Sin Has No End

Sin Has No End

It's sobering the way that one person's sin leads to a series of continuing complications. I've seen it in dozens of different forms: how a parent's alcoholism leads to a child's substance abuse; how a sexually abused child turns into a pole dancer; how a man's mistreatment of his wife becomes a pattern of abuse for their children. In Exodus 20:5, God speaks of how the children end up punished for the sins of the father "to the third and fourth generation of those who hate me...." The harsh reality is that many sins produces confusion and chaos that seldom stops with the sinner.

Remember when the president of the National Association of Evangelicals was disgraced because he was hiring a homosexual prostitute? It wasn't just Haggard who was injured by his sin. This account will probably be misrepresented by homosexual activists, so it's important to know exactly what actually happened. From One News Now:

DENVER - Disgraced evangelical leader Ted Haggard's former church disclosed Friday that the homosexual scandal that caused his downfall extends to a young male church volunteer who reported having a sexual relationship with Haggard - a revelation that comes as Haggard tries to repair his public image.

Brady Boyd, who succeeded Haggard as senior pastor of the 10,000-member New Life Church in Colorado Springs, told The Associated Press that the man came forward to church officials in late 2006 shortly after a Denver male prostitute claimed to have had a three-year cash-for-sex relationship with Haggard.

Boyd said an "overwhelming pool of evidence" pointed to an "inappropriate, consensual sexual relationship" that "went on for a long period of time ... it wasn't a one-time act." Boyd said the man was in his early 20s at the time. He said he was certain the man was of legal age when it began.

It appears that because this young man was pretty broken up by what Rev. Haggard did, and the church provided money to cover counseling services and college tuition--and an agreement by all parties to keep it quiet. This sounds at first glance (and will be portrayed as) a silence agreement. But the article goes on to explain what really happened:

Boyd said a Colorado Springs TV station reached him Thursday to say the young man was planning to provide a detailed report of his relationship with Haggard to the station. Boyd said the church preferred to keep the matter private, but it was the man's decision to go public.

...

"It wasn't at all a settlement to make him be quiet or not tell his story," Boyd said. "Our desire was to help him. Here was a young man who wanted to get on with his life. We considered it more compassionate assistance - certainly not hush money. I know what's what everyone will want to say because that's the most salacious thing to say, but that's not at all what it was."

He said that "secondarily, it's not great for our church either" that the story be told. Boyd said Haggard knew about the settlement two years ago.

In a letter e-mailed Friday to New Life Church members, Boyd said of the settlement and agreement not to talk: "This decision was made not as an attempt to conceal wrongdoings, but to protect him from those who would seek to exploit him. His actions now suggest that he has changed his mind."

...

Boyd said he had spoken to the man once and came away with the impression that he was speaking out because of the documentary. "I think what caused this young man to be a bit aggravated was Ted being seen as a victim, when he himself had experienced a great deal of hurt," Boyd said. "I seriously doubt this man would have come forward if the documentary had not been made."

There's an HBO documentary coming out about Haggard--and it appears that the young man perceived that it was going to portray Haggard as a victim in all this. And Haggard?

In an AP interview this month before an appearance in front of TV critics in California, Haggard described his sexuality as complex and something that can't be put into "stereotypical boxes."

I hear someone still trying to justify his sin.