Sullivan on Haggard
Andrew Sullivan’s “quote of the day” is from disgraced evangelist Ted Haggard, who described his same-sex desires this morning as “repulsive and dark.” Sullivan responds, in part:
One day, he may realize, and I pray he does, that the only dark and repulsive thing is the closet, the betrayal of his wife and children, the destruction of a church, and the demonization of others in the same boat - all as a function of his own inability to face the truth. What is dark and repulsive is dishonesty.There is no commandment not to be gay. There is a commandment not to bear false witness. Haggard bore false witness - to himself, to his wife, to his traumatized kids, to his fellow gay men and women. repeatedly, pathologically, self-destructively. The right response for Christians is compassion and forgiveness. But also hope: hope that this will help spread the truth about what being gay actually is.
Face it, Ted. Face the truth. It will set you - and so many others - free. [emphasis added]