Eddie Long and the Church

In response to the request of several people wanting an explanation (religious, biblical or otherwise) on the video of the coronation of Bishop Eddie Long, we here at Rhetoric Race and Religion will collect responses and place them on our blog. If there are responses you find, please share them with us. Thanks

By Janelle Harris
Clutch Magazine

When James Brown was gettin’ funky with it—I mean really ‘bout to break it down—he hunched over real exhausted-like and wailed some woeful notes into his mic, which was the cue for Danny Ray to come scurrying out, toss a cape over his shoulders and lead him off stage. That was part of the Godfather of Soul’s showmanship, cheesy as it may have gotten over time. So how come it seems downright brilliant compared to the ridiculousness of Bishop Eddie Long who, in the latest installment of the Crazy Eddie Chronicles, was wrapped in “sacred” Jewish scrolls and elevated from mere mortal to some kind of religious royalty? Unlike JB, he ain’t playing around. He’s absolutely serious. And that makes it all the more scary, and not even the least bit entertaining.

In case you haven’t heard, Long celebrated his coronation during last week’s service at New Birth Missionary Baptist, when Messianic preacher Ralph Messer instructed Eddie’s henchmen to wrap him in a ritual shawl, which Jews call a tallis, saying, “He’s a king. God’s blessed him. He’s a humble man. In him is kingship. In him is royalty. In him was a land of Israel.”
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