Ted Haggard, now former president of the National Association of Evangelical Christians, and pastor of the 14,000-member New Life Church in Colorado, has been accused of having a relationship with a male prostitute. As of now Haggard claims that he simply bought meth off the man, named Mike Jones, and received a massage from him, but that is all. This all sounds very Clintonian to me. I suspect in the future we will find out Haggard did more than this. His actions were very stupid, and he should be as forthcoming as possible now to prevent further embarrassment later.
Considering Haggard’s staunch support of president Bush and his strong, vocal, stance against gay sex, he is being pounced on from all sides. The” sarcastic left” has been particularly vicious (and yes there is a sarcastic right too). I suspect they have a good reason to be upset, since while calling their lifestyles into question, he was living the same lifestyle. However, sarcasm, popular on Christian blogs these days, is not supposed to be our response.
I have no great love for Haggard’s style of Christianity myself: glitzy, congregationalist, megachurch, adrenaline-driven, almost exclusively republican, and so forth. However, I can’t help feel sorry for the guy. I mean he obviously has strong same-sex attractions, and seems to have given in and sought out sex from a prostitute, not to mention buying drugs! His life is pretty much ruined, and his family is deeply wounded I am sure. However, I think those who are rejoicing in the downfall of this man, a man they probably loathe, are sinning as well. Remember the parable of the Prodigal Son? The rejoicing in this parable occurred at repentance, not when the son “got what he deserved.” Our society, motivated by pride, the chief of sins, encourages us to rejoice when others, especially ones we don’t like, get their due.
While I think that Haggard must deal with the temporal punishments (from his church or US law) to come, should he sincerely repent, God is ready to forgive him. And God can even forgive his hypocrisy, a sin of which we are all guilty at some time in our lives. And we are called to forgive as well, no matter how hard. In fact, we are called not to rejoice in the sins and downfalls of others, but rejoice once they repent. Society will likely never forgive Haggard, but God can.
‘For this my son was dead, and is alive again; he was lost and now is found.’ And they began to make merry. Luke 15:24 (RSV).
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November 4, 2006 at 10:37 pm
Nice Post David.
It is only by God’s grace that it wasn’t me!! All of us have the capacity for great sinning and I do feel as Catholics we need to support this guy nad his wife and kids in prayer and not contribute to the detracting blogosphere.
November 7, 2006 at 1:07 am
Unrepentent sinners (the outers) are fervent about exposing sinners who preach against sin. The outers say they don’t like people living one way when they preach another.
Lies, all lies! Outers never like anyone preaching against the sin they have embraced in their lives.
November 16, 2006 at 6:51 am
You likely know who Ellen Degeneres is. You may recall her former lover Anne Heche but I am torn by what I just read. “The Truth Comes Out” by Nancy Heche, Anne’s mother.
Here is a promo: This is the beginning of a beautiful love story, Nancy wrote in her diary after meeting Don Heche, the man she was to marry. Five children and 25 years of marriage later, it seemed as if they were the perfect family. Then Don was diagnosed with AIDS-the shocking discovery of his homosexual secret. This was only the beginning of loss and heartache. Shortly after Don’s death, their 18-year-old son, Nathan, died in a car crash and Nancy fell into years of personal darkness. Eventually, as she was drawn into a long journey of growth and healing, her youngest daughter, Anne, began a very public lesbian love affair. Despite Nancy’s life circumstances, she held on to what she knew of God’s promises from Scripture and is discovering how to look at people and the world with God’s perspective through eyes full of love and blessing. Her inspiring story of faith and courage will offer hope to anyone who has ever been on the brink of despair, or wondered how to respond with love to someone in a same-sex relationship.
I have had two friends follow suit. It is heartbreaking.
There go I but by the grace of God.