Part of me was relieved to see that the documentary on Ted Haggard was not a hit piece. That would have been easy enough to do because there are no shortage of people who would have unceremoniously written him off as a bigot struggling with his sexual orientation. The nuance in the morality is something that is easily missed.
Most of his critics have never stopped to consider the possibility that he preached against homosexuality and meant it. Shockingly enough, the man might actually look you dead in the eye and say that his own natural tendencies are sinful, immoral and to be fought. Wouldn't that be a change of pace from the normal, deterministic view of sexual orientation?
Morality and hypocrisy have a very interesting relationship. Any standard of morality that an imperfect human being can live up to is necessarily self-serving and worthless because it is tailor-made for that person. It takes away most opportunities for continued moral struggle and growth, and replaces them with opportunities to smugly attack others. So, it is easy for a homosexual to simply say that their sexuality is ok, moral, and right with God. It is also easy for a person with a serious temper to write off most of their victims as being instigators. However, by embracing a standard which opens them up to charges of hypocrisy, they gain something which their peers don't: the chance for improvement.
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