fall into if you re not careful. you can start to think you re a god instead of god s prophet. that s what i was going to say, doing this whole story for the past week or so now, i ve heard everybody talk about my bishop, my bishop, we re going to stand behind him. no one has mentioned god or jesus or christ or any of this. shayne? to be fair to bishop long, i think part of his success and the reason why people are so loyal is because he s very effective at preaching a message that speaks to their needs. he s effective at speaking in a language that people understand. and his ministry, along with, you know, his own personal finances have done a lot to help the needy, help poor people. so there is a side to bishop long that generates loyalty, that comes from, you know, he does have a humble servant s heart, alongside a huge ego, and cocky attitude and bold kind of masculine presence. so he s a complex figure. i think we have to realize both
and your master. and let him know that the acts that he was engaged in were not necessarily meaning that he was a homosexual, or that either of them was. but rather the pastor, bishop long, was releasing his passion and his love for anthony. shayne, what do you think of that, and what mark said, that there s an underlying homophobia, with not only this case but the media and how it s interpreted in the public? you can go back to any james baldwin novel that deals with the church to see the black church as a hot bed of sensuality and at times powerful people exploiting people under them, to yield to those temptations. but the difference here is, if bishop long were accused by women, i think it would be even if he was guilty, there would be a chance he could survive. the fact that the black church has such a strong stance or i should say black churches have a
sides of the equation. and might that i m just asking might that explain the pictures in the bathroom, with the tight spandex or whatever? he s bold and cocky and that s just sort of the way he does business? differently than old-school preachers? well, there s nothing new school about that. preachers have been doing this since day one. that s a very generous interpretation. if this happens to be one of the greatest scandals perpetrated by the plaintiffs, then that could be true. but what i think is more likely is that this is someone whose ego bought the best of him, who lost track of his calling and as a result ended up in a very, very bad place. all we can hope is he and the victims make it out. i can t imagine any kind of reasonable explanation for that type of activity from a preacher. that s what i want to ask you, shayne. if we can put the pictures back up. seriously, how do you explain that? you say this is i m sending this to you because i want you to work on your
of black religious thought that are much more open and understanding. those that follow the tradition of jesus and love ethic is the primary thing that i will love all people, all neighbors as myself. other churches, eddie long, are not only anti-gay, but they re adamant and extravagant against gay and lesbian people. which is odd to me coming from african-americans who have been discriminated against. i don t understand why people who have been discriminated against will turn around and discriminate against other people. they know how it feels. i think there s a sense of shame and embarrassment in the black church. around homosexuality and around sexual abuse. i think that s why you see these types of things happening. shayne, what did you want to see? the evangelicals see the bible always the authoritative word of god. stay with us, guys. we have heard what the accusers have to say. tomorrow you ll hear what bishop long has to say.
fact, our leaders, sunday schoolteachers or anybody else, nobody is perfect. everybody s in process. and i don t say that to justify or explain anything away. just as a lesson in reality, that when we exalt people, that if it isn t this particular sin, it is another one. all have sinned, everybody needs redemption. thank you so much. ted haggard, shayne, mark lamot hill. and no yelling and screaming, just how i like it. thanks, don. pleasure. we ll check our top stories after a short break. a white chek on the top of every box to let people know that their cereals have healthy whole grain, and they re the right choice. (announcer) general mills makes getting whole grain an easy choice. just look for the white check.