Former Navy Chaplain believes in “gay demons”

Gordon Klingenschmidt “PhD” (I’m going to go out on a limb and guess it’s a Divinity degree) believes that people become gay by literally being possessed by gay demons. And that the reparative therapy necessary is exorcism and prayer and repenting. Also, that people who disagree with him should be “struck down”, though that doesn’t mean “killed,” just forceably impoverished. Which in our society pretty much means the same thing, only in a much prolonged sorta way.


Alan Colmes generally doesn’t do all that great when dealing with ridiculously dogmatic politicos and talking heads, but wow, did he handle this guy. The “clarify repeatedly” tactic really works with people whose positions are ridiculous on their face. Props.

Meanwhile, gay people are people, not demons. And voting for human rights doesn’t mean you’re being possessed by any sort of supernatural entity, demon or angel. (Which completely puts the lie to his assertion that we have free will and are free to choose whether to sin or not, by the way.) Gays will win their emancipation from second-class status, will win recognition of the fact that they deserve every other right the social contracts we presently reserve for heterosexuals confer on them, and society will simply learn to deal. Given enough time, people will even come to recognize their privilege on that axis, and check it for the betterment of society as a whole. Maybe on more axes than just sexuality.

Or maybe that’s wishful thinking.

Fractal wrongness and religiously-inspired bigotry do make for an interesting specimen now and again though, so easy to dissect and display all their rotten innards for study. But I weep that people like this guy exist all over our society, and are in positions of influence over so many others. And this is one of their best-in-breeds, considering the titles and positions!

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Former Navy Chaplain believes in “gay demons”
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15 thoughts on “Former Navy Chaplain believes in “gay demons”

  1. 1

    Former chaplain Gordon Klingenschmuck has been a frequent target of Mr. Brayton over at the Dispatches blog. On occasion, his former commanding officer, Norm Holcomb, has commented over there on his experiences with Mr. Klingenschmuck, while the latter was under his command. Klingenschmuck was a total asshole and whackjob who was eventually court martialed and expelled from the US Military for insubordination.

  2. 2

    Hah! I only read the Boss’ blog sporadically, so I probably missed this or didn’t internalize that specific criticism as being this same guy. But seriously, wow. That’s pretty damning. Court-martialled, and he was a CHAPLAIN. That’s special.

  3. 3

    You may or may not be aware that Klingy’s antics are a recurring topic on Ed Brayton’s blog, and IIRC the man himself showed up to spout his nonsense. At one point K’s former commanding officer (now retired) in the Chaplain Corps — who seems a very decent and intelligent guy — also showed up to give the lie to Klingenschmitt’s claims of being drummed out for Standing Up For Jesus. In truth, this silly man was just incapable of following orders, or even basic regulations (eg: it’s verboten to appear at a political event in uniform), was abrasive and impossible to work with.

    And I’m willing to bet the PhD. isn’t from anywhere reputable, or possibly even accredited. Credibility-by-credential is a popular tactic among the crackpot crowd.

  4. 6

    Replace “homosexuality” with “asexuality”, and Klingonschit makes as much sense. Unfortunately, I wouldn’t be surprised to hear him or somebody like him denouncing asexuality as “the work of Natas” in about 20-30 years time.

  5. 7

    Of course it’s the gay demons! The worst kind! That’s why good believers wear butt-plugs. That’s how the gay demons get in.

  6. 8

    Eamon, according to his bio on his website, he obtained a PhD in Theology from Regent University. So, yes, a not credible degree from a not credible school.

  7. 9

    Re Lousy Canuck

    Most of the interaction with the issue of Klingenschmuck occurred when Mr. Brayton was blogging over at Scienceblogs. As Eamon Knight @ #3 points out, the Klinger posted comments on a few of the threads over there which were breathtaking in their inanity (his former commanding officer, Norm Holcomb always referred to him as the Klinger). I commented several times that I found Captain (ret.) Holcomb’s patience with the Klinger during their service together to be amazing. Attached is a link with further information.

    http://www.au.org/church-state/may-2007-church-state/people-events/ex-chaplain%E2%80%99s-boss-says-religious-right-tales

  8. 10

    He actually performed “exorcisms” on gay people when he was in the Navy. Once a lesbian who was raped came to him for help and instead of doing so he performed some demon voodoo. And he found that incredibly funny when telling the story in an interview later.

    It’s incomprehensible how someone like him was ever allowed to be a military chaplain. They really don’t have any standards.

  9. 11

    Alan Colmes generally doesn’t do all that great when dealing with ridiculously dogmatic politicos and talking heads.

    I keep hearing this complaint but I think Alan has improved a lot since he left Hannity’s show. It would be hard for anyone to get their point across with Hannity screaming in the background. I catch Alan’s radio show every once in awhile and I always enjoy it. He even had Sean Faircloth on a couple of months ago.

  10. 15

    I was stationed onboard the USS Anzio during GJK’s tenure on board as Chaplain.

    Most of the crew thought he was a lunatic then too…..

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