Just watching "The Root of All Evil?" by Richard Dawkins...

[Grown2Hate]

... and in the prelude, it shows a now infamous Reverend Haggard with an arm lovingling around Richard, explaining the spread of radical Islam... don't know why, but it made me burst out laughing... the Rev trying to put the moves on ol' Dawkins... he was probably tweaking balls at the time. ;)

[TheBaldyMan]

1. It's a brilliant (and scary) programme

wait until he gets to Jerusalem and meets the American convert to Islam.
:scared:

[Grown2Hate]

2. I haven't gotten that far yet, but there have been SEVERAL

more scenes where it's CLEAR to the naked eye that Haggard is gay, which to the evangelicals is an INCREDIBLE insult, but to myself and many like minded is just FACT, and another beautiful wonder of nature. It's too bad that people blind and delude themselves into thinking it's "sinful" behavior (well, maybe the METH habit isn't so great, but, ya know...).

[TheBaldyMan]

3. I wonder if Ted will end up on those before and after 'faces of meth' posters

I just feel for the guy, having to deal with his sexuality in such an chillingly homophobic atmosphere.

[Grown2Hate]

4. I suppose that's what makes my mind explode...

...how people like Ted can allow themselves to get SO wrapped up in a belief that tells them that their natural tendency is an "abomination", or WORSE. Just never understood the "self-loathing" mentality, and, despite my crueler judgment, in its own way, it does make me feel for these people as well.

[immoderate]

6. In psychology it's called "reaction formation."

Description
Reaction Formation occurs when a person feels an urge to do or say something and then actually does or says something that is effectively the opposite of what they really want. It also appears as a defense against a feared social punishment. If I fear that I will be criticized for something, I very visibly act in a way that shows I am personally a long way from the feared position.

A common pattern in Reaction Formation is where the person uses ‘excessive behavior’, for example using exaggerated friendliness when the person is actually feeling unfriendly.
<snip>
Discussion
A cause of Reaction Formation is when a person seeks to cover up something unacceptable by adopting an opposite stance. For example the gay person who has heterosexually promiscuous may be concealing their homosexual reality. This may be a conscious concealment but also may well occur at the subconscious level such that they do not realize the real cause of their behavior. Reaction Formation thus can turn homosexual tendencies (love men) to homophobic ones (hate men).

Freud called the exaggerated compensation that can appear in Reaction Formation ‘overboarding’ as the person is going overboard in one direction to distract from and cover up something unwanted in the other direction, such as a person who fears war becoming a pacifist, convincing themselves that war is wrong (rather than the ‘cowardly’ position that war is scary).
http://changingminds.org/explanations/behaviors/coping/reaction_formation.htm

It's from the classic list of defense mechanisms. And as you can see, Haggard is the textbook case.

--IMM

[pretzel4gore]

5. why not come on over?

the xianity he now expounds condemns him, so why don't he join the opprressed and fight the good fight? the rightwingers despise him already (for getting caught) so why not expose them as the cruel devils they are?
even people who aren't gay can see the way forward for anyone in ted's position, but he can't! (won't?)

[moobu2]

7. Money, Power etc

He’s gotten filthy rich from his position
and now they’re doing this restoration bullshit
attempting to bring him back to grace or whatever.
I don’t know but I bet he's still calculating
a return to the big bucks.