A bill is making its way through the Minnesota legislator that limits both free speech and religious liberty. Most Minnesotans haven’t heard of the bill, but all Christians in Minnesota should be concerned. The bill, House File 12 or the Mental Health Protections Act, aims to ban “conversion therapy,” or therapy which seeks to help those struggling with same-sex attraction or gender confusion to practice traditional sexuality. A bill like this is designed to silence any opposition to the current LGBTQ movement, especially religious opposition. If passed, this bill would limit the constitutional freedoms of all Minnesotans.

Some may protest, “Doesn’t conversion therapy use abusive practices on patients?” While it is true that some secular psychologists in the past have used harmful methods to treat homosexuality and other disorders, but this is no longer the standard practice. All Christians should oppose the use of physically abusive tactics on anyone, especially the vulnerable. If HF 12 only meant to ban abusive psychological practices, then there wouldn’t be cause for alarm. Unfortunately, this bill aims to ban all attempts by licensed counselors to promote traditional sexuality.

HF 12 prohibits all attempts from licensed professionals to help someone struggling with unwanted same-sex attraction to leave those desires behind even if they want that help. HF 12 makes it a criminal offense to offer the Christian sexual ethic as an alternative to homosexuality for all licensed counselors. In effect, it would be impossible for a faithful Christian to be a licensed counselor in the state of Minnesota. Christian counselors would have to choose between Christ and their job. Such a bill infringes on the constitutional rights of faithful Christian counselors. And barely any of us know about it.

It isn’t only licensed counselors threatened, HF 12 also limits the free speech of all Minnesotans by banning the sale of anything that promotes conversion from homosexuality to traditional sexuality. HF 12 prohibits the sale of any material, including books and conferences, that intend to “change an individual's sexual orientation or gender identity, including efforts to change behaviors and gender expressions or to eliminate or reduce sexual or romantic attractions or feelings toward individuals of the same gender.” Under this bill, anything for sale which promotes biblical repentance in response to homosexuality would be considered illegal. To ban conversion is to ban Christianity. The heart of the Christian religion is a call for everyone to leave their sins behind and to follow Christ, even and especially sexual sins. This is conversion, and without it, there is no faithful Christianity.

How can anyone argue for such a bill in light of the First Amendment? The only answer is that for many individuals freedom of speech and religion takes a backseat to the LGBTQ agenda. Our progressive overlords will not tolerate any dissent on this issue. This is tyranny. Without the freedom of dissent, there are no other freedoms.

While this bill is not receiving much attention, it is vital Christians know about it. Even if you do not support conversion therapy, all Christians should support the rights of others to voice dissent without fear of legal repercussions. Christians should stand united in opposition against this bill. Sadly, there are already traitors in our midst.

At a recent committee hearing on HF 12, a local Christian professor from Bethel University spoke in support of the bill. Andy Johnson, a professor of psychology at Bethel, emphatically argued in support of this bill. Christians, please note the actions of this supposed Christian professor as they are not an anomaly. As the next generation of American Christians compromise on this issue, this will be one of the reasons why—unfaithful Christian schools have encouraged it. Here is a wolf in sheep’s clothing and he is funded by unwitting Christian students and parents. A professor like this, and schools who enable them, are actively undermining faithful Christianity.

It would be easy just to blame Bethel, but it is Christian parents and students who subsidize and enable this apostasy by paying tuition to Bethel and similar “Christian” schools. We are sending our children to Baal and paying him to corrupt them. If you or your children attend this school, I suggest you let Bethel’s administration hear from you. I pray for this man and Bethel to repent of their wickedness. You can watch his testimony here (Starting at 31:50). I also encourage you to watch the powerful testimony of those who have gone through conversion therapy and left behind the life of homosexuality in the same video (starting at 1:19:25).

If this bill becomes law, it not only violates the First Amendment, but it also places faithful Christians on a collision course with the State Government. If this bill passes, our state will have successfully limited the rights of its citizens. If this bill passes, it will be an infamous day in Minnesota’s political history, and that is saying something. I encourage Christians around the state to contact their state representatives and express their concerns over this bill. It hasn’t passed yet, so there is still time to act.

There will be more to come on this topic, and I will keep you updated. If you want more information, check out the Minnesota Family Council’s work on this bill here.

By: Levi J. Secord

UPDATE 3/7/2019:

I never imagined this post would receive so much attention. I have received a lot positive feedback and a good amount of negative feedback. Some of the critiques have been fair, and I seek to answer those critiques in the following post. I ask you carefully read my reasons linked below:

https://www.riverviewbaptist.net/pastor-levis-blog/2019/3/6/why-i-wrote-the-way-i-did-a-response