Ted Haggard said being gay is evil. He thinks being unfaithful to your spouse is evil and. He thinks drugs are evil.

Haggard is a married man with children who has sex with men while under the influence of drugs. This is according to Mike Jones, anyway – a gay prostitute who allegedly provided the drugs and sex to Haggard.

Haggard, who was one of Time Magazine’s 25 Most Influential Evangelicals in America in 2005, stepped down from his position as the president of the National Association of Evangelicals after Jones went public with his story when he learned of Haggard’s true identity on the television. Although Haggard originally denied all allegations, he now admits to buying drugs and receiving a massage from Jones, but not actually taking the drugs or engaging in sexual acts.

“The fact is I am guilty of sexual immorality,” Haggard said, as reported by the Associated Press. “And I take responsibility for the entire problem. I am a deceiver and a liar. There's a part of my life that is so repulsive and dark that I have been warring against it for all of my adult life."

I’m glad that Haggard stopped running away from the truth to some extent. I am definitely glad that he did so before the November election, since approximately one-third of evangelicals voted for Democrats. They cited corruption as their main reason for not voting for Republicans, according to Associated Press exit polls, and I’m pretty sure Haggard was on their minds.

I think Haggard could have saved some time and energy by realizing that it would have been easier and better to accept himself rather than condemn himself.

I understand his dilemma; after all, he has spent his entire adult life telling everyone that would listen that homosexuality is a sin. But at some point, Haggard should have given in to the “dark” side of his mind, examined it, and evaluated whether it truly is evil, or if it something that can be celebrated, or at least accepted.

The hard part is over, he has admitted, at least partially, to being fallible. He could use his broad support group, whoever is willing to stand by him, to bring this issue to a new level. His status as a religious figure, combined with his connections to President Bush (if they still exist), could be a great opportunity for religious and secular gays and lesbians across the country.

He has the forum, he has the prominence, all he needs is the acceptance it takes to be himself. I mean, it’s doubtful he will ever regain his status in religious circles, but he can be an advocate in different, more accepting, more liberal circles.

Maybe it will never happen and he will spend the rest of his life battling with the dark side of his mind. Perhaps he will continue telling you and me that being homosexual is evil. But now we won’t listen. We will discount him as a hypocrite, and not listen to him until he proves that the words coming out of his mouth are the words that he believes to be true.

As far as I know, there is nothing more spiritually rewarding than the truth.