Page 81 - Push Back

philosophies to treat as an illness that which Yahweh has declared to be sin. In a misguided
attempt to make the homosexual feel welcomed and accepted, he was diminishing their
perception of themselves as guilty sinners standing before a holy God. The responsibility for their
choices and actions were shifted to their parents, or to others. Diminishing a person’s sense of
guilt and shame is counter-productive to getting them to change their behavior.

Jennifer Keeton

Recently, here in my home state of Georgia, there was a story in the news about a graduate
student at Augusta State University who was enrolled in a counseling program. Jennifer Keeton
was a Christian young woman seeking to be trained to work as a licensed counselor. Inevitably,
the issue of sexual orientation and gender identity came up in her course work. This young
woman held strong Christian convictions on the subject. She stated openly to her instructors that
she would inform her clients that homosexuality is morally wrong. She would offer conversion
therapy to individuals who desired to overcome their same-sex attraction.

Augusta State University trains many of their students to serve in the public school systems as
counselors. In this role it must train its counselors to provide government approved counseling
that is consistent with the policies and practices of the American Counseling Association. This
professional certifying body, following in the footsteps of the APA, has embraced a pro-
homosexual agenda that encourages counselors to affirm homosexuals as normal and
wholesome. The university objected to Ms. Keeton’s Christian moral views, insisting that she
attend several diversity workshops, gain a greater exposure to homosexuals, including a
suggestion that she attend a gay pride parade. Failing to do these things, and continuing to refuse
to affirm homosexual behavior as normal, she was threatened with expulsion from the program.

Such experiences are becoming commonplace for Christian students enrolled in counseling
programs. The Alliance Defense Fund, a legal organization whose goal is to guard against