Bishop Eddie Long of New Birth Missionary Baptist Church in Atlanta, Georgia has been slapped with a lawsuit alleging that he coerced young men in his ministry into doing various sexual acts. Coercion is defined by Dictionary.com as "Use of force or intimidation to gain compliance." With that said the allegations were filed by two young men now age 20 and 21, claiming that the high profile minister engaged in multiple sexual acts with them on multiple occasions. The men also admit to receiving multiple high value gifts from Bishop Long, including money and trips.
Here's the dilemma, as we instill our moral and spiritual beliefs in our children, are we clearing the path of knowledge so they understand that the vessels used in spreading the knowledge of whatever belief system you practice, are just mere mortals? if these allegations are true, how were these young men at 18 so impressionable? How could they believe such actions in exchange for high value items for a period of time was righteous, yet now worthy of a law suit? Assuming they were introduced to their spiritual beliefs at home by parents, a family as such would have also taught there children about predators, safety, good, bad, and evil.
In this age of information, it would be a travesty for parents not to engage in conversations of sex, sexuality, morals, and values on a regular basis. Especially in the teenage years when peer pressure is most effective. Music, television, internet, and just the mere "anything goes" attitude of our nation today is too prevalent to be carefree with our future leaders.
Furthermore, if you raise your child in any religious organization, please teach them to absorb the message, not the man or woman that brings it. For those who do not believe in a higher power, this still applies. For instance, an excellent math teacher may engage in immoral and unethical acts with students, however, 1 + 1 still equals 2. If that teacher should attempt to abuse their power, children should be equipped with the tools that alert them immediately and feel comfortable to report the issue. If we are not honest and open with our children they will be exposed to situations like these and not know how to respond. For local information and resources in Beaufort, see article titled Assertiveness 101.
Thoughts from my personal journal:
I don't know who Bishop Long ticked off, but this is certainly bigger than the man. This is a predominant ministry that nurtures and leads many people to God. Heaven knows I've personally come in contact with many men of the cloth that wanted to do a lot more than lay hands on me in prayer, but coercion? So these men are saying they were raped? Why not call a spade a spade? If these young men engaged in these activities, clearly they are homosexual, so they weren't forced into having gay relations. Moreover, they had been receiving gifts, money, and trips. This means they agreed on terms of exchange, valuables in exchange for sex which is not coercion, it's prostitution! Furthermore, whenever it's been a Catholic Priest with these accusations, many boys come out of the wood works. These two men were of consenting age. Maybe they just found out the Bishop was not faithful to them and got angry. Maybe he found new young man and dumped them and they are filled with revenge. Or....maybe it didn't happen. I'm not decided that I believe one side or the other just assessing the information that's out there, but I know beyond a shadow of a doubt its certainly possible. Personally, Eddie Long even has the look of a dastardly fellow. However, I've known of people to be unethical and file false lawsuits haven't you? What do you think?
To identify behaviors indicative of a child who has or is being sexually, physically, or emotionally abused visit this website Medline Plus. Contact Coastal Empire Community Mental Health Center if you would like crisis intervention and emergency assessment services. They are located at 1050 Ribaut Rd. Their phone number is 843-524-8899.
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Comments
My problem with this situation is that this man is a pastor, a husband, a father of four, and most importantly, an advocate against homosexuality. There are now three individual young men that he is accused of starting a relationship with when they were children, yet I have not heard one person say that regardless of Atlanta’s consent law at the age of 16, this pastor was wrong for having a sexual relationship with the children that he was supposed to be healing and leading. Worst of all, he is a married man with four children of his own! It is shameful to think that we are here to protect the young, yet we never question the behavior or intent of the adults in authoritative positions amongst our children; we see the BLING, and we forget what is important. In addition, we are so quick to call our children liars when they come forward with information about despicable behavior such as those the three young men exposed. It is no wonder we have millions of sexually abused children who are silenced by their attacker, making them victims for a second time. I believe these young men! I also believe that the number of victims will grow! Predators like Pastor Long tend to become serial in their behavior when they see that they are not getting caught, and it was not coincidental that he situated himself in that program that he created for young men; the same program that he picked his victims from. Anyway, this is no surprise because those who speak the loudest against the gay community are always the ones with the greatest indulgence in its activities.
Well said anonymous! You make a great point on how actions of protecting children conflict with monitoring the behavior of adults, especially those in a position of power.
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