Ted Haggard Comes Out In favor of Gay Marriage

Well, here we go again. Another one bites the dust.

Another well-known “leader” within Christendom has given his stamp of approval to homosexual marriage. This time, it’s Ted Haggard. Haggard was former head of the National Association of Evangelicals, and former pastor of  the 10,000+ member New Life church in Colorado Springs, CO before being forced out in a sex scandal. After going through a period of “reparative therapy”, he started another church, known as St James Church not too far from New Life. This new church has apparently been seeing steady growth, and has gone from a few dozen to a few hundred members. Now the Ted Haggard story has taken another twist; he’s now come out in favor of homosexual unions.

In cover story article with gay magazine The Advocate, we read:

Many people remember Haggard’s cameo in the 2006 documentary Jesus Camp, where he said, “We don’t have to debate about what we should think about homosexual activity. It’s written in the Bible.” Today, he says his words were taken out of context, that he was speaking to a group of believers about Scripture, not making a statement on what should or should not be inculcated into law. In 2006 he supported Colorado’s Amendment 43, which banned gay marriage under the state constitution, though he also supported a failed proposition that would have granted domestic-partnership rights to gays and lesbians.

Now Haggard wants to be clear: He supports civil marriage rights for gay couples. “The word marriage is a big deal to people of faith,” he says. “We’ve made it sacred. That’s why I believe that churches, synagogues, mosques, and temples should have total freedom to have whatever types of unions they believe as godly. But I think that we as a democratic society, as a constitutional republic — if we don’t respect individual civil liberties, then we’re making a horrific mistake. The church is in the early stages of another ‘the earth is flat’ crisis. I say to all religious people that we should be quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to become angry on the subject. Or we’re going to be embarrassed in another 10 or 20 years.”

(Full article online here.)

Is this man serious? Why would the true church be “embarrassed” about standing up for biblical truth? This man is a joke – and that’s putting it nicely. Rather than standing up for biblical truth on this important issue, he has chosen the path of doctrinal and spiritual compromise. Simply shameful.

I was a bit surprised when I first saw this report, but then again, I guess nothing should really surprise me anymore when it comes to this topic. By now it’s abundantly clear that this gay marriage thing is going to be a defining issue (and a dividing issue) in the church world in the years and decades to come. One only wonders who will be the next domino to fall prey to this doctrine which originates from the pits of hell.