In the space of 24 hours, this story has gone from maybe to absolutely.
In the wake of accusations from a male escort, Pastor Ted Haggard, the head of the most powerful evangelical organization in America, has stepped down and, after initial — though curiously soft-spoken — denials, now admits he did buy amphetamines and a “massage” from his accuser, former escort Mike Jones.
The sins of Pastor Ted Haggard are many — though they are not the ones he is being pilloried for at the moment:
Haggard has railed angrily against the “homosexual agenda.” He is the chief organizer of anti-gay marriage initiatives.
His brand of holy-roller Christianity is curiously empty of self-reflection, or such spiritual adjuncts as meditation and prayer (other than the flashy talking-in- tongues, rolling-around-the-floor kind).
In its place, he has professed a Christianity that Christ himself would not recognize: a “free-market theology” (Haggard’s term for it) with heavy-handed overlays of military iconography. His megachurch in Colorado Springs resembles nothing so much as a big-box shopping mall with as many American flags as crosses. Wired for the internet and loaded with giant concert screens, Haggard’s New Life Church sports a Christian bookstore, a gourmet coffee franchise and an arena for Christian rock shows and Saturday night dances (the kids dance in place, with the Holy Spirit, not with each other).
And yet, as we are learning, Haggard may not have been so homophobic after all.
What is emerging is a portrait of a deeply conflicted gay man. We’re beginning to believe that old drag-queen adage that those who rage the most furiously against gay sex are the ones most turned on by it.
Perhaps that’s what makes the homo-obsessed contingent in the evangelical movement so crazy. Despite what they profess, these people may have it backwards: They may, in reality, only hate the sinner — but absolutely adore the sin!
As web-pundit Jesus General once said about the Family Research Council’s Gary Bauer: “It’s important to remind ourselves from time to time that Gary Bauer is heterosexual.” The rabidly fag-obsessed Bauer has a case of “gay face” — a certain soft, simpering look with slightly unfocused eyes and a much too dizzy smile — even worse than Pastor Ted.
In the piece we wrote yesterday we may have overstated the homophobia — official and private — of Ted Haggard. Today’s New York Times presents a more nuanced picture:
In the past, Mr. Haggard proved more accepting of gay men and lesbians than some of his evangelical colleagues. He did not publicly oppose another measure on the November ballot, Referendum 1, which would give same-sex couples some legal rights and benefits.
The Rev. Nori Rost, executive director of Just Spirit, a watchdog group that monitors the religious right, recalled that Mr. Haggard’s church once invited the choirs from other churches in town to perform at an ecumenical Easter service. At the time, she was the pastor of a predominantly gay Metropolitan Community Church.
When some other evangelical churches learned that the gay church had also been invited, they refused to sing unless Mr. Haggard retracted the invitation to the gay church. Mr. Haggard refused, and the gay choir sang, she said.
In the impromptu interview in his car, Mr. Haggard said that he stayed at hotels in Denver because he wrote books there, and that he met the male escort through a hotel referral for a massage.
Mr. Jones had a different version of the story. He said he began advertising on the Internet as a male escort, and was called by a man who identified himself as Art from Kansas City. He said they met about once a month for a relationship Mr. Jones said was purely physical.
“I had no impression of him, other than that he was a nice guy,” Mr. Jones said. “The only thing of a personal nature he ever volunteered was that he was married.”
Mr. Jones said he discovered Mr. Haggard’s true identity about six months ago when he saw him on television two days in a row, first, on a special about “The DaVinci Code” and then on a Christian station that a TV in his gym was tuned to.
“When I saw him, I didn’t say, ‘Oh, that looks like Art,’ ” Mr. Jones said. “I said, ‘Oh my God, that’s Art.’ ”
After Mr. Jones looked up his alleged client on the Internet and learned of his stature in the evangelical community, he said he was amazed. “I thought this guy is really taking a big chance,” he said.
Mr. Jones maintained that his decision to speak out about the relationship was not suggested by any gay rights groups. He also said the decision was not based on financial motives, though Mr. Jones did file for bankruptcy in April 2005. “If I’d wanted to make money, I could have blackmailed him,” he said.
Mr. Jones said he hoped that his assertions would convince the religious right to rethink their opposition to same-sex marriage.
Conservative Christian organizations reacted with both sympathy and dismay. James Dobson, founder of Focus on the Family, said in a statement, “The situation has grave implications for the cause of Christ and we ask for the Lord’s guidance and blessings in the days ahead.”
Yes, some divine guidance would be a very refreshing change of direction for the prechy, hard-right Dr. D.
The Times piece also mentions the reaction of Haggard’s flock, which numbers over 14,000 members according to the church’s website.
“Elizabeth Miller, a 46-year-old mother of three who has been a member of Haggard’s church for almost six years, said she was so upset that she took the day off from work to pray.
“It’s like a death in the family, except it’s not that clear,” Ms. Miller said. “It’s more like having someone slowly dying from a painful illness.”
Which goes to show that even Homophobia-Lite can poison a mind as badly as the stronger brew. Does a spoonful of hatred really help the Jesus go down?
Hate kills the hater and we may ask who, really, is dying slowly here and what, really, is the nature of the painful affliction.
“Babylon the Great has Fallen”
“Suckers” are born every minute!
THIS DOESNT MAKE WHAT TED ACCOMPLISHED ON EARTH ANY LESS. THE FARTHER UP YOU ARE, THE MORE YOU ARE A TARGET FOR SATAN!!!!!
*sigh*
Trudy, please have mercy on your capslock.
Also, hypocrisy can sour any number of ‘good’ works, especially if the lies someone tells reveals what their real thoughts are.
It is more all around sad and the outwardly projected self-hate is staggering in its hubris and familiarity.
In Canada, I never heard about this Haggerty until two months ago; then I viewed him attacking the British author and interviewer Richard Dawkin’s recent book The God Delusion. His arrogance and argument ad-hominum; a bloated self-absorption betrayed more about him than about Dawkins.
Now the Greek concept of hubris and even fleeting thoughts of mercy don’t balance or answer the disgust for this kind of ‘Stalinist’ hypocrisy. (please excuse us emigrees, Camille Paglia, your clarity is always compelling)
1. Interesting how he has a kink of Paul Lynde (?) energy. Except I loved Paul Lynde.
2. What….??? I agree with Trudy. Bush and Cheney have been targeted by Satan, and what the have accomplished is nothing less than evil. Is Trudy a monitor of the Christian right?
Trudy, please explain.
Do you smell the sulfer yet? Seems all these big bad Christian leaders didn’t read the part in the Bible that the devil himself works harder in organized churches than any other place. Puts a whole new freedom in the bath houses!
And now he has confessed “sexually immoral behavior” (as read on Swedish news and retranslated). This story really is wonderful. I hope for a new post on this in a few hours.
Have you ever noticed how the effeminate pastors all have the big flocks? The Evangelical pastors’ motto for Mega-Churches: “the more they seat the higher the feet”. Look at Joel Osteen from Lakewood church in Houston TX. He looks like Paul Lynde and Liberace’s love child. Joel sounds like a gay hyperventilating sheep when he speaks and his wife looks like RuPaul did her make-up. Don’t forget Paul and Jan (Clown Face) Crouch. Paul is still paying off a gay sex scandal from several years ago and Jan makes Tammy Faye look like a nun. These folks are on television all the time asking for money. Sick Sick Sick
GGreen, Hi, great post! your beautiful homo-intuition combined with your superb gaydar are absolutely correct insofar as Joel Osteen’s concerened.
Joel “cutie-patootie-gorgeous-hunk-o-rama-gimme-some-of-that-bible-thumpin’-vanilla-a$$” Osteen (Lakewood Church in Houston-we-have-a-problem,TX) is not rabidly fag-obsessed like that icky Gary Bauer fella/creepazoid ,GGreen now that you’ve mentioned it, JO absolutely DOES have a case of “gay face”.
Joel is always preaching don’t second-guess or criticize your superiors or boss be it Jesus, the President (Republican only though) or some red neck asshat from Texas. Ms Osteen wears a scary-curl and men’s wear house suits with platform cowboy boots. The only thing she says clearly, succinctly and repeatedly is “gimmie-gimme-gimme”
“gimmie-gimme-gimme” — Abba or Alpha?
Ugh. I never expected this site to equate “gay” with soft, simpering, and unfocused. Let’s pull back on the internalized homophobia, okay?
At least the secretly gay pastors have never been known to try to make thier flock commit suicide, as far as I know. I dont think he had a problem with homosexuality, I think his problem was a far worse condition: Creationism.
How dare you post a picture of Jesus of Nazareth as a faggot!!!!!!!!! That is completely disrespectful!!! Especially in the use of that derogatory term!
Notwithstanding your article of that denominational pastor, your image of a Crucified CHRIST, labled “faggot”, is really lame: Come on guys, BAD TASTE IS BAD TASTE! That’s too convenient a source/subject; got to be considered uncreative ……. for your otherwise sensual site.
Not bad taste at all, G. Arthur. The image sums up the theme of the piece, which is exactly what good illustrations do.
Perhaps you’re offended by the subject matter being co-opted in a way you find blasphemous. Or maybe you think it’s a cheap visual swipe. Those are legitimate points of view; we just don’t agree with them.
In fact, in orthodox images of the Christ Crucifixion, the words (or more usually the initials for the words) “Jesus of Nazareth King of the Jews” are pinned to the cross above the figure’s head. The Romans were, according to the tale, mocking him. “Faggot” too is a term of derision, so we don’t think we have violated the icon’s essential meaning.
OF COURSE I FIND IT BLASPHEMOUS, I’M A “BEHAVIORIST” NOT A PSYCHOLOGIST; SIMPLE AND UNCOMPLICATED FROM MIDDLE AMERICA NOT CONDITIONED BY THE SUBTERFUGE OF THE RIGHT AND LEFT COASTS.
IS THAT “ORTHODOX” WITH A LITTLE “O” OR CAPITAL “O”?
SO YOU FELT COMPELLED TO SUBMIT YOUR OWN “DERISION”; WHERE IS YOUR GREEK OR HEBREW …….. AH THE SECULAR WESTERN, SOON TO BE DEVELOPED MIND: MANY AMERICANS, ABSENT A SENSE OF RESPECT OR REVERENCE, OBSERVE LIFE THROUGH THEIR OWN NARROW BIASED PERSPECTIVE. STILL, MUCH THANKS FOR YOUR RESPONSE OF 3/26/07!