"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.posted by ericb at 3:48 PM on November 2, 2006
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....Jones said he would take a lie detector test to validate his claims."
According to Ted, it was this army of Christian capitalists that took to the streets. “They're pro-free markets, they're pro-private property,” he said. “That's what evangelical stands for.”Supply side Christ rides again, I guess.
Nussbaum, paraphrased: The bylaws state that when an allegation of immorality is made, this process is triggered, where he puts himself on leave. The outside board makes the final decision.A lot of churches actually have bylaws like that -- at least, the ones large enough to merit media attention, etc. So he'd pretty much be required to do this no matter how innocent.
(That would be kind of silly, wouldn't it? You quitting your job because some random person accused you of something criminal and hypocritical? Unless there was, ya know, some merit. The guy obviously did it or he wouldn't have quit.)I'll reiterate: I'm no fan of Haggard's, but yes. The 'morality scandal' issue is something that churches and religious institutions tend to either ignore completely and brush under the carpet, or take very seriously. Most large churches have rules about this kind of thing: if you're accused of something that goes against the church's basic beliefs or moral precepts, and you're in a leadership position, you step down temporarily while things get sorted out and the truth of the matter is resolved. It's happened to folks I know, and it's not -- in and of itself -- news.
"Seventeen years after recognizing same-sex relationships in Scandinavia there are higher marriage rates for heterosexuals, lower divorce rates, lower rates for out-of-wedlock births, lower STD rates, more stable and durable gay relationships, more monogamy among gay couples, and so far no slippery slope to polygamy, incestuous marriages, or 'man-on-dog' unions."posted by ericb at 7:03 PM on November 2, 2006 [2 favorites]
[Wall Street Journal | October 27, 2006]
"For this cause shall a man leave father and mother, and shall cleave to his wife, and they twain shall be one flesh? Wherefore they are no more twain, but one flesh. What therefore God hath joined together, let not man put asunder." (Matthew 19:6).posted by ericb at 7:52 PM on November 2, 2006
"What therefore God hath joined together, let not man put asunder." (Mark 10:9).
"Let none be faithless to the wife of his youth. For I hate divorce, says the Lord the God of Israel..." (Malachi 2:15-16).
"Exodus 35Seventh Day -- Saturday or Sunday -- who cares? Oh, enlighten us, oh holy ones!
1 And Moses gathered all the congregation of the children of Israel together, and said unto them, These are the words which the LORD hath commanded, that ye should do them.
2 Six days shall work be done, but on the seventh day there shall be to you an holy day, a sabbath of rest to the LORD: whosoever doeth work therein shall be put to death.
3 Ye shall kindle no fire throughout your habitations upon the sabbath day.
For from within, out of men's hearts, come evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, greed, malice, deceit, lewdness, envy, slander, arrogance and folly. All these evils come from inside and make a man 'unclean.' -- Mark 17:21-23Emphasis mine
"Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them. I tell you the truth, until heaven and earth disappear, not the smallest letter, not the least stroke of a pen, will by any means disappear from the Law until everything is accomplished. Anyone who breaks one of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do the same will be called least in the kingdom of heaven, but whoever practices and teaches these commands will be called great in the kingdom of heaven. For I tell you that unless your righteousness surpasses that of the Pharisees and the teachers of the law, you will certainly not enter the kingdom of heaven.That's Matthew 5:17-20 for those interested.
You staggeringly accurate at scored 95%(I shrug humbly.)
You personally got 19 of the 20 people correct and were better at recognizing girls than guys. Overall, you guessed better than 99% of all test takers.
Yeah, just a slander. Sure.
Late Thursday, The Associated Press reported that the acting senior pastor at New Life, Ross Parsley, told KKTV-TV of Colorado Springs that Haggard admitted some of the accusations were true, but Parsley didn't elaborate.
'I just talked to Jones on the phone. He's not vindictive, nor particularly political; he's voted for Republicans and Democrats. He struggled with his decision, out of compassion for a man in the closet. He was motivated, he said, simply by being a gay man who's been around long enough to know how Ted's politics play out in the ordinary lives of people Jones cares about. That's about as good a motive for outing someone as I've ever heard. This afternoon, Ted announced that he was temporarily stepping down from his positions of authority. A press conference of national evangelical figures that planned to express support for Ted has been called off. Jones has made available recordings he says are of Ted asking him to procure meth, and an envelope in which he says Ted mailed him money.If the story is true, the audacity of Haggard is breathtaking. When you consider the amount of pain he has inflicted on the lives of gay people and how he has twisted his faith to vent anger at gays, it is startling (although, not surprising) that he was seeing a male escort and possibly doing drugs the entire time.
Jones' story is not yet confirmed, but there seems to be enough for even conservative media outlets let the Colorado Springs Gazette to run with it. It's been big news at the state's major paper, The Denver Post, as well. That's because the story is bigger than Ted; statewide, he's one of the key forces behind two new anti-gay amendements. Nationwide, as president of the National Association of Evangelicals, he sets the political tone for the Christian conservative movement at an administrative level broader than the influence of better-known figures such as Jerry Falwell.'
Appealing to authority really isn't persuasive, no matter who you think that authority is or what they're saying.
New Lifers, Pastor Ted writes with evident pride, “like the benefits, risks, and maybe above all, the excitement of a free-market society.” They like the stimulation of a new brand. “Have you ever switched your toothpaste brand, just for the fun of it?” Pastor Ted asks. Admit it, he insists. All the way home, you felt a “secret little thrill,” as excited questions ran through your mind: “Will it make my teeth whiter? My breath fresher?” This is the sensation Ted wants pastors to bring to the Christian experience. He believes it is time “to harness the forces of free-market capitalism in our ministry.”Seems like Pastor Ted's a fan of secret little rebellions.
The life of the gay man, in the evangelical imagination, seems to be an endless succession of orgasms, interrupted only by jocular episodes of male bonhomie. The gay man promises Christian men a guilt-free existence, the garden before Eve. As such, he is not just tempting but temptation embodied; “the Enemy,” to whom [an evangelical interviewee] often refers.The New Life members also believe that if you go to cities, the demons that possess the queer, the left, the atheist, might jump on them and take them over, too, which is why they have retreated into their protected suburbia in Colorado Springs, avoiding even the downtown there. It's jawdropping.
I'm re-posting my original Harper's piece below not because I think I got the story right -- if Jones' story is true, I missed it by a mile -- but because I hope it'll help the journalists now on the job get the story right by not making the mistake I did. The downfall of Ted Haggard is not just another tale of hypocrisy, it's a parable of the paradoxes at the heart of American fundamentalism. I wrote about the role of sex in Ted's theology, but removed it from the final edit of the story.... I made the mistake of viewing Ted's sex and his religion of free market economics as separate spheres. The truth, I suspect, is that they're intimately bound in a worldview of "order," one to which it turns out even Ted cannot conform.Yep.
"Quit it with that hateful shit already. The only Law and Message of the Cosmos is Love. That's it.posted by loquacious at 9:31 AM on November 4, 2006 [3 favorites]
"All of you sucka MCs who keep trying to make it more complicated then that are really starting to piss me off. Love. Love. Are you in Love?
"Wait, what? WHAT DO YOU MEAN YOU FORGOT? *sigh* Ok, look. Whatever you do, whenever you're doing it, do you feel stressed out, angry, or hurtful while you're doing it? YOU'RE NOT IN LOVE, THEN. Do you feel all warm and fuzzy and happy inside? GOOD. PROCEED WITH ABANDON.
"Still don't get it? That's because you're not eating the mushrooms. Look, I put them there for a reason, dumbass.
THAT. IS. ALL. Don't make me come down there and kick your asses, I don't have time for this shit."
Most pastors I know do not have satisfying, free, sexual conversations and liberties with their wives. At the risk of being even more widely despised than I currently am, I will lean over the plate and take one for the team on this. It is not uncommon to meet pastors’ wives who really let themselves go; they sometimes feel that because their husband is a pastor, he is therefore trapped into fidelity, which gives them cause for laziness. A wife who lets herself go and is not sexually available to her husband in the ways that the Song of Songs is so frank about is not responsible for her husband’s sin, but she may not be helping him either.posted by Armitage Shanks at 6:37 PM on November 4, 2006
When you sit to dine with a ruler, note well what is before you,And voila, you're BIG-HEARTED and FULL OF LOVE now, see?
and put a knife to your throat if you are given to gluttony.
Do not crave his delicacies, for that food is deceptive.
Do not wear yourself out to get rich; have the wisdom to show restraint.
Person A: I believe the bible is literally true.So again, who cares what peeping_Thomast thinks? I don't think many other people share his views on sex, because frankly they sound pretty weird to me.
Person B: How can you believe the bible is literally true when it contradicts itself?
Person C: B you asshole, I never said the bible was literally true!
Peeping_Thom, you can draw the distinction between judging behaviors and judging people all you want. The fact is, being gay is not a behavior. It is not about sex. It is about identity.Indeed. I have a couple self-identified celibate gay Christian acquaintances ready to blow Peeping_Thom's mind. Just his mind, though. Celibate and all, y'know.
"The fact is I am guilty of sexual immorality. And I take responsibility for the entire problem. I am a deceiver and a liar. There's a part of my life that is so repulsive and dark that I have been warring against it for all of my adult life"posted by dgaicun at 11:03 AM on November 5, 2006
"Rob Brendle, an associate New Life pastor, said Haggard fought to make Amendment 43 only define marriage, breaking with other evangelical leaders who favored a broader measure barring domestic partnerships. Haggard has said marriage deserves special status, while civil protections should be a separate issue."I guess he'd far rather have the approval of 10,000 bigots than the support of a million gay men.
"Let's face it: the Bush administration is sick. The fall of Ted Haggard is just the latest manifestation of the central disease of President Bush and his cohorts: the pathological refusal to accept reality, and the delusion that reality can be changed by rhetoric.posted by ericb at 3:05 PM on November 5, 2006
As Andrew Sullivan said last week on CNN, 'this is not an election anymore, it's an intervention.'
But while it's the administration that's sick, it's the whole country that's suffering.
How many more examples of this disease do we need? The insurgency is in its 'last throes,' we've 'turned the corner' in Iraq, gutting Social Security would 'save' it, global warming doesn't exist, evolution is just 'a theory,' Rumsfeld and Cheney are 'doing a fantastic job,' etc., etc., etc.
Mark Foley and Ted Haggard are textbook examples of how the relentless denial of reality perverts judgment and rots the soul. Same with the Bushies.
...The refusal by the Bush administration, its supporters in Congress and its 'spiritual advisors' to acknowledge reality is sick -- and potentially lethal to the well-being of our country. But it's clear they're not going to get better, because to do so would require they acknowledge reality enough to know they're sick in the first place. And they're not going to do that. They actually believe there's an alternative to the 'reality-based world,' and that they live in it."
Do you support laws that prevent gay couples from joining in civil union?You need to answer this because it's where the rubber meets the road: do you or do you not impose your religion on others?
"Late back to this thread...perhaps some of you might feel it is mildly ironic that my son-in-law is African American and my upcoming grandbaby will be biracial.So, it seems she is quite selective in interpreting biblical directives.
I have been active in racial reconciliation movements here locally and I resent the comparison to gay rights.
That is all."
Do you support laws that prevent gay couples from joining in civil union?Please provide a simple yes or no. Don't waffle like you did in your previous response.
"Other speakers urged the congregation not to look for political conspiracies. If the timing of the disclosures affects the nation, or the election on Tuesday, then that is God’s will, the speakers said. Mr. Haggard was a prominent supporter of conservative causes, including a proposed amendment to the Colorado Constitution defining marriage as between one man and one woman.posted by ericb at 7:06 AM on November 6, 2006
'God does things when he thinks they’re appropriate,' said Larry Stockstill, the pastor of the Bethany World Prayer Center in Louisiana, from which the New Life Church began in 1985 as an outreach mission.
'What’s going to happen in the nation?' Mr. Stockstill said. 'You know what — I don’t think that’s your concern or mine. He chose this incredibly important time for this sin to be revealed and I actually think it’s a good thing — I believe America needs a shaking, spiritually.'
posted by ericb at 3:44 PM on November 2, 2006