Hallelujah! He's Gay No More! (He Was Also Reportedly Arrested for Fraud, But Whatever)

How viral did a video go of a man claiming to have been "saved" from gayness? "Wildly viral," according to GLBT news site JoeMyGod in a Nov. 14 post. How credible is the young fellow in question? Well, that's another story, JoeMyGod and other online news sources noted.

The video apparently originated at this year's annual convocation of a denomination known as the Church of God in Christ (COGIC), which took place the week of Nov. 3 - 11 in St. Louis. In the video, a 21-year-old man named Andrew Caldwell made the not-uncommon (but hardly credible, from a scientific standpoint) claim that he had been "delivered" from sexual desires for other men.

Though Caldwell later said that he had not received any monetary compensation for these claims, news sources said that he was given $100 cash by a church bishop following his testimonial.

"I'm not gay no more," Caldwell declared in the video. "I am delivered! I don't like mens no more. I said I like women. Women women women women!"

Caldwell, like many who fail to distinguish between gay men, transwomen, and drag artists, suggested that sexual proclivity for those of the same gender and feminine couture are inseparable. Stated Caldwell, "I would not date a man! I would not carry a purse! I would not put on make-up!"

A Church of God news release seemed to take exception with the video's huge presence on the Internet, overshadowing as it did multiple examples of charitable good works that took place during the convocation.

The release noted that the convocation offered free "healthcare services" to those in need, and also provided a Job Fair where those in need of employment could turn. The release also noted that "5,000 people received assistance in the form of food, clothing, blankets, toys, haircuts, and medical check-ups," and that members of the denomination deployed to "provide cleanup assistance to blighted areas." The convocation also supported efforts to bolster literacy among schoolchildren.

"As a Pentecostal, Bible-believing organization, our goal is to edify and care for the entire individual, both naturally and spiritually," the release stated. The release claimed that "227 individuals received divine deliverance from a benumbed of afflictions," but it was the claim of a single man who declared he had been "delivered" from the "affliction of homosexuality that sparked a tidal wave of digital attention.

The notion that gays "choose" their sexual orientation and can be "cured" or "saved" from homosexuality is prevalent among anti-gay Christians. One church bishop from Memphis, Brandon Porter, went so far as say of Caldwell, "If you can't praise God with him, you're a non-believer."

CBS Atlanta reported that Porter was the church official who forked the hundred dollars over to Caldwell following Caldwell's dramatic testimonial, posting: "Caldwell also claimed he hasn't made a dime from his 'deliverance.' Porter of Memphis handed him a $100 bill following the testimony." Footage of the cash changing hands is part of the CBS Atlanta news segment.

Among those of a more skeptical bent, the question of belief was very much in play. The question arose implicitly in followup reports as to whether Caldwell's claims of "conversion" were genuine, or mere theater.

Many viewers who made the video an online sensation evidently took Caldwell's declarations as the latter, a Nov. 14 BBC News posting indicated.

"Swathes of people commenting seemed to find the clip hysterical," the BBC reported. "A parody which turns it into a song has been watched more than 300,000 times. 'Gotta be the funniest video I've watched in 2014,' tweeted one viewer, and 'IN TEARS LAUGHING,' wrote another on World Star."

The viral video also inspired an animated version.

Describing the video, the BBC article said that at the point Caldwell declares himself "delivered" from homosexuality, "The preacher and other members of the crowd swarm around him, and join him in dance."

Whatever motivation might lie behind the testimony, the video stuck a nerve and electrified the Web. But the church was not best pleased with this sort of attention.

"A video, which is now viral, of a young man stating his deliverance from a particular lifestyle does not, in any capacity, speak to all of the remarkable things that transpired during this great church convocation," the media release from the Church of God in Christ declared.

After stating the denomination's view that marriage should be limited to mixed-gender couples and asserting that members of the faith "love all people, regardless of their faith or moral standards," the Church of God in Christ made it known that that were done with the entire subject.

"The Church of God in Christ will have no further comment on this matter," was the final line of text in the release.

But secular news sources were happy to take up the slack and delve deeper ingot he story. CBS Atlanta reported on Nov. 12 that Caldwell had made other claims at least as dubious as his purported "cure" from a "particular lifestyle." For one thing, the young man claimed to be a medical student pursuing course of studies online.

"Where do you go to medical school at, online?" wondered Thaddeus Matthews, who hosts an online talk show, CBS Atlanta reported. Matthews called Caldwell "a scam artist" in the CBS Atlanta segment.

CBS Atlanta also reported that the young man in question had been arrested for "fraudulent insurance," JoeMyGod reported. The CBS Atlanta segment showed a mug shot from earlier this year following Caldwell's alleged arrest for fraud.

Caldwell says that his testimony was sincere, the Huffington Post reported on Nov. 14. The same article approached the subject of gays being "cured" or "converted" into heterosexuals with a degree of skepticism, noting that predation and medically improbable claims plague the so-called "ex-gay" industry.

"In September, a man claimed that a teacher at his church forced him to have oral and anal sex in an effort to treat his homosexuality," the Huffington Post noted, linking to an earlier story in which Jeff White, now a leader in the LGBT community, disclosed details of how he was abused as a teenager after coming out as gay.

"Another man, Raymond Bell, a pastor of the Cowboy Church of Virginia, made headlines with claims that sessions involving the stroking of horses could help 'cure' certain 'addictions' like homosexuality," the Huffington Post article went on to note.

CBS Atlanta noted that Caldwell has retained the services of a manager, and reported that when he was contacted by a member of the press via telephone, Caldwell "quickly put his manager on the line. Both firmly disputed that anything was set up."