The American Spectator

Reader Mail

(Page 3 of 11)

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"The liberal-secularist ... cannot give an adequate moral account of why hypocrisy is wrong."

I doubt if that statement could survive a fair debate on points. Using pragmatic moralism, if one's saying and hypocritical doing don't come together, then one tends not to be trusted in business; and yes, Ted Haggard did lose his job.

But why bother with the heavy lifting of applying outsiders' hypocrisy standards? It's non-controversial to judge T.H. by his own standards of hypocrisy, especially when he has confessed.

As for the Schadenfreude aspects, those of us who strictly separate church and state can feel sorry for Ted the fallen church man. I say that as one who feels sincerity for the rector's prayer for "George our President" (in a regular litany of leaders). Simultaneously, I'm pleased that such a publicly unctuous moral advisor to the President and religious right, is probably departed to the obscurity of the gay brainwash-cure circuit. I have no moral problem with having both feelings, or declaring that I have them, when tactful to do so.

It's also well-deserved poetic justice. By well-deserved, I refer to T.H.'s profound lack of judgment in becoming so involved with politics, when he had such a serious political skeleton in his closet.

p>BTW, did you see (or read) the book for sale adjacent to your web article, titled In Defense of Hypocrisy ("You're a hypocrite and that's ok"). According to the Amazon.com reviews, the book is a narrow-case but slippery-slope promotion of relative moralism. If so, that's also what you were promoting in describing how not all hypocrisy is necessarily bad (though unlikely). I agree, but then I'm one of those pesky liberal-Christian relative moralists. Feeling the need for a shower? br> -- Foxfire /p>

I love how you say that no one should be happy about this man but, you fail to notice one thing, Karma.

WHY? Well he was a man who JUDGED his whole life. Made a career of it actually, and the beauty is he now is being judged. So my friend, just remember good old KARMA.

Who was first the chicken or the egg?

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