THE publishers of Chased by an Elephant, the Gospel Truth about Today’s Stampeding Sexuality, missed an obvious trick when they commissioned the cover artwork: the pachyderm portrayed really ought to be pink.
And the author – US Christian fundie Janice Barrett Graham – really ought to learn how create snappier titles. Mind you, Elephant is an improvement on her last foray into the subject of turning gays straight. Her first book was called My Darling from the Lions: A Boy Falls to Homosexuality, a Mother Turns to God, a Family Is Changed Forever.
The Elephant book is in the news because it’s been noted that it is on sale at over 100 US Walmart stores – and gay activists are not best pleased by its appearance on the stores’ shelves.
Janice Barrett Graham is the wife of the noted homophobe, Stephen Graham, Standard of Liberty President, and her book was written to:
Help shed the clear light of truth on today’s dark and tangled ideas about male and female, proper gender roles, the law of chastity, and the God-given sexual appetite.
The Class A loony declared:
The number of our young people involved in sexual sins has greatly increased in recent years. Some of the most stalwart-seeming youth find themselves involved in pornography, fornication, promiscuity, homosexuality, and the like.
The Grahams claim that their son, Andrew, successfully changed his sexual orientation and is now a happily married man.
Graham Junior himself wrote a book called Captain of My Soul, saying that he was:
Lured into same gender internet pornography during his high school years, and recruited into cursory homosexual experimentation with older men while at Brigham Young University.
He claims he wrote the book to shed light on the
Deceitful and predatory nature of the ‘gay’ lifestyle.
The book’s introduction says Andrew’s story:
Ends happily with his subsequent deliverance and healing through family support, expert professional counseling, truth, and repentance through the Atonement of Jesus Christ.
The book includes a lengthy introduction by an “expert on overcoming homosexuality”, Dr Jeff Robinson.
Hat tip: Name Withheld
The Freethinker was founded in 1881 by GW Foote, an outspoken critic of religion. After the publication of 
October 9th, 2010 at 12:48 pm
“Don’t embrace the way god made you, here’s what you should do,
Choose to be a hetero and seven foot two.”
- Roy Zimmerman, Ted Haggard is Completely Heterosexual
I’m quoting this since I can’t put the thought in a more beautiful and concise manner. Aside from all the human rights elements and the just plain bigotry and stupidity of believing one passage in one book they don’t even listen to half the time, even within their own framework these hypocrites are screwing up by demanding people deny their own god-given nature. The curing homosexuality movement is a fail on so many levels, and we might as well have ‘therapy’ of the same sort to try to make ourselves tall enough to be basketball players. I wonder if Walmart are going to start selling Ivory Soap with little pictures of black children being scrubbed white on the box, because this amounts to the same thing, selling a product telling an entire group of people they are just wrong in their existence and need the power of proper civilisation to save them.
October 9th, 2010 at 12:52 pm
Come ON!! It’s only a book for goodness sake. Don’t let’s start getting to the book banning business. I think it ought to get into the Gay Books best seller list for comedy writing (If there is such a thing). (Wouldn’t that be ironic?) Next we’ll hear about some guy suing the publisher because his ‘feelings were hurt’.
October 9th, 2010 at 1:06 pm
Amazon from £4.86 (Hehehehehe)
October 9th, 2010 at 1:18 pm
The saccharine tones from these preachy bigots is so typical. The twee come on of the daft elephant reference, the mawkish certainty that they have an answer to the problem they confront, the syrupy whine about the imaginary lowering of sexual “standards” and, of course, the grotesque “triumph” at the end if only their recipe is followed. The entire approach is bogus and, as keeps being exposed by the sexual abuse flodding from these religious nutters, is a hypocrital and easy way to gain a spurious recognition and make money.
As for a “lowering of sexual standards” I am reading the magnificent BERLIN: The Downfall 1945 by Antony Beevor and the sexual standards described there make a bit of pornography very small beer. One example, and not the worst, is a young mother spreadeagled and raped in turn by a dozen rampaging Russian soldiers. The woman’s relatives plead for the mother to be given a break to breast feed her baby who is crying from hunger.
October 9th, 2010 at 1:23 pm
I see they carry this in the same section with “Heathe… Oh wait, Walmart doesn’t carry “Heather Has Two Mommies”? You don’t say…
From a quick once-over, I don’t see Walmart carrying any of these titles either
http://www.amazon.com/Books-El.....VE71LCCJO8
“…the New York Times reports that over the last decade Christian publishers “forged closer relationships with stores like Wal-Mart and Costco; Wal-Mart carries 1,200 ‘inspirational titles’ (i.e., religious tracts) at any given time.”"
Source: http://revcom.us/a/1263/rise-o.....scists.htm
Terrifying that such a major American retailer (according to the Fortune Global 500, the world’s biggest company) can push its religious morality with impunity.
October 9th, 2010 at 1:23 pm
@Newspaniard
No one here afaik is talking about banning it, just pointing out that it is a steaming pile of bigoted shite.
I do find it interesting though that these sorts of things keep getting released by the people of the supposed moral high-ground. Now, it has in fact been a while since I read the bible, but I’m sure that it was considered a no no to lie in it.
Or does that only apply when you’re not attacking the minorities that are “persecuting” your faith?
October 9th, 2010 at 1:30 pm
@Newspaniard – no one is talking about banning the book. All we’re doing is pointing out that the book, and the movement behind it, are rooted in bigotry and intolerance. Same as the Koran or the bible itself, but no one is calling for their banning. There is a difference between criticising something and trying to suppress it, a difference that Muslims and Christians might do well to learn themselves before they overstep the boundary bleating about something that has offended them.
October 9th, 2010 at 1:58 pm
I was once chased by a bear – but that was my fault for walking on Hampstead Heath.
October 9th, 2010 at 2:18 pm
I don’t usually back book burning or banning but maybe this could be used a ass wipe in case the other paper ran out
October 9th, 2010 at 2:28 pm
I believe this book speaks against putting things near your ass.
October 9th, 2010 at 2:58 pm
I think Andrew’s story has many more chapters yet to come, and probably ones that won’t please his parents.
October 9th, 2010 at 3:02 pm
Of course, mention of good old Ted Haggard above, reminds me of Haggard’s Law: “The likelihood of a person harboring secret desires to engage in sexual and/or romantic activities with members of the same sex is directly proportional to the frequency and volume of said person’s vocalized objections to homosexuality.”
http://i.imgur.com/xkN4j.jpg
October 9th, 2010 at 3:19 pm
Why do they protest at walmart? These people are starting to resemble the Islamic dick-heads, who, as we all know, are hyper-sensitive and tend whine on and on and fucking on. What was that I heard about those that protest too much? There is no need to protest about idiotic books, just as in the case of the religious imbeciles that complained when their precious koran was threatened with being burnt. If you have belief in yourself and/or your religion then no amount of insults should question the validity of your belief or claims? It sounds to me as if some people question their own beliefs, or am I being intolerant, blah blah blah? I personally don’t give a toss If some pratt writes a book opposing everything I stand for, it makes no real difference to the truth. What was that about sticks, stones and breaking bones? I never feel inclined to start whining outside a bookshop or walmart because some retard thinks differently to me. I do however feel aggressive when people and animals start suffering because of stupid pathetic religions. Gays imprisoned or hanged, children having their genitals mutilated, girls denied the opportunity of an eduction and animals having their throats cut without being firstly being stunned, all in the name of that clown allah/god/buda or whatever the fuck the religious pratts imagine it,s name to be. Stop your whining for the sake of it and enjoy your life. When I last checked it was not against the law in America or indeed and civilised country to be gay or atheist. Stop your whining for the sake of it and enjoy your life. Try thinking of those living in stupid Islamic shit-holes where their lives are at stake.
October 9th, 2010 at 3:19 pm
“African and Asiatic males will engage in same-sex bonding and mounting. Such encounters are often associated with affectionate interactions, such as kissing, trunk intertwining, and placing trunks in each other’s mouths.”
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/H.....#Elephants
October 9th, 2010 at 3:24 pm
@Robert Stovold your comment reminded me of this from Failblog
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a64JEtZMVUc
October 9th, 2010 at 5:39 pm
@ Graham – Once more, no one is talking about protesting or banning anything. Just criticising, as is our right when we see bigotry in the public sphere.
Also, I’ve noticed that comments seem to have cropped up that weren’t around earlier, but are dated as having been from earlier. I think there’s something screwy going on with the comments at the moment. Maybe this is where the confusion is coming from – have people been making comments demanding the book be banned and then the comments have disappeared, leaving disjointed replies seemingly complaining about nothing?
October 9th, 2010 at 5:40 pm
LOL @ Ivan – v.good. Must say, I’ve been mistaken for bear.
Only due to frequenting The Other Side bar in Amsterdam – but I went for the motorbike on the wall and the overall pleasantness of the atmosphere!
October 9th, 2010 at 5:48 pm
Ah – Check that – it was called the Other Place! Rather than side.
October 9th, 2010 at 5:55 pm
Obviously atheists don’t believe in The Other Side.
October 9th, 2010 at 6:50 pm
According to wikipedia:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/H.....in_animals
But then I don’t suppose “Chased By A Giraffe” would have quite the same ring to it. Wonder if she’s seeing pink elephants …
October 9th, 2010 at 6:58 pm
It is not true that “atheists don’t believe in The Other Side.” Obviously, educated atheists don’t believe in any “other side”. But I have encountered persons who, despite not believing in religion’s sky Fuhrer, DO believe in such nonsense as a “medium”, “ghost whisperer”, “astral plane”, “universal mind”, “past life”, or some other version of Cloud Cuckoo Land.
October 9th, 2010 at 7:04 pm
It was a joke, Mr. Harwood.
October 9th, 2010 at 7:09 pm
Wlliam Harwood: I adore the phrase “Cloud Cuckoo Land,” having first come across it on the OfQuack Twitter account.
http://twitter.com/ofquack
Very good stuff.
October 9th, 2010 at 7:27 pm
“Gospel truth” now there is an oxymoron especially considering how little there is in the buybull about homosexuality.
Re Walmart, they have a bit of history of being pro-xtian/anti gay/anti-union; they don’t treat some of their employees very well either – an internet search reveals some interesting stuff. Walmart own Asda in the UK, a supermarket I will never shop at; they hate people like me so why give them my money.
October 9th, 2010 at 7:42 pm
Angela_K: Indeed.
Mike Duke, Newest CEO of WalMart, Inc. Is Listed As a Signer of The Anti-Gay Adoption and Foster Care Petition
http://knowthyneighbor.blogs.c.....ition.html
…
“Mike Duke, newly appointed CEO of Walmart, spoke at Oklahoma Christian University’s School of Business Administration award dinner on April 16, 2009. While on campus, he was awarded with the Christian Business Leader award for his excellence in the business community and dedication to faith.”
http://blogs.oc.edu/ocnews/wal.....aks_at_oc/
…
http://walmartwatch.com/blog/a.....hael_duke/
October 9th, 2010 at 7:47 pm
Mum, MUM, they’re calling me names again. Don’t worry son, I’ll take them to court, I have the RIGHT to do that.
October 9th, 2010 at 8:00 pm
The term, Cloud Cuckoo Land, dates back to Aristophanes’ play, The Clouds.
October 9th, 2010 at 8:21 pm
@WH: *hangs head at gaining knowledge from someone’s Twitter account rather than the classics*
…
Just a development in a different story:
Publisher of Nudity-Free Indonesian Playboy Jailed for Public Indecency
http://gawker.com/5659746/publ.....-indecency
“The FPI calls him a “moral terrorist.”
Finally there has been a statement from Hefner, albeit via Twitter (@hughhefner):
“I think the arrest of the editor of the Indonesia edition of Playboy is a travesty of justice.”
Now will this man of wealth and status, who has US media attention, actually speak out a little louder?
October 9th, 2010 at 10:19 pm
Chased by an elephant? A son saved from a lion? Stampeding gays in our streets? The religious nuts are really piling it up. What did this woman do, raid Noah’s ark or something? I am of the opinion that religion is a bit like insanity, and this ‘author’ seems to confirm my opinion. Isn’t it enough that gay kids are being harassed and sometimes even bullied into suicide that she has to add her ten cents’ worth of shit?
October 9th, 2010 at 11:06 pm
When they’re not too busy sucking each other’s probosci they indulge in bum action.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bi9gR_uHFG0
Elephant’s that is.
October 9th, 2010 at 11:12 pm
I forgot to include these links in my above post about Walmart.
http://walmartwatch.com/
http://www.rawstory.com/rs/201.....-vest-gay/
October 10th, 2010 at 12:30 am
Her mention that her son was ‘cured’ (has she not heard of bisexuality?) made me think of this…
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qCzbNkyXO50
October 10th, 2010 at 5:59 am
“My Darling from the Lions: A Boy Falls to Homosexuality, a Mother Turns to God, a Family Is Changed Forever”
It’s hard to tell whether these kind of people are for real, or whether they’re just laughing at the weirdies who buy their books, while milking them for their money. For someone with no principles, the US fundy religious market is an undemanding and reliable cash cow.
October 10th, 2010 at 6:35 am
Angela_K
I don’t shop at The Supermarkets as they’re usually putting the squeeze on the little shops my business supplies. We keep very little food at home, I usually buy our tea from the last shop I deliver to that day. You scratch my back and all that. You can’t pig out if there’s nothing in the fridge but it pisses Mrs B off as she says I take my diet and training too seriously.
People of Walmart, priceless:
http://www.peopleofwalmart.com/?page_id=9798
October 10th, 2010 at 7:46 am
Don’t fret over the book.
The Amazon US site has nothing but negative reviews for potential purchasers and the tags mark it as something unhealthy:
http://www.amazon.com/Chased-E.....038;sr=1-1
October 10th, 2010 at 10:13 am
For my retirement I would love to write a book about how God saved me from a life of atheism, guilt free sex, real ale and pizza. I would get it advertised for the American fundie market, as they just love the last minute conversion, and retire with a nice pension pot.
The only thing stopping me, other than a lack of writing talent, is I do not like the idea of exploiting the gullible cretins that follow religion. Unlike Mrs Graham, I have scruples.
October 10th, 2010 at 7:57 pm
Angela: “Gospel” and “Truth” are words that go together about as readily as “Faith” and “Reason”!
October 10th, 2010 at 10:49 pm
Was it a Freudian Slip that the front cover of her book shows a republican chasing a young boy?
October 11th, 2010 at 2:15 am
Many theists waste their mental energy searching for ways to prove that humans are different from other animals. That we have souls that live on after our body dies. (NeoWolfe vomits!!!) The only thing that makes us different is our IQ. What makes us the same is a chemically induced lie that tells us making babies is the key to the meaning of life. Resisting those urges results in depression and loneliness. Nature’s enforcement squad.
It’s difficult to see clearly, but to see it is one of the differences between being an atheist and a freethinker. To really open your eyes, you have to see through the lies your own mind is telling you.
As for same sex couples, science is discovering more and more species of animals among whom is it commonplace. I dont know if they knob each other or lick each other’s vagina, but, one thing has been has been demonstrated, that they do rear (raise) orphans. That is enough to convince me that they serve a purpose in the grand scheme.
Yet the religious right would see them burned at the stake, but all the constitution allows is to make them second class citizens. This while the fruitcake fringe razed the twin towers. Insanity.
NeoWolfe
October 11th, 2010 at 8:13 am
@Broadsword
Fantastic link, fella
October 11th, 2010 at 9:10 am
I was going to write a book on the same topic. Then I figured that It would be better written by someone who is gay. I mean who would consider a straight person to be an expert on homosexuality? That and all I could think to write in my book was “Some people are gay….” Still I bet the author’s heart is in the right place. Surely someone who would devote a life to the exercise of willing a non-existent god into being would never try to force someone into being something they aren’t! That mostly never happens……. Mostly.
October 11th, 2010 at 10:00 pm
Fuck you, you hateful motherfuckers.
http://www.queerty.com/suicide.....-20101010/
October 14th, 2010 at 3:17 pm
I read through this and was reminded of a story of two gay penguins who raised a chick on their own.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/wor.....081829.stm
nature is full of examples of gay animals. i even had a gay chicken who used to make hen noises. its natural. its also been around in human societies for millennia, before jesus and after him.
anyway im new to this blogging thing, i just started my own. please have a look. http://god-proof.com/blog/
cheers