Who's To Judge "Pastor" Long?
Our story thus far : notedly homophobic mega-christian "pastor" Eddie Long has been accused by three young men of being a sexual predator. Nothing new there, of course.
Photographs of "pastor" Eddie, appearing in very tight muscle t-shirts and taken with the iPhone he holds in his hands, have surfaced. (For instance, see here.) These are photos that he allegedly sent to one of the alleged victims of his predation. Nothing untoward here; most clergy we know take photographs of themselves in their bathroom mirrors showing their progress at the gym to send to their parishioners. (Go ahead and follow the link; he's looking pretty buff in those poses, but he does have his clothes on.)
Enter stage right: Ted Haggard, former mega-christian "pastor" who had a little bout of teh gay himself but got over it very quickly. He's fully cured now but feels empathy for Long, since Ted knows how these "accusations" can damage a reputation (and a lucrative mega-church leadership position). He's made a statement in support of Long, worrying that public perception might outrun the facts. Just how big are "pastor" Long's biceps anyway?
Here's the part that raised my eyebrows. After suggesting that we, the court of public opinion, wait to judge until the facts are known, Haggard is quoted as saying (again, from here)
"Nobody's guilty until the court says he's guilty."
Woah! I have to admit that I'm a little surprised that a man, a former mega-christian "pastor", would leave that ultimate judgement to the secular courts and not to the god that he professes watches and cares about and–ultimately–judges everything he does.
But who knows how the minds work of homophobic mega-christian "pastors" on the down low?
In: All, Current Events, Raised Eyebrows Dept.