Buddhas Hand Posted October 15, 2012 Share Posted October 15, 2012 Timothy Kurek, Straight Christian Man, 'Comes Out' And Pretends To Be Gay For A Year Posted: 10/13/2012 11:59 am EDT Updated: 10/13/2012 5:09 pm EDT Thousands of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people weren't the only ones celebrating National Coming Out Day on Thursday. A Christian man from Tennessee appeared on ABC News to talk about his own coming out experience but -- he's straight. Timothy Kurek "came out" to his family and friends and lived as a gay man for a year in order to experience what life is like as an LGB person. The Liberty College graduate told ABC News, "You learned to be very afraid of God [in church]... [And you learned] the loving thing to do is to tell my friend who is gay, 'Hey, listen, you are an abomination and you need to repent to go to heaven.' I absolutely believed in that lock, stock and barrel." But four years ago a lesbian acquaintance of his relayed the story of how her family rejected her when she came out to them and Kurek was moved to take action. "I feel God really kicked me in the gut," he said. "She was crying in my arms and instead of being there for her, I was thinking about all the arguments to convert her." Soon after Kurek decided to go under cover and "come out" as a gay man. "I came out to everybody! My friends, family, everyone," Kurek told HuffPost blogger George Elerick. "I just knew that I needed to understand, as realistically as possible, how the label of gay might change my life. The social experiment itself demanded all or nothing." According to the Guardian, Kurek even "got a job in a gay cafe, hung out in a gay bar and joined a gay softball league, all the while maintaining his inner identity as a straight Christian." The only people that knew the truth about what Kurek was doing were an aunt, a close friend and a gay friend who was recruited to play his boyfriend. "I needed protection to keep me balanced and teach me the nuances of gay culture and how they flirt, and to give me an excuse when guys hit on me," said Kurek. While Kurek claims that after he "came out" nearly 95 percent of his friends stopped talking to him, it was his mom who initially took the experiment the hardest. "I snooped in my mother's journal one day after I had come out and she'd written, 'I'd rather have found out from a doctor that I had terminal cancer than have a gay son.'" But he says she eventually came to terms with his "sexuality" and "went from being a very conservative Christian to being an ally to the gay community." Kurek used his experience to write a book, "The Cross In The Closet," some of the proceeds from which he says he will donate to LGBT homeless youth centers . "What I went through is NOTHING compared to the experience of the average gay and lesbian. They were never able to say 'only 12 or eight or six more months of this before I get to be me again,'" Kurek told Elerick. "So what I consider to be the most eye-opening facet of my year was really only a glimpse of how bad the closet really is." To empathise with others it really does pay to walk in their shoes . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aGENT Posted October 15, 2012 Share Posted October 15, 2012 Brilliant idea. Hopefully it's another small step in further acceptance of the LBG community. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jägermeister Posted October 15, 2012 Share Posted October 15, 2012 It's pathetic how coming out can effect a persons life and relationships in such a negative way. The world still has a long way to go. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
InTheCrease Posted October 15, 2012 Share Posted October 15, 2012 That is awesome, I really hope more closed minded people give it time to understand that it isn't a choice. What really blows me away, is not only his 'friends', but his mom. What ever happened to unconditional love for your children? Hopefully she feels some remorse for her initial judgment of not only her own son, but the LBG community. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SkeeterHansen Posted October 15, 2012 Share Posted October 15, 2012 Sad how 95% of friends stopped talking to him, and even sadder that his mother had said that! Just shows some of the hardships the LGBT community suffers, and this was on a very low level in comparison. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Buddhas Hand Posted October 15, 2012 Author Share Posted October 15, 2012 That is awesome, I really hope more closed minded people give it time to understand that it isn't a choice. What really blows me away, is not only his 'friends', but his mom. What ever happened to unconditional love for your children? Hopefully she feels some remorse for her initial judgment of not only her own son, but the LBG community. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aGENT Posted October 15, 2012 Share Posted October 15, 2012 I think that it shows the depth of love for her son overcame a lifetime of programing ,after her initial revulsion , she not only supports her son , but has become a supporter of the gay community Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Buddhas Hand Posted October 16, 2012 Author Share Posted October 16, 2012 Absolutely. While her original reaction was certainly unfortunate, you do occasionally have to give people time and an opportunity to change... I'm glad to see she came around Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
InTheCrease Posted October 16, 2012 Share Posted October 16, 2012 I think that it shows the depth of love for her son overcame a lifetime of programing ,after her initial revulsion , she not only supports her son , but has become a supporter of the gay community Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Newsflash Posted October 16, 2012 Share Posted October 16, 2012 According to the Guardian, Kurek even "got a job in a gay cafe, hung out in a gay bar and joined a gay softball league, all the while maintaining his inner identity as a straight Christian." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dral Posted October 16, 2012 Share Posted October 16, 2012 My Step-Grandfather (serious Catholic) found out one of his sons was gay a few years back - he got a real heartfelt letter from him and after reading it, he threw it aside and said "F***ing F*ggot". Didn't talk to him for almost a year. I was quite disappointed. On a lighter note - gay dudes are really great; besides the laughs it really means there's that many more girls in the ocean for the rest of us. Also, DAMN - this guy TOTALLY ruined a great story idea I had. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thedestroyerofworlds Posted October 16, 2012 Share Posted October 16, 2012 yup, it's only until you can see what it is like on the other side that you can learn to be objective when confronted with issues that crop up in life Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nux4lyfe Posted October 16, 2012 Share Posted October 16, 2012 Nice publicity stunt - bet he makes some nice change off his book. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SkeeterHansen Posted October 16, 2012 Share Posted October 16, 2012 Nice publicity stunt - bet he makes some nice change off his book. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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