Pastor Ted, American Politics, and Homosexuality
On the eve of the 2006 Mid-term election scandal has broken out once again. Just days after a botched joke by a very unfunny John Kerry had seemed to give the Democrats a black eye, word comes that one of the more politically powerful and connected members of the Evangelical community may have been involved in a homosexual relationship and possibly purchased (used?) Meth. Yesterday as I checked the various media outlets, most pundits weren't sure what to do with him. Ted lacks the name recognition of the usual suspects -- Pat, Jerry, and Jim (Dobson), and so no one seems to know what will happen next. The reality is that Haggard is in many ways a more moderate Religious Right Leader, but he's been part of a coterie of people that the Republican establishment have turned to in their efforts to maintain control of the White House and Congress.
As with Mark Foley, Haggard's fall from grace is another reminder of the dangers of keeping homosexuality underground. I've become convinced that homosexuality isn't a personal lifestyle choice. The key to coming to that understanding is having a gay in my own family. That reality has pushed me to come to a new understanding of homosexuality. But that's for another discussion. The issue is our continuing inability to recognize the facts before us. We don't know all the facts, but I expect that more will be forthcoming, and we will learn that Haggard has homosexual feelings that he's been suppressing. After all, how could one be gay and a Christian leader? Even in Mainline Protestantism (the bastions of liberalism in the minds of many) we've not come to grips with this issue. And so, Haggard, like Foley lived a double life hoping he'd not be discovered.
I do feel for this man and his family. What I hope will happen is that we'll start to have a positive discussion about sexuality, religion, and public life. The Republican Party has hitched itself to a rather cruel campaign to suppress the rights of gays -- all in the name of family values. As many have pointed out, we heterosexuals have done all the damage needed to the institution of marriage, without any help from gays wanting to find a way to live committed lives together. My fear is that the forces of repression will get even stronger and angrier.
Time will come when we'll have the necessary discussion, but the sooner the better for too many people. Pastor Haggard will have to deal with what's happened in the context of his own family life. I don't know what will happen -- I'm sure his wife and family are stunned and feeling betrayed. To them we offer our prayers and support. But this is not an isolated event. How often have families been torn asunder when it has been discovered that one spouse or other has tried to suppress their homosexuality and have tried to live a heterosexual life -- and failed to do so.
Yes, it's time to have a positive conversation that will bring healing to families, communities, churches, and the nation itself.
As with Mark Foley, Haggard's fall from grace is another reminder of the dangers of keeping homosexuality underground. I've become convinced that homosexuality isn't a personal lifestyle choice. The key to coming to that understanding is having a gay in my own family. That reality has pushed me to come to a new understanding of homosexuality. But that's for another discussion. The issue is our continuing inability to recognize the facts before us. We don't know all the facts, but I expect that more will be forthcoming, and we will learn that Haggard has homosexual feelings that he's been suppressing. After all, how could one be gay and a Christian leader? Even in Mainline Protestantism (the bastions of liberalism in the minds of many) we've not come to grips with this issue. And so, Haggard, like Foley lived a double life hoping he'd not be discovered.
I do feel for this man and his family. What I hope will happen is that we'll start to have a positive discussion about sexuality, religion, and public life. The Republican Party has hitched itself to a rather cruel campaign to suppress the rights of gays -- all in the name of family values. As many have pointed out, we heterosexuals have done all the damage needed to the institution of marriage, without any help from gays wanting to find a way to live committed lives together. My fear is that the forces of repression will get even stronger and angrier.
Time will come when we'll have the necessary discussion, but the sooner the better for too many people. Pastor Haggard will have to deal with what's happened in the context of his own family life. I don't know what will happen -- I'm sure his wife and family are stunned and feeling betrayed. To them we offer our prayers and support. But this is not an isolated event. How often have families been torn asunder when it has been discovered that one spouse or other has tried to suppress their homosexuality and have tried to live a heterosexual life -- and failed to do so.
Yes, it's time to have a positive conversation that will bring healing to families, communities, churches, and the nation itself.
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