The Homosexual Agenda: Exposing the Principal Threat to Religious Freedom Today [Paperback]

Alan Sears (Author), Craig Osten (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: July 15, 2003

Authors Alan Sears and Craig Osten expose the goals of the homosexual movement and its rising legal activism. The homosexual agenda has as its primary aim to “trump” the rights of all other groups, especially those of people of faith. The saddest part of the story is that it is working. In 1988, 74.9 percent of the American public thought that sex between two people of the same gender was always wrong. By 1998, the percentage had fallen to 54.6 percent. Sears and Osten provide well-documented proof that America; is not only becoming more tolerant of homosexuality, through the indoctrination of children, positive exposure on TV, and the support and approval of corporate America, it is becoming less tolerant of those who disagree.

Product Details

• Paperback: 229 pages
• Publisher: B&H Books (July 15, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0805426981
• ISBN-13: 978-0805426984
• Product Dimensions: 8.6 x 5.5 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (77 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #853,422 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

210 of 324 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars An Agenda -- But Not A Homosexual One, October 18, 2003

By 

Mark McElroy "www-madebymark-com" (Jackson, MS United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: The Homosexual Agenda: Exposing the Principal Threat to Religious Freedom Today (Paperback)

Predictably, those who oppose or fear gay and lesbian people enthusiastically embrace a book like The Homosexual Agenda, and those supporting equal rights for gays and lesbians will denounce it. But whatever one feels about gay and lesbian issues, an objective reading of the book makes one thing clear: authors Sears and Osten do showcase an agenda ... but it is not a homosexual one.

Rather than present a logical case supported by clearly documented evidence, the authors of The Homosexual Agenda employ the following devices:

1) Framing. Persuasion presents facts in hope of shaping opinion, but framing manipulates audiences through subtle use of language. Again and again, the authors of The Homosexual Agenda resort to framing:

- Books, movies, television shows, and even schoolbooks are never said to 'refer to' or 'address' homosexuality; instead, they are consistently described as 'promoting' it. As a result, any reference to gays or lesbians is framed as part of a massive conspiracy to 'promote' homosexuality.

- Throughout the book, the authors avoid referring to anyone as simply being homosexual; instead, gay and lesbian people are consistently represented as 'entrapped' or 'ensnared' in 'homosexual behavior.' By repeatedly employing the vocabulary of slavery and bondage, the authors frame gay and lesbian people as victims in need of rescue, and, by extention, position themselves as heroes on a mission of rescue and emancipation.

2) Omission. The introduction of the book features the story of alleged ex-homosexual John Paulk, positioning him as 'one of the most courageous individuals' who has 'overcome homosexual behavior' (pp. 2 and 3). After an ad campaign positioned him as the public face of the ex-gay movement, Paulk was photographed drinking and conversing with other patrons of a Washington, D.C. gay bar. Conveniently, the authors' version of Paul's story neglects to mention this incident or Paulk's subsequent removal from the board of Exodus International, an ex-gay ministry.

Further, while the authors confess they 'personally know only a few ex-homosexuals,' they go on to say they 'know there are thousands of ... [ex-gays] throughout America.' If this is the case, one would expect the authors to provide clear, well-documented, and independently-verified evidence of the success of so-called 'conversion therapy.' Unfortunately, the authors do not offer any such evidence, nor do they inform readers that leaders of the three most prominent ex-gay ministries (Exodus International, Homosexuals Anonymous, and Desert Stream) have been sued or expelled for engaging in sexual activity with those they are professing to cure.

3) Generalization. The hallmark of bigotry, generalizations are blanket statements associating certain traits with every member of a group, as in, 'All African-Americans love watermelon' or 'All Jews are good with money.'

Throughout the book, the authors generalize all gay people as aggressive political extremists living a lifestyle rooted in 'despair, disease and early death' (p. 3). The authors repeatedly cite extreme cases, positioning them as typical, as a means of associating all gay and lesbian people with fringe sexual practices (p. 19 and 64), pedophilia (p. 66) and even the Nazis (p.26).

Another passage generalizes lesbians, describing a young woman whose 'sweet face had been hardened, and '[whose] kind manner was nothing more than a memory' because she 'was trapped in a lesbian lifestyle' (p. 73). And of course, by titling their book The Homosexual Agenda, the authors not only assert the existence of such an agenda, but also imply all homosexual people share it.

4) Projection. Projection identifies in others actions and attitudes we deny in ourselves. For example, the authors position a list of events they claim are steps toward 'the moral demise of a culture:' the establishment of community awareness, organization for empowerment, strategic mobilization, and efforts toward legitimization (p. 14). These may accurately be described as stages of political activity ... but are they indeed stages of moral decline? If so, the authors are contributing to it: in this book, they call on fundamentalist Christians to establish their own community awareness, political organization, and strategic mobilization.

5) Contradiction. Early in the book, the authors claim gays and lesbians are an extremely small minority ... no more than '1 to 2 percent' of the population (p. 17). Later, however, they assert homosexuals control the media, the entertainment industry, the public schools, the nation's colleges and universities, and corporate America. How can homosexuals be both virtually non-existent and omnipresent?

Throughout the book, authors Sears and Osten repeatedly characterize themselves as loving, sincere, respectful, and compassionate. Whatever their demeanor, the methods they employ as authors do not inspire confidence in their arguments. By pandering to their readers' worst fears and greatest insecurities, they have written a book that reflects (and occasionally even borrows from) the last century's worst examples of racist propaganda.

The Homosexual Agenda will be eagerly embraced by extremists who already share Sears and Ostens conclusions. More careful readers, however, will identify this book for what it is: a manipulative attempt to polarize conservatives by fanning the flames of hatred, prejudice, and fear.

44 of 76 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Information you'll never hear from the media, July 18, 2003

By A Customer

This review is from: The Homosexual Agenda: Exposing the Principal Threat to Religious Freedom Today (Paperback)

This book provides a fascinating look at a very powerful cultural movement. It is a must read for people who have religious convictions. For those who don't usually pay much attention to political trends and legal maneuvers, this book is one revelation after another. Here we learn how really homosexualized Hollywood has been, even since the days of silent movies. We learn that corporate America has been very agreeable to the designs of homosexuals, and this has meant that other employees who speak up against favored treatment for homosexuals have lost their jobs. But most importantly, The Homosexual Agenda ends on the upbeat note that there is hope for those who seek answers.

60 of 104 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars It's About Time, August 17, 2003

By 

Robert Knight (Washington, DC) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Homosexual Agenda: Exposing the Principal Threat to Religious Freedom Today (Paperback)

Very few people understand the breadth and depth of the challenge that the homosexual agenda poses to America, particularly to people who believe in traditional morality.

A read of The Homosexual Agenda leaves no doubt that homosexual activism is not about tolerance but instead is about nothing less than overturning millenia of teaching and custom regarding sexual mores. Mssrs. Sears and Osten make the case that if homosexual activists win, freedom-loving Americans lose. This is a zero-sum game, in which the stakes are the freedoms of religion, speech and association.

Sears and Osten have beautifully compiled an overview of homosexual activism that exposes the roots of the movement, its goals, its methods, its myths and its targets. Although religious people are not the only ones in the militant "gay" activists' cross-hairs, religious people are already the ones paying the price.

If the government imposes "gay" marriage, for example, what will Christian, Jewish and Muslim businessmen do? If they decline to subsidize what their faiths tell them is sin, they could be put out of business. What does a teacher do when the school system is ordering her to tell pupils that homosexuality is healthy and normal?

In more and more venues, people are going to be forced to lie or to give up their jobs and positions.

Sears and Osten make a powerful case for telling the truth that sets everyone -- including people afflicted with homosexual desires -- free. This is a compassionate yet unflinching look at the issue that is tearing mainstream churches apart and is on the verge of tearing America apart.

With its rich, well documented content, The Homosexual Agenda should be required reading in any course dealing with social history, politics or current events.