I know this might be the kind of thread expected to be concocted by Mr Tekkengod but I'm afraid I'm firmly behind his anti-religion stance at least when it comes to this man... I became aware of Ted Haggard i.e. Pastor Ted when I saw him on Richard Dawkins documentary during which he argued for biblical creationism... didn't come across as a very nice man to me. Just like another TV evangelical from America who wasn't so clued up on science. However, I was not expecting to flick up a news site today and see an article on how he has been forced to resign as the head of the National Association of Evangelicals because of a sex scandal involving a male prostitute and crystal meth! This man is the epitomy of a hippocrit as he was campaigning against gay marriages when the scandal broke! The male prostitute is alleging a 3 year relationship and after originally denying knowing the man 'Pastor Ted' has now admitted to going for a massage, being guilty of sexual immorality (though he still denies having sex!) and buying meth (but still denies taking it)! I mean this isn't some small fry TV pastor this guy seems to have been in a real position of authority within the evangelical community. So I'm wondering how people are responding to this in America? Also I'm not generally one for painting broad generalisations from isolated incidents but the whole high profile pastor involved in an immoral scandal seems to be a recurring theme in the American evangelical community. Doesn't this make people strongly question America's Religious right's ability to tell people what is and isn't immoral? http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20061105/ap_on_re_us/haggard_sex_allegations I dunno... just really suprised me and thought people might have some interesting thoughts on the topic.
how ironic, but predictable. will anyone ever stop and ask why we let these guys claim moral highground? hey wait you're stealing my threads kava!
He he he. Between you and Homer J Simpson how on earth could anyone else possibly get a word in edgewise.
i dunno... i dunno... nobody is perfect. Everyone has stuff they hide, and I'm certain he wouldn't have claimed to be any better than anyone else in respect to not sinning. It is pretty sad that he was that bad. Most Christians are hypocrits... but that's just another step up. Like his wife said in a letter to their church, "He's just proof that everybody needs a savior."
no, you don't need a savior to keep a needle outta your arm. and being homosexual is his choice, it wouldn't even matter, had he not campaigned against them. Hes just proof that power corrupts. thats about it.
you get the point. which was that i doubt it'd have been such an issue had he not launched an assault against them!
I guess the point is the rules change when it is a Christian. No body is perfect. Now would be the best time for everyone to start shouting about not judging. Or is it that Christians cannot judge non-Christians, but vice versa is OK?
is it ok to judge people randomly? no. is it perfectly acceptable to critisize a hypocrite? absolutely. and yeah, the rules actually do change with christians, atleast with the ones who claim moral superiority.
How is your stance not a random judgement? Do you really realize what you are saying? You have just made everyone, literally, a hypocrite. Think about it--all Christians, and all people for that matter, make mistakes every single day. We do things we know are wrong all the time--little white lies, gossiping, not helping other like we should, etc. Does that make everyone a hypocrite?
This wasn't quite a 'heat of the moment' screw up. He was carefully organising these sessions. I don't see anything wrong with that, but when he's spent so much time preaching about the 'evils' of homosexuality... there's a nice irony that it was his downfall. Although I'd much rather see it happen to the Phelps' family. Imagine if they got caught having a massive incestual orgy! That would be the best thing ever!
If you want a definition of a hypocrite you need look no further than Ted Haggard. We aren't talking about a man who told his children to brush their teeth everynight while he wasn't doing it. We are talking about a man who CAMPAIGNED against gay rights and regularly denounced to his few thousand strong congregation and hundred of thousand strong following that homosexuality was an abominable sin. This man was standing in front of thousands and proclaiming the evils of homosexual activity while having a gay relationship! We might all be guilty of telling white lies- your right no one is perfect. However, I think few of us are capable of reaching the heights of hypocrisy that Ted Haggard has scaled. And he is not the first high profile evangelical pastor to do so either. So to summarise: No it isn't something we can politely ignore nor is it something comparable to the hypocrisy of most people or at least its certainly not comparable to the hypocrisy Im guilty of. If you consider his level of hypocrisy to be normal I suggest you need to take a better look at your moral system.
So someone who gets a massage from a man is gay? Does that mean that I'm gay because my physio massaged my injured leg? From what I've read he says he bought drugs and had a massage, he denies having any type of homosexual sex. What people on here are saying is based upon hearsay and gossip, not facts. So until he either admits it or real proof comes to light then you cannot really say that this man is homosexual.