What's In A Name?: Eddie Long Knows.

A delay in reporting can be serendipitous at times. Take the case of "Bishop" Eddie Long and his alleged gift-and-tryst escapades: I found out about it only 15 minutes after the initial AP story broke and was ready to do a BREAKING news flash for my blog when something personal arose and I'm just now getting back to the keyboard 24 hours later.

I was glad for the delay. This story's more entertaining than Ted Haggard's, and twice as important. The story has fleshed out considerably during the last 24 hours and it presents a clearer picture of what went on at New Birth Missionary Baptist Church in Atlanta.

CNN:

In a lawsuit, two men in their 20s now are saying the bishop, Eddie Long, took them on trips, gave them gifts, bought them a car, gave them cash, gave them jewelry, all as a ploy to have sex with them. And they say it was the church's money that he was giving to them.

(hat tip: Pam's House Blend)

And the scandal was giving ... and giving ... to the Bishop:

On the surface, this story is simply one of seduction with money and gifts. It's rather ordinary, and would only stand out in the news because of Long's name and because it involved homosexual undertones. The part that gets really interesting is this:

Eventually, it turned into such a relationship that the bishop had a ceremony with Anthony Flag called a covenant. Within that covenant, it was essentially a marriage ceremony where there were candles, exchange of jewelry and biblical quotes given, in order for Anthony to know and for the bishop to tell him, I will always have your back and you will always have mine. He would use biblical stories to talk about how important it was to follow your leader and your master and let him know that the acts 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. (Italics, my own)

Considering his vicious attacks on same-sex marriage, this "covenant" now puts Long in the category of uber-hypocrite. Yes, "Bishop" Eddie Long is now in the Strom Thurmond-Ted Haggard big league: fostering disdain for one group of people while secretly having sex with them. Long's outspoken animosity towards gays has been prevalent for years.

SFGate:

Long has called for a national ban on same-sex marriage and his church counsels gay members to become straight. In 2004, he led a march with Bernice King to her father's Atlanta grave to support a national constitutional amendment to protect marriage "between one man and one woman."

Irony Alert! One of Long's book titles: What A Man Wants - What A Woman Needs.

All hypocrisy aside (which is tough to do, considering it takes a mental bulldozer to push it!), one of the main points of this scandal is that Long has used his titles to place him in authority, respect and even awe. He might have saved money by riding on his elevated credentials alone, but he chose to ply his sexual interests with gifts essentially bought by the church.
 
Dumb.

"Touch not mine anointed, and do my prophets no harm" (Psalm 105:15)

In the last twenty-five years, Long has built up a ministry with a little charisma, some bling and a whole lotta unfounded "respect". Like loaves and fishes, the church's membership multiplied exponentially, from 300 to 30,000. And Long's arm of authority clutched at 8 board memberships (one for Emory University), and numerous awards including honors from Center for Disease Control and the National HIV/AIDS Partnership for his work in fighting the spread of HIV/AIDS (WIKIPEDIA)

(Aside: For those twenty-five years, the hypocrisy never stopped; e.g., his "work in fighting the spread of HIV/AIDS" still toed the Southern Baptist Convention line in pointedly NOT ministering to gays. This is something I've had personal experience with: as a volunteer for the AIDS Emergency Fund, I saw the result of Long's "faith-based" work, and it wasn't pretty. Let's just say that the people who came to San Francisco, were hoping that it would be better than the hell Southern Baptists were making for them while they were SICK AND DYING!! Check it out. And while you're at it, see if you can find Rick Warren's name in any list of faith-based AIDS agencies. I'm just sayin').

"Dr." "Rev." and "Bishop" are among the most automatically revered titles a person can have in America.  Eddie Long uses them with abandon: the "Dr." comes from a degree in Pastoral Ministry from the International College of Excellence. (Unfortunately, The ICE was founded by Robb Thompson, whose own "doctorate" is questionable - televangelists take care of their own, it seems). The title of "Bishop", however, is even sketchier: since the Southern Baptist Convention supposedly has no hierarchy other than deacon and pastor, it's hard to find out WHO made him "Bishop." If James Manning of ATLAH Ministries* could give himself a doctorate, why not a title of "Bishop" for Long? In addition: the title of "Bishop" connotes authority of a group of ministers and churches. Which local churches have given pastoral sway to Long? 

This entire scenario may yet prove to people that in the realm of American religion, titles are almost worthless and scrutiny is very important. The idea that one can't question "a man of God," no longer holds true. America should have learned its lesson with Bakker, Swaggart, Haggard, Rekers, and all the Catholic clergy with "Fr." or "Rev." in front of their names. If Terry Jones had not an "Rev." or "Dr." (he used both) in front of his name, he might have burned a thousand Qurans with only his flock of 50 in attendance.  

But the trust in titles, the unearned respect to "men of God," is too difficult to erase. Watch the HERE video featuring unbelieving church members when questioned about Long. (NOTE: all videos of news coverage have been DISABLED for embedding and New Birth Missionary Baptist Church's website has been taken down. The ABC News item also includes pictures that Long sent to the two young men - pictures taken in his bathroom, and of course, of his muscles)

So my last question about all of this: who's to blame for this scandal? Of course, Long probably bears the brunt of it all, and the charges against him might even be a bit exaggerated. But the real blame goes to his congregation, those poor church members seemingly kept in the dark. Yes, the blame rests upon them because they had been warned about Long and the way his wealth was questioned.** Unrelated? Not really: if they had done some due diligence on his finances, they might have uncovered the "gifts" and the incomes he gave to the young men. 

It's time for people of faith not to place too much "faith" in titles.  Rooting through your pastor's past and finances is not a sin. Asking him to be accountable isn't either.

* "Dr." "Rev." James Manning is the head of the Harlem congregation who hoped Pres. Obama would die. He often calls Obama, "The Long-legged Mack Daddy." He became "born again" while serving a prison term for armed burglary. The "Seminary" he founded has one project called The Witch Doctor Project  Exposing the Magnificent Seven - Jesse Jackson, Al Sharpton, Bill Clinton, T.D. Jakes, Louis Farrakan, Don King, and Cornell West, the American witch doctors.

** Click here for a copy of the letter sent to "Bishop" Eddie Long from Senator Chuck Grassley inquiring about Long's finances.

BREAKING!! Bishop Eddie Long Now Has THIRD Lawsuit Filed Against Him!

Well, the story gets juicier and juicier or worse and worse (depending on the way you look at it).

Chronicle News:

ATLANTA — Attorneys representing two men who say a prominent pastor of a 25,000-member megachurch near Atlanta coerced them into a sexual relationship have filed a third lawsuit on behalf of another young male member of his church.

Attorney B.J. Bernstein said Wednesday the allegations in the lawsuit are similar to the previous civil complaints filed late Tuesday.

A Quick Take:

Just how many young men did "Bishop" Eddie Long have a "covenant" with? Considering his vociferous stance on same-sex marriage, this the "covenant" puts Long into the category of uber-hypocrite, doesn't it?

I'll be posting more today, so please stay tuned.

So You Think You Can Scandalize? Rightwing Christians Top Each Other With Juicy Stories in September.

Not to be outdone by Christine O'Donnell's little witchcraft escapade, The Vatican and Bishop Eddie Long have chimed in with their own scandals. 

For a change, the Vatican scandal was not about pedophilia, but about money. Specifically money LAUNDERING:

The Catholic Church has suffered yet another blow to their tarnished image, as Italian investigators seized $30 million from a Vatican bank account Tuesday, stating the action was the result of a possible money laundering scheme. The Vatican said they were “perplexed and surprised” by the subsequent investigation and seizure of a small percentage of the Church’s cash assets. Law enforcement authorities in Italy say the seizure was a precaution, as prosecutors investigate the Vatican Bank’s Director and Chairman in connection with violations of Italy’s anti-money laundering laws. While Italian authorities are not accusing the Catholic Church of directly laundering the money seized, questions have been raised as to the origin of the $30 million.

Well, those cute little Prada shoes really do cost a bundle. 

The pontiff might be breathing a sigh of relief that it was only money and not another sexual abuse case, as is the one with self-proclaimed "Bishop" Eddie Long.

Two lawsuits filed late Tuesday in DeKalb County accuse Bishop Long of inappropriate sexual relationships with two young men from his church.

Maurice Robinson and Anthony Flagg, both in their early 20's, claim in their lawsuits that, "Long utilized his spiritual authority to coerce certain young male members and employees of defendant New Birth into engaging in sexual acts and relationships."

The suit claims the congregation is likely unaware of the practices. But it also says church money was used to foster the relationships.

Robinson, in his suit contends Long used, "monetary funds from the accounts of defendant New Birth to entice the (young men) with cars, clothes, jewelry, and electronics.

God, Vetting and Wikipedia

The systemic problem of titles and their automatic reverence is one that is rife in Long's group. Looking back into Long's life takes a suspension of belief: the title of "Bishop" is self-administered since Baptists do not recognize hierarchy in clergy. And while Long's Master of Divinity degree from Interdenominational Theological Center is valid, his PhD in Pastoral Ministry from the International College of Excellence is suspicious: the ICE is accredited by Accrediting Commission Internationalwhich is NOT recognized by the Department of Education.

Long's "prosperity gospel" gave root to an overblown image complete with fancy cars, diamond rings and a luxury estate.

And because of his "Bishop-ness", Long got away with financial scandal:

On August 28, 2005 the Atlanta Journal-Constitution printed a front page spread accusing Long of mishandling funds that were funneled through a charity started by Long. The article reports that from 1997-2000, the non-profit charity, Bishop Eddie Long Ministries Inc., provided him with at least $3.07 million in salary, benefits and the use of property.^[2] Long contended that the charity did not solicit donations from members but instead gained its income from royalties, speaking fees and several large donations.^[3]

 OK, kids, stay tuned!!

Values Voter Summit: O'Donnell, Fischer, and The Usual Panoply of Clowns

"Vetting" Is A Dirty Word

It all started with Sarah Palin, I think. One wonders what the McCain campaign thought of the woman as they asked her questions. Actually, one wonders whether or not they asked her any questions at all.  Of course, desperation grabs at anything that looks good on the surface, and on the surface, Palin looked very good. Besides, the Republican Party had not bothered to groom anyone like Palin and they discovered too late that their base wanted new blood. They also followed one of the primary dictates of the Christian Right: if they say that they're Christian and pro-life, refer to God enough times and hate the Left with a ferver that borders on paranoia, then they're a fit warrior in the culture wars. Palin looked right and sounded right, therefore she was right. 

The problem with those dictates: they're the basis of  good, entertaining comedy. And the thing that a political party has too much of is comedy...and the clowns that perpetuate it.

The Values Voter Summit might be looked upon as an assemblage of clowns trying to look indignant at the way the country is being run. At best, it is a group of our country's highest ranking, most vocal, most self-righteously arrogant dullards. At worst, it is a group that hopes to spread self-righteous tyranny. They have recently taken on the mantle of "Social Conservatives" since the terms "Christian Right" or "Religious Right" have had some negative connotations. But that term, however, has been overshadowed by the efforts of some to declare that the United States is a "Christian Nation" and there have been rumblings from them of a "Christian ONLY Nation". No matter what they call themselves, they are evolving into what Sinclair Lewis warned us about: "When fascism comes to America it will be wrapped in a flag and carrying a cross." 

The much-trumpeted Summit is sponsored by Tony Perkins and his Family Research Council. It serves as the pinacle of his career as a lobbyist for the Christian Right. And since his only boss is the venerable James Dobson, Perkins takes it upon himself to rally his culture war troops once a year to spout anger and revenge against liberals, moderates, atheists, homosexuals, unions, illegal immigrants, progressive churches and non-Christians.  Put another way: "social justice" is not on the program. 

This last Summit (Sept. 16-19 in D.C.) was, (as usual) entertaining, regaling the rest of the country with its bloviators, tiresome buzz-words, demonizations and pronouncements which eluded critical thinking. The speakers and awardees were carbon copies of last year's Summit with the exceptions that Senate candidate Christine O'Donnell substituted for Carrie Prejean and Bryan Fischer substituted for just about every hate group in the country. And among the likes of Mike Huckabee, Michele Bachmann, Rick Santorum, and Gary Bauer was Prof. Dr. Ergun Caner, the Muslim-turned-Christian impersonator, which proves that the Summit coordinators believed in forgiveness, if not sagacity. 

And the stars, Fischer and O'Donnell,  proved that the dictates of the Christian Right were strongly adhered to (esp. in the case of O'Donnell, but more about that later). 

Bryan Fischer exuded confidence - slightly subdued - while he quoted scripture, compared  the Biblical Joshua to George Washington, said that Christians who don't vote would be giving the country over to pagans and atheists, condemned politicians who supported same-sex marriages, civil unions or even domestic partnerships as evil and posited "the involuntary transfer of resources" (taxing the rich) as "theft." Everything to Fischer was (and always is, in his radiocasts) black and white, good or bad. Nothing was nuanced. Nuance takes a commitment to reason. And if there's anything Fischer is not committed to, it's reason. But while hardcore conservatives questioned the wisdom of putting Fischer on the stage,  he nonetheless elicited applause with his hatred cloaked as bona fide fact and his eschatology as that put forth by the finest Biblical scholar.

Christine O'Donnell's speech was not nuanced either. Oh, it contained the rather pointless "This is OUR country" phrase that will doubtless go down in the annals of the Summit as a "turning point" (whatever that might be). Her pre-witchcraft moments were about as pithy as a sledge hammer while she tried to convince people that she was serious about God, love of country and anything else that could rally them. 

If the choice of Sarah Palin by Republicans was the first instance of bad Republican vetting, and Carrie Prejean was the mistake of the Christian Right, then O'Donnell is certainly the "oh, sh*t!" of the Tea Party movement. A former campaign manager called her a "fraud," and now she is being charged by an ethics watchdog group of embezzling $20,000 in campaign funds. What's more shocking, however, is the numbers of people in Delaware who voted for her without knowing some of her "principles":

Christine O’Donnell led a campaign against masturbation, claiming it is a form of adultery.

and...

... warned coed dorm rooms would lead to ‘orgy rooms.’

... wanted to stop the ‘whole country from having sex.’

... believed that spouses who have been cheated on possess compromised ‘purity.’  

... believed contraception is ‘anti-human.’  

... claimed abstinence-only education has been an ‘incredible success.’  

... excused gay bashing as ‘kids being kids.’

... warned about mice with ‘fully functioning human brains.’ 

... warned that former President Clinton hosting a TV show would be a ‘threat to our national security.’  

All of these last-minute in sights to O'Donnell beg the question: should the people who voted for Christine O'Donnell be voting at all? Voting is not just a right, but an act of responsibility. Casting a ballot for someone you do not know about is irresponsible. In addition, putting up a front (in this case, exposure at the Values Voter Summit) for a candidate simply because she said "God" so many times before, is not only irresponsible, but downright deceptive.

Conclusion: The Summit As Laugh Fest

Well-entertained audiences will tell you that frightened clowns are the funniest: we are delighted when one clown is running for fear of being sprayed by seltzer water or being hit by a pie in the face. And so it was at the Summit: Fischer, Perkins, O'Donnell, Bauer, Schlafly all regaled us with their fears, even in the Summit's "serious" panels, e.g. HOW TO REACH THE ONLINE GENERATION (WITHOUT LOSING YOUR SOUL) or SOCIAL JUSTICE: AM I MY BROTHER'S KEEPER? and the most fearful of all:  THE REAL COST OF ILLEGAL IMMIGRATION.

The Summit so entertained the rest of the country, that it had us clamoring for more, we want more Fischers, O'Donnells, Angles, Bachmanns and Palins. What matters that they make any headway into our secular system, eventually we will be laughing too hard to vote for them.

One comment about the Summit, the Republican party and the Tea Party that was particularly apt: 

"...if you won’t vet your candidates, send them to Jerry Springer so that the audience can vet them, and the others, send them to rehab and a priest."

 

America As A Hostage To Stupidity

                          

If one thing came out of the Quran-burning threat of "Pastor" Terry Jones, it's that America looked the fool for kowtowing to the machinations of an ignorant snake oil salesman. Some people might say that the media is to blame, but in this case, demonizing the messenger comes a little too late: the warning was announced months ago and very few paid attention. It was General Petraeus' outspoken concern that made the eyes of America focus on Jones. Then Terry Jones made his mark, not caring about American troops in Afghanistan, nor condemnation by his "peers" nor even about any spiritual message he so disingenuously (and quite ineptly) conveyed. By Sept. 7th, it was all done. He was in the history books; and since thousands of people had actually given their support, (in the form of  Qurans to burn) he knew he'd garnered more followers than he'd ever dreamed of. Terry Jones realized power, the kind of power he'd craved all his life. The entire United States of America was BEGGING him not to do something, and he so kindly acquiesced to its entreaties, but only after it acquiesced to his demands. For several days, he had soldiers' lives in his hands. The power boggles the mind.

Perhaps it's the combination of media and "God God God" "Bible Bible Bible" "Send Money" that is irresistible to American Christians. Perhaps it's the "Rev." or "Dr." that Jones put in front of his name (the latter just now being investigated both here and abroad). Maybe it was Jones' charisma (albeit a bit dull to those having an I.Q. above that of a dead flashlight battery) Or maybe, just maybe, it's that Jones had provided a form of entertainment to his little "flock" and to the rest of the nation. After all, America's foremost God-given birthright is ... to be entertained. Jones' escapade gave the public the same kind of thrill as would the latest Armageddon flick. He had all of us looking at our calendars and ticking off the hours.

Yet Terry Jones must have done something right. After all, his mentor, Fred Phelps, has been apoplectic ever since his acolyte received the kind of attention deemed only for his holiness, the God-Hates-Fags Phenomenon. You could say that to cause riots in the streets of foreign countries takes a certain savoir faire. And if Fred Phelps lacks anything, it's savoir faire. By playing for time, Jones had accomplished some bloodshed BEFORE he made his off-again-on-again pronouncements: dozens of people had been hurt in the ensuing riots. Of course, he prayed for them all to be healed, such is the way of the charismatic form of religion.

As anti-heroes go, Jones will fare better than Phelps because, in the end, he seemed to be reasonable and his (steadily increasing) flock will point him out as a stalwart, rather than just a wart on the face of today's Christianity.

But for all of it's looking the fool, we have to fear for an America where the Phelps' and the Jones' have any followers at all: does anyone want to actually MEET any of their followers? Only the bravest journalist would actually venture into their territories, intellectual black holes sucking out their entire I.Q. and journalistic integrity in an instant.*

And beyond the Phelpses and the Joneses, we have Inerrantists (the Bible is totally iwithout error), Fundamentalists (Bible "inspired"or maybe just faxed by God),  Geocentrists (the Church was right and Galileo was wrong), Christian Reconstructionists (government by the the Bible, for the Bible, and with the Bible), Dominionists (Christians Rule), Young Earthers (Creationism-to-the-max), Premillenialists (the Rapture is coming soon), snake handlers, Lou Engle, Sharron Angle, Rod Parsley, Pat Robertson, David Barton, Glenn Beck, Bryan Fischer, and Michele Bachmann, to name but a very few. 

And along with these people we have institutions like the Creation Museum.

From The Creation Museum:

The themes of the exhibits resound in the theater presentations: Men in White, Six Days of Creation, The Last Adam, and Dinosaurs and Dragons. Our Special Effects Theater, complete with rumbling seats and rising mists, takes visitors on a fantastic quest to find the real purpose and meaning of life.

Each seat is a rocket launching pad in our Stargazers Planetarium. Prepare for lift-off. The digital projector showcases a spectacular gravity-defying spaceflight, a thrilling ride billions of light years away to the vast outer regions of our universe.

The contradiction is lost on those who have given up reason for belief: how can an enterprise such as the Creation Museum expect you to believe in a 6000 year-old earth and talk about "billions of light years" using the same science it rebukes?

The willingness of some Americans to accept such folly as the Creation Museum overshadows a deeper strain of stupidity if you will: the Christian Right school board. Texas school boards, in particular, have not only maximized Creationism, but they have insisted on revisionist history books and banned books they consider too radical or "activist" to even Laura Bush's consternation. Political pundits like Glenn Beck and politicians like Sharron Angle have pushed for the elimination of the federal government's Department of Education, ostensibly to save money. The possibility exists, however, that Christian Right pundits, politicians, and clergy might just feel the need to control future generations by keeping them stupid: feed them lots of religion, whitewashed history, and extreme competition, while starving them of sociology, science, the arts, and any ability to be individual or creative. Even if a place like the Creation Museum closes its doors, more dinosaurs might wind up sporting saddles in the future. 

This last "conspiracy," if you will, is not as far fetched as it seems on the surface: inroads into Africa (particularly Uganda, Rwanda and Zimbabwe) have shown us what they can do to a poverty-stricken and backward area of the globe. Sending zealots like Lou Engle to prophesy and announce the coming of anointed ones like Scott Lively to "pagan" countries is working: if they can get heads of state and their legislatures to heed their proselytizing and "advice," the spread of the Christian Right's politicized religion will be much easier than it has been here in the U.S. Yet the audacity of the Christian Right passing off people as "experts (like George Rekers, David Barton and Scott Lively) and by allowing their own fringe to go on uncensored proves that they still believe a viable portion of America is susceptible to anything they proffer as truth and authority. They are still making inroads. And as with Terry Jones' power, it boggles the mind.

                            

* The stalwart rightwing John Stossel interviewed the Phelps clan once, and even he had to conclude that they were stupifyingly dogmatic, and bemoaned the fact that their children were being taught to hate just about everyone outside of the family. 

Rules From The Manual of Phelpsian Publicity Followed By Reverend Terry Jones

He Got What He Wanted From Taking 

The Fabulous Fred Phelps Course

In Demagoguery And Publicity

UPDATE (2:15PM - PDT) The Reverend Terry Jones has just called off his "International Burn A Koran Day". Millions of people are relieved. Now, of course, pundits and preachers will keep him in the news for at least the next several days. Until he comes up with another "stunt" (as the President called it). 

UPDATE (7:15pm - PDT) The "stunt" might be on again, so Jones is  saying that it has been "suspended." It seems that he assumed he would be flown over to New York for a confab with Imam Feisal Abdul Rauf. He assumed wrong.

The analysis of this "stunt" should begin with comparisons to that master of insult and public outrage, Fed Phelps. And the parallels of Rev. Terry Jones To Fred Phelps are, well, scary: it's already been documented that Jones is, in a way, a student of Phelps. And now that his exploits in Germany have become national news fodder, Jones has the same international cache of a religious martinet and demigod that Phelps has cultivated all these years. And some say the pupil might have outdistanced his trainer:

The Pitch:

Civil War-mustachioed Florida preacher man Terry Jones backed off his plans to burn the Islamic religious text on Saturday. So, after calling out Jones for stealing their church's 2008 attention-grabbing ploy, Phelps-Roper and her kin are picking up where Jones left off.



"The false prophet Terry Jones caved--like all false prophets do, and like we told you he would," Phelps-Roper bragged.

Some might argue that Jones still has a way to go in emulating Phelps, but let's face it: Jones definitely got what he wanted - PUBLICITY. For better or worse, his number of followers has grown exponentially and some are even calling him a "hero." He's solidified his base. 

He'll probably get a book deal.

So what are some of the rules/advisories that Jones cadged from Phelps? I've laid out the obvious ones.

From The Manual Of Phelpsian Publicity:

1. Plan an outrageously insulting event, like book burning or protesting at military funerals.

2. Make people angry enough for them to do most of the publicity work for you. Having religious leaders scorn you is OK, but get some celebrities, too. Angelina Jolie, for example.

3. Site all sorts of insane reasons for your actions, but always end up blaming God. That's easily done by putting words in God's mouth, like "God hates fags."

4. Be consistent. When you've got a good thing going, keep doing it the same way all the time. It's called "branding."

5. Make sure those apostate relatives don't get to the media before you do, if at all. They tend to spoil things. If they say that you beat them when they were kids, tell the media that they're lying, shake your head and tell them how sad you are that your children have been led astray.

6. Memorize no more than a dozen passages of scripture that support you and your actions. Anything more is unnecessary. If you get hit with a difficult question, just make something up and cite an obscure book of the Bible like Hosea. Who reads the Bible anyway?

7. Be proud of your ignorance. When asked a complicated question, hold your head up high and tell them that the Lord hasn't given you an answer to that one...yet.

8. Use your family at all times, except, of course, the ones who've run away.

9. Maintain your core group in a compound. And since America always strains to believe the little guy, it's OK if the compound is made up of small houses or trailers. Million-dollar estates tend to put people off.

10. Have a phobia, any kind of phobia. America's full of phobias. Find one and stick with it.

11. Get ostracized  by another country. This is always good publicity - it shows that people think you have influence.

And last: 

12. Keep repeating all of the above until you reach the Supreme Court.

America's Got Hypocrisy: Who's The Best At Screaming TOLERANCE! Loud Enough?

In a way, Terry Jones, the Florida Pastor of a pitiful 50-member congregation, has done a big favor to progressives everywhere: his Quran-burning pledge has rooted out the hypocrites and reinforced our views of the hardcore bigots. Many of the people who have made a cottage industry out of demonizing Muslims and Islam are competing with each other to see who can shout "tolerance" "brotherly love" "American values" and "Christian" while vilifying Jones as "un-Christian" "contemptible" "disgusting" and "bainless."

It should come as no surprise that the loudest voices come from the most bloviating bunch of bigots, the Southern Baptist Convention. Leading the pack to give the affair a slight down-home ambience was Greg Magruder, senior pastor of Parkview Baptist Church in Gainesville. He set the tone for the rest in giving the most whitewashed (pun intended) portrait of Southern Baptists:

Magruder, whose church is aligned with both the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship and Southern Baptist Convention, said Baptists have historically stood for religious freedom for everyone.

"Therefore, I stand with my Muslim, Jewish and Christian friends here today and plead on the basis of all our sacred texts that the Gainesville community commit to love God, love your neighbor and promote religious liberty for all," Magruder said at the Sept. 2 press conference. "Do unto others as you would have others do unto you." 

Have you stopped laughing yet? Who can forget the famous statement made by then-president Bailey Smith: "God Almighty Does Not Hear The Prayers Of A Jew"!! And the anti-Muslim statements made by some of your top 10 favorites make any statement of brotherly love look as if it must be coming from Mars:

Jerry Falwell on 60 Minutes:  “I think Muhammad was a terrorist."

Pat Robertson: "Islam wants to take over the world and is not a religion of peace."

Franklin Graham: "an evil and wicked religion." 

And let's not forget Rod Parsley's famous statement that America was created "to destroy Islam.

Of course, that was then and this is now:

Chuck Colson: "I find Jones’s plan to burn the Koran foolish and contemptible,"

Rev. Richard Cizik of New Evangelical Partnership: "I say, 'Shame on you,'"

John Hagee:  in a letter to Jones dated Sept. 7, : "What you propose to do is an absolute violation of to the Bible." 

Richard Land, director of the Southern Baptist Convention's Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission: "I think it is appalling, disgusting, and brainless."

Pat Robertson: "This guy is looking for attention. He's looking for publicity. … I think it's horrible what this guy is doing."

 

Hey, the fun's just starting and the bandwagon is immense. 

But the show might have a few laggards and "no-shows." Some truly hardcore Muslim-haters are having a hard time making up their minds on how to approach this situation: as of this writing there is no word from Rod Parsley, Franklin Graham, Lou Engle, Tony Perkins, and Ken Copeland to name a few. That arbiter of everything moral (therefore chief Muslim-hater) Bryan Fischer, has chimed-in in his usual backhanded way:

But the response to Rev. Jones' plan proves something we have been saying from the beginning: Islam is a religion of violence, not a religion of peace.

There is irony in that perhaps the best, most heartfelt and genuine contribution to the criticism of  Jones and the affair comes from Richard Eubank, leader of the VFW:

 The Raw Story:

"There is nothing to be gained and everything to lose from this selfish act. Our war is against a small number of religious extremists who kill indiscriminately and without remorse. Let's not allow an equally small number of religious extremists in America to widen the war." 

While I'm sure Mr. Eubank defines Terry Jones and his "flock" of sheep-like bigots as a "small number" we should perhaps include in that group the hyper-hypocrites who have demonized Islam while extolling the virtues of having freedom of religion.

UPDATE: Pastor Jones has a lot more in common with Fred Phelps than when people first started to compare the two. So stay tuned - there's a lot more to this show!