Posted on 09/26/2010 6:12:27 AM PDT by Gamecock
HUNTERSVILLE, N.C. — A member of New Birth Charlotte filed a lawsuit against prominent pastor Bishop Eddie Long, accusing him of coercing a teenager into a sexual relationship.
New Birth Charlotte in Huntersville is a satellite church of Long's New Birth Missionary Baptist Church in Lithonia, Georgia. The lawsuit claims the bishop took the teen to Kenya in 2005 and engaged in sexual activities. Bishop Long then allegedly encouraged the teen to move to Atlanta, where the activity continued until last year.
We talked to the lawyer who filed the suit on Friday.
“This young man was shining the light on a apparently what is huge, huge, horrible wave of abuse and an opportunity for others to get out of the grips of the Bishop,” said Attorney BJ Bernstein.
Three other men filed a lawsuit against Long, saying he used his spiritual authority to seduce them. A spokesman for Long said the preacher denies all the allegations.
There were a number of complainants against Jesus but no witnesses.
It's an interesting comparison with RC's because in this case there has been an outcry from Evangelicals to get the facts straight and if true to take action. Whereas all we see from RC's is defend, obfuscate, and cry bigotry when it's one of their clergy.
My only concern in this case is that this pastor has built such a huge program that there could be any number of folks who’ve put a target on his back.
Accusations don’t equal evidence. I’m waiting to see the evidence.
Multiple accusations are troubling, but all they show is a potential pattern.
Bring on Monica’s blue dress.
There was a newsclip on Fox showing this guy denying the accusations in church, and the show of support for him, applause, cheers, etc. was massive.
They either have evidence or they don’t. I imagine there will be a trial. If there isn’t, that could indicate the accusers were simply looking for a settlement.
If the pastor settles out of court, then I’d probably consider him guilty, given the pattern of accusations.
His only alternative it to both fight and to demand evidence.
I think it's a legitimate concern.
Multiple accusations are troubling, but all they show is a potential pattern.
You're right. I believe in GA. the age of consent is 16 and so far all the accusers are over 16, so state law enforcement are not going to be investigating. However, the Elders of the church should already be investigating. We will see.
That certainly doesn’t help.
We shouldn’t be ignorant, but we shouldn’t convict only on the word of accusers. There should be evidence offered.
The bible doesn’t have the innocent under proven guilty standard explicitly stated, but it does say guilt shouldn’t be determined except on the testimony of 2 or more witnesses. So far we have accusers, but no witnesses.
After the revelation of the fourth lawsuit, Roland Martin(CNN) stated: "for the sake of the church, Long and his family, he needs to remove himself from the pulpit as the leader of New Birth Missionary Baptist Church in order for the issue to be resolved to its conclusion".[32]http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eddie_L._LongGeorgia Democratic gubernatorial nominee Roy Barnes canceled a fundraiser that Long had been scheduled to co-host.[27]
Kenneth Samuel, who was pastor of New Birth before Long took the helm, said "whether it's true or not, the church has an issue of duplicity, hypocrisy and denial in terms of sexuality that the church has to deal with" and "unfortunatley, I think Bishop Long is emblematic of a culture ... that causes pastor and parishioners to preach and testify one thing and practice something else."[34]
If you were innocent, would you step down?
If you were guilty, would you step down?
If you were guilty, would you step down?
There should always be a board of accountability. Don't you think the Elders should make that decision ?
When you step down, or get stepped down, no matter what you say, it is interpreted as: “He’s guilty.”
So, an innocent man and a guilty man both have the same reason for not stepping down. The 2nd is a liar, of course, but that fact doesn’t help you figure out whether he’s guilty or not.
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