One of the big stories today is that of Ted Haggard, who has taken administrative leave from his pulpit and resigned from his position as president of the National Association of Evangelicals. All of this comes amidst accusations of… er… indiscretions with a male prostitute, some of which he has apparently admitted:
A sudden about-face in the scandal facing New Life Church’s pastor.
After Pastor Ted Haggard went public Wednesday night denying allegations of a homosexual affair, senior church officials told KKTV 11News Thursday evening, Pastor Ted Haggard has admitted to some of the claims made by a former male escort. The church’s Acting Senior Pastor, Ross Parsley, tells KKTV 11 News that Pastor Haggard has admitted to some of the indiscretions claimed by Mike Jones, but not all of them.
An email has also reportedly been sent to Church staff saying Haggard admitted to some of the accusations.
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Said accuser has since manifested “some deceptions” via polygraph, but since polygraphs are about as reliable as “probable” voice analysis matches, I’m thinkin’ we’re not quite done with this story.
Other than his association with “Jesus Camp“, I know little to nothing about this man. However, a re-post on his site from an article last year in the Denver Post (Man of Cloth and Clout) gave me a start (my emphasis):
He also set himself apart from the vast majority of evangelical Christian groups by applauding a 2003 Supreme Court decision that struck down a Texas anti- sodomy law.
“I believe the church has to teach against immorality, but I don’t believe it’s the role of the state to spend money to find out what consenting adults do in their bedrooms and then haul them off to jail,” Haggard said.
*Ahem* There seems to be a bit of irony there.
The blogosphere (of course) is gnawing away at this latest bone, and while much of it is pretty predictable, a few posts caught my eye. Since I’m in such a bizarre mood today, I decided to do a small round-up on what they’re saying, rather than comment directly.
For instance, the piece I clipped from the Denver Post article (above) seems to fly in the face of Eric’s observations at Classical Values:
There’s no live and let live with people like him. Homosexuality is something to be fought personally — and not just within oneself. It is something that must be fought in other people, even total strangers. Why anyone would care what another person does with his genitalia is something I will never understand.
I don’t understand it, either. I wish everybody’d get out of the gutter, actually.
Then there’s John Cole’s take on the reaction from Red State, at which I ’bout split my sides laughing (links removed to avoid confounding Red State’s trackbacks):
I have never heard of the man before today, but if you go check out Memeorandum apparently it is the BIGGEST NEWS EVER that Ted Haggard is gay.I guess this is the kind of thing that is news five days before an election when there isn’t a war or other major issues to talk about. Oh, wait…
This is the same Red State that featured not one, not two, not three, not four, not five, six, seven, eight, nine, ten, eleven, twelve, thirteen, fourteen, fifteen, sixteen, seventeen, eighteen, nineteen, twenty, but TWENTY-ONE front page stories about John Kerry’s botched joke.
Good thing Red State is focussing on the ‘issues.’
Clearly, matters of import are subjective.
Finally, there’s La Shawn Barber, who missteps rather awkwardly into the pulpit with:
Here’s a newsflash for unbelievers: Christians can be perverts, too!
[Update and clarification: Yes, sex outside of marriage is a perversion of what God intended, too. We all fall short of God’s standards, so in a sense, we’re all perverts. It’s a perverted world!…]
Thank you, La Shawn, for finally clearing Polimom’s fog about that abstinence only funding. The answer is clear now: no matter how old you are, if you’re doing the deed, you’re a pervert. That explains a lot, actually… but I have a residual question: is it still a perversion post-menopause?
Sigh…
I dunno, folks. Polimom’s about ready to vomit with all the outing lately. You?
Update: It’s a false alarm. He says he bought meth from the accuser, but never used it (is this kinda like having the joint right there at your lips, but not inhaling?)… and he was just really tense, so he was looking for a massage.
*snort*
Update2: You really have to watch this You Tube taken from “Jesus Camp”. Seriously, Sybil.