The hubbub over the app from Christian group Exodus International keeps growing. The petition against the app for “homosexual strugglers” has reached nearly 130,000 signatures.
Apple has still not responded and, at this writing, the free app is still in the iTunes store. The battle is also being waged in the reviews for the app – currently there are 371 five-star reviews and 836 one-star reviews.
Exodus International spoke to the Christian Post about how they hope Apple the reviews won’t shake the initial 4+ rating for their content – meaning it contains no objectionable material — and how the app has been misunderstood.
“We are helping those who have unwanted same-sex attractions. Those who are gay or identify themselves that way, in no way, shape or form are we trying to speak to their position or trying to impose anything upon them,” Jeff Buchanan, Exodus International’s Senior Director of Church Equipping & Student Ministries, told The Christian Post.
“Exodus believes the opposite of homosexuality is not heterosexuality. It is holiness. We promote the belief that one can live a life that is congruent with their faith. That is our mission – period. ”
Buchanan notes that the app contains the same info found on the group’s website in smartphone format.
It is hard to imagine that Apple reviewed the content and believed that no one might take issue with statements like the following on “help for leaving homosexuality:”
The bottom line – you don’t have to be gay! You can lead a life of fulfillment and holiness as God intended, a life far better than what you have experienced so far
The testimonies of people in the Real Stories section who have reportedly been helped by the counseling offered by Exodus are also lightning rods:
“My attraction to men goes back almost as far as I can remember. I suppose I was about twelve years old when I started acting out my homosexual attractions. But, growing up in the 1940s and 50s, there was not a visible gay subculture, a homosexual lifestyle, to which I could aspire.”
Still, as the group behind the petition Truth Wins Out plans to stage a protest at Cupertino headquarters and the story is covered from Forbes to Fox News, Exodus hopes the app will stay.
“We hope this will be an opportunity for Apple to promote a policy of diversity and tolerance within iTunes and within their platform,” commented Buchanan.
“What we do not want to do is presuppose what Apple is going to do. We definitely want to hope that they will allow us to be fairly represented and anything beyond that we will take on a day by day basis.”
As the days pass and the controversy mounts, Apple is still mum.
from Cult of Mac Via Christian Post
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