Do Not Call Ted Haggard's New Church Gay-Friendly

He's known the world over as the fallen anti-gay minister who back in 2006 was caught in a gay sex scandal, hiring a male escort for some action and crystal meth. Four years later, Ted Haggard is back in the news, this time with a major announcement that was covered as extensively as a Head of State resigning: Haggard and family (he's still with his wife, despite the gay sex scandal) will be starting a new Church, St. James, and it's going to be "inclusive."

But "inclusive" is a rather nebulous term, at least when it comes to Haggard's definition of the word.

At a press conference outside of his Colorado Springs home, Haggard announced his newfound ministry.

"Because of what we've been through, I may be able to help other people in need," Haggard said, adding that his new church would "help other people go through the difficult times in their lives."

Haggard ended his bit this afternoon with some words that speak of his own experiences over the past few years. "I don't judge people anymore," and all will be welcome at his new church, including "gay, straight, bi, tall, short, whether you're an addict, a recovering addict, or you have an addict in your family."

Now that's a rather pleasant sentiment, considering that the faith tradition Haggard comes out of has a pretty rank history of judging the proverbial "others." This is, after all, a man who used to be a power player in the National Association of Evangelicals, which to this day maintains a host of positions at odds with equal rights for LGBT folks.

But can Haggard really be believed? Because he threw a wrench in the mix this afternoon by adding that while his church will be inclusive, it won't encourage LGBT people to accept their sexual orientation or gender identity. Instead, Haggard will counsel LGBT people to strive toward the "biblical" ideal of marriage, which is decidedly heterosexual.

So how in any respect is this new Church gay welcoming?

Haggard's own words on same-sex unions today are beyond troubling, because they essentially fall back on the same ideology that Haggard celebrated pre-2006, when he was an anti-gay religious rock star. Pressed by reporters about whether his new house of worship will celebrate gay unions, Haggard emphatically said no.

"God's ideal plan for a marriage is the union of a man and a woman," Haggard said.

Says who? Because Jesus certainly didn't say anything about the subject. And in fact, there's actually quite a huge argument to be made, using the Bible, that gay marriage is totally peachy keen. Newsweek made it last year. Many others have done so as well. So why couldn't Haggard, especially if he realizes that the fire and brimstone of his past is dangerous, harmful, and unproductive?

On some level, I guess it's worth a little sigh of relief that Haggard's new church won't be a duplicate of his old ministry, or a carbon copy of religious institutions like Focus on the Family or even Saddleback Church, which may not proudly wear homophobia on their sleeve, but certainly practice it with their politics.

But at the end of the day, Haggard falls back on this premise: God's ideal does not include gay marriage.

And that's just a wrong conclusion any way you cut it.

Photo credit: mugs99