I must admit that I stopped being a christian when I was 13 years old after witnessing that the Baptist church leadership at all levels are filled with hypocrites, many of whom behaved abysmally toward people they should have helped (if the leaders had believed in the tenants of the book they championed), not dumped on. So, it doesn't surprise me that the good Dr. could be so hypocritical. What does surprise me is that it has taken so long to come shambling out of the closet. Does the somewhat modified line by Shakespeare in Hamlet, "'they' doth protest too much" possibly apply here? Amazing that the human capacity for compartmentalization and self deception (denial) remains the same even since the Bard's day, is it not? This man is just another of the moral leaders who set themselves above others who have been revealed to have feet of clay in recent years.

Ted Haggard's supporters are working hard to rehab his image. He even appeared on Larry King with a mea culpa, but with extenuating circumstances (he had enemies) and attributed his fall to his enemies, only peripherally to himself. Even the pope's behavior in several aspects of the church sex scandals have been revealed as less than moral, or at least ethical since one could debate morality in any situation all day. I suppose that with the political maneuvering required to select a new pope it should not be surprising. But for all, the self aggrandizement aspects of their positions win out over morality every time, until they are well and truly hoist on their own petard.

It is my firm belief that religion is the second oldest profession because, there have been people like these who put themselves before all, and use "belief" as a means to try to regulate the behavior of others to their own benefit. Being the large frog in a pond of varying sizes has long been a desirable objective. I do not trust them, their ambition, nor consider that they have anything of value to say to me or anyone else. Not any more than I trust any politician.

But then, that is only my opinion that I have lived with for 54 years. Those who derive comfort from the belief that there is something more beyond this life may see it differently, but if one has that belief, why sully it with the politcal crap of a religion?

I dunno.

CaroL