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Book Review of The Homosexual Agenda: Exposing The Principal Threat To Religious Freedom Today by Alan Sears and Craig Osten
Reviewed by Sandra Alexander

A note from the Authors: "While this book deals with a difficult and contentious issue, we want to state up front that both authors and the ministry of the Alliance Defense Fund have nothing but respect, compassion, and sensitivity toward those ensnared in homosexual behavior. Both of us have family members, respected acquaintances, and friends who have been trapped in this behavior and know something of the incredible pain and sorrow it has brought to them and their families. With God's grace we carefully balance this love and respect for these individuals with warnings about the carrying out, promotion, and demand for legal approval for homosexual behavior that will stifle religious freedom and trap millions of more people in its deadly grip." (p. viii)

This book reveals where the homosexual movement is taking us, with its "six-point strategy" for changing societal perception of homosexuality. This strategy takes society through four stages, and we are now past the third stage and into the final and fourth stage leading to the moral demise of a culture.

In the Introduction to their book, The Homosexual Agenda, Mr. Sears and Mr. Osten ask the question, “How far down the road have homosexual activists taken us toward their goal of unbridled sexual behavior and silencing of the church?” (p. 14) They then describe the four stages which lead to the moral demise of a culture, stating that the homosexuals, after quickly passing through the first two stages, are now finishing the third stage, (‘The Mobilization Stage’) developing a common language and strategy for presenting their case to the public.

“They [homosexual advocates] reframed the issue, taking it out of the moral realm, and presented it as a ‘human rights’ issue. Those who opposed their argument were deemed ‘hateful’ or ‘intolerant’ toward those that are ‘different’ - even though the group’s only identification is that of a chosen sexual behavior.” (p. 14) This strategy is working, because “once an issue has been redefined from a moral absolute to an individual choice, society starts to be reprogrammed that the arguments of the group are valid and therefore special privileges for previous ‘injustices’ and for the affirmation of the behavior occur.” This is stage four, “The Legitimization Stage.” (p. 14) The authors warn us that we have now reached stage four and they ask the question, “How has one to two percent of the population achieved so much success in transforming American culture and restricting religious freedom?” (p. 17)

Part of the answer to the question is found in two publications (1987 and 1989) by homosexual activists Marshall Kirk and Hunter Madsen. Their strategy to change America’s perception of homosexual behavior included the following six points:

1. Talk about gays and gayness as loudly and often as possible. (Through sheer perseverance the opposition will be worn down)

2. Portray gays as victims, not aggressive challengers.

3. Give homosexual protectors a “just” cause.

4. Make gays look good. (Notice that the media always makes the “gay” character the hero)

5. Make the victimizers look bad.

6. Solicit funds: the buck stops here (i.e., get corporate America and major foundations to financially support the homosexual cause). (p. 18)

Kirk and Madsen knew that Bible-believing Christians would be the major opponents of legitimizing homosexuality because of their belief in the Biblical teaching that homosexuality is “unnatural” and “vile.” To counteract this, they stated, “We can undermine the moral authority of homophobic churches by portraying them as antiquated backwaters, badly out of step with the times and with the latest findings of psychology. Against the mighty pull of institutional religion, one must set the mightier draw of science and public opinion….Such an unholy alliance has worked well against churches before, on such topics as divorce and abortion.” (p. 20) In addition to this Kirk and Madsen wrote, “We intend to make the antigays look so nasty that average Americans will want to disassociate themselves from such types.” (p. 23)

Read the rest of the review here.