But that's not the real problem.
Anyone that's gone down the nasty road he has, preaching and lobbying as he did about the very sin that so easily beset him - it's a miracle he's still breathing.
I think it's noteworthy that he could even appear on TV - even though all he could do was stutter out that grab-bag of theologically and philosophically incoherent mumbo-jumbo.
In last night's Oprah debacle, Oprah pushed her nonsensical view that "we can't deny ourselves" and thus we must, I suppose, just give in to whatever our basest desire are.
Then poor Gayle Haggard tried a few times to argue for what is obviously the truth - that responsible people exhibit self-control every day (Christian or not!). But Ted and Oprah finally beat Gayle into quiet submission.
This garbage is to be expected of our corrupt culture - so I'm not shocked about Oprah, nor even the dazed and confused Ted Haggard.
What I'm shocked at is the ignorance of most of the "Christians" that commented after the show on the blogs and news websites.
"Ted sins, we all sin..."
"His church crucified him instead of loving him back into fellowship..."
"Jesus accepts everyone, no matter what..."
And on and on and on.
And as we all know - the divorce rate, the pornography rate and the rest is about equal between "Christians" and non-Christians.
Brothers and sisters - here's a news flash. The way we today must relate to the God of the Judeo-Christian Bible is fundamentally the same way the Jews and real Christians have related to him throughout history. That is - through a covenant.
A covenant has stipulations (rules, laws, requirements, etc) that must be kept. The Old Covenant had 'em. The New Covenant has 'em, though they are indeed different from those in the Old.
BUT BY DEFINITION - WE'VE GOTTA KEEP 'EM TO STAY IN COVENANT!!! I'm sorry - I see that I'm shouting.
I woke up this morning praying, "Father, teach me to yield to your Spirit inside me - that I may keep Messiah's commandments, and thus please you."
This prayer is what every Christian SHOULD be praying. Then, they should strive to live within covenant to the best of their ability. The story says that the promise of the New Covenant is the Holy Spirit living inside us, giving us the ability to keep our side of the covenant.
When we fail to keep the covenant, as I do on occasion - then the well-documented process in the New Testament is to go to Jesus, our high priest, and ask forgiveness. He will pardon us, thank God!
But if you, Oprah, Ted Haggard or any other wingnut thinks that you can "be gay", or a philanderer or a liar or a cheat or any number of other things listed by Messiah or his rabbis (Paul, Peter, John and the rest) - if you think that you can "practice sin" and yet somehow stay in covenant with God, and then still somehow retain membership in his kingdom - well - you're in for a shock at the judgment! Check out 1 John for goodness sake.
So please read the Bible - read the whole story - and note that the overall story requires obedience to the covenant God has made in order for us to enter into the kingdom when Messiah returns.
Check out this post to see a bit more about exactly how to do this. This all seems so obvious to me, but apparently it eludes the "Christians" I've been tracking on the web.
Let's discuss...
Karen
My sister Karen died around 8:00 this morning, and I'm numb trying to process it all.
With Mom's recent death, and with A.J.'s, with Dad's terminal diagnosis and now with Karen - I understand (no, I deeply feel) the bleakness and despair that drives people to abandon worldviews like the one I've clung to all these years. That is, the Judeo-Christian worldview.
Yes, now I know why people give up. I know why they conclude that Christianity is just a myth - that it's merely a nice little dream that keeps life simple until the hard realities of the real world crash in. I get it - I really do.
Yes, in times like these I feel a strong impulse to chuck the whole thing down the drain.
But then, I realize that this precise situation - with all the associated emotions of loneliness, doubt, isolation, loss and dread - this is what my worldview proposes will be fixed in Messiah's kingdom. The Judeo-Christian story says that the world to come will contain new life, new possibilities and new beginnings for those of us that dare to believe such a story.
And so even today - I choose to believe.
With Mom's recent death, and with A.J.'s, with Dad's terminal diagnosis and now with Karen - I understand (no, I deeply feel) the bleakness and despair that drives people to abandon worldviews like the one I've clung to all these years. That is, the Judeo-Christian worldview.
Yes, now I know why people give up. I know why they conclude that Christianity is just a myth - that it's merely a nice little dream that keeps life simple until the hard realities of the real world crash in. I get it - I really do.
Yes, in times like these I feel a strong impulse to chuck the whole thing down the drain.
But then, I realize that this precise situation - with all the associated emotions of loneliness, doubt, isolation, loss and dread - this is what my worldview proposes will be fixed in Messiah's kingdom. The Judeo-Christian story says that the world to come will contain new life, new possibilities and new beginnings for those of us that dare to believe such a story.
And so even today - I choose to believe.
...He will wipe away every tear from their eyes; and there will no longer be any death;
there will no longer be any mourning, or crying, or pain; the first things have passed away.
And He who sits on the throne said, "Behold, I am making all things new."...
Doing Good - But How?
We've been talking about the rationale for doing good works in our weekly studies. It's been eye opening for sure.
We know now that what we do is inextricably woven with what we believe. There is no sensible way to justify living any other way. We've talked about how the Spirit was sent to live in us so that we can fulfill the righteous requirement of the law (Romans 8).
Doing good, then, is not optional if membership in the Kingdom is important to you.
All right - you say - but where to start? Well, it depends on whether we want to invest our time, our talent or our treasure to extend the Kingdom.
If it's treasure - one place we give to is TheGive5.com. These guys take a minimum $5 donation per month and distribute the cash equally among ten relief organizations that are dealing with the nastiest problems our fallen world has to offer. Check 'em out and let me know what you think.
And then let's discuss a bunch more options at our next Tuesday meeting. OK?
We know now that what we do is inextricably woven with what we believe. There is no sensible way to justify living any other way. We've talked about how the Spirit was sent to live in us so that we can fulfill the righteous requirement of the law (Romans 8).
Doing good, then, is not optional if membership in the Kingdom is important to you.
All right - you say - but where to start? Well, it depends on whether we want to invest our time, our talent or our treasure to extend the Kingdom.
If it's treasure - one place we give to is TheGive5.com. These guys take a minimum $5 donation per month and distribute the cash equally among ten relief organizations that are dealing with the nastiest problems our fallen world has to offer. Check 'em out and let me know what you think.
And then let's discuss a bunch more options at our next Tuesday meeting. OK?
Back To The Grind
Well, I put off writing my first post of 2009 - maybe because I knew it meant that the holidays were over and that it was back to the grind.
The holidays were wonderful. The boys are just delightful. They both took up guitar (more seriously) over the break due to some strategic Christmas gifts and their progress is truly amazing.
We skied Loveland for 5 days. We're addicted to skiing - the whole scene is invigorating. I'd been concerned that the recovering heel would be a problem. But no worries - it did its job just fine. All the skiing (no jumps included, though!), a skin trip up to the peak and then the regular evening swims in the heated pool with Dylan. Ahhh - everything was great.
And there's no room for despair since we've got some cool climbing trips planned (on rock for a few upcoming weekends and then ice climbing in March - yes!).
But for now it's back to work, back to school and most importantly, back to our part of the master's great project to make disciples of all the nations.
I hope your holidays were as relaxing as ours. And my hope for this year is that you and I will more fully realize the gifts and callings that God has put in us - to live in fresh anticipation of his kingdom to come.
The holidays were wonderful. The boys are just delightful. They both took up guitar (more seriously) over the break due to some strategic Christmas gifts and their progress is truly amazing.
We skied Loveland for 5 days. We're addicted to skiing - the whole scene is invigorating. I'd been concerned that the recovering heel would be a problem. But no worries - it did its job just fine. All the skiing (no jumps included, though!), a skin trip up to the peak and then the regular evening swims in the heated pool with Dylan. Ahhh - everything was great.
And there's no room for despair since we've got some cool climbing trips planned (on rock for a few upcoming weekends and then ice climbing in March - yes!).
But for now it's back to work, back to school and most importantly, back to our part of the master's great project to make disciples of all the nations.
I hope your holidays were as relaxing as ours. And my hope for this year is that you and I will more fully realize the gifts and callings that God has put in us - to live in fresh anticipation of his kingdom to come.
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