Young Writers Society

From the BBC: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/6115476.stm

The long and the short of it is, Ted Haggard is one of the countries leading evangellicals, if you don't know who he is. He's known as "Pastor Ted" and does a lot of campaigning in Colorado and 12 other states in the area. Anti-labor, anti-union, all the good stuff. But wait, there's more!! Pastor Ted is also a major advocate and a leading voice against homosexual marrage.

Now for the good stuff.
Pastor Ted has been paying a male prostitute for the last three years for monthly sex. Pastor Ted has been buying meth- which he denies taking, but we know THATS a lie- Pastor Ted, my friends, is now a burden of the state, and admits that some of the alligations against him are true.

...why does this even matter?

I read the artical about him paying that guy for sex. I saw the title, and couldn't help but smile.

Ted Haggard had a say in how America was run - he was one of the (if not THE) best politically connected religious leader. He boasted about it.

And so the sheer irony of this, considering he is such a strong oponent to homosexual marriage, is almost to much bare.

Sureal and Lama,


Pointing out hypocrisy does not deflate an argument. The ideological position "Pastor Ted" built his career on is no less faulty because he could not follow it--indeed, all ideologies (including Christianity) account for and depend on its practitioners' betrayal.

Indeed, is having homoerotic relations yet remaining against homosexual marriage not the most profound form of ideological committment? Effectively, Pastor Ted has given in to his carnal temptations (like Christianity says its followers will), but he has not renounced the ideology which opposes it. This is the "stuff of greatness"--Romeo and Juliet (Tristan and Isolde), Bladerunner, Vertigo, the October Revolutions, and so much more.

The only people who will profit or take pleasure from this event will be the people who do not have any beliefs themselves, and who mock those with real convictions.


Best,
Brad

Brad,

I'm aware it doesn't weaken his argument. I just like the irony .

LamaLama wrote:From the BBC: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/6115476.stm

The long and the short of it is, Ted Haggard is one of the countries leading evangellicals, if you don't know who he is. He's known as "Pastor Ted" and does a lot of campaigning in Colorado and 12 other states in the area. Anti-labor, anti-union, all the good stuff. But wait, there's more!! Pastor Ted is also a major advocate and a leading voice against homosexual marrage.

Now for the good stuff.
Pastor Ted has been paying a male prostitute for the last three years for monthly sex. Pastor Ted has been buying meth- which he denies taking, but we know THATS a lie- Pastor Ted, my friends, is now a burden of the state, and admits that some of the alligations against him are true.

Wow, that last paragraph was almost completely conjured up.

How do you, LamaLama, know that he has taken meth? What proof can you show us? What source can you cite?

The claims about prostitution are still under investigation, none have been confirmed. If Pastor Ted has broken the law, he will be punished accordingly. Until then, he is innocent until proven guilty.

Making presumptions about people is exactly what we are warned against on a daily basis, you yourself have warned me against making those presumptions on many different occassions. Aren't we being a little hasty?

The man who has temporarily replaced Mr Haggard as head of the New Life Church, Ross Parsley, said in an email message on Friday: "It is important for you to know that he confessed to the overseers that some of the accusations against him are true.

"He has willingly and humbly submitted to the authority of the board of overseers, and will remain on administrative leave during the course of the investigation."

He has confessed to some of the accusation. Don't know which ones though.

Yeah... I have to agree with Brad here. Besides, there's no news here. There are so many people dealing with meth, that why should we focus on one individual? And why are we so against homosexuality?

*remains confused*

I'm not against homosexuality, but Pastor Ted is (was?) a very vocal oponent to it, hence the irony.

Touchy touchy grif. Relax. If an eyewhitness report and the fact that he's been buying it doesn't say anything. (Which he HAS admitted too) How about the fact that Meth is NOT a gateway drug, and no one sells meth to someone who hasn't bought plenty of other stuff in the past.

LamaLama wrote:Touchy touchy grif. Relax. If an eyewhitness report and the fact that he's been buying it doesn't say anything. (Which he HAS admitted too) How about the fact that Meth is NOT a gateway drug, and no one sells meth to someone who hasn't bought plenty of other stuff in the past.

I'm touchy because a lot of this is speculation. We simply don't know enough.

First he claimed he did not know the man (the male prostitute).

He later said he did (after recordings of his voice speaking to the prostitue were produce), and that he had been introduced to Meth (what is Meth, BTW? I don't think we get that over here) through him, but had never taken any.

However, there are many recordings of him ordering the Meth, and he can be heard to say, "Hey, I was just calling to see if we could get any more. Either $100 or $200 supply." According to Jones (the prostitute), the 'supply' is Meth. So, if Haggard is not taking it, then he must be giving it away/selling it on (which would be even worse than personal use).


The Overseer Board of New Life Church has deemed that Haggard did indeed engage in homosexual acts with Jones. They realeased the comment, "Our investigation and Pastor Haggard's public statements have proven without a doubt that he has committed sexually immoral conduct," and he has been sacked from his job.

Sureal,


Meth is short for methamphetamine. It is a barbiturate with a relatively short cycle through the human body--hence testing Haggard for traces of it would be pointless. Further, since no conclusive evidence can be provided, it would be hasty to say he is a user of meth. As it were, plenty of people are frequent meth-(ab)users. In America, you are only allowed to buy two packs of sudafed because it is so easy to make methamphetamines from sudafed--it's a distillation process that I won't get into the details of.

Indeed, all antihistamines contain meth. In the 19th and 18th century, meth was used all the time to clear sinuses and what-not. Sudafed was only recently introduced as a dopant.

Hope that clears it up.


Best,
Brad

depends on where you are- Iowa and Nebraska are different, because of the extremely high meth percentage there. No sudafed is sold in Nebraska, and Iowa, you are only allowed to buy it one at a time, must be over 18, and must have a drivers licnse, which they record.

Pastor Haggart has admitted to a homosexual relationship.

Source

The big question is how it will effect the election on Tuesday.

In any event, we may now call him a hypocrite, with full sources to back us up.

It's kind of sad really, the way a man's life can collapse like that.