Feet of Clay

The moral high ground loses another -- Picture courtesy Wikipedia

by blogSpotter
In a story as old as Elmer Gantry (Sinclair Lewis, 1925), protestant evangelists are brought to ruin by a combination of ego, hubris and unbridled lust. Rather than looking like believers who have stumbled, they look like con artists who never believed in the first place. All of us have "feet of clay" but it comes as a shock when those we hold in high moral regard turn out to have less self-control than a randy sophomore at a pledge party. One might ask, "I can keep my pants on for the next 20 minutes, why can't so-and-so?" You would think that those in the public eye, with so much to lose, would be especially careful of avoiding the "appearance of evil".

But power is itself an aphrodisiac -- something which tells its possessor that he will live forever and be immune to the heat of scandal. Thus, we have Ted Haggard, a boyish-looking 50 year old and married father of five; until recently he headed the National Association of Evangelicals. He had 30 million followers in the national organization and 14,000 followers in his own Colorado Springs church. He had the ear of President Bush and was considered foremost in the national evangelical ministry. What possessed this man to respond to the internet ad of a male escort -- some overpowering urge to snort some methamphetamine and get a massage? As with Bill Clinton and so many before, we are astounded by the fool-hardiness of the behavior. How did he get away with it for 3 years? How did Bill Clinton diddle Monica right in the Oval Office for as long as he did? Mark Foley should have known that text messages can be saved and forwarded, but he did it for more than two years. The mind is boggled.

But now and again I think these people want to get caught. I can only think of the Euless preacher who gave a PowerPoint presentation on the same laptop that held his collection of kiddie porn. Why on Earth was this man flirting with such obvious disaster? With the case in point, his PowerPoint progressed along from religious tenets to pictures of children having sex. Underneath it all, the man wanted to be caught -- to cleanse his soul. If a Father cannot absolve you of your sins, there must be some other unconscious way to blurt them out, some way to purge the mind of its overwhelming guilt. "Fire me, defrock me!" says the subconscious mind.

The Haggard story broke almost on the eve of our midterm elections. I'm thinking it would have minimal influence; one man's malfeasance is not necessarily a reflection on everything around him. But Mr. Haggard, to thine own self be true. Lying to me is no big deal, I never put great credence in televangelists. Just be true to yourself -- you shall know the truth, and the truth shall set you free.

© 2006 blogSpotter.