Bishop Eddie Long Denies Sexual Abuse as Plaintiffs' Lawyer Promises More Evidence

Originally posted by Brood
Mega churches make way too much money

Uhm.... could you define "too much money"?

I'm from the USA, and we don't have any such concept as "Too much money".

reply to post by Hefficide


This was the thing that bothered me about Sundays words.... when Eddie Long compared himself to David, and the young men as Goliath, that just struck the wrong chord in me.

If you are honestly a spiritual leader who is being attached for something he didn't do...and there is no room for any real doubt once the facts are displayed... then no you don't posit yourself as the victim. You simply state that they are irrelevant, not an opponent who you must defeat to save the lives of your people.

There is no authority in positing yourself as the Victim, and I think at that point, Eddie showed me his guilt. I am a humanist, and as much as it pains me to interfere with the fairy tales of the children who believe them, this might be a good chance to learn that you should give no one the position of spiritual leader in your world except for yourself. You are your own spiritual leader, even if you give the power away via proxy.

reply to post by Hefficide


The man is guilty as sin, this whole issue remind me Ted Haggar case, such a homophobic and behind laws to ban gay marriage and he was one

In local newspaper here in GA, another religious leader wrote that "with power comes always the possibility of corruption and that is a fact of modern life".

This is the world that many of this powerful people built, with lies and deceptions then they have the power to get into politics and influence how other people are to live their lives, while keeping the skeletons in their closet

reply to post by HunkaHunka


Very well said!

I agree entirely.

Originally posted by HunkaHunka

Originally posted by Brood
Mega churches make way too much money

Uhm.... could you define "too much money"?

I'm from the USA, and we don't have any such concept as "Too much money".

Guess that's why you have such crazy homelessness rates, and why the Federal Drug Assosciation isn't allowed to provide proven cures to the general public because they can't get a patent, and therefore cannot make enough money off of it to save peoples' lives . American Pride! Go capitalism! Spread it to other countries; it works so well!

Did he deny it? Because I didn't hear that.

I did hear (and unfortunately see in those twit pics) some arrogant posturing though and a laughable attempt to portray himself as David.

These sorts of stories seem inevitable to me somehow. The mega churches feed off of a cult of personality and the particular brand of Christianity that "The Bishop" professes just seems greedy and warped to me. Somehow, I suspect it's not so in line with WWJD.

reply to post by Hefficide


fk HIM um just sayen. He a fraud and discrace.

Originally posted by HunkaHunka you should give no one the position of spiritual leader in your world except for yourself.

Exactly.

I keep hearing the phrase "spiritual authority" used - ."The Bishop used his spiritual authority to groom the boys." - and I'm like, "lolwut!?" There was the first clue, that he had any spiritual authority whatsoever.

Plus I'd like to know how he obtained the title of "Bishop". Did he earn it through study in Divinity School or was he elected by the representatives of other churches within his denomination of Christianity or by churches in his Diocese or whatever? Or did he simply confer it on himself?

What really ticks me off is all the elderly people that have probably spent the greater portion of their income in the past 25 years thinking they were helping him build his "church" when it was very likely used to fund his lavish and closeted lifestyle.

reply to post by kosmicjack


You know what the funny thing is, when my daughter graduated from our local two year college he was the guess speaker, to me just look like another pompous religious leader of the very cemented southern Baptist dominion here in my neck of the woods.

That was 5 years ago. . .

Sad that this "public entities and Icons" of our religious leadership think that lying about what they do, is going to keep the faithful followers and worshipers behind them and even forget the transgressions because of faith.

But, those before them tells the story, once the whole issue is blown out even the most faithful follower will turn their backs, too bad Eddie Long doesn't know how it means to be scorned yet, but he will, too bad he will have to part from the fame, power and money that he enjoyed until now.

Originally posted by Brood

Originally posted by HunkaHunka

Originally posted by Brood
Mega churches make way too much money

Uhm.... could you define "too much money"?

I'm from the USA, and we don't have any such concept as "Too much money".

Guess that's why you have such crazy homelessness rates, and why the Federal Drug Assosciation isn't allowed to provide proven cures to the general public because they can't get a patent, and therefore cannot make enough money off of it to save peoples' lives

. American Pride! Go capitalism! Spread it to other countries; it works so well!

edit on 28-9-2010 by Brood because: (no reason given)

You still haven't defined too much money.

The issue here is not the amount of money a person has amassed, but the allegedly illegal relationship had between a church leader and the very youth he is supposedly ministering to. Obviously there are further social ramifications beyond the legal ones. But it's not a crime to make a lot of money, though its possible it was amassed via criminal means or used for criminal intent.

And actually the problems you describe in your quote above have to less to do with a capitalist society and more to do with the weaked willed.... point in fact, look at how many people give their authority away to others in general... even as it relates to this thread (sorry trying to keep it on topic).

reply to post by HunkaHunka


In my view churches that rake in millions of dollars like mega churches are making way to much money. My parents go to a very small church and the preacher has a regular 9 to 5 job to live on. They meet twice a week and have events a few Saturdays a year and like this mega church, it too is a baptist church.

There is no reason for one church to have to have millions of dollars to be able to function. But that is my opinion and if you don't agree with me that is fine, I'm not asking you to.

Let me add that I do not think it is a crime for them to amass so much money. I only brought up money as a possible motive for the allegations. I even found out that 2 of the allegors were 17 and 18. You cannot tell me that a male of that age is pressured so easily to do the things they are claiming and not raise holy hell about it, but I'm sure that is what you will tell me.

reply to post by kosmicjack


In 2007 some baptists ministers took the title of bishop and as time has gone on more and more have adopted the title. They have the same duties, they just took a differant title. Not all have done this and its more commonly used in black baptist churches.

You can google it and you will see a bunch of articles on it.

And now comes the beginning of the politics in this case...

Barnes maintains ties to Long

Democratic gubernatorial candidate Roy Barnes found himself in a politically delicate situation this month after lawsuits were filed alleging Bishop Eddie Long engaged in sexual misconduct with young men.

Barnes has known Long, the influential pastor of a megachurch in Lithonia, for more than 20 years. He has spoken at Long’s church, and he considers the pastor a friend.

Long, meanwhile, is among the more than 200 members of the finance committee for Barnes’ Democratic campaign for governor. He co-hosted a fundraiser for Barnes during the Democratic primary, and the pastor and his wife together contributed $11,100 to Barnes’ primary campaign.

Source

I'd like to begin by thanking everyone for their replies. Some very good points for us to consider...

This aspect of the story, Roy Barnes riding the fence, doesn't seem surprising to me. It's hard for a politician to ween himself away from money... and aspects of the religious community are a seemingly large part of Mr Barnes funding machine - as well as his prospective voter base.

They also said that Long is one of several ministers serving on Barnes’ campaign finance committee. In July, the Barnes campaign trumpeted a list of 51 pastors who had endorsed him, including Long and the Rev. Timothy McDonald III, pastor of First Iconium Baptist Church in East Atlanta.

______

As for my own personal thoughts about Bishop Long... I do have some very deep personal feelings on this issue. Like other members who have posted here, I think that the "Bish", as locals have taken to calling him, is probably guilty as sin, no pun intended. But, in our society, and rightly so, my opinion of his guilt has no bearing upon anything at all.

Hopefully the Bish. and his accusers, will all have a day in court, where a judge or jury will have a chance to weigh out all of the evidence available, and then make a determination that is just. My personal guess, as things stand now, is that this is unlikely to happen. The Bish has a lot of money... A LOT. And, as we all know, under the table "settlements" tend to make these sorts of problems disappear. As long as this remains a civil case, and not a criminal one, this feels like the most likely outcome.

Having said that... I will still do my best to present as unbiased a thread as possible, reporting information as it becomes available.

reply to post by kosmicjack

Originally posted by kosmicjack

Plus I'd like to know how he obtained the title of "Bishop". Did he earn it through study in Divinity School or was he elected by the representatives of other churches within his denomination of Christianity or by churches in his Diocese or whatever? Or did he simply confer it on himself?

kosmicjack:

From what I can gather from the admittedly vague information I've been able to find, Long got his PHD, and I guess his title by attending an unaccredited "school" called the "International College of Excellence" which is run by this guy... Apparently another televangelist.

Longs Masters of Divinity was obtained here.. I'll let others decide what they think of this school, the "Interdenominational Theological Center".

Long also earned a Bachelors in Business Administration from North Carolina Central University.

For a more specific answer to your question, unfortunately I cannot seem to find out how Long came to be known as "Bishop".

An interview running on the local news tonight with one of the accusers is Here.

And here are embedded videos of Bishop Longs Sunday statements as referenced previously in this thread:

Originally posted by HunkaHunka
reply to post by Hefficide

 

This was the thing that bothered me about Sundays words.... when Eddie Long compared himself to David, and the young men as Goliath, that just struck the wrong chord in me.

It should strike a wrong chord. Its bull crap and bull crap use of scripture.

When the pilot of the "Bish" plane spills the beans, we will see those with feet of clay humbled before their maker.

And all that anti gay BS he been pushin will haunt him till the end of days.

Sorry about all the corny metaphors. They just seemed appropriate somehow.

If the allegations are true, I would expect a LOT more boys to be coming forward. Pedophiles don't limit themselves to a few victims.

reply to post by Hefficide


Hmm...... He looks like the Cop from the Village People in those Pics ................YMCA........

reply to post by pavil


It seems that the bishop was devious and smart in his behaviors... He began grooming these young men, according to the reports, while they were still underage, and wouldn't make his move until just after they reached the age of consent.

But I do think that it is highly possible that more people could step forward as this plays out.

reply to post by Zanti Misfit


Yes, yes he does!