“Thou shalt not lie with mankind, as with womankind; it is abomination.” Leviticus 18:22.
“And all that have not fins and scales in the seas, and in the rivers, of all that swarm in the waters, and of all the living creatures that are in the waters, they are a detestable thing unto you.” Leviticus 11:10
Or ham sandwiches? “And the swine, because he parteth the hoof, and is cloven-footed, but cheweth not the cud, he is unclean unto you.” Leviticus 11:7
And does he dodge his wife for a few days each month? “And if a woman have an issue, and her issue in her flesh be blood, she shall be in her impurity seven days; and whosoever toucheth her shall be unclean until the even.” Leviticus 15:19
Any thinking Christian knows that the Bible has plenty of weirdness, inconsistencies and just plain bad advice. Any thinking homophobe should recognize that hating gay people ‘because the Bible says so’ is deeply sketchy logic.
Any homophobe who also happens to be a gay, meth-head preacher at an American mega-church clearly isn’t thinking much at all. To apply another quote from the Bible: how are the mighty fallen.
I went looking for some thinking, blogging Christians to read what they had to say about Haggard’s very public hypocrisy. Here’s what I found:
Greg Stier, Christian Post – “One of the most influential Christians on the planet has been accused of a lot and has admitted to some. If the purchase of drugs was all that happened then that’s bad enough. If drugs were taken then it’s worse yet. If homosexual sex was involved then that’s simply horrible.”
Ben Witherington – “We could add to this “confess your sins to one another and pray for each other so that you may be healed” (James. 5.16). Notice it does not say confess only to God, nor does it say confess only to the priest or your ministry partner. Open confession within a context of a church accountability group will be the beginning of healing.”
Michelle, Reformed Chicks Blabbing – “This won’t stop us from believing in God or voting Republican (I feel silly even writing that because it’s so obvious but I was just listening to a newscast that implied that this news story would make Christians question voting for Republicans).”
La Shawn Barber – “Christians constantly are being watched, and rightly so. Any little thing we do that appears hypocritical, unbelievers jump on it. To justify their own sin and rebellion, they “expose†ours and say, “See? The self-righteous hypocrite!†They rejoice when they “discover†we’re human, too! But I’m glad they’re watching me. I defy the stereotype of what a Christian should be. Remember the car commercial catchphrase, “This ain’t you daddy’s Oldsmobileâ€Â? Well, I ain’t your momma’s Christian.
For some bonus links, here’s a piece on Haggard by Richard Dawkins (they’re both pretty chippy), and a few amusing, off-colour Photoshop jobs emerging on Flickr.
DarrenBarefoot.com 
Good cherry picking of quotes there. That quote was in response to the way that the story was being reported on the radio. It was actually part of a number of things I said about this incident. I also said this: “But here’s the bottom line, if the guy had gay sex, I wouldn’t be surprised because I understand that we are all sinners in need of a Savior and that none of us has a lock on perfect behavior. We struggle and we learn and we lean on the grace of God and His mercy and love.”
As to this “hating gay people ‘because the Bible says so’ is deeply sketchy logic,” I’ve been around a lot of Christians and never heard anyone say anything remotely like this. The Bible teaches us to love, not hate.
And I know it’s fun to poke fun at the rubes who believe in the Bible but the whole shellfish thing isn’t a problem for Christians, I eat lobster and shrimp without any qualms (Hmm, lobster). And ham is the traditional meal at Easter.
Michele: Thanks for your comments, and sorry for spelling your name wrong. If I was ‘cherry picking’, what was my goal? If I’d wanted to render Christians as intolerant and hateful, I could have chosen far more provocative quotes from other sites. I also wouldn’t have linked back to them to eliminate context.
I just sought out some popular Christian blogs, and excerpted what I thought was the most compelling bit of each entry. There’s obviously a political aspect to this story, and I guess I wanted to reflect that in at least one of the quotes. Beyond that, I didn’t give too much consideration to the excerpts.
I fully agree that the Bible teaches Christians to love. Unfortunately, there’s a highly-visible minority which sews hatred and intolerance against homosexuals. To pick an evocative example, consider GodHatesFags.com. That site is run by the loving, Christian folks at the Westboro Baptist Church. Or just hang out next time your town has a pride parade–you’ll witness plenty of Christian hate from whichever churches are protesting.
The vast majority of Christians are, of course, tolerant people who respect differences. Unfortunately, they’re often painted with the same brush as the people at Westboro. That’s precisely what I wasn’t doing when I mocked Reverend Haggard’s homophobia and hypocrisy, and why I cited four moderate Christian bloggers.
The shellfish argument is full of holes but is appealing to many because so few bother to read the passages in context. I encourage you to read flaws of the shellfish argument.