No More Phone, Computer for ’Ex-Gay’ Grindr User

by Jason St. Amand National News Editor Wednesday February 13, 2013

Chalk up another vocal Christian "ex-gay" who seems not to be able to backtrack. Matt Moore, who has made a great show of his rejection of homosex after finding Jesus, admitted to the Christian Post that he has "learned not to underestimate the power of my flesh."

After being thrown into the media spotlight last week, the "ex-gay" Christian blogger who was caught using the gay hookup app Grindr now says he got rid of his computer in order to "prevent giving into temptation" again.

In that same interview with the Christian Post, the website where he extensively wrote how religion saved him from the gay lifestyle, Moore, 23, says that he got rid of his electronics so he won't be tempted to cruise Grindr or similar apps and websites.

"I have sold my computer and have had someone put a lock on my phone where I cannot download apps or access the Internet through a non-filtered browser," Moore told the publication. "Ultimately, this isn't the solution. My heart being captured by the grace of God and brought into humble obedience is the solution. But not taking precautions is dumb, so these are the precautions I have taken."

When the Post asked Moore what he would tell "a Christian suffering from same-sex attraction," he said that they would need Jesus.

"The world will tell you to embrace your homosexual desires because it'll make you happy in this life," he said. "Jesus tells you to deny yourself and follow Him and promises to give you eternal life if you do."

Moore told the Huffington Post to say he doesn't "promote sexual conversion therapy or promote that people to try and reorient their sexual preferences. So much of what's being printed are old ideologies of the 'ex gay movement,' and they're falsely being placed on me. I don't support those ideologies and I think they are harmful."

He admitted that he doesn't believe he will "ever be attracted to women. So I don't encourage others to make that a goal, either" but urges "people to seek The Lord and seek the truth." (The Huffington Post writer didn't specify how Moore contacted the website, but since has no phone or website, the means of communication must have been miraculous.)

Last week, Zinnia Jones of Freethought Blogs exposed Moore when a reader tipped her off that the "ex-gay" blogger was secretly using Grindr and looking for "special friends." When the story broke, Moore confirmed to Jones that it was really him on Grindr and not a fake.

"I am wrong in having been on Grindr. I haven't changed my views on homosexuality, the Bible, etc.," he told Jones. "Creating a Grindr profile and talking to guys on it was major disobedience on my part....disobedience to Christ. Disobedience to a loving and gracious God. Thankfully, I believe that He forgives me for this disobedience. I believe the blood of Christ covers this disobedience. And I won't be on grindr again....ever."

What made the story so sensational was that Moore blogged for the Post, where he made extravagant claims that he was "cured" of his homosexuality. In a lengthy piece entitled, "My Story: Homosexuality, Drunkenness, Grace and Redemption," he writes how Christianity has helped him leave his gay lifestyle.

"I can, in truth, firmly say that the longer I keep turning away from my homosexual desires, the less in strength they become," Moore wrote. In August Moore encountered a setback and wrote that he was still having urges to sleep with men.

"Although I have same sex thoughts on a daily basis, I do not, in any way, feel compelled to ever return to a lifestyle of homosexuality," he wrote. More recently, Moore blogged that he was suffering from "overwhelming loneliness."