We have all been horrified by what we have seen happen in the Roman Catholic Church these past few years. But let’s not be naive to the fact that the molestation of children and teenagers by spiritual leaders and by men and women of all kinds is happening in Protestant and pagan communities at equally alarming rates. Recent deliberations by Catholic leaders has uncovered countless facets to this phenomenon, sending every other denomination scurrying to find an effective policy that will protect the young, protect the innocent who may be falsely accused, create guidelines for the removal of offenders from positions of leadership, and make provision for the healing of those who have been abused as well as for the healing of those offenders who truly repent (who usually have also been victims of child abuse). Let’s think through some of the multiple facets of this problem. As we look, the first thing we discover is that it is not simply one problem, but many, including pedophilia, ephebophilia and homosexuality.

A pedophile is a person with ongoing sexual attraction to children.
An ephebophile is a man with ongoing sexual attraction to male teenagers, sometimes referred to as a pederast.

It is important to note the connection between homosexual neurosis and ephebophilia. The two conditions share several common causal factors, thus making ephebophilia more prevalent among those who struggle with homosexual confusion. The few studies that have been done indicate that the incidence of molestation of minors is much higher among homosexuals than among heterosexuals.

Gay Culture

• In my ten-year sojourn in the gay community, I noticed how common and accepted it was and would estimate that perhaps twenty-five percent of homosexuals also struggle with being sexually attracted to minors, usually teenagers.

• Culturally, evidence of this can be found in abundance at gay clubs and parties, where underaged teens are a common fixture and a highly sought-after commodity.

• Evidence is found in the historic value placed on ancient Greek culture and ideals in modern gay culture, where teenage boys were commonly used as sexual partners.

• Dr. Timothy Dailey (senior fellow in the Center for Marriage & Family Studies at the Family Research Council in Washington, D.C.) writes in his article, Homosexuality and Child Sexual Abuse: “The late ‘beat’ poet Allen Ginsberg illustrates the seamless connection between homosexuality and pedophilia. Many know Ginsberg as an illustrious ‘out’ homosexual poet: fewer are aware that he was also a pedophile. . . . [who wrote for both the NAMBLA Bulletin and NAMBLA Journal]. . . . Mary Eberstadt, writing in the Weekly Standard, documents how the taboo against sex with children continues to erode -- with the impetus coming from homosexual writers. . . . Eberstadt cites the Village Voice, which states that ‘Gay fiction is rich with idyllic accounts of intergenerational relationships, as such affairs are respectfully called these days.’" Mary Eberstadt, "'Pedophilia Chic' Reconsidered" The Weekly Standard 6 (January 8, 2001). from Homosexuality and Child Sexual Abuse by Timothy J. Dailey, Ph.D

• Themes of adult-child sex are common in gay publications. According to Timothy Dailey: “Recent years have seen the appearance of publications that lend a scholarly veneer to the fascination with pedophilia in the gay community. Such publications attempt to make the case for ‘intergenerational intimacy.’ The nation's largest gay publisher, Alyson Publications, which distributes Daddy's Roommate and other homosexual books that promote homosexuality to children, publishes books advocating man-boy sex, including: Paedophilia: The Radical Case, which contains detailed information on how to engage in sexual relations with young boys; The Age Taboo, another defense of pedophilia which claims: ‘Boy-lovers . . . are not child molesters. The child abusers are . . . parents who force their staid morality onto the young people in their custody.’” from Homosexuality and Child Sexual Abuse by Timothy J. Dailey, Ph.D

• Timothy Dailey also notes: “A significant percentage of books that have appeared on the Gay Men's Press fiction bestseller list contain pedophilia themes, including: Some Boys, described as a ‘memoir of a lover of boys’ that ‘evokes the author's young friends across four decades;’ For a Lost Soldier, the story of a sexual relationship between a soldier and an eleven-year-old boy, set during World War II; A Good Start, Considering, yet another story about an eleven-year-old boy (!) who suffers sexual abuse but is rescued by a teenager who ‘offers him love and affection;’ Terre Haute, billed as ‘A poetic novel of sexual awakening in the American Midwest, tracing an adolescent's journey from introspection to perilous desire;’ Shiva and Arun, the story of two Indian adolescents who ‘discover early on the joys of sex;’ Teardrops on My Drum, barefoot kids in 1920's Liverpool search for ‘adventure, love and sex.’" from Homosexuality and Child Sexual Abuse by Timothy J. Dailey, Ph.D

• Dr. Timothy Daily writes: “The Journal of Homosexuality is viewed as the premier ‘mainstream’ English-language publication of the gay movement. One prominent editor is John DeCecco, a psychologist at San Francisco State University who also serves on the editorial board of the Dutch pedophile journal Paidika. It is therefore not surprising to see pedophilia promoted on its pages. In 1990 the Journal of Homosexuality published a series of essays on pedophilia that were eventually published as ‘Male Inter-Generational Intimacy: Historical, Socio-Psychological, and Legal Perspectives,’ edited by pedophile Edward Brongersma. None of the essays offered any substantive criticism of pedophilia: most blatantly promoted man-boy love as the natural right of homosexuals. In 1999 Helmut Graupner, wrote an article on pedophilia in the Journal of Homosexuality, in which he claims: ‘Man/boy and woman/girl relations without doubt are same-sex relations and they do constitute an aspect of gay and lesbian life.’ Graupner argues that, as such, consensual sexual relations between adult homosexuals and youths as young as fourteen qualifies as a ‘gay rights issue.’" Helmut Graupner, "Love Versus Abuse: Crossgenerational Sexual Relations of Minors: A Gay Rights Issue?" Journal of Homosexuality 37 (1999): 23, 26. from Homosexuality and Child Sexual Abuse by Timothy J. Dailey, Ph.D

• Dr. Dailey also cites lesbian columnist Paula Martinac, writing in the homosexual newspaper Washington Blade, who states: “[S]ome gay men still maintain that an adult who has same-sex relations with someone under the legal age of consent is on some level doing the kid a favor by helping to bring him or her 'out.' It's not pedophilia, this thinking goes -- pedophilia refers only to little kids. Instead, adult-youth sex is viewed as an important aspect of gay culture, with a history dating back to 'Greek love' of ancient times. This romanticized version of adult-youth sexual relations has been a staple of gay literature and has made appearances, too, in gay-themed films. When some gay men venerate adult-youth sex as affirming while simultaneously declaring 'We're not pedophiles,' they send an inconsistent message to society. . . . The lesbian and gay community will never be successful in fighting the pedophile stereotype until we all stop condoning sex with young people." Paula Martinac, "Mixed Messages on Pedophilia Need to be Clarified, Unified," Washington Blade (March 15, 2002). from Homosexuality and Child Sexual Abuse by Timothy J. Dailey, Ph.D

• In a tract for “Focus on the Family,” Dr. William Maier quotes gay activist Michael Swift who, (writing under a fictitious name in the Gay Community News), made the following statement:
“We shall sodomize your sons, emblems of your feeble masculinity, of your shallow dreams and vulgar lies. We shall seduce them in your schools, in your dormitories, in your gymnasiums, in your locker rooms, in your sports arenas, in your seminaries, in your youth groups, in your movie theatre bathrooms, in your army bunkhouses, in your truck stops, in your all-male clubs, in your houses of Congress, wherever men are men together. Your sons will become our minions and do our bidding. They will be recast in our image. They will come to crave and adore us.” Gay ‘Big Brothers’? by William J. Maier, Psy.D. William J. Maier, Psy.D., is a child and family psychologist and serves as Psychologist in Residence at Focus on the Family in Colorado Springs, Colorado.

Gay Organizational Support of Child/Teen Abusers

Clear evidence of the connection between homosexual neurosis, pedophilia and ephebophilia can be found in the presence of NAMBLA in the “Gay Pride” parades throughout the world.
It is also not a coincidence that gay organizations are at the forefront in trying to lower the age of consent in our legal system.
• Dr. Timothy Dailey has noted that: “in 1985, NAMBLA was admitted as a member in New York's council of Lesbian and Gay Organizations as well as the International Gay Association -- now the International Lesbian and Gay Association (ILGA). In the mid-1990's ILGA's association with NAMBLA and other pedophile groups cost the organization it's status as a Non-Governmental Organization in the United Nations. . . . ILGA's renewed attempt to gain admittance to the UN was rejected again in April 2000 because the organization ‘did not document that it had purged pedophile groups such as NAMBLA.’ The Washington Times reports that Ishtiag H. Anrabi, Pakistani delegate to the UN Economic and Social Council, expressed concern that ILGA was continuing to be secretive about ties with pedophile groups.” Homosexuality and Child Sexual Abuse by Timothy J. Dailey, Ph.D

• Dr. Daily also writes of David Thorstad - “a homosexual activist and historian of the gay rights movement. He is a former president of New York's Gay Activists Alliance (GAA), a prototype activist group founded in December 1969. The GAA at its inception opposed age of consent laws, which prohibited adults from having sex with children. Thorstad is also a pedophile and founding member of the North American Man Boy Love Association (NAMBLA). Thorstad argues that there is a natural and undeniable connection between homosexuality and pedophilia. . . . He writes: ‘Boy-lovers were involved in the gay movement from the beginning, and their presence was tolerated. Gay youth groups encouraged adults to attend their dances. . . . There was a mood of tolerance, even joy at discovering the myriad of lifestyles within the gay and lesbian subculture’ . . . . Thorstad claims that by 1985 homosexual pedophiles had won acceptance within the gay movement." Thorstad is co-author, with John Lauritsen, of The Early Homosexual Rights Movement (1864-1935) (New York: Times Change Press, 1974). David Thorstad, "Man/Boy Love and the American Gay Movement" Journal of Homosexuality 20 (1990): 252. from Homosexuality and Child Sexual Abuse by Timothy J. Dailey, Ph.D

Adult Gay Sexual Behavior With Minors Studies & Statistics

Let’s now look at what the field of psychology has unearthed regarding the sexual attraction to teenage boys that many adult male homosexuals have - a predilection that is notoriously unbridled in many cases.
• Ephebophile men are generally frozen in their developmental growth as a result of being abused in childhood. (Note: well over half of all homosexuals are child sexual abuse victims). They are often emotionally frozen in the 10-12 year-old age bracket, when a child is intensely self-focused, sees life in magical terms, has a poor capacity to consider long-term consequences to their actions, and possesses a short time and attention span. They want what they want and they want it now!

• Ephebophiles will usually emotionally identify with teenagers of the age they were when they were sexually abused. They see their “pre-abuse” self in their victim and subconsciously try to either extract lost innocence from them, mar the accusing presence of innocence in them in order to assuage their own sense of guilt, or attempt a reenactment of their own abuse as a way of working through the confusion and sense of lost justice that they have suffered.

• Ephebophiles (as well as pedophiles) often lack a moral compass and sometimes, even a conscience. They have difficulty seeing their victims as real people (for some of the reasons cited above). Studies have shown that empathy develops in response to love and affection, creating an attachment that produces moral courage. Child abuse victims who do not get love and reassurance from significant authority figures will often grow up detached and afraid of others. In failing to receive proper love and affection, (and in suffering just the opposite), the power to empathize with others will fail to develop in the pre-frontal cortex of their brain. This must be overcome by a reprogramming or renewing of the mind, which creates a cerebral bypass in the way thoughts and feelings are processed in the brain.
Focus on the Family’s Dr. William Maier quotes one article on the subject to say: “While gay activists insist that there is no connection between homosexuality and the sexual abuse of children, the evidence indicates that a substantial number of gay men seek adolescent males or boys as sexual partners. A study in Archives of Sexual Behavior found that homosexual men are attracted to young males, including those as young as age 15.” Zebulon A. Silverthorne & Vernon L. Quinsey, "Sexual Partner Age Preferences of Homosexual and Heterosexual Men and Women," p. 70. from Gay ‘Big Brothers’? by William J. Maier, Psy.D.

• Dr. Maier also cites gay researchers Karla Jay and Allen Young, who reported that “73 percent of the gay men they surveyed had engaged in sex with boys 16 to 19 years of age or younger.” Karla Jay and Allen Young, The Gay Report: Lesbians and Gay Men Speak Out about Sexual Experiences and Lifestyles (New York: Summit Books, 1979), p. 275. from Gay ‘Big Brothers’? by William J. Maier, Psy.D.

• “Dr. Robert Johnson, in Medical Aspects of Human Sexuality, reports: ‘The vast majority of cases of male sexual molestation is not reported. As a result, these young men keep both the incidents and their feelings to themselves.’" from Homosexuality and Child Sexual Abuse by Timothy J. Dailey, Ph.D.

• “The Journal of Sex Research found that homosexual pedophiles commit about one-third of the total number of child sex offenses in the United States, even though homosexuals make up no more than 5 percent of the U.S. population.” (“Big Problem” by Lynn Vincent, World, 10/26/02)

• In the (1994) Jenney et al study, [published in the journal, Pediatrics]: “22% of children [in a study of the hospital charts of pedophile victims] had been molested by someone of the same sex . . . offering significant support for the notion that homosexuals are disproportionately likely to sexually abuse children. . . . If we accept Jenney et al’s estimate that 1% to 2% of the population is homosexual, their own data suggest that a homosexual might be approximately ten times more apt to molest children than a heterosexual would. . . . If around 2% of the population committed 22% of the molestations, there is little doubt about the disproportionate overlap between homosexuality and pedophilia.” (“Gay Rights Trumps Pediatric Science” by Dr. J. Gordon Muir, Family Research Report, Jan/Feb 1995)

• Gay activists have become ingenious in their attempts to deflect the attention of the world from the profound brokenness lying deep within this hidden subgroup of the homosexual community. Dr. Timothy Dailey writes: “Central to the attempts to separate homosexuality from pedophilia is the claim that pedophiles cannot, by definition, be considered homosexuals. Relying upon a questionable methodology, the gay advocacy organization Human Rights Campaign published a ‘Fact Sheet on Sexual Orientation and Child Abuse,’ that states: ‘A sexual abuser who molests a child of the same sex is usually not considered homosexual.’ The basis for this claim is the view that pedophiles who molest boys cannot be considered homosexual if that individual has at any time been married or sexually involved with women.” Homosexuality and Child Sexual Abuse by Timothy J. Dailey, Ph.D

• Dailey goes on to cite . . . “a study of 279 homosexual/bisexual men with AIDS and control patients discussed in the Journal of the American Medical Association [which] reported: ‘More than half of both case and control patients reported a sexual act with a male by age 16 years, approximately 20 percent by age 10 years.’" Harry W. Haverkos, et al., "The Initiation of Male Homosexual Behavior," The Journal of the American Medical Association 262 (July 28, 1989): 501. from Homosexuality and Child Sexual Abuse by Timothy J. Dailey, Ph.D

• Dailey says: “The best epidemiological evidence indicates that only 2 to 4 percent of men attracted to adults prefer men (ACSF Investigators, 1992; Billy et al., 1993; Fay et al., 1989; Johnson et al., 1992); in contrast, around 25 to 40 percent of men attracted to children prefer boys (Blanchard et al., 1999; Gebhard et al., 1965; Mohr et al., 1964). Thus, the rate of homosexual attraction is 6 to 20 times higher among pedophiles." Homosexuality and Child Sexual Abuse by Timothy J. Dailey, Ph.D. from Ray Blanchard, et al., "Fraternal Birth Order and Sexual Orientation in Pedophiles," Archives of Sexual Behavior 29 (2000): 464.

• Dr. Timothy J. Dailey writes in his article, Homosexuality and Child Sexual Abuse: “1) men are almost always the perpetrator; 2) up to one-third or more of child sex abuse cases are committed against boys; 3) less than three percent of the population are homosexuals. Thus, a tiny percentage of the population (homosexual men), commit one-third or more of the cases of child sexual molestation.”

• A study on pedophilia in the Psychiatric Journal of the University of Ottawa reported: "According to the literature, findings of a two-to-one ratio of heterosexual to homosexual pedophiles have been documented." John M. W. Bradford, et al., "The Heterogeneity/Homogeneity of Pedophilia," Psychiatric Journal of the University of Ottawa 13 (1988): 225. from Homosexuality and Child Sexual Abuse by Timothy J. Dailey, Ph.D

• “Elsewhere the study notes: ‘Researchers have variously estimated the incidence of homosexual pedophilia between 19 percent and 33 percent of reported molestations.’" John M. W. Bradford, et al., "The Heterogeneity/Homogeneity of Pedophilia," Psychiatric Journal of the University of Ottawa 13 (1988): p. 218. from Homosexuality and Child Sexual Abuse by Timothy J. Dailey, Ph.D

• The Journal of Sex Research reports a study that included "199 offenders against female children and 96 offenders against male children. . . . This would indicate a proportional prevalence of 32 percent of homosexual offenders against children." Freund, "Pedophilia and Heterosexuality vs. Homosexuality," p. 197. from Homosexuality and Child Sexual Abuse by Timothy J. Dailey, Ph.D

• Dailey adds: “A study of male child sex offenders in Child Abuse and Neglect found that fourteen percent targeted only males, and a further 28 percent chose males as well as females as victims, thus indicating that 42 percent of male pedophiles engaged in homosexual molestation.” Michele Elliott, "Child Sexual Abuse Prevention: What Offenders Tell Us," Child Abuse and Neglect 19 (1995): 581. from Homosexuality and Child Sexual Abuse by Timothy J. Dailey, Ph.D

• “The Archives of Sexual Behavior reports on one study: ‘One of the most salient findings of this study is that 46 percent of homosexual men and 22 percent of homosexual women reported having been molested by a person of the same gender. This contrasts to only 7 percent of heterosexual men and 1 percent of heterosexual women reporting having been molested by a person of the same gender.’" Marie, E. Tomeo, et al., "Comparative Data of Childhood and Adolescence Molestation in Heterosexual and Homosexual Persons," Archives of Sexual Behavior 30 (2001): 539. from Homosexuality and Child Sexual Abuse by Timothy J. Dailey, Ph.D

• In his report, Timothy Dailey continues: “Noted child sex abuse expert David Finkelhor found that ‘boys victimized by older men were over four times more likely to be currently engaged in homosexual activity than were non-victims. The finding applied to nearly half the boys who had had such an experience. . . . Further, the adolescents themselves often linked their homosexuality to their sexual victimization experiences.’" Bill Watkins & Arnon Bentovim, "The Sexual Abuse of Male Children and Adolescents: A Review of Current Research," Journal of Child Psychiatry 33 (1992); in Byrgen Finkelman, Sexual Abuse (New York: Garland Publishing, 1995), p. 316. from Homosexuality and Child Sexual Abuse by Timothy J. Dailey, Ph.D

• Dailey concludes: “The Journal of Child Psychiatry noted that ‘there is a tendency among boy victims to recapitulate their own victimization, only this time with themselves in the role of perpetrator and someone else the victim.’ Watkins mentions several studies confirming that between 19 percent and 61 percent of male sex abusers had previously been sexually abused themselves.” Bill Watkins & Arnon Bentovim, "The Sexual Abuse of Male Children and Adolescents: A Review of Current Research," Journal of Child Psychiatry 33 (1992); in Byrgen Finkelman, Sexual Abuse (New York: Garland Publishing, 1995), p. 319. from Homosexuality and Child Sexual Abuse by Timothy J. Dailey, Ph.D

It is important to remember, that both ephebophilia and homosexuality derive from arrested emotional development. In certain ways these individuals remain identified or emotionally frozen at a particular point of development. Inside, they still feel like and identify with an age group that physically, they have left behind. In some, this emotional identification with children or teenagers of a particular age becomes sexualized - particularly if the arrested development has been the result of having been sexually abused or exposed to certain kinds of pornography.
Both homosexual neurosis and ephebophilia can (at least in part) be the result of childhood sexual abuse, which in some cases, creates a fixation or obsession with people in the age range when the abuse occurred. Therefore, ephebophilia should be seen as a subset of homosexual neurosis, present in some homosexually confused people but not in others.

I believe that the single greatest factor in the wholesale failure of modern psychology to bring healing to pedophiles and ephebophiles is the refusal to acknowledge that homosexual neurosis is in many cases a significant part of the dysfunctional equation. When you refuse to treat the homosexual orientation, you ipso facto sabotage the healing of the more serious condition of sexual attraction to minors. Whether ephebophilia is present in any given homosexual struggler or not, both conditions represent degrees of arrested emotional development. Therefore, significant levels of healing should be sought and obtained before the church lays upon such people the emotionally demanding rigors of ordination.

There is no question that God will forgive a truly repentant pedophile (a person with ongoing sexual attraction to children) or ephebophile (a man with ongoing sexual attraction to male teenagers, sometimes referred to as a pederast). However, because of the high recidivism rate, the skilled capacity of unrepentant offenders to deceive their caregivers and others, and the significant damage that can be done to any additional victims should they reoffend, two pertinent questions linger in the matter of restoring the pedophile and ephebophile to unrestrained communion in the body.

1. Can they be be permanently set free from temptation in these areas so as to no longer pose a threat?

2. How extensively should they be reintegrated into the life and ministry of the Church?

The need to be extra careful in these matters is obvious. The need to protect our children and teenagers drives us therefore to examine more closely the nature and extent of the transformation that God offers us in this life.

Clearly, when we go to meet Jesus, we will be transformed supernaturally and completely. But how much of that transformation is available to us now? Total? As I read the testimonies of those saints who have lived lives of highest virtue, the clarion witness is “No, not total. Not even close!” In their pursuit of holiness, they each discovered that man’s goal should not be a perfectly holy life; the goal should be a life united with the One who alone is perfectly holy. They found that the only holiness that was possible was that which Christ Himself released through them as a result of union with Him. And they also discovered that their compromised ability to perfectly live in union with Him was the wild card that prevented a perfectly holy life this side of heaven.

The Bible indicates that as we gaze upon the glory of the Lord, we are transformed into His likeness (2 Cor 3:18). That implies that at least part of the promised transformation is available to us now and that it is connected to closeness or intimacy with God - time spent in His presence, worshiping Him. Since most of us don’t spend much time doing that, this alone would explain the fragmentary results that we get in becoming Christlike.

Other Scriptures talk about Christ being formed in us (Gal 4:19), about our final attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ (Eph 4:13), and of believers being living stones that are being built into a spiritual house (1 Pet 2:5). Clearly, these describe a process of being formed, of being built and of being transformed, meaning that we will not be perfectly complete in this life.

Certainly we are not zapped into perfection by God. My body certainly wasn’t zapped into perfection when I got saved. Neither was my soul. I still struggle with a powerful inclination to sin. In this life then, it seems that only our spirit is made pure at the moment of salvation and that our soul moves toward the high calling of purity as a fruit of living in an intimate relationship with God. The “old man” is still allowed to clamor for dominance and we must reckon him dead in Christ to overcome his demands. Thus, our will is the focal point, and that fallen will needs to be transformed by virtue of falling in love with Jesus Christ at deeper and deeper levels. The more we experience the grace and love of Christ in relationship with Him, the more our will, will conform itself to His, and the more often we will say “No” to ungodliness (Titus 2:12). Instant removal of temptation does not achieve this. The temptation is necessary to force the issue of who we are going to spend time with, serve and love.

In truth, our sin nature isn’t overcome by our own efforts to be godly, but rather as we die to self, become united with Christ and allow Christ to express His holiness through us. We no longer live, but Christ lives His holiness through us (Gal 2:20). Were we perfect, we might be able to perfectly achieve this death to self and yieldedness to God. But our imperfection guarantees that this process will not be complete until Jesus supernaturally transforms us at the Second Coming.

The alcoholic, the former homosexual and others who have suffered brokenness that has been emotionally rooted in them as a result of developmental processes, probably sees this more starkly because they have the siren call of remembered comforts and pleasures enticing them on a daily basis. God does not delete their memory banks when they become born again. He does not mystically remove their memory of past pleasures, but rather offers to become the greater power that puts down the attempts of the now forsaken, sinful nature to dominate and control. Even then, there are moments when the old nature wins, if not in the flesh, then in the thought life. The child of God who truly loves His Savior more than anything else then flees back to Him for forgiveness, cleansing and restoration.

Great Grace to Start With

Many people coming out of deeply-rooted bondages such as homosexual confusion, pedophilia and ephebophilia have tremendous experiences of cleansing and forgiveness by God. At this initial stage of their new life with Christ, God often sends a powerful grace that enables them to resist temptation almost effortlessly, and to many it seems as if He has miraculously and permanently removed their vulnerability to those temptations. He does this in the early stages, so that they can be encouraged by the evidence that there is power to keep them from falling (Jude 24).

Many, however, mistake this initial outpouring of power from God as a permanent “zapping” or removal of their previous vulnerability. Seemingly in an instant, they have been rendered impervious to the temptations of cigarettes, alcohol or certain immoral behaviors. If they are new in the faith, it is common for them to misunderstand the purpose for being given that grace. Especially if they have come out of a sinful lifestyle that was grounded in arrested emotional development and have not yet grown out of the preadolescent phase of “magical thinking,” they may see this act of God’s mercy as a miraculous and permanent removal of their capacity to be tempted by that sin.

It May Get Worse Before It Gets Better

What they haven’t yet learned is that eventually, God will begin to wean them off of that grace so that their will can be fully and consciously engaged in a process of being conformed to His by virtue of love for Him rather than by the current, lower motivation of simple appreciation for having been freed from a bondage. In other words, they need to go through the test of being sorely tempted in order to learn to choose to turn to God for deliverance from temptation for the right reason. Previously God had laid freedom on them as a grace to encourage them in pursuing freedom from sin. Now they must willingly seek and embrace that same grace from the midst of the storm and from an interior motivation of love for God.
This is what being crucified with Christ is all about. The Americanized idea that God wants to be a sugar daddy who buys us whatever we want whenever we want it, who jumps at our commands to be healed and materially blessed, and who takes away our temptations without us ever having to seek Him to do so amidst the fires of being tempted by them, is a huge distortion of the Scriptures and a massive misunderstanding of how Christ is formed in us.
What makes this all the more complicated is that on rare occasions, there are temptations to sin that are instantly and permanently eradicated at salvation or upon reconversion. Probably most people have heard at least one person testify to being permanently set free from the temptation to smoke cigarettes, for instance. And it appears that some of these people actually finish their life without ever being tempted by that sin again. These lasting graces occur, I believe, only in cases where the need that was being met by the sinful behavior has quickly been fully met in their new relationship with Christ, and, where the sinful behavior does not have a complex of broken issues underlying it that still need to be addressed.

Multi-level Healing

This latter cause is why you don’t see instant and permanent deliverance from conditions such as homosexuality, pedophilia and ephebophilia. Their roots are too multifaceted and so healing must be worked out as a process of multiple healings, repentings and deliverances. Those who claim instant deliverance from such conditions are almost certainly in that early stage of grace and have yet to discover the lengthy process of transformation that lies ahead of them.
Even with the less complicated sins, this may hold true. I have recently found, for example, that my own testimony to having been permanently set free from the temptation to smoke cigarettes thirty years ago now has to be modified, as this year the temptation to smoke returned on several occasions. What that says to me is that my earlier temptation and vulnerability to that sin had not actually been permanently removed by a miraculous act of God, as I had originally thought, but that it had vanished because every need that had been met through that sin was then being met in Christ. The return of the temptation thirty years later signaled to me a breech in my relationship with Christ that I needed to address by seeking Him more deeply. I did and the temptation has subsequently disappeared.

Transformation of the Will

In essence, as far as the duty of man is concerned, the focal point for all healing is the “will.” If a person believes Christ can heal him (Mt 8:13; 9:28-29; 17:20; Mk 9:23); is in a faithful, abiding relationship with Him (Jn 15:7); obeys whatever directive God gives him (Mt 17:21; Jn 9:7); if he wants Jesus to heal him (Mt 20:32); if he unites his will to God’s (Jn 9:31); then healing can come forth. But if his will is compromised in some way, then the power of God to heal is often kept back. There are exceptions, of course, in cases where God has other purposes for healing someone (such as to effect a person’s salvation or where a demonstration of His glory and power is needed for some purpose known only to God). In general, however, the theological principles listed above are those that seem to govern most healing - and they all center on the “will” of man.

With emotion-based disorders, there is an entire complex of foundational sins, skewed belief systems, and destructive behavioral patterns that must be uncovered, acknowledged, repented of and exchanged for godly desires, beliefs and behaviors before anything approaching permanent healing can come.

With lifestyle sins such as homosexual behavior, pedophilia and the like, there is almost always a set of causal elements, (many of which involve willful sin on the part of the person), that must be cleansed - sins such as unforgiveness, unbelief, hatred, idolatry, rebellion, unrighteous anger, envy and pride. For healing to occur in such complex disorders, each of these areas, (many of which lie hidden from the consciousness of the person), must be discovered and turned over to the will of God. This can be a lengthy process depending on ......

• the awareness a person has of their unique complex of
issues,

• their willingness to address them according to God’s
will,

• their knowledge of God’s power and provision in
overturning such diseased affections,

• the time that they are willing to spend in God’s
presence receiving His life and power to overcome the
power of the enemy.


The Healing is Incomplete Because the Virus Remains (Satan & Our Sin Nature)

The healing process for an emotion-based disorder includes many episodes of “revelation and deliverance” each of which challenge the reign of that person’s will and call them to embrace a higher life of purity and devotion to God’s will. As we have seen, some of these moments can be so powerful and life-changing that they are mistaken as the “final deliverance.” However, since it is ultimately just another sortie in the lifelong battle for the will of that person, it is likely that they will continue to have skirmishes at points in life when the enemy senses weakness. In moments of stress, pain, loneliness or rejection, the evil one will trigger the memory centers of the brain that replay the comfort and pleasure that used to be obtained from the forsaken behavior (while conveniently leaving out memories of the disaster that those sins also produced).

Such moments of testing can also expose the frailty that sometimes keeps a person from perfectly yielding his or her will to God’s. Unfortunately, a failure to resist temptation in this area of sin spells disaster for the life of a child or teen. That is what calls us to address the healing and restoration process of sexual predators differently. Taking a chance on someone, allowing them to fall a couple of times as they learn to stand is a different matter when the fruit of each fall is a destroyed life.

The Rev. Dr. David Kyle Foster is on staff at Church of the Messiah and director of Mastering Life Ministries in Jacksonville. He is the author of this booklet, as well as one on "Turning Gay Activism on Its Head" and "The Divine Mariage." Dr. Foster is also the author of the book, Sexual Healing: God’s Plan for the Sanctification of Broken Lives. His ministry web site is: http://www.MasteringLife.org