Ted Haggard Is Okay With Same-Sex Marriage…

Jim Burroway

January 12th, 2009

…Except when his people call back an hour later to say he’s not.

The San Francisco Chronicle’s Joe Garofoli was talking with Ted Haggard last week about an HBO documentary, about his fall from grace. That documentary, “The Trials of Ted Haggard,” which will premiere on January 29, documents the rise and fall of one of American’s Evangelical leaders in a scandal of gay sex and methamphetamines.

As Garofoli explains it, he and Haggard were talking about his former church and how they could have used his fall from grace as an example on preaching forgiveness. He also said that he thought the church is blowing other opportunities to reach out in other areas:

“I think we’re blowing it right here in California with the No. 1 way evangelical believers are communicating their belief are things like Prop. 8,” Haggard told The Chronicle Friday.

“I think the government should recognize the union between people whether they’re gay or not in whatever the language they choose, whether they call it a marriage or a civil union, it’s up to them. If the government is going to be in the business of recognizing people grouped together as couples, then they need to that across the board. It’s a big change for me.”

“It’s not a change in my view of civil liberties. I’ve always believed this. It’s a change in semantics. I’m saying prior to the crisis, I would defend marriage as the sacred term for the church to use for heterosexual monogamous couples. Now I’ve broadened that and said it’s not worth having a war over the definition of a word. I believe that under civil law people should be respected. And it should be equality under the law. So either the government needs to get out of recognizing that couples are together and make everybody file the same tax returns, etc. Or they need to recognize all of them. I don’t think it’s wise for the government to separate based on what goes on in a person’s bedroom.”

Sounds great, right? Except an hour later an HBO publicity person called. Haggard wanted to clarify that he wasn’t saying he was for gay marriage.

Haggard recently acknowledged that “I have struggled and continue to struggle from time to time with same sex attraction.” How sad. He is struggling all over the place between what he thinks and what he knows.

A man divided against himself cannot stand.

Devlin Bach

January 13th, 2009

Unfortunately for the confusion it causes, right wing religiots hold their claim to fame by “struggling all over the place between what they think and what they know”, and getting people to buy in. This is why they are losing ground, they don’t do rational well at all. People are catching onto the hype, especially the younger generation.
With the History and Discover Channel and the internet with all their clarifying information, people are disgusted about the right wing inconsistencies and are dropping them from party lists sending them over the edge to go be by themselves.
The days of erroneous religious thought framed in posing and grandstanding with used car salesmen smiles, are fast coming to a close. Thank God.

azpueblojim

January 13th, 2009

I don’t get it…In the quoted text, he says he thinks the Gov’t (not the church) should recognize either gay civil unions or marriage, no matter what term is applied to it. To me, this is an amazing and courageous statement coming from someone who is still a recognizable public voice.

So then why have you not included any quote where he supposedly later says he’s against gay marriage? Perhaps we need to know that it actually happened before we take HBO wag’s word for it?

Call me gullible, but even recognizing all the harm Ted had done prior to his calamity, to hear him publically recognize his struggle seems like hopeful progress. As a reformed ‘closet case’ myself, I can empathize somewhat with his struggle, even if many of us for whatever reason cannot. As an opposing view to those who simply want him to ‘dry up and go away’, instead I’m hoping that he’ll continue and complete his journey to personal truth and let others see it as it happens.

Ephilei

January 14th, 2009

That sounds consistent to me. He believes marriage should be legal but not immoral. Isn’t this what marriage advocates encourage for those who won’t change their moral view?

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