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Ted Haggard Resigns Over Gay Scandal



Guess what!

My site just got linked on BoingBoing, via an article I wrote about the confrontation between Richard Dawkins and Ted Haggard, pastor of an enormous megachurch, the evangelical Christian New Life Church in Colorado Springs and president of the National Association of Evangelicals. According to the latest word on the street, Haggard “resigned after being accused of having an affair with another man.”

I don’t know which is bigger news, that this dude resigned, highlighting the utter hypocrisy of meanstream Christianity, or that I just got BoingBoinged (I know that sounds really petty - me getting BoingBoinged is TOTALLY bigger news!). Traffic is spiking like crazy. Hopefully my server won’t crap out on me.

Anyway, it’s pretty sweet, since I was just listening to the BoingBoing podcast interview with cryptozoologist Loren Coleman the other day, and thinking how cool it was that we were all treading such similar subject areas in different ways.

To anybody visiting via BoingBoing who is wondering what the hell my site is all about, here are some quick things you could check out to get your feet wet:

  1. My about me page with some FAQ’s
  2. My podcast which I recently started and am really enjoying
  3. Some of my “Best Of” articles, although that list hasn’t been updated in a while (will try to add some things to it tonight!)

And ah, yeah. That should be a good place to start.

Back on topic though: the coolest thing this Haggard dude could have done though - instead of resigning - was to maybe (if it’s true, of course) just come out of the closet. Imagine that, if one of the most prominent Christians in the nation actually pushed forward boldly with the Christian message of tolerance and forgiveness, instead of just running and hiding and living in shame for the rest of his days.

If he really is a “man of God” then I think it will be interesting to see where God leads him during the coming days…. More on all this as it develops.

(Thanks again BoingBoing visitors! Have fun and play nice!)

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10 Reader Responses

  1. zacharius Says:
    November 3rd, 2006 at 1:05 am

    so being ‘boinged’ makes you a made guy in the internet mafia, right?

    well, just don’t forget your raving fringey occultist friends, when you’re selling ads on your site for a quarter mil and getting blowjobs from hookers while you do posts…

    ” tim boucher implicated in blogger sex scandal…”

  2. Jennifer Emick Says:
    November 3rd, 2006 at 2:37 am

    Cool beans…I was scratching my head thwere for a sec, I opened the link in a new tab without realizing it wasd you…way cool. :-)

  3. JohnEmerson Says:
    November 3rd, 2006 at 6:16 am

    Back on topic though: the coolest thing this Haggard dude could have done though - instead of resigning - was to maybe (if it’s true, of course) just come out of the closet.

    Agreed. Just once I’d like to see a ’scandal’ like this take place, and the preacher use it to promote discussion and thought about how and why we choose what we do from the bible to guide behaviour. There’s nearly as much space given to prohibitions about women acting as full members of the community as there are about homosexual actions. Somehow, gaying it up in gaytopia has become the big no-no though. I don’t even mind the hypocrisy so much as to how Christians like to just throw it all under the rug and pretend there’s been no artificial modifications of meaning made to certain sections at all.

    And congrats on weathering the BoingBoing effect so well.

  4. Drew Says:
    November 3rd, 2006 at 8:20 am

    I don’t know if coming out of the closet would have helped. When Oral Roberts’ prize student, Bishop Carlton Pearson, came out of the closet as a Universalist the evangelical church (Oral Roberts included) all denounced him as a heretic and would have nothing to do with him, so if Ted Haggard came out of the closet his church would probably be out of businesss and he’d be out on the street in less than a month.

  5. growler Says:
    November 3rd, 2006 at 1:46 pm

    The way his church is set up will allow it to go on without him. Read the long article about New Life in on the Harper’s site.

    Buried within that piece was a mention of the early days of Haggard’s “church planting.”:

    “Pastor Ted soon began upsetting the devil’s plans. He staked out gay bars, inviting men to come to his church.”

  6. alistair Says:
    November 3rd, 2006 at 4:29 pm

    out of business is the key…….it`s about money.

  7. whatacharacter Says:
    November 3rd, 2006 at 7:43 pm

    Instantly reminded me of “American Beauty”, then by stream of consiousness onto catholic priests, ugh … how weirdly people get twisted up by sexuality. Then there’s the whole “God kills Fags dead” group and polyamorous molestin’ mormons …

    I was refreshed to read about Billy Graham in a recent Newsweek, and how he has mellowed in his age. While now recognizing some parts of the bible might actually be “man’s” revelation, he also regrets his political links, wishing he’d stay of of politics. He has seen alot and seems to have gained some wisdom.

  8. Tim Boucher Says:
    November 3rd, 2006 at 11:04 pm

    When Oral Roberts’ prize student, Bishop Carlton Pearson, came out of the closet as a Universalist the evangelical church

    Yeehaw! I fucking LOVE Carlton Pearson’s point of view and posted more elaborately on it elsewhere:

    -
    Universalism & Salvation
    - But, but, Universalism isn’t fair!
    - The Role of Satan in Universalism

    Hehe. Oral Roberts! Never ceases to crack me up!

    Seriously though: what pulling the “gay card” means is that Haggard is intentionally being destroyed in the eyes of his followers: Evangelical Christians. Somebody played this card very much on purpose. Who? Why?

  9. Timbo Twiddly Says:
    November 4th, 2006 at 11:44 am

    New admission from Haggard:

    Now Art, I mean Ted, says “Ok, I had sex but I didn’t swallow”.

  10. Al Says:
    November 5th, 2006 at 2:06 am

    Hi all,
    What people fail to realise is that all christians and non christians sin- none is immune to it.
    Even strong christians stray- the fact that this sin has been taking place for a long time just shows how no one is immune from sinning. It shows that as a christian you have to constantly live in the spirit- he obviously got very distracted.

    What I’ve always found interesting, and very troubling is the church’s response to one sinning especially when it’s a sin of this nature; and this happens to a greater or lesser degree depending on which rung of the social ladder you are- that distinction is sad in itself.

    Should churches respond by ostracising its members when they fall?
    Is that the way Christ would respond?
    Isn’t the church for all sinners? Shouldn’t it not then act like a hospital for sin sick souls?
    Big or small- sin is sin, and as long as the person repents it really isn’t the perogitive of the church to play God.

    No, I do not think that he should be asked to stand down- He who is without sin, please cast the first stone.
    This is a time for the church to embrace him- not condone actions, but say we are standing behind you during this difficult time—and keep him in the church!!!!
    Indeed a lot of the Bible has man’s interpretive footprints over it; but one thing is clear…the Bible calls for us to love each other like we do ourselves— it’s the one thing that’s clear and it is the one thing the church fails to do



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