I am gay.
Far from what many people may believe, hearing about situations like this does not make me happy. In fact, far from it.
People like Ted Haggard, be they bi-sexual or closeted homosexuals, cast a very dark shadow on those of us who do not live our lives wrapped in lies and deceit. Perhaps men like Ted Haggard really felt that he had no alternative but to ‘hide’ his true sexual orientation. None of us can really know.
I won’t spare Ted Haggard any blame – but I won’t hold him solely accountable, either. The foundation of his faith must answer to its inherent homophobic, uneducated and ignorant views of homosexuality. They enforce self-hatred among the gay members of their flock; often leading to suicide, depression, or, as demonstrated by Ted Haggard, a pathetic attempt to live life as something they are not and never will be: straight. Eventually the lies begin to corrode the soul, and the walls come tumbling down.
Yes, Ted Haggard lived a lie. He expunged deceptions about himself to those who placed their trust in him. But is being gay worse than being one of the self-righteous judgmental flock who force such actions upon others – on the unspoken threat of abandoning them? Just look at some of the "christian" replies posted here.
Sometimes I think that America is full of churches… but VERY few “Christians.”
--NightLad
from the God's Politics message boards
'A Teachable Moment for the Church'
This needs to be a teachable moment for the church. If the allegations turn out to be true - and I do mean IF - we need to turn this into an opportunity to stop the demonizing of homosexuals in the church. Haggard is a human, imperfect, and a child of God, just like all of us. If these allegations are true, then it seems safe to say that he - like countless people in the church - have been forced into the closet by a culture of misunderstanding, homophobia, and flat out incorrect interpretations of scripture.
In the coming months, we can anticipate that there will be 2 different directions evangelicals will head on this issue. The first direction - which we can expect form Focus and others - will hunker down on this and this and reinforce the belief that homosexuality is as much of a sin as it ever was. But maybe - just maybe - there might emerge a wing that can talk about this openly, and have an honest dialogue about the struggles of homosexuals in the church.
--m
from the God's Politics message boards
'Go to the Gay Community First'
He can't get a pass on treating gay people like second class citizens to advance a conservative politic. Sorry it just doesn't work that way. I don't think there is any scriptual defense against a gay religious or secular institution for marriage. We are talking about people's lives here.
For whatever reason you can think what they do in their bedrooms is gross, disgusting, whatever but then so what. It's not like heterosexuality is this holy and beautiful God given reality. It's just as broken as homosexuality. If you doubt that look at mercy sex or swinging, or the divorce rate...
If these allegations are true he needs to go the gay community first. He has spent years slandering the LGBTQ community. It's only fair considering his politics, sermons and activities have been used to hurt and destroy the self esteem and dignity of people.
I feel bad for his wife and kids they deserve better than this.
--Payshun
from the God's Politics message boards
