Yvette Schneider
Yvette Cantu Schneider is a former ex-gay minister and current LGBT activist. She married Paul Schneider in December 1999 and become a mom of two daughters, Jessica and Erica. Together with her husband, they used to minister in the St. Louis, Missouri area to those desiring to overcome homosexuality.[1] However, she has since left the ministry and decried ex-gay teachings.[2]
Contents
Anti-Christian sentiment in college
| A powerful encounter |
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| «I came out of homosexuality after a powerful encounter with Jesus Christ and a desire to serve and obey Him. I can say with complete honesty that I NEVER have homosexual desires of any sort – physical or emotional.»
— Yvette Schneider[1]
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In college, professors who ridiculed the Christian faith influenced Yvette, and she became hostile towards Christians, without really listening to them. However, in spite of being popular and getting top grades, her life seemed empty and meaningless. Struggling with physical and emotional symptoms, she visited therapists, healers, and clairvoyants, but nothing could alleviate the gnawing emptiness in her life.
Entering lesbian lifestyle
Increasingly dissatisfied with her life, Yvette soon decided she needed a change. Several months after she became close friends with her four-years-older teacher at the University of Delhi in India, their relationship went, at the teacher’s initiation, physical. Consumed with inner turmoil and stunned at what she had done, Yvette was trying to reconcile the conflict between her feelings and her actions. Finally, she decided that the reason for her guilt-feeling was that society had taught her that lesbian behavior was wrong.
Upon her return to the States, Yvette was told by her homosexual friend Ed that she should be not interested to get involved in lesbian lifestyle. Ignoring what she felt was hypocritical advice, Yvette began visiting lesbian bars. Angry at society and its morality, she became involved in homosexual activism and joined the “Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation” [a pro-homosexual media organization]. She finally felt good because she had an outlet for her pent-up rage.
Encountering Christians
At the law firm where she worked, Yvette met an outspoken Christian who impressed her with his knowledge of Scripture. He could back up everything he believed about how to live daily life with the Bible. Yvette realized that after studying Eastern and Native American mysticism, she still could not give one practical answer to life’s great questions, nor had she found fulfillment. On one occasion when she visited a Christian church, she was challenged with the Gospel message calling for repentance. Even though initially reluctant to accept it, still she surrendered to God, confessed she have done terrible things with her life and in the end a tremendous relief swept through her.
Leaving the church
Yvette has since left the church and rejecting its teachings, referring to herself as an "ex ex-gay leader" and stating that "[She's] never seen anyone change from gay to straight, ever".[2] She has also since described her sexuality as being based on personal qualities as opposed to gender, stating that "If the person happens to be a woman or a man is inconsequential to me. [...] when I met the man I would eventually marry, we had an instant connection. [...] Could I have had an equally strong bond with a woman? Of course."[3]
See also
Denials that ex-homosexuals exist
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Annetta Small et al.. Ex-Lesbian Yvette Schneider Testifies to ‘Complete’ and Permanent Change. Americans for Truth. Retrieved on 30 Jun 2016. “Schneider, now a mom in St. Louis, was once a featured speaker on Focus on the Family’s “Love Won Out” tour highlighting the possiblity of change for homosexuals.”
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Former Ex-Lesbian Leader Yvette Cantu Schneider Slams 'Ex-Gay' 'Freedom' March. "Truth Wins Out". Retrieved on 8 Sep 2020. “My name's Yvette Cantu Schneider and I'm an ex ex-gay leader. I've never seen anyone change from gay to straight, ever. Ever. [...] I would just implore anyone who's thinking of joining an ex-gay group not to do it. People don't change and it just oppresses them, so they end up in actually a worse situation than they were in to begin with. And instead of being free to be who you are, you're being forced to be someone that you're not”
- ↑ Jeremy Hooper. Former anti-gay activist: "I've never met an 'ex-gay' man I thought was not still attracted to men". "GLAAD". Retrieved on 8 Sep 2020. “If the person happens to be a woman or a man is inconsequential to me. For most of my life I’ve been more attracted to women than to men, but my attractions also depend on personal qualities, not gender. Fifteen years ago when I met the man I would eventually marry, we had an instant connection. Anyone who knows us can see we’re soul mates. Could I have had an equally strong bond with a woman? Of course.”
