It's tough to figure out how to feel about Ted Haggard after seeing "The Trials of Ted Haggard" which premieres tonight at 8 on HBO.
He's been out promoting this film (probably for money since he's flat broke) endlessly, doing what's cynically known as the shame tour, when public figures go out bravely confronting/admitting their sins, asking forgiveness or pleading innocence, rehabbing their broken images.
Or maybe he's been doing what Christians are supposed to do: confessing his sins, sharing his testimony and professing his faith as an example of God's glory.
There's that same push-pull feeling with the documentary. Haggard is excommunicated from his church after its revealed that he's had gay sex (and bought meth). In fact, he's exiled from the state of Colorado. The film follows him -- and his very understanding, very good-natured family -- through 18 months of wandering. He has no job, no home, the equivalent of a high school education (in the secular world) and a really bad reputation.
So is this what he deserves? Or is it the opposite of that? Should the church be more compassionate to this sinner? Does Haggard have the right to ask for compassion when it was his church and his rules?
Is Haggard in denial when he calls himself a "heterosexual with issues?" Is his wife?
Director Alexandra Pelosi (yep, she's Nancy's daughter) has a good relationship with Haggard so she catches moments both heart-breaking and revealing. It's Haggard's story, so maybe it's a bit one-sided, and considering that there have been new allegations about Haggard, it's hard to know how truthful a narrator he is.
That's what makes this film so interesting. There are no easy answers.
Click here for other airdates.
Assistant Features Editor Adrienne Johnson Martin would like to have her life turned into an animated cartoon. 
Comments
I heard about that interview
Fri, 01/30/2009 - 10:33 — adriennj (author)It's telling too that in the documentary he says he found answers and sympathy from psychologists, not the church.
Ted Haggard on Oprah
Thu, 01/29/2009 - 18:14 — jilllovesshoppingI saw Ted on Oprah yesterday and thought it was really interesting how he came across sometimes as hypocrite and sometimes a victim. It just goes to show how not every issue is black and white. Ted did betray his wife, use drugs, and lie to his congregation. At the same time, his congregation immediately shunned him...no forgiveness there.
He lived in a mainstream part of our society that rarely if reluctantly accepts homosexuality, and he's still unwilling to admit to being gay, despite "having urges his entire adult life." If Ted doesn't want to define his sexuality because he wants to preserve his marriage or maybe he's still not sure, fine, but he really did a disservice to the gay community by reinforcing to people that homosexuality is a dirty secret.
Although I could care less about Ted's celebrity either way, I liked the message that if we were all a little more honest about ourselves and accepting of our differences, the world would be a better place.