Friday, November 03, 2006

How Far Is Heaven?







Ted Haggard's recent scandal reminded me of last year's 20/20 special about Heaven, in which he was quoted. The black-and-white illustration was made long before Mike Jones went public with his claims. I wonder if Haggard has ever been to Hawaii (note the lei). 7 November update: Yes, he has. Ian Lind reminds us of Haggard's April 2005 visit to Honolulu, which is when Dennis Oda of the Honolulu Star-Bulletin took this now-infamous photograph. From the article:

Ted Haggard's name is not yet a household word like Billy Graham, but he's getting there. [And how!-P.Z.]...
Yesterday, 5,000 Hawaii residents heard Haggard, a keynote speaker at the three-day Hawaiian Islands Ministries Honolulu 2005 conference at the Hawaii Convention Center. Pastoral rather than political matters were the topics of the man who founded and has been senior pastor of the 11,000-member New Life Church in Colorado Springs, Colo., for 20 years.
The idea that church should be separate from state doesn't hold weight with Haggard, who said Thursday: "There isn't an issue in the news that isn't about religion. The Middle East is all about religion. The elections were about religion.
"Evangelicalism has no reservation about being a voice in politics," said Haggard, who is one of several Christian leaders who have the ear of President Bush. He regularly participates in the president's weekly conference call. He was at a recent White House meeting on Bush's faith-based initiative of government support for social services provided by religious groups.
He debunks the modern perception that church involvement in politics is rooted in the affinity of conservative Christians and Republican politicians. ...

Update: Haggard has admitted to buying methamphetamine from Mike Jones out of curiosity. He claims to have thrown it away, which is a good thing, or else Haggard's (in)famous grin would look like this:






November 20 update: If Haggard's story is ever adapted for film, Fred Willard would be the perfect actor to portray him.

November 26 update: Saul Landau opines here.

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