Completely Hypocritical

Thank goodness! After 90 days of “intense” counseling, it has been reported by Rev. Tim Ralph, one of a “four-man oversight board, that evangelical mega-pastor Tim Haggard is “completely heterosexual.” While there is some mention of other forms of therapy, I find this particular headline revealing. Notice little mention is made of the reconciliation and forgiveness of his wife to whom he was unfaithful. Nor is there any apology to those he so vehemently preached against while privately practicing the very same behaviors he taught were morally wrong. There is not even one sentence of gratitude to the grace and forgiveness of a God who in Jesus Christ loves all of us sinners especially in our failures and shortcomings.

Instead the observing public is offered the assurance, against all of our fears that at least this influential Christian evangelical (voted as one of the top twenty-five in 2005 by Time Magazine) is not in any shape or form a homosexual. It seems, from this perspective, that being a “homosexual” is a worse fate than participating in homosexual behavior. How ironic!

Especially when it is a twist on Jesus’ use of the “inward life” that reveals our double standard when we judge others. When talking to the moralists about their “hard-heartedness” toward adulterers, he takes them to task about the presence of lust in their own hearts (Matthew 5:27-28). In this way, Jesus hopes they might see that no one is “completely” pure. Yet in Haggard’s case, the inward life is implied to be “pure” when hardly a passing interest is offered to any amends to those Haggard may have harmed with his reckless behavior. I fail to see how this honors any standard of justice or reconciliation. But rest assured, at least he is not gay!

Please forgive me if I am making light of a very serious and complex issue facing the Christian world. In no way would I want to dismiss the authentic feelings of many sincere individuals who have struggled over the reality of homosexual identities and behaviors. But I fear the church is over-reaching on this one.

Currently, groups like “Exodus Student Ministries” and “Truth and Tolerance” have been bombarding the University of Kentucky campus with special events to promote an ‘anti-gay” agenda with the expressed purpose to help struggling students “overcome” their homosexual temptations. While this alternative is one way to address the issue, there are other options available to Christians who sincerely desire to do the right thing while seeking to lead healthy and moral sexual lives.

In the church, our hope is to deal with redemption, fairness and equality to all persons. But as illustrated with the Haggard incident it seems when dealing with the issue of homosexuality all the standards change. Here, there is such scrutiny that even an hint of “homosexual attraction” is worthy of a full court press, while heterosexual lust and immoral behavior among all Christians occurs about as frequently as with their non-Christian counterparts.

Clear thinking is necessary and below I’ve included some insightful essays and sermons that address this topic sensibly and fairly. They represent a minority opinion on the issue of homosexuality from a Christian perspective. But they are reasonable treatments that challenge our prejudices and over-simplified answers. They should be required reading for all Christian seeking clarity on this topic:

“The Bible, Homosexuality and Us” – A sermon by H. Stephen Shoemaker, Senior Minister of Myers Park Baptist Church in Charlotte North Carolina.

“Homosexuality and the Church” – A reflection and chronology of this issue in the local church by Larry Bethune, Pastor of University Baptist Church in Austin, Texas.

“What I Learned from Tommy” –. An antidotal account of early prejudice and final acceptance between two Christian friends, one heterosexual and the other homosexual by Miguel A. De La Torre- Associate Professor of social ethics at Iliff School of Theology in Denver

“When Religion Loses It’s Credibility.” An op-ed from Rev. Oliver “Buzz” Thomas, in USA Today Editorial November 19, 2006

For me, when it comes to the issues of sexual orientation and identity, I believe we enter into the area of conscience (that is between a person and his or her God) and for Baptists that has always been within the domain of personal liberty. In other words, the only person I can truly understand first hand is myself and of that I am “completely homeostatic.”