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ALAN Manning Chambers, above, headed Exodus International, founded in 1976 to use Christianity as a world-wide weapon against homosexuality.

According to Exodus’ Wiki entry, in 2009, one of its board member —Don Schmierer — and two other evangelical Christians traveled to Uganda to tell a conference on homosexuality that homosexuality was “evil” and could be “cured”. A month later a Ugandan politician, with the help of the organisers of the conference, introduced what became known as the “Kill the Gays” bill. If passed, the bill would have made homosexuality punishable by death.

Close to a year later, Wiki states:

Chambers expressed regret for his organisation’s involvement, and spoke out against the proposed bill.

But it was all far too little and far too late. The damage had been done. US evangelicals such as Schmierer and Scott Lively as well as Paul Shinners, a UK evangelist from the UK who praised the bill, had effectively sown the seeds of hatred against Ugandan LGBTQ+ communities. After a slightly watered down version of the bill was eventually passed, violence against these communities dramatically spiked.

By 2013, the now married-to-a-woman pastor had come to realise that there was no cure for homosexuality. His own, or anyone else’s. He shut down the despicable organisation and issued an apology to Exodus’ countless victims. In it he admitted his own “ongoing same sex attractions”.

What the now fashionista, still clinging to Christianity, neglected to mention was that his “ongoing same sex attractions” allegedly extends to young teenage boys

Friendly Atheist Hermant Mehta reported that 54-year-old had been arrested for allegedly trying to meet someone he thought was a 14-year-old boy. He had actually been talking he whole time via social media to an undercover officer.

The charges against him include “solicitation of a minor via computer,” “transmission of material harmful to minors,” and “unlawful use of a two-way communication device.”

Many will be delighted by news of Chambers’ arrest, but as Mehta points out:

… You can bet conservative will attempt to use this as proof that gay people are groomers. Chambers was a useful tool for the right in the past and some things never change. In that sense, it’s disturbing that this is how he’s resurfacing. He’s no longer someone who’s made peace with the damage he caused and has ideas for how to make amends for it. Instead, he’s someone accused of trying to exploit a child. He went from enemy, to pariah, to accused predator. There’s no redemption in that arc. After spending years fueling moral panics about LGBTQ people, he’s now accused of behavior far worse than the lies he used to spread.

Chambers has been released on bond of $15,000.

Hat tip: Stephen Harvie

If you support the Pink Triangle Trust’s mission to promote humanism, fight bigotry and fund LGBTQ+ groups, you can make a donation below. If you wish to report any typos or errors, please email freethinkered@aol.com.