming to normalize pedophilia.  According to the sponsoring organization’s website, the event will examine ways in which “minor-attracted persons” can be involved in a revision of the American Psychological Association (APA) classification of pedophilia. 

o   In an interview with LifeSiteNews (LSN), Liberty University Visiting Professor of Law Judith Reisman, an expert on sexual ethics and pornography, criticized the Baltimore conference, saying, “This has been on the agenda for decades.”

On their website B4U-ACT classifies pedophilia as simply another sexual orientation and decries the “stigma” attached to pedophilia, observing: “No one chooses to be emotionally and sexually attracted to children or adolescents. The cause is unknown; in fact, the development of attraction to adults is not understood.” The group says that it does not advocate treatment to change feelings of attraction to children or adolescents.[ii]

As previously reported (below) by LSN, similar lobbying, then by homosexual activists, led to the declassification of homosexuality as a mental disorder in 1973 in the DSM. As a result of the DSM declassification, debate regarding homosexuality and the many documented harms associated with the homosexual lifestyle has been all but shut down in academic psychological circles.

2A    Therapists: APA gay ‘marriage’ declaration based on politics, not science[iii]

August 9, 2011 (LifeSiteNews.com) - A group of therapists dedicated to providing therapy for unwanted same-sex attraction has criticized the American Psychological Association’s (APA) new declaration in favor of same-sex “marriage” as tainted by primarily political motivations.[iv]

The declaration, adopted [v] earlier this month by the APA’s policymaking body in a unanimous vote, professes antipathy toward state-level efforts to maintain legal marriage as between a man and a woman, and criticizes such campaigns as sources of stress for homosexual persons.

·       “Statewide campaigns to deny same-sex couples legal access to civil marriage are a significant source of stress to the lesbian, gay, and bisexual residents of those states,” states the APA, which bills itself as “a strong advocate for full equal rights for LGBT people.” 

·       Julie Hamilton, President of The National Association for Research and Therapy of Homosexuality (NARTH), said the declaration was another instance of the APA inappropriately playing the standard-bearer for a political cause.

·       “Although the APA is regarded as a professional, scientifically based organization, far too often it does not function as such.”

·       Hamilton noted that Drs. Rogers Wright and Nicholas Cummings, both former top APA officials, have disclosed that “many of the APA’s decisions are influenced by ideology rather than research” in their book, Destructive Trends in Mental Health.

·       “As a result, the APA cannot be viewed as a reliable source of scientific information, and the stances they take therefore lack any real value,” she said.

Homosexuality was declassified as a mental disorder in 1973 in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, the universal standard for classification of mental illness, after years of high-pressure lobbying by gay rights activists.

Dr. Michael Ross wrote the following comment, which I thought was amazing, below a related story here on LifeSiteNews.
I hope he doesn’t mind if I share it here:

·       The true purpose of marriage with its biological complementarity and
power to conceive, incubate, nurture, rear, role model and prepare young, vulnerable human life for adulthood is to serve the security, development and well-being of children born of a male-female marital union. Procreation serves the couple, their extended family and the community at large at such a fundamental level that the distinct protections of authentic marriage must be reserved and preserved. True, natural marriage serves the common good in unique and vital ways that same-sex relationships just do not.
 
Defining a professed commitment in a same-sex relationship as a marriage because the assertion of commitment bears superficial similarities to authentic marriage or to other committed arrangements such as between two business partners, an employer and employee, or a long term customer service relationship, truly institutionalizes a lie to gratify a particular constituency.  To classify such relationships as marriage would qualify them for the same prerogatives regarding parenting, adoption, foster care and similar special considerations appropriate for marriages when relationships defined merely by sexual or other narrowly selective behavior, by their very nature, fall short of the needs of children.

·       We distinguish different professions and occupations and confer different
privileges and responsibilities in recognizing the differences, for
example, between a lawyer and school teacher, an accountant and
electrician, etc. To normalize and institutionalize placement of children with same sex couples would be systemic injustice and abuse of minors. 

·       That the APA has redefined itself by such inappropriate political advocacy as an ideological organization advancing the interests of particular adult
groups based upon their sexual behavior and preferences over the welfare, needs and interests of vulnerable children, invalidates its role as an authoritative professional organization serving the truth entrusted to its professionals, scientists and clinicians on behalf of the human beings they serve.  Clearly, true psychologists, genuine mental health professionals, need a new organization to represent their fidelity to truth, professional ethics, scientific integrity, and service to all humanity. 

—Michael T. Ross, MD

I’m curious how the APA can claim there is “insufficient evidence” for ability to change for those with unwanted same-sx attraction (SSA), as apparently they did not consult the thousands of existing ex-gays (many of whom also face cultural stresses from the left). 

 
I’m not saying the process is easy, and it may depend on degree of how deeply-rooted the SSA is, but most folks report varying degrees of help.  Fordham University also published a 2010 journal study confirming such help is possible.  http://www.onenewsnow.com/Culture/Default.aspx?id=991110

3A    American Psychological Association supports same-sex ‘marriage’ 157-0[vi]  Note footnote on this.

4A    'Orientation' change efforts effective

·        Since homosexual marriage became “legal” the rates of HIV / AIDS have gone up

o   considerably in Massachusetts. This year public funding to deal with HIV/AIDS has

o   risen by $500,000. As the homosexual lobby group MassEquality wrote to their

o   supporters after successfully persuading the Legislature to spend that money: "With the

o   rate of HIV infections rising dramatically in Massachusetts, it's clear the fight against

o   AIDS is far from over."[vii]

·       Researchers at Fordham University have released a study showing that homosexual men can change their "orientation" by developing healthy, non-sexual relationships with other men.[viii]

·       The study was published in the Journal of Men's Studies (March 2010). Greg Quinlan, president Parents and Friends of Ex-Gays & Gays (PFOX,) tells OneNewsNow it serves as confirmation to "everything that we've been saying all along."

·       "Those that are what I call 'honest researchers' into mental health and the psychology of human beings show that people can change from homosexual to heterosexual if they're highly motivated to change," he explains.

·      
Quinlan knows first-hand that the "sexual orientation change efforts" are effective, as they helped him leave the homosexual lifestyle. This study, he contends, is a blow to activist groups that claim homosexuals are "born that way" and that homosexuality is merely one variation of normal human sexuality

·      

"I accepted the manufacturer's guidelines and decided to follow them, and they're working for me, as they are for thousands of others who've decided to leave the homosexual lifestyle," he shares.

·      
The PFOX president says that if a homosexual is open to hearing what the Bible teaches, then it is essential in helping a person halt homosexual conduct and developing heterosexual views. He adds, though, that Christians often take the wrong approach on the subject

·       "We want to accommodate science to the Bible. Ladies and gentlemen, brothers and sister in Christ, it's simply this: don't worry about science," Quinlan urges. "It'll catch up. The Bible always turns out to be right."

·       He notes that Christians do need to stand up to tell the truth and stop enabling homosexuality by not responding, but that the response must be done in truth and love.

---

[i] http://www.lifesitenews.com/news/academic-conference-seeks-to-normalize-pedophilia

BALTIMORE, MD, August 16, 2011 (LifeSiteNews.com) – Researchers from several prominent U.S. universities will participate tomorrow in a Baltimore conference reportedly aiming to normalize pedophilia.  According to the sponsoring organization’s website, the event will examine ways in which “minor-attracted persons” can be involved in a revision of the American Psychological Association (APA) classification of pedophilia. 

B4U-ACT, a group of pro-pedophile activists and mental health professionals, is behind the August 17 conference, which will include panelists from Harvard University, the Johns Hopkins University, the University of Louisville, and the University of Illinois.

B4U-ACT science director Howard Kline has criticized the definition of pedophilia by the American Psychological Association, describing its treatment of “minor-attracted persons” as “inaccurate” and “misleading.” 

“It is based on data from prison studies, which completely ignore the existence of those who are law-abiding,” Kline said in a July 25 press release. “The proposed new diagnostic criteria specify ages and frequencies with no scientific basis whatsoever.”  

“The Diagnostic and Statistical of Mental Disorders (DSM) should meet a higher standard than that,” he added. “We can help them, because we are the people they are writing about.” 

On their website B4U-ACT classifies pedophilia as simply another sexual orientation and decries the “stigma” attached to pedophilia, observing: “No one chooses to be emotionally and sexually attracted to children or adolescents. The cause is unknown; in fact, the development of attraction to adults is not understood.” The group says that it does not advocate treatment to change feelings of attraction to children or adolescents. 

In their press release B4U-ACT announced a letter the group has sent to the APA criticizing its classification of the mental illness.

In an interview with LifeSiteNews (LSN), Liberty University Visiting Professor of Law Judith Reisman, an expert on sexual ethics and pornography, criticized the Baltimore conference, saying, “This has been on the agenda for decades.”

“I first met up with what I had come to call ‘The Academic Pedophile Lobby’ in 1977 at The British Psychological Society Conference on Love and Attraction, Swansea, Wales,” she said. “I delivered a research paper on child pornography in Playboy 1954-1977.”

“Other conference academicians, some hired by pornographers, presented ‘scientific’ papers advocating the legalization of child pornography, prostitution and an end to age of consent,” she said. “They promoted their ‘scientific’ claims for early childhood sexuality to lawmakers and fellow academicians via both legitimate and pornographic media.” 

“The DSM is typical of this degeneracy since they already had lightened the diagnosis of pedophilia as to make it almost meaningless, requiring that the pedophile be ‘bothered’ by his and her abuse of children and so on,” Reisman said. “We now have women and children sexually violating children as well as men. This will continue to spiral down into, well, we’d have to say the abyss of hell, unless we retrieve our laws, our mass media and our schools.”

As previously reported by LSN, similar lobbying, then by homosexual activists, led to the declassification of homosexuality as a mental disorder in 1973 in the DSM. As a result of the DSM declassification, debate regarding homosexuality and the many documented harms associated with the homosexual lifestyle has been all but shut down in academic psychological circles.

[ii] http://www.lifesitenews.com/news/academic-conference-seeks-to-normalize-pedophilia

[iii] http://www.lifesitenews.com/news/therapists-apa-gay-marriage-declaration-based-on-politics-not-science

[iv] http://www.lifesitenews.com/news/therapists-apa-gay-marriage-declaration-based-on-politics-not-science

[v] American Psychological Association supports same-sex ‘marriage’ 157-0

·       The American Psychological Association (APA) has re-affirmed its support for same-sex “marriage” for the eighth consecutive year, this time with a more strongly-worded statement.

·       On the eve of this year’s annual convention, the association’s policymaking body supported same-sex “marriage” unanimously in a 157-0 vote.

·       The APA has backed “marriage” for homosexual couples since 2004, and marriage-like benefits since 1997, and now calls itself “a strong advocate for full equal rights for LGBT people for nearly 35 years.” 

http://www.lifesitenews.com/news/american-psychological-association-supports-same-sex-marriage-157-0

·       This year’s resolution is the first new wording of the association’s position since 2004, and includes stronger support for same-sex “marriage” by both asserting the possibility of long-term gay relationships as well as criticizing the stress that traditional marriage campaigns cause gays.

·       One APA official indicated that the recent spread of gay “marriage” in America, most notably in New York last month, has made the association’s public support for normalizing same-sex “marriage” more bold.

Homosexuality was declassified as a mental disorder in 1973 in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, the standard criteria for classification of mental illness, after years of lobbying by gay rights groups.

[vi] http://www.lifesitenews.com/news/american-psychological-association-supports-same-sex-marriage-157-0

·       [vii]What same-sex "marriage" has done to Massachusetts

·       It's far worse than most people realize

 http://www.massresistance.org/docs/marriage/effects_of_ssm.pdf

[viii] 'Orientation' change efforts effective

http://www.onenewsnow.com/Culture/Default.aspx?id=991110