A comment on Ted Haggard 


You won't see this in the media, but it's worth considering. 

Suppose that Mike Jones, whatever his reasons, good, bad or confused, had never revealed that Rev. Jim Haggard had bought drugs and had sex with him on a regular basis. We would have never known that Jim Haggard, at least to some degree, had an alternative sexuality to heterosexual.

But these revelations were made. Finally, Haggard admits that he is a deceiver and a liar. Ah, but what is the deception and the lie? This, he is still confused about. He says, "There's a part of my life that is so repulsive and dark that I have been warring against it for all of my adult life." But what he means, I fear, is that it is this homosexual side of him that is repulsive and dark.

Perhaps the truth is even more shocking. Consider what it might be. Suppose the lie is that homosexuality is bad; suppose that the lie is that homosexuality is a sinful disposition that must be overcome. Suppose the repulsive part is that Haggard and millions like him him believe that homosexuality, in and of itself, is evil.

Now, admittedly, the man did have a marriage, children, and a "flock" to honor, and he should have done what he could to honor them. We shouldn't take our commitments and our promises before God lightly.

But in a society where homosexuality wasn't being blamed for earthquakes and economic downturns, a man like Haggard might have been able to look at himself more honestly, might have expected compassion and understanding, and hence might have been able to deal with this homosexual side in a more loving and honest manner. Who can say where Ted Haggard would have ended up had he accepted his homosexual tendencies even before he chose to be married and have children?

If there are lessons from God, I'd like to think that some of them are for the Christian conservatives, a chance to open their minds and their hearts to a broader reality of love.

These thoughts aren't well sorted out, but think about them. Some truth is in here somewhere. 

Posted: Sun - November 5, 2006 at 09:56 PM          

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