In a pamphlet for parents, Christian
conservative group Focus on the Family advises parents to teach their
children that being gay is a sin and to pray for their gay friends.
In How To Talk To Your Children
About Homosexuality, Jeff Johnston argues the importance of
sharing this message with children as early as possible.
“Before your children are even aware
of homosexuality, begin by giving them a biblical view of the world,”
Johnston wrote. “In other words, you are framing the issue for
them by teaching them about God and His redemptive plan [for]
humankind.”
Being gay, according to the author, is
a “non-biblical, human-centered view” that separates sexual
activity from “marriage and procreation, and even from being a
male-female union.”
“It becomes more about seeking
pleasure or self-fulfillment,” he wrote.
The pamphlet answers real-world
questions, such as how to respond to your child when you and your
family stumble on to a Gay Pride celebration.
“Sin has confused them, and they need
God's help to follow Him,” is the suggested response.
In a second scenario, a mother tells
her daughter to pray for her gay friend.
“We are praying for God to move in
Bradley's life so he will know God's love and follow Jesus,” the
mother says. “Can we pray together for Bradley?”
Camille Beredjick notes at the Friendly
Atheist blog: “Children whose parents abide by this guide
will learn literally nothing. It's a grab-bag of mixed messages,
hate speech, and general inanity that teaches kids to hate before
they know what hate means.”