Christian Man Facing Prison For Sharing Ex-gay Testimony After ‘Conversion Therapy’ Case
Christian Man Facing Prison For Sharing Ex-gay Testimony After ‘Conversion Therapy’ Case
After sharing his experience as an ex-gay during an online media appearance, a Maltese Christian charity worker was accused of discussing and promoting purported conversion procedures. He is now facing criminal accusations.
According to the U.K.-based organization Christian Concern, whose arm, Christian Legal Centre, is supporting the charity worker, the case will see Matthew Grech, 33, a trustee of the Core Issues Trust, as well as the presenters of a local free speech media outlet, PMnews Malta, stand trial on Feb. 3 at the Court of Magistrates in Valletta.
ALSO, READ How to Stay Motivated to Lose Weight In 2023
Grech may be sentenced to five months in jail and/or a $5,000 fine under Maltese rules that forbid “conversion practices,” the organisation claimed.
Grech feels that he is the target of members of the Malta Gay Rights Movement, who contend that discussing LGBT lifestyles, human identity, or Christian ideas on marriage should be illegal.
In the online interview last April, which was advertised on Facebook beforehand, Grech spoke about his childhood, the confusion he experienced with his own sexuality and relationships, and how as an adult he had been involved in homosexual relationships before becoming a Christian, which changed his life dramatically.
Grech stated that he does not agree with the term conversion therapy and the deeper he went into his Christian faith exploring the Bible, the more he understood that homosexuality is not an identity but a practice.
He shared his view that no matter what sexual feelings a man or a woman experiences, if they have sexual relations with a person of the same sex, they commit the homosexual act in God’s eyes, and that is a sin.
ALSO, READ ‘Left Behind: Rise of the Antichrist Is Timely Amid Chaos Worldwide – Kevin Sorbo
He went on to say that just like every other sin, one can repent from it and ask God for forgiveness and ask Him for strength to overcome. He made it clear that he was talking from a Christian perspective.
At no point during the program did Grech invite any listener to attend therapy or encourage anyone to get help for unwanted same-sex attraction, Christian Concern said in the statement.
Christian Man Facing Prison For Sharing Ex-gay Testimony After ‘Conversion Therapy’ Case
This case holds significance on an international level because, in 2016, Malta became the first country in the European Union to outlaw counseling or therapy for unwanted same-sex attraction, often derisively referred to as conversion therapy by LGBT groups.
“Anyone who cares about freedom of speech should be alarmed by what is happening to me,” Grech was quoted as saying. “If it happens to me in Malta, I assure you that it will soon be happening in the U.K. and other countries across the world.”
Meanwhile, Britain’s Culture Minister Michelle Donelan said last week that the government plans to ban conversion therapy for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and trans-identified individuals.
In a consultation in December 2021, over 500 church leaders from across the U.K. wrote to the government to say they were prepared to face criminal charges if a conversion therapy ban was introduced.
In the letter, they said they would “continue to do our duty to God” even if the proposed ban came into force.
“It should not be a criminal offense for us to instruct our children that God made them male and female, in His image, and has reserved sex for the marriage of one man and one woman. Yet this seems to be the likely outcome of the proposed legislation,” they wrote.
A consultation document at the time said, “The United Kingdom is a global leader on LGBT rights and is committed to banning the coercive and abhorrent practice of conversion therapy. We want every individual to have the freedom to be themselves and proposals have been developed with the protection of LGBT people in mind. The proposals we are bringing forward in this consultation are intended to ensure that everyone in this country is protected through both criminal and civil measures.”
Christian Man Facing Prison For Sharing Ex-gay Testimony After ‘Conversion Therapy’ Case
In the United States, a federal appeals court unanimously upheld a Washington state law prohibiting therapy for minors experiencing unwanted same-sex attraction last September, rejecting a Christian therapist’s claims that the ban violated his free speech rights to counsel patients with unwanted same-sex attraction.
In 2013, the Ninth Circuit ruled in favor of a similar California law, a first-in-the-nation ban on sexual orientation change therapy for minors.
Sometimes also known as “reparative therapy,” the court defined conversion therapy as an attempt to “change an individual’s sexual orientation from gay to heterosexual or to change an individual’s gender identity from transgender to cisgender.”
Such counseling has been largely rejected by mainstream psychiatric organizations in the United States, with over 20 states and the District of Columbia banning the practice on minors.
However, some Christian counselors say their practices are often misconstrued and the term “conversion therapy” maligns their efforts to help people facing unwanted same-sex attraction.
ARE YOU BORN AGAIN? IF NO, ACCEPT JESUS NOW
Accept Jesus Christ today and secure a life of eternal rest and Glory …
Say this 1 Minute Prayer
Lord Jesus, I believe you died for my sins, Forgive me of all my iniquities. I accept you as my Lord and Saviour from today and forevermore. Come and Be the Lord of my life and I am willing to obey your command and live according to your will as you help me, Thank you for accepting me into your fold. AMEN
JOHN 3: 3 Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God
