by Deborah Levinson
A couple of years ago I was asked, by a fellow named Greg (who ran a Christian Humor site and proved on a daily basis that was not an oxymoron), what I thought about the "Hell" or "Judgment" House concept, a concept growing in popularity each and every year.
The creators of one of the first, Judgement House™, describe their concept as follows:
"Judgement House™ is an alternative to the haunted house. It is an 8 scene drama that makes people aware of the reality of heaven and hell. Judgement House™ shows them the joy of having a relationship in Heaven with Jesus. It also shows them that hell is the ultimate haunted house, which is where they will spend eternity if they do not accept Jesus Christ as their personal Savior. Judgement House™ is an extremely effective way to bring people to Jesus because it clearly presents the gospel to those who attend.™"
Another, found in Denver, called "Hell House," ensures that we know what evils lurk in the heart of the Mile High city, "Homosexual Lies, Violent Rape, Medical Murder..." and where people who participate in these activities will end their lives, "It is a spiritually-based adventure that takes people on a 7-scene journey, each scene depicting the hell and destruction that Satan and this world can bestow on those who choose to not serve Jesus Christ. Literally, choices that can also have an end result of ushering people into hell."
Hell House describes further, "The 7 scenes each last 2-3 minutes. Scene 1 is a funeral scene of a teenage homosexual boy who has died of AIDS."
Greg describes the scene for me in more detail, "...when it comes to the gay issues, they act out a gay union ceremony, then proceed to one of the couple in a casket, dead from AIDS. Demons surround the casket and say things like 'We've got your alternative lifestyle all right -- in Hell!' or 'We convinced him he was born that way -- what kind of an idiot would believe that?'
So Greg says to me, "Deborah, what do you think?" and lets me know that the standard response of the GLBT community is, "This is just going to engender more intolerance, hatred and violence toward gays." A response he feels is insufficient.
Greg is right.
While these types of scenes and misinformation will engender more intolerance, hatred and violence, unless people are given the information to understand just why those results follow the statement can be dismissed as a non-thinking reaction to "an opposing view."
Except this "opposing view" is much more than that. And its inaccuracies, omissions and misleading information is dangerous not only to gays and lesbians, but also to the non-gay or lesbian teens it misleads.
Here's just one example:
It would be very easy from this presentation to draw the conclusion that gay = AIDS. While the argument might be made that this conclusion could possibly keep a gay, lesbian or questioning youth from "experimenting" which would be a good result from the point of view of the people putting on the show, that is not the only message being sent.
If gay = AIDS then teens might believe that they are immune from the risks of HIV if they only engage in heterosexual experimentation. And, while the creators of the exhibit would hope that no sexual foreplay take place among teens, that is not a given, and the results of the misinformation could have life-changing (and ending) consequences as the epidemic is increasingly transmitted through heterosexual contact. This misinformation is potentially life-threatening to heterosexual teens.
And if these non-gay or lesbian teens do become HIV+ or develop AIDS they are not going to get much sympathy from their brethren. At least not according to Dr. Gregory Herek, a research psychologist at the University of California at Davis, who in 1998 used scientific telephone survey methods to ask a representative sample of more than 1700 American adults their opinions about people with AIDS and various AIDS policies.
His findings included "More than one American in four feels uncomfortable about being around a person with AIDS," Dr. Herek said. "And a large proportion of the population still doesn't understand that AIDS is not spread through casual social contact. Moreover, the extent to which people with AIDS are blamed for their illness seems to be increasing."
Also dangerous is the suggestion that orientation is somehow a "choice" also poses a risk. "We convinced him he was born that way -- what kind of an idiot would believe that?"
Yes, there are people who were in or seeking gay or lesbian relationships who are now in or seeking heterosexual relationships. Putting aside the possibility that these people were bisexual in the first place, and some sort of transformation has taken place, just what nature of transformation are we looking at?
Gregory M. Herek, Ph.D. of U.C. Davis states it best, "In many of these behavior-change techniques, 'success' has been defined as suppression of homoerotic response or mere display of physiological ability to engage in heterosexual intercourse. Neither outcome is the same as adopting the complex set of attractions and feelings that constitute sexual orientation."
None of the findings of the alleged "reparative therapies" have been published in peer-reviewed scientific journals. Certainly we see it all over the World Wide Web and in advertisements paid for by a variety of fringe groups, but Press Releases are not Science, no matter how one wants to slice it.
Indeed, the American Psychiatric Association's official web site notes:
"There is no published scientific evidence supporting the efficacy of 'reparative therapy' as a treatment to change one's sexual orientation.... There are a few reports in the literature of efforts to use psychotherapeutic and counseling techniques to treat persons troubled by their homosexuality who desire to become heterosexual; however, results have not been conclusive, nor have they been replicated. There is no evidence that any treatment can change a homosexual person's deep seated sexual feelings for others of the same sex. Clinical experience suggests that any person who seeks conversion therapy may be doing so because of social bias that has resulted in internalized homophobia, and that gay men and lesbians who have accepted their sexual orientation positively are better adjusted than those who have not done so."
Suggesting that somebody can "change" --- when indeed there is no evidence that they can truly do so --- can be harmful to that person in many ways.
According to the 1998 position statement of the APA: "The potential risks of 'reparative therapy' are great, including depression, anxiety and self-destructive behavior, since therapist alignment with societal prejudices against homosexuality may reinforce self-hatred already experienced by the patient."
Also, the underlying assumption that there is something inherently wrong with being gay or lesbian does, and will continue to, lead to death and violence. Do the people who believe that being gay and lesbian is wrong want to see teens die? I find that hard to believe ... but their presentations will do just that, and here are some of the reasons as collected by LAMBDA GLBT Community Services
These may not be the desired results of the promoters of the Hell and Judgement [sic] Houses --- but these are indeed the results.
I won't question their motivations. I'll assume the best intent. At least until they are provided with this information and continue to present their incomplete, misleading, inaccurate and extremely dangerous information.