[1]NASHVILLE, Tenn. (BP)–Even when he was deep in the sin of homosexuality, Michael Glatze knew it was wrong. And now Glatze, a former leader in the homosexual movement, is telling the story of his former life while exposing homosexuality for the empty, lustful lie it is.
“Homosexuality, delivered to young minds, is by its very nature pornographic,” Glatze wrote in a column published by WorldNetDaily in July. “It destroys impressionable minds and confuses their developing sexuality; I did not realize this, however, until I was 30 years old.”
Although Glatze’s new religion of Mormonism denies essential elements of Christianity, his story of leaving homosexuality is nonetheless significant.
The founding editor of Young Gay America magazine, Glatze declared himself “gay” at age 20, and two years later he launched an ambitious and successful career of recruiting other young men to embrace the homosexual lifestyle. A favorite interview source for major media outlets, Glatze was atop the ladder of something that was supposedly groundbreaking and invigorating. But he knew something wasn’t right.
“I feel strongly God has put me here for a reason,” the Dartmouth-educated Glatze told WND. “Even in the darkest days of late-night parties, substance abuse and all kinds of things — when I felt like, ‘Why am I here, what am I doing?’ — there was always a voice there. I didn’t know what to call it, or if I could trust it, but it said ‘hold on.'”
It was after viewing a tape of himself speaking at the JFK Jr. Forum at Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government in 2005 that Glatze began to seriously doubt what he was doing with his life and influence, he said.
“Soon, I began to understand things I’d never known could possibility be real, such as the fact that I was leading a movement of sin and corruption …,” Glatze wrote in his column. “It became clear to me, as I really thought about it — and really prayed about it — that homosexuality prevents us from finding our true self within. We cannot see the truth when we’re blinded by homosexuality.”
[2]During most of his time in the homosexual lifestyle, any doubts that crept up were quickly banished by culture and world leaders assuring him that he was doing the right thing, Glatze noted, and he justified his behavior because it was “accepted” by law.
“God is regarded as an enemy by many in the grip of homosexuality or other lustful behavior, because He reminds them of who and what they truly are meant to be,” Glatze wrote. “People caught in the act would rather stay ‘blissfully ignorant’ by silencing truth and those who speak it, through antagonism, condemnation and calling them words like ‘racist,’ ‘insensitive,’ ‘evil’ and ‘discriminatory.'”
COALITION PUSHES FOR A PALESTINIAN STATE — In an effort to show the Middle East that all believers are not exclusively on the same page, a group of Christian leaders has sent a letter to President Bush asking for the creation of a Palestinian state “that includes the vast majority of the West Bank.”
“Both Israelis and Palestinians have committed violence and injustice against each other. The only way to bring the tragic cycle of violence to an end is for Israelis and Palestinians to negotiate a just, lasting agreement that guarantees both sides viable, independent, secure states,” the 34 Christians wrote.
Among those who signed the letter are the editor of Christianity Today, the president of World Vision and the president of Fuller Theological Seminary.
“This group is in no way anti-Israel, and we make it very clear we’re committed to the security of Israel,” Ronald J. Sider, president of Evangelicals for Social Action and a signer of the letter, told The New York Times July 29. “But we want a solution that is viable.”
[3]Sider said the letter stemmed from a meeting with Muslim and American diplomats in Qatar earlier this year when attendees were “shocked to discover the existence of American evangelicals who favored a Palestinian state.”
“We think it’s crucial that the Muslim world realize that there are evangelical Christians in the U.S. in large numbers that want a fair solution,” Sider told The Times.
The letter reportedly is being distributed in Arabic in the Middle East and Europe to further make the group’s position known.
PBS TO AIR INTELLIGENT DESIGN TRIAL — PBS is preparing to air a re-enactment of the trial in which U.S. Middle District Court Judge John E. Jones III ruled that the teaching of Intelligent Design in public classrooms is unconstitutional.
“I thought in retrospect that the lawyering was so good and the witnesses were so impactful, positive and negative, that the public should have seen it,” Jones told The York Daily Record in Pennsylvania.
The two-hour special called “Judgment Day: Intelligent Design on Trial” is scheduled to air Nov. 13 on the PBS science program NOVA. Paula Apsell, the executive producer, told the newspaper that NOVA shows usually run half that time but they thought the story was too complex to present in one hour.
Plans for the episode include interviews with people who witnessed or participated in the trial, and actors will re-enact the proceedings based on court transcripts.
The PBS producer said the trial served as excellent scientific instruction with a thorough explanation of both sides taking place in the courtroom.
“This is a scientific, a religious, and also a very, very personal issue,” Apsell said.
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