By Rev. Michael Penfield

We have seen quite a few articles lately about Rev. Ted Haggard, the pastor involved with a male prostitute and methamphetamine. There are those who find it titillating and there are those who use the scandal to validate their belief that all conservative Christians are hypocrites, even though this incident represents a small minority.

In truth, this is quite a tragic story. We have a man of God who will have to deal with his own hypocrisy and mental acrobatics to justify a dual and duplicitous life. We also have an innocent wife and five innocent children whose lives will be forever disrupted. We must not revel; rather, we must pray for all of them.

But this event raises some very important questions and issues. The first and most important is the issue surrounding homosexuality and the Christian response to someone who is homosexual. To date, the issue of how or why a person becomes homosexual is still unknown, cloudy and murky.

I believe that the fundamental question for Christians is whether homosexuality is a choice. The modern belief is that it is not a choice, that somehow the affections of these people are oriented toward someone of their own sex. There is quite a bit of information that supports this position. Others maintain homosexuality is a choice, and there is also support for this position, such as the Kinsey Report. The truth may be that some can choose but others cannot. I would venture to guess that the issue will become of intimate importance to Rev. Haggard.

For Christians, if homosexuality is a choice, we must refrain from it. Scripture is self-evident in this case. But, if it is not a choice, then Scripture takes on a different light. Christ commanded all Christians to love their neighbors as themselves. He stated that this command and loving God with all our being is the complete summary of all the Old Testament laws. To this end, although slavery was never specifically condemned, it became clear that to enslave one’s neighbor would not be loving them like ourselves. And since we do not know for sure if homosexuality is a choice, then I maintain, as Christians, we must assume that it is not a choice.

For those who are orthodox, Scripture must be read to be consistent and without contradiction. If homosexuality is not a choice, then there may appear to be a contradiction. How can we love our gay neighbor while condemning him or her for something akin to having brown eyes? If we truly love those who are gay equally to ourselves, how can we possibly require them to be celibate when we do not require this of ourselves? How can we condemn them to a life without love?

Thus, the exact words used and the precise meaning of those sections that allegedly condemn homosexuality in Scripture must be re-examined closely. We must make absolutely sure that we are fulfilling Christ’s commandment to love our neighbors. And we must be absolutely sure that we are reading Scripture consistently throughout both the Old and New Testaments. After carefully examining these sections, it is my opinion that this is achievable.

For us at our church, we try to show God’s love to all who visit. I do not believe many gay people have come to visit. But I honestly think this is more a reflection of our traditional form of worship and our orthodox faith. When some people see this, they assume that gay people will not be welcomed.

We as Christians are commanded to be understanding. After all, we are all sinners; there is not one of us who can cast a stone. Therefore, we are to welcome all to Christ who ask for His love and forgiveness. And we are to forgive all those who have made mistakes (both big and small) in their lives and are contrite. For Rev. Haggard, this may mean forgiving him for his hypocrisy, lying and betrayal of his wedding vows if he truly repents of these actions. How else are we to show God’s love to the unbelieving world?

Penfield is pastor of St. Luke’s Chapel in the Hills, a traditional Anglican church in Los Altos Hills. For more information, visit www.stlukeschapel.org.