Dr. Ray Pritchard Christian Blog and Commentary

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If Sin Were Blue

  • Dr. Ray Pritchard
    Dr. Ray Pritchard is the president of Keep Believing Ministries, an Internet-based ministry serving Christians in 225 countries. He is the author of 29 books, including Stealth Attack, Fire and Rain,… More
  • Published Nov 06, 2006

David Klinghoffer offers a wise perspective on Ted Haggard's fall. The entire article deserves a close reading because he deals forthrightly with the question of whether or not homosexuality is inborn. In a sense, he answers yes, because all humans are born with a bias toward sin. Theologians call this the doctrine of Total Depravity. That doesn't mean that all of us are as bad as we could possibly be, but it does mean that sin has impacted every part of the human personality--body, soul, mind, spirit, will and emotions. As one writer put it, if sin were blue, we'd be blue all over. And all of us would be different shades of blue in different parts of our personality: sky blue, dark blue, powder blue, cornflower blue, cobalt blue, cerulean blue, and so on. The Wikipedia entry on shades of blue lists 24 different kinds of blue, including periwinkle and ultramarine. If sin were blue, each of us would be fully blue all over, all the time, in a variety of different shades. There wouldn't be even the tiniest inch of human personality without some trace of blue.

Ted Haggard sinned because he is a sinner. He is blue all over and his letter to New Life Church makes it clear that he has seen the dark side of his own life for a long, long time. His fall may be a blessing in disguise to the American church if it produces a healthy sense of self-examination and a new humility in all of our leaders. It will be even better if God uses this to remind us that the first step in salvation is to admit you are a sinner. There is hope for Ted Haggard just as there is hope for all of us who are "blue all over" because of our sin.

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