The Curious Case of Bishop Eddie Long...

"The only vice that cannot be forgiven is hypocrisy. The repentance of a hypocrite itself is hypocrisy."

- William Hazlitt

"No man for any considerable period, can wear one face to himself, and another to the multitude, without finally getting bewildered as to which might be the true."

-Nathaniel Hawthorne

(And for you good Christian folks...)

"...He that is without sin among you, let him cast the first stone..."

-Yeshua (a.k.a. - Jesus the Christ)

Time to get my hands dirty here...

Ok, I've made just as many jokes as the next man about Bishop Eddie Long and his troubles with the courts...both of law and public opinion.

Even though I've expressed a wee bit of disdain for Bishop Eddie Long, Creflo Dollar, and other pastors that I consider "Christrepreneurs," I still think they have a divine purpose to serve. This post will not be about that though...

This post WILL be about the debacle that is facing New Birth though...and I will do it without the slightest air of judgement.

Now, unless you've been completely oblivious as to what happens in the news, are deployed somewhere without consistent news service, or have been under a rock for the past week or so, you should know at least a little bit about what's happened with Bishop Long. If not, here's a recap link. http://www.cnn.com/2010/CRIME/09/24/georgia.pastor.lawsuit/index.html

1. The Court of Public Opinion

He's been convicted...point blank. Period. If my twitter timeline is ANY indication of how the masses feel about Bishop Eddie Long's alleged improprieties, then he's guilty. It begins with jokes, then it goes on to a discussion on how he should be embarrassed and what he should do, then back to jokes, then they talk negatively about him using his influence, then back to jokes, then finally (when somebody says something) they go on the defensive. These people are quick to pass their "observations" off as "Keeping It Real" or "Opinion" rather than judgment. Its laughable primarily because when your observations/opinions fall under the realm of dictating his "guilt" or "innocence" with regards to the improprieties...its JUDGMENT.

Have I made jokes? Hell yeah!

Do I think he's guilty or innocent? The better question would probably be, "Bleek, do you care about his guilt or innocence?" The answer to that one is simply, "No."

2. Bishop Eddie Long's Alleged "Avoidance" of the Issue of His Guilt or Innocence.

Everyone is upset about Bishop Eddie Long not standing in the pulpit and saying, "F*** Ya'll! I didn't touch them lil' dudes! Kiss my A**!"

Ok...maybe they're not upset that he didn't say that.

Either way, people are upset that there was not a vehement denial of the allegations from the pulpit. They are COMPLETELY disregarding the fact that the purpose of the pulpit is NOT to be a stage for such actions. It is a place for the true and living word of God to be professed. Did Bishop Long do that? Hell, probably not. But completely indulging in a vain and irreverent display of personal defense from the pulpit would be disrespectful to his position and calling.

Also, his "non-denial" is not true. Here's a quote from the Huffington Post Article containing the denial:

"The charges against me and New Birth are false," said Long, pastor of New Birth Missionary Baptist Church in Lithonia, Ga., in a Thursday (Sept. 23) statement. "I have devoted my life to helping others and these false allegations hurt me deeply."

Here's another article from the Atlanta Journal Constitution regarding the denial:

" I am anxious to respond directly to these false allegations and I will do so," he said in a statement released by his spokesman. " However, my lawyers have counseled patience at this time. But let me be clear; the charges against me and New Birth are false. I have devoted my life to helping others and these false allegations hurt me deeply. "

I guess now that I've given a blog site and a legitimate news organization as citations, my statement is validated eh?

Anyway, lets move on...

3. Bishop Eddie Long is an Easy Target Here

Ok, so...Bishop Eddie Long....allegedly "coerced" these 17 and 18 year old men into having a homosexual relationship by giving them cars, clothes, jewelry, and trips overseas?

Let me say this again...

Bishop Eddie Long allegedly "coerced" these 17 and 18 year old men into having a homosexual relationship by giving them cars, clothes, jewelry, and trips overseas.

Are you kidding me?

At 17 years old, I was a college freshman chasing women left and right. Now I can understand about the pastor being "allegedly" gay causing an uproar. But I will be DAMNED if at 17 or 18 years old as a grown assed man you can be "coerced" into having sex with a man. That crap! Nobody is talking about that though...

Also, if you were in a homosexual relationship with somebody giving you money, cars, clothes, and trips overseas (That IMO you HAD to have wanted to be in) how were you coerced? That's like saying a stripper is "coerced" into taking off her clothes for dollar bills. Maybe the prostitute is coerced into having sex after she takes the money.

There's a hole here...big time. No pun intended. Really...no pun intended. Ok, I'm laughing though.

4. Parting Shot...

This is not a defense of Bishop Eddie Long. I'm not a Bishop Eddie Long fan by any stretch of the imagination....that should be evident by the fact that I labeled him a "Christrepreneur" in the beginning of the post. However, I am a student of the media. Even more so since I joined the Army in the Public Affairs field.

Its simply come to my attention that more often than not, the things we (Yes, me included) consider to be true (in opinion or judgment), aren't backed up by fact. We rush to judge people and automatically determine their guilt or innocence without regards to the facts or the skepticism with which we should investigate certain things. So, while I laugh and joke about a lot of stuff...I'm kind of careful about statements I make in actual discussion regarding actual situations...because I would rather be ignored or disliked for being honest, than loved for being a liar and a hypocrite. Harsh words I know, but I couldn't think of any nicer adjectives to use in their place...

-Bleek