Bring Haggard back

In the Talmud, “If [the judge] says to [the accused], ‘Take a chip from your teeth,’ he will say, ‘Take out the board between your eyes.’” Christianity has a similar notion in Matthew 7, but many Christians tend to forget it. The witch-hunt after evangelist Haggard is an example.

Haggard never posed as a saint. So, yes, he tried methamphetamine, perhaps took it several times. Millions of responsible adults do the same. It’s not a mind-boggling drug that causes strong addiction but merely a social drug, no worse that alcohol.

Perhaps Ted Haggard had sex with a man. That’s not prohibited in the Christian canon. In Matthew 8, Jesus healed the centurion’s male lover. Paul criticized homosexuality only to the Roman Jews, and his homophobic pronouncement in 1 Corinthians 6 is similar to the one in the forged Timothy, thus likely interpolated.

All of us have sinful inclinations. Suppressing them to zero is a feat for saints. The rest of us should keep sins to a minimum. The stronger a sinful desire, the greater the courage and strength required to keep it at bay. If Haggard indeed enjoyed social drugs and male sex, the rarity of the alleged sins—a few times a year—testifies in his favor.

Haggard showed himself a man of honor when he stepped down amid unsubstantial allegations. In a similar situation, neither Clinton nor Katsav resigned (nor should they). What is Haggard being chastised for, being less than a saint? Private hypocrisy? Homosexuality? Rather, leftists strike at Haggard because he opposes gay marriage, and conservative idealists join. Haggard, even if a hypocrite, a drug addict, and a homosexual, is an efficient political leader who fights for the right thing. If the devil fought gay marriage, I would shake his hand.

Occasional using drugs is qualitatively different from being a drug addict. Occasional male sex is poles apart from gay marriage which Haggard vehemently opposes. Haggard’s flock would be silly not to reinstate him.

Danny the Admin 2006 November 04

To Marie: You mean, throughout the Hebrew Bible. That doesn’t strightforwardly apply to Christianity since Christians after Paul have formally rejected the commandments. Even the apostolic commandments like abstaining from eating blood is disregarded. Jesus’ list of the commandments, substantially similar to the Ten, though without the Sabbath, doesn’t include prohibition of homosexuality. Compare with kahsrut: it is enjoined throughout the Hebrew Bible yet discarded by most Christians. Similarly, Sabbath. Prohibition in homosexuality is a tradition in Christianity, not canon.To Kurt: fully agree with you.

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To D: All people who became addicts once tried drugs, but not all people who tried drugs became addicts. It’s futile to look for ideal leaders; there are none. You can find failures with all politicians – and Haggard was, first of all, a politician of religion. There are few if any saintly religious leaders. In case of Haggard, the real criteria are: did he advocate the right things, and did he advocate them efficiently? If so, bring him back. If you will search for perfectly honest leaders, you would end up with none.

To HL: I did meths several times. Not addicated at all. Can say that about many other people as well. Sure one could get addicted. There are people addicted to coffee and hamburgers and chocolates. Haggard did meth a few time a year, not an addiction. Listen to the phone tape: he offered to pay $200 for a doze; he clearly has no idea of the prices. Not quite an addict.

Danny the Admin 2006 November 15

Monica, in Matt8:6 Greek word ‘pais’ usually means male lover. That meaning is deliberately obscured in translations.

Danny the Admin 2007 January 06

To Ilion: pais (masculine in Matthew) is indeed formally “a boy.” When, however, Luke speaks of a servant, he uses Gr. doulos. In LXX, pais is employed as “servant” with unmistakable sense of affection, such as in Isaiah 53. Boy-servant referred to with affection most likely means male lover. That’s common usage of pais in Greek (according to Obadiah).Jesus, presumably, came to do away with the Jewish law. (That contradicts several pronouncements in Matthew but is accepted by most Christians.) Nowhere in the Gospels or the Epistles (except a perjorative line in the Romans) is homosexuality prohibited.