<p><a href=“http://ca.news.yahoo.com/s/capress/070206/world/haggard_sex_allegations_1[/url]”>http://ca.news.yahoo.com/s/capress/070206/world/haggard_sex_allegations_1</a></p>
<p>Of course, he said that before, when he was condemning gay folks to the fires.</p>
<p>Anyway, it’s also nice when there is good medical news. We wish him all the joy that his heterosexuality will allow him.</p>
<p>IMO…this man is someone who needs to accept who is, and not try to be someone he is not…its his life to live the way he wants to, so if he identifies himself as straight or gay–then he should be able to say that is his preference…but in his heart he will know he is gay…and hopefully someday he will be able to accept that truth.Its not a bad thing…but our society makes it hard to accept.Hopefully someday we can all accept each other as one.</p>
<p>Despite his being on the dark side I feel sorry for the guy.</p>
<p>Such a sad fall from grace.</p>
<p>I feel sorry for his wife and kids.</p>
<p>I feel sorry for the patients that are going to be entrusted to his care.</p>
<p>I find it interesting that among the sophisticates in this enlightened age of ours the one drop rule still applies to race and homosexuality. Ah the poor benighted fundamentalist is an invert and is in denial. Could well be of course but from what I can tell human sexuality is a little more complicated than black and white, at least as diverse as that rainbow of complexions I see everyday on the street. I’ll let the man be what he wants to be or at least strive for it. God if he is out there knows what is in the his heart and may or may not care. Since I don’t plan to hop in the sack with him I definitely don’t care.</p>
<p>I don’t think anyone is denying that there is a spectrum of sexuality. I wouldn’t even go so far as to assert that it is impossible to change one’s sexuality, although I personally doubt that. Ted Haggard, however, is not just any individual struggling with his sexuality, he is someone who condemned homosexuals even as he way engaging in gay sex. If his position as a leading evangelical, and his professed believe that homosexuality is a dire sin weren’t enough to convince him to become straight, I doubt that a brief period of therapy helped either.</p>
<p>In some places, there would be seppuku for this. And it would be justified in my opinion.</p>
<p>I noted that four pastors provided the counseling that resulted in this annoucement.</p>
<p>So I’d be inclined to consider it a theological outcome rather than a medical one.</p>
<p>May God forgive me, but the first thing I thought of was, “Praise the Lord! Ah’m cured!”</p>
<p>What goes around…</p>
<p>Oh, the cynicism!!!</p>
<p>I love it!!!</p>
<p>Can I get an amen?</p>
<p>Hallelujah!</p>
<p>:D plus a few gratuitous characters</p>
<p>I take him at his word…as I would do for anyone else when making claims about their <em>own</em> sexuality; to the degree that it ever shows good taste to discuss ones sexuality (I am, for the most part, completely uninterested, if uninvolved).</p>
<p>Have to jump up on the Hallelujah Bandwagon and giggle for a minute. Mostly because I think he thought he was superior to other folks and his gay good times somehow didn’t count.
With this kind of amazing quickie cure my suggestion is The Four Ministers franchise out to our nation’s capital. Every day another scandal though you must admit that our own dear Gov. McGreevey was close to the tops in newsworthy.
imho, no one is cured of orientation, though one can learn to control acting out. It’s not like humans are monogamous yet most of us muddle along without cheating on our spouse, let alone what this particular guy did.</p>
<p>“imho, no one is cured of orientation, though one can learn to control acting out.”</p>
<p>That’s the part that mystifies me. Let’s assume that orientation is malleable, and that a habit of gay sex can be treated like other habits. Anyone with a secret alcohol (or gambling, or binging/purging) habit who pronounced himself “completely” recovered after a 3-week program would be met with skepticism, to say the least. That isn’t how human bad habits work. At best, you’re an alcoholic forever, and you are able to control your tendency to drink. If you believe your problem is solved, and that you don’t have to work at it any more, then you’re going to end up back in your old habit.</p>
<p>Is there such thing as Theological cover up or white wash?</p>
<p>
Whereas I agree that ‘cured’ or ‘recovered’ has both negative and misleading connotations, I do not believe that we would question the sexual revelations of someone who at one time enjoyed heterosexual sex but, for whatever reason, now claims to be committed to a same sex life. Moreover, though such a naive person might be met with a healthy skepticism they would be met with ridicule only by the heartless ideologue incapable of standard compassion.</p>
<p>What’s more, I believe that Haggard was opposed to gay marriage but took a contrarian’s soft-line (amongst the fundamentalist-evangelical community) on sexual preference. Sad on all accounts.</p>
<p>I hope he films himself, in case his new congregation asks for proof. ;)</p>