I wrote about this guy here, Born Again Christianity’s Jihad on America, having been aware of mega-churches for quite a while, Ted Haggard seemed more political than Chistian to me, and his “flock” ate up every word he spoke without questioning a word. Partnered up with James Dobson, the duo has been destroying human minds by the thousands, by means of a message that focuses heavily on the book of Revelations and how each of us can make this world better if we focus our spirituality less on the teachings of Jesus and more on the task of demonizing and judging our neighbors. Millions of souls collected, millions of dollars raked…”fat camp” for queer kids is in business to turn them straight, and teach them that satan tricks them into believing that they are acceptable as they are. The gay kids are reprogrammed, still gay, but equiped with enough hate for themselves to think they’re straight, marry a woman, have five kids, and ruin all of their lives someday…
“I made myself cry and I made myself sick,” Jones said about his decision to come forward. “I felt I owed this to the community. What he is saying is we are not worthy, but he is.” Jones says he was contacted three years ago by Haggard for sex – he thinks through a gay newspaper advertisement or an online ad he posted on rentboy.com. Today, Jones showed the Denver Post an envelope addressed to him from “Art,” a name Jones says Haggard used – sent from an address in Colorado Springs. Jones said the envelope came to him with two $100 bills inside. Jones also played a recording of a voicemail left for Jones from “Art.” Jones refused to reveal what the topic of the voicemail was about because there could be legal problems and he wants to consult with an attorney.
What now? Well, keep the money flowing in, put someone in Pastor Ted’s place and keep it going. Pastor Ted isn’t gay…because there’s no such thing…he’s simply been the victim of satan’s knack for temptation.
I think I’ll wait to see if this is proven before making a judgment. Then again, Haggard sure did quit quickly for only an accusation.
I’m convinced at this point, becaue Pastor Ted isn’t your average “church man”…more like a CEO, and his whereabouts on a given night would be easy to prove against the account of this accuser. Not only did he fail to put out there his alabi, but he steped down the same day.
Now he’s admitted to it:
http://www.kktv.com/news/headlines/4557411.html
Jesus went through the temple and overturned the merchants’ setups – saying it was wrong to conduct business in his father’s house.
Wonder what he would have thought about a camp that parents send their kids to that turns them from gay to straight…perhaps the most sacrelige example of the story of Jesus and the temple.
Out of all the mega-church preachers I’ve researched, Pastor Ted was the worst in my opinion. He and Dobson have created a cash cow, and it was only a matter of time before something like this came to light.
Now he says that he bought drugs from the prostitute, but never had sex with him and threw away the drugs. HA!
He’s channeling William H. Macy’s character from Fargo
Haggard story links are below…it’s not really anything you didn’t already assume, but the reality of it doesn’t fail to intrigue…the first is an interview with the prostitute/meth dealer and the second is about how Dobson has stepped away from this “redemption” process he initially was a part of.
I’ve got a great deal of anger I’m feeling about this story. The gay community is one I understand about as well as I do the hispanic community…it’s fliped past when I come across it on TV, Queer Eye or Carlos Mencia, it goes over my head I suppose, as does anime, daytime talk shows, home improvement shows like ‘changing spaces’…nothing much to read into it. So why is this story so interesting to me?
It has everything to do with my past, and the fact that I was an evangelical for so long. I really really really resent the ideas that were put into my head during that time, and I’ve been trying to find the right way to explain it for years now. The thought I’ve put into it has helped out a great deal, mostly to separate the intent of two parties involved…the followers and the leaders. Average atheistic perception lumps all of them together, but as someone who has been involved in the past, I know it’s not all the same thing. More to come…
http://radaronline.com/features/2006/11/confessions_of_an_angry_hustler_rev_ted_haggard.php
http://www.latimes.com/news/printedition/asection/la-na-briefs8.4nov08,1,6039976.story?coll=la-news-a_section
Now…Dobson dumping this guy is indicative of that divide I mentioned. He’s a leader, so it’s not about helping his friend, but helping the organization get past this. Dobson practicing what he preaches in regards to Haggard is bad for business, and so he makes a choice. That is an important detail to me, as what he’s saying to the people looking towards him for leadership is that there absolutely is a line that won’t be crossed.
For the sake of Haggard’s family, the community should unite and forgive him, but in the real world of big religion, the bottom line is most important.