Given that the whole Ted Haggard scandal is still breaking news, it's far too early to reach definite conclusions about what did and didn't happen. If there is truth to the allegations, Haggard's former followers are likely to eat him alive, but that only leads to the one point I do want to make.
Namely, if the church were truly the safe haven it was intended to be, if people could be totally honest about their lives there and still find unconditional love, grace and acceptance, scandals like this would be far rarer, and would be far easier to resolve.
When the church becomes a political power, when it treats some people as worse sinners than others, when it becomes image-conscious and numbers-driven, then the church becomes a breeding ground for dishonesty where people are encouraged to live double lives.
The closet kills...
Update: I like Andrew Sullivan's take on this.
1 comment:
I often feel compassion and pity for ex-gay leaders who most likely have no safe place to turn with their struggles. as soon as they admit a problem, their church, fellow leaders and friends can turn on them and turn them in.
I think about how silenced most ex-gay leaders are. And of course the press-gay and mainstream-do not help with the explosive and invasive way that can cover a story where an ex-gay leader raises a doubt or question.
Post a Comment