Monday, November 06, 2006
Evangelical diabolical
What is the deal with conservative America these days? First we had Mark Foley, now we have Pastor Ted Haggard. Everyone in the US knows the story by now: stridently anti-gay pastor turns out to be a closeted homosexual. Not an Earth shattering revelation in a world of child-molesting Catholic priests and teenager seducing politicians. What really sets Haggard apart is that he paid a male prostitute for sex, abused methamphetamine, and did it all under the radar of his wife, his five children, and his New Life Church, which includes 14,000 members.
Haggard is an evangelical, which is to say he is a Bible literalist, and his New Life Church is one of the largest evangelical organizations in the US. Haggard’s personal congregation was inarguably substantial. As president of the National Association of Evangelicals, he oversaw a collective congregation of over 30,000,000 American faithful. Naturally, Haggard’s political influence was far reaching, to say the least.
This man was named one of Time’s top-25, most important evangelicals in 2005. He participated in White House conference calls, served as one of President Bush’s advisors on evangelical activities, and mingled with the highest ranking movers and shakers in America’s right wing, evangelist movement. It is safe to assume that he was on a first name basis with just about everyone who is anyone in the modern evangelical subculture. In short, he was The Man, and certainly must have been a force in evangelical politicking. His most recent pet project: lobbying for a ban on gay marriage. The irony of all this is so thick that it borders on the insane. Here is a pastor who was cheating on his wife with a man, deceiving his family, his Church, and millions of believers, and he is out stumping for the oppression of homosexuals.
According to my understanding of the Ten Commandments, adultery isn’t exactly a minor sin in Haggard’s religion. Sex with a man is the sort of thing that got whole cities wiped out in the Old Testament. Deception, especially on the level Haggard has engaged in the practice, is no small thing either. Put it all in the modern media pressure cooker, pressurize it with the heat of election season, and you’ve got one clusterfuck of a mess. The man’s politics influenced millions. Worse still, these are the sort of people that vote as they are told. After all, Haggard is one of the men who helped Bush remain in the White House in 2004, as the evangelical movement is widely recognized as a significant part of Dubya’s “base”. Should we be worried about any of that? I say, absolutely. If Haggard could rise to such power, who’s to say there are not other morally vacuous hypocrites in positions of incredible power within the conservative monolith? If he was able to hide it, how many others are similarly saying one thing and doing another?
Politics aside, religion in general has taken a beating in recent years. American Christianity gets another BIG black eye here, and the scandals just keep coming. Honestly, I feel for those believers in the country who actually practice what their leaders, and their religion, preach. The idea that church is a hospital for wounded souls has never seemed more accurate to me. How can a man put his penis in another man’s ass, go home to the wife and children he allegedly loves, then go before 14,000 faithful followers and decry the very acts he has just engaged in? How can no one know about it?
With all that has happened (going all the way back to the founding of organized, Western religion), how can anyone still see institutionalized religion as viable? When so many prominent adherents fall from grace in such incredibly hypocritical ways, doesn’t there come a point when following others in one’s faith becomes inexcusably foolish? The Catholic Church is STILL taking damage for the way it handled child molesters in its fold, now it appears that the evangelical movement is going to take a turn in the spotlight. Of course, no rational person would condemn the entire movement because of the actions of a single man, but this particular man just so happened to be the leader of their largest, national organization. How does that happen? I repeat, how did no one know that this was going on for 3 years?
Now his family, friends, and even members of his former congregation, are asking for forgiveness. His wife has publicly stated that she intends to stick by his side until the bitter end. I ask myself, are these people for real? I suppose some of them are sincere, but I have to believe that the rest are feigning piety, rather than genuinely pleading for absolution. They should be disgusted, angry, and condemning, not consoling. How do you feel sorry for a man who cheated on his wife? How does his wife look past the fact that her husband was sleeping with a male prostitute? Fact is, in the real world, you don’t and she won’t. This man is not worthy of forgiveness. He’s a liar, a fraud, and an adulterer. What good is he to anyone, beyond serving as a lesson of what NOT to do with one’s life? Is their redemption for such a person? Not in my mind, but opinions will vary widely on that one.
What is certain is that Haggard’s credibility, and in some ways his life’s work, is now destroyed. At the same time, we are given yet one more example of a person in a position of power being utterly corrupted. It seems that power and corruption walk hand-in-hand in the American political and religious landscape today. Not exactly the stuff of sunshine and happy optimism, for sure.
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Ok Eric you talked me into it, no use in you writing all this crap without an audience. Is it me or are there more gay men then ever before? I know back in Roman times it was a right of passage to have sex with a young boy, what's with that? If I found out my husband was having sex with men I definately would not stand by his side. In today's day and age it's relatively acceptable to be gay, so why do these guys marry women? Hey if you want to live in the closet, stay single, dont play with someone elses life and emotions.
I can't say for sure, but I would guess he was ashamed of who he really was. The fact is, when most people are ashamed of something they take it to the complete opposite extreme in hopes to hide their true identity. Things like this happen all the time, people you would least expect from all different parts of society will turn out to be child molesters, murderers, rapist, etc. because they do such a good job hiding it. I know if I were trying to hide something I would do and say the complete opposite; it only makes sense that would be the best way to throw people off your true identity. It doesn’t make it right, but it does make sense.
jill - You're right, I think the gay lifestyle has become more accepted, and therefore much more widely known. On top of all that, it seems to be trendy amongst certain demographics. That's all fine and good, as far as I'm concerned. My big problem with is with guy's like Haggard, who say one thing then do another. And I agree, if you are fucked up, you should most definitely leave other people out of your life. Sadly, that is rarely the way it works.
laura - I agree with what you are saying here too. It takes all kinds, as "they" say, but it is this extremist hypocrisy that pisses me off. I am not trying to tie Haggard's behavior directly to evangelicals, but I think there is strong, anecdotal evidence that suggests the loudest voices speaking about against things like homosexuality are those who are actually participating in it.
Does that mean I'm out whoring around, doing drugs, lying, cheating, stealing, and all of that? That's for me to know, and for the rest of the world to read in my memoirs. lol