Posted on 11/02/2006 2:45:28 PM PST by dogbyte12
The leader of one of Colorado's most popular mega-churches, Ted Haggard, is temporarily stepping down from his leadership role, after allegations from a male prostitute that Haggard solicited gay sex.
Haggard, the founder and senior leader of the 14,000-member New Life Church in Colorado Springs and president of the multimillion- member National Association of Evangelicals, denied the accusations raised by the prostitute on Wednesday.
Today, a press conference by church leaders to support Haggard was cancelled shortly before it was scheduled to take place.
In stepping down, it was emphasized that Haggard did not admit any wrongdoing, but that he felt his effectiveness would be hampered by the cloud of inquiry.
Male escort Mike Jones of Denver told 9News he'd had a three-year sexual business relationship with Haggard.
Jones went public about their alleged relationship Wednesday morning on talk radio.
"People may look at me and think what I've done is immoral, but I think I had to do the moral thing in my mind and that is expose someone who is preaching one thing and doing the opposite behind everybody's back," Jones told 9News.
The station spoke to Haggard outside his home in Colorado Springs, and he fervently denied the allegations. Haggard is married and has five children.
"I've never had a gay relationship with anybody. ... I am steady with my wife. I'm faithful to my wife. I don't know if this is election-year politics or if this has to do with the marriage amendment or what it is," Haggard said.
The Denver Post could not reach Haggard for comment.
Haggard has been one of the major proponents for a state constitutional ban on gay marriage.
"Haggard's accuser fails lie detector"
http://www.denverpost.com/ci_4597552
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1731533/posts
Didn't they say much the same thing about Martin Luther?
Of course he did it; who better than the hypocrite to charm the confused?
It's taking the world a long time to admit that there's no gold at the end of the rainbow of life; we can either keep score or quit the game.
I would weigh what the implications were for the organization. Newt Gingrich wasn't guilty of anything serious and he stepped down for the good of the party. If Haggard did it and is lying, his behavior makes sense. If he didn't do it and he thinks he can help the NAE and the marriage amendment by stepping down, his behavior makes sense. What doesn't make sense is people acting like this is some boatload of evidence that proves something.
A counter question: If you were a reporter and a guy said, "I can prove what I'm saying, but I refuse to" would you believe anything else he told you? I'm a journalist and I'd tell him to pound sand.
There are only two things we can know for sure from this evidence: First, a guy called a voice mail box and talked about something. Second, this "revelation" is politically timed. That's all we know.
At one point all we KNEW for sure about Haditha was that a certain number of people had died on the same date that some Marines were in the town. From that evidence, some people on this board assumed that Marines had killed civilians and the drive by media assumed it was in cold blood. The FR repsonse to the Haggard case reminds me of that.
I feel sorry for his family and his followers. He should be ashamed
I feel sorry for you that you are so quick to condemn a man on the word of a male prostitute and drug dealer. Even if he is proved to be guilty, your critical thinking needs some serious work.
Heartily seconded!
For crying out loud Terriergal, you're condemning this guy with only the word of a meth-using prostitute as evidence! Who needs satan to attack the church when we've got "thinking" like this from within it?
Well, I don't recognize polygraph evidence...but something tells me it's probably correct in this case, unless the meth is still in the system of this angel so many Freepers believe right out of the box, and it's throwing the machine off. /sarcasm
Ah, so we have a person who claims to use reason condemning an accused man on the word of a prostitute and meth user who claims he has damning evidence but refuses to produce it. And why? Because he's a Christian, so he must have done it. Now that's critical thinking!
Your post could not have been any more bigoted if you'd written "Of course [name] committed [crime]! He's black." Even if Haggard turns out to be a homosexual, your post will still be bigoted, much the same as a post saying "Of course Kobe raped her, he's a black guy" would still be.
"Reason" that leads to prejudice? Must not be reason...
According to church officials, Haggard has admitted that "some" of the charges are true.
"My dearest gay prostitute,
How are you? Things are fine with me. Wish you were here..."
Are trying to make this sound as if the accused were Dr. James Dobson? This reads like it is what they want people to think.
Plus a deliberate and lengthy misrepresentation. Yuck!
LOL
I loathe Christian bashing. It's the "intellectuals'" favorite pastime because it shows they are against anti-intellectualism, and they get kudos from their atheist pals. Yet like the New Anti-Semitism (Israel-bahsing) all it does is give them an outlet for the evil crap inside them that they accuse everyone ELSE of having. Sort of like the "feminist" liberal I know who commonly calls women by a certain slur whenever a woman dares do something really awful, like dare to disagree with him about what they should have for dinner.
Wherever you find an enthusiastic Christian-basher you find someone who has a desperate need to be accepted by an elite clique. I live in Boston--trust me, I can see one of these jerks a mile off. They consider Christianity just another quaint blue-collar custom that should be tossed off when we all wake up and see the light and turn to socialism.
Thanks for the sympathy, I don't need it - his followers and family do.
I will return the feeling sorry for you to defend him, especially since the hypocrisy must sting for all who defend him and have been disappointed by him.
I go by common sense, and it makes no sense that he steps down if these are outrageous lies. It makes you wonder, why would anyone step down if someone was saying horrible (horrific) lies about you - what's wrong with him that he doesn't step up in front of a mic and yell the truth.
If he violates his obligations, his wife has a case in civil court. His cavorting is no one else's business.
Our societal structure is built upon marriage between a man and a woman and their children
Our republic is built on the notion that the greatest prosperity and happiness come from the least government interference. Of all the things we should be worrying about, who's boinking whom, as long as everyone consents and is competent to do so, doesn't make my top hundred.
[b]"Gut feeling - homo hit job. No doubt about it."[/b] - concerned about politics (author)
Think you're right...
It's a freaking homo hit job!
You have great intuition!
Doesn't pass the smell test.
Did I suggest the gov't should get involved. Huh?
Maybe you've mistaken me for someone else or your imagination has taken over from a libertarian mind-set. And yes, I will be judgmental about someone who cheats on his wife (and his five children) pays for sex (or a sexual massage), purchases meth from a prostitute, and provides ample amounts of hypocrisy while scandalizing hundreds of thousands, if not more.
Maybe we just have different values...but I assure you, it ain't political.
This is nothing but the homosexuals trying to smear a man of God.
Like others have said before and I initially dismissed, it doesn't pass the smell test. It's a homosexual hit job. It's part of the gay agenda.
I'd be surprised if I am wrong... as I've said before, I believe our religious conservatives (of which I'm a part) have good intuition on these things. He is innocent I'm 99.9% sure. One of Haggard's church members says she can see the homosexual demon .. so I'm sure if he were homosexual she would have outed him! If I'm wrong, it's because Satan is very deceptive!
article about Haggard's church member that sees homosexual demons:
http://www.harpers.org/SoldiersOfChrist-20061103288348488.html
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.