Haggard the haggard

There was a very interesting development last week in Ted Haggard's fall from grace. It seems that Haggard will be undergoing "Spiritual Restoration" to purge him of his sin. Apparently, exorcism and voodoo dolls aren't called for yet. I guess this is the evangelical equivalent to the beloved Hollywood practice of scandal-management by checking into rehab.

Ted Haggard says he's about to embark on a process of rehabilitation known as "spiritual restoration," an ancient practice that could take years to complete.

The practice originates with St. Paul, according to some evangelical Christians. "Brothers, if someone is caught in a sin, you who are spiritual should restore him gently. But watch yourself, or you also may be tempted," Paul wrote in the biblical book of Galatians.

Haggard has been in turmoil ever since he was accused of extramarital relations with a male prostitute and was forced to resign as president of the National Association of Evangelicals and senior pastor of the 14,000-member New Life Church in Colorado Springs. According to Rev. Rick Busby, head of Busby Ministries, a ministry of spiritual restoration, in Augusta, Georgia, the steps involved in spiritual restoration include submitting, admitting, restitution and being humbled.

I agree with the statement by Pastor Steve Sjogren when he said that Haggard's behavior involves a variety of sins like lying, cheating and hypocrisy. He is definitely a hypocrite.

The specific steps of the "treatment" are outlined in the article. Sounds very much like brainwashing to me. All of this actually makes me feel rather bad for Haggard. Perhaps if the church didn't create a culture where engaging in normal human sexuality (the gay part, not the prostitute part) is considered a worse sin than murder, Pastor Haggard would have been able to deal with his bisexuality/homosexuality openly and wouldn't have felt it necessary to deceive them.