An app that claimed to 'cure' users of homosexuality vanished from Apple's App Store, but remains available on the Google Play store.
The new Christian app claimed to offer a 6-day "gay cure" that would allegedly teach users how to free themselves from sin, but, as expected, it faced plenty of criticism and Apple pulled it from its App Store.
The app comes from Setting Captives Free, which aims to teach biblical principles and address pressing issues, including homosexuality. The free app hit Google Play at the end of March and continues to be available there. Setting Captives Free features various ways to fight off substance abuse and gambling and also has a lesson on how to combat homosexuality and attain "sexual purity."
"Despite what you may have heard elsewhere, you do not have a 'homosexual gene,' nor were you born this way with no hope of freedom," claims the "Door of Hope" lesson of the app. "You can be set free from the bondage of homosexuality through the power of Jesus Christ and the cross! If you will apply the biblical principles found here, you can walk through the Door of Hope into a new life with Christ, free from sexual impurity and self-gratification."
"Friend, make no mistake about it, God calls homosexuality wicked and evil and not an 'alternative lifestyle,'" adds the lesson. "If you're not there yet in your understanding of homosexuality, you must pray for the day when you see this sin the way God sees it. I would also encourage you to begin using these biblical terms as well, as opposed to 'alternative lifestyle.'"
On Thursday, May 30, the group called All Out, which advocates for the rights of gay, bisexual and transgender individuals, started spreading the news about Setting Captives Free. The advocacy group strongly objected to the app's availability in the Apple Store and Google Play and even launched a petition to get the app removed, collecting tens of thousands of signatures. By Thursday afternoon the iTunes Store no longer loaded the app successfully, generating an error that suggested the app was not available.
Apple later confirmed to Macworld that it indeed pulled the app from its App Store for violating the company's developer guidelines. A spokesperson for Google, meanwhile, told PinkNews that the company is looking into the complaints it received regarding the app.
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