A PERTH church has been ridiculed online for an upcoming event in which a man is advertised to be able to turn men away from homosexuality.
The Perth City Church of Christ is staging an event on December 9 featuring James Parker, a once-promiscuous gay man who is now a ‘husband and father’.
The event is billed as ‘a life through the confusing world of modern sexuality’.
Get in front of tomorrow's news for FREE
Journalism for the curious Australian across politics, business, culture and opinion.
READ NOWApparently, James ‘experienced a profound spiritual awakening and discovered in a deep way the forgiveness, Love and Mercy of Jesus Christ’.
James had a “challenging childhood and teenage years spent in the north of England that involved being adopted, sexual abuse by multiple teachers and an older boy, an addiction to pornography and alcohol that led to the troubled teenager ‘coming out’ to his parents at the age of 17”.
“A second phase of his life involved living a gay lifestyle for several years in London while he attended university.
“He had about 200 sexual partners, and at one stage, James considered whether he was really a woman living in a man’s body.
“In his third life phase, James experienced a profound spiritual awakening as a result of daily prayer and the encouragement of a group of Catholic friends.
“Eventually, he made the decision to break up with his boyfriend and journey into the Catholic Church to discover in a deep way the forgiveness, Love and Mercy of Jesus Christ.”
The event was sponsored on Facebook, causing it to appear in the feed of some who felt the event is a waste of time.
One Reddit user, known as ‘eateggs’, wrote: “pretty cool how all that modern sexuality in the world can disappear and one can go on to be a fat husband.”
Another, known as ‘Perthguv’, wrote: “I had a gay male friend who got involved with this crowd.
“I lost contact with him and years later I ran into him and he told me he got his girlfriend pregnant.
“He looked really guilty when he told me that, which I thought was odd.
“Anyway, I see him every now and then and he seems miserable.
“I mean you can pretend to be straight as much as you want and live as a husband and father but that doesn’t mean you will be happy.”
However, another user known as Muslim Wookie wrote: “Nothing about the screenshot says anything negative about homosexuality. So what, he’s gay and now a more involved Christian, what’s the big deal?”
MORE: Home-made gun charges: Police arrest man for allegedly modifying replica guns
MORE: Bali volcano: stranded Australian tourists begin to arrive at Perth Airport