Tuesday, February 03, 2009

Ted Haggard's gay Christian struggle

I saw Ted Haggard’s recent interview with Larry King about being an evangelical preacher who was outed for gay sex. As a lesbian Christian, it was heartbreaking to hear Haggard unable to say that God accepts gay people. However, the most memorable part was his callous disregard for the young church volunteer that he forced into a sexual encounter. There's a lot more to this story than just the gay Christian angle. What about abuse of power? Check out Queeremergent Blog for a new blog with an intriguing post on Haggard, including Andrew Sullivan's well reasoned take Haggard “trapped between who he is and his internalized belief that God cannot love him for who he is.” He connects Haggard to the need for same-sex marriage. Bravo! The disgraced preacher Haggard is in the news again because he is the subject of a new HBO documentary, “The Trials of Ted Haggard.”
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3 comments:

  1. Trudie5:11 AM

    What really blows my mind is that in the entire interview segment as quoted, no mention whatsoever of the "drug issue" was raised. That, to me, is a much larger moral question than sexuality!

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  2. Anonymous9:19 AM

    Ted Haggard is a lot like many pastors out there who abuse power. His shocking recorded telephone conversation with the young congregant was outrageous. I found this the most shocking, because it was a private conversation that revealed just how selfish and self-involved these powerful men really are.

    Trudie, I second your concern for the drugs too. I'm willing to bet drug use is still rampant in clerical circles.

    Men believe in their sexual entitlement, and they believe they have a right to commit any outrageous act whatsoever. They don't care that they severely damange a congregant, and they seem to have no self awareness whatsoever. Believe me, it's more common in churches than most people imagine.

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  3. Anonymous3:10 AM

    Thanks for the shout out to Queermergent!

    Warm Regards,
    Adele

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