Tag Archives: Baptist

December 26, 2012 · 7:36 PM

Fox News Lies To It’s Gullible (Low-information) Readers Once Again

Once again, Fox News via Fox News Nation has blatantly lied and it seems like their hoping their readership don’t notice the lie:

Americablog

When’s the last time you met a gay-hating, Obama-hating (they think he’s literally the anti-Christ), Muslim-hating, Catholic-hating (conservative Baptists think Catholics worship Satan) evangelical Baptist church that was full of Democrats?  Oh yeah, they also really really don’t like Jews.  Well, if you believe Fox News (your first mistake), Fred Phelps’ Westboro Baptist Church is really a bunch of liberals.  Albeit, liberals who hate gays, Obama, Muslims, Jews and have the same view of Catholics as the Republican-loving religious right.

Other than that, very liberal.

This story is a perfect example of why Fox News is not a “news” network, but rather, is little more than a propaganda arm of the Republican party.  And the far right wing of the GOP, at that.

As you may know, the evangelical anti-gay activists at the Westboro Baptist Church in Kansas regularly picket the funerals of gay people.  They’re the kind folks who operate the “God Hates Fags” Web site (those are also generally the type of signs they hold at their protests).  Over the last several years they’ve started to picket the funerals of non-gay people as well, including US service members, though it’s not entirely clear why, other than as a means of getting attention.

Well, this time they’re picketing the funeral of the dead children in Newtown, Connecticut.  Anonymous hacked the church’s Web site after the protests were announced, and it’s still rather difficult to pull the site up – I was finally able to get to their home page: GodHatesFags.com.  Here it is, in all of its “left wing” glory:

God Hates Fags home page

Hmm… Let’s see. The Democratic party is on the record supporting gay marriage. The Republican party is on the record opposing gay marriage. And the Baptist “God Hates Fags” church is virulently opposed to gay marriage. Let’s all guess which political party is more like to garner their sympathies.  But that didn’t stop Fox News.  Fox thrives on the fact that their viewers are dumb, unaware of the facts, and awfully gullible.  Nothing better than a gullible blank slate if you’re trying to peddle lies.  So here is how Fox News describes Phelps’ church when it was protesting the funerals of the children mass-murdered by a gun nut in Newtown, Connecticut (check the description under the photo):

Fox News says Fred Phelps is "left wing"

Did you catch that?

“Bikers turn out to protect Newtown mourners from left-wing Westboro cult”

Left-wing Westboro cult.

Uh huh.

This is how Fox News operates.  You can argue that MSNBC has a bias, and the network does – now, and in response to Fox.  But while MSNBC has a liberal bias, Fox just lies.

Now, as Kerry Lauerman points out in this Mother Jones piece from 1999, Fred Phelps was a Democrat before he went bonkers over 20 years ago.  Yeah, and I was a Republican back then as well.  I’m not a Republican now.  And it would be factually incorrect to call AMERICAblog a “right-wing Web site” because its founder was a Republican over twenty years ago before his political views shifted markedly.  Same goes for Fred Phelps, whowas a Democrat over twenty years ago, before he ventured into anti-gay crazyland, but then turned on Democrats when he saw the party embracing gays in the 1992 presidential election.  That’s when Phelps’ anti-gay animus exploded.

But don’t tell that to Fox News.  Fox News isn’t about nuance. Fox News isn’t about the truth.  Fox News is the propaganda wing of the Republican party, and truth isn’t their goal.  Electing Republicans is their goal.  At all costs.  That’s why their viewers are routinely found to be the most uninformed of any, and why studies have found that you’ll be more informed on the issues if you simply don’t watch Fox News.

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June 12, 2012 · 4:04 PM

Dallas Pastor Frederick Haynes III Defends Obama’s Declaration For Marriage Equality

Frederick Haynes

Lawrence O’Donnell showed this video on his show last.  O’Donnell was contrasting Terry Jones, who hung the President’s image in effigy to Pastor Frederick Haynes who simply wanted to educate his congregation.

I was absolutely floored by this man’s passion on the subject of marriage equality and how members of the Church slowly came around to understanding what Dr. Haynes was saying.

In the end they gave him thunderous applause as a sign of approval

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January 20, 2011 · 12:58 AM

Alabama: Governor Apologizes for Excluding Non-Christians

On Tuesday Think Progress wrote this about Alabama Governor Robert Bentley:

Hours after his swearing-in on Monday, Alabama Gov. Robert Bentley (R) spoke at the Dexter Avenue King Memorial Baptist Church in Montgomery, AL in honor of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Dr. King once served as “a pastor at the church during the 1955 Montgomery Bus Boycott.” But rather than channel the inclusive message of Dr. King, this dermatologist-turned-governor drove a religious wedge between his constituents. According to Bentley, if Alabamans and he “don’t have the same daddy” in Jesus Christ, then “we’re not brothers and sisters.”

The New York Times

Gov. Robert Bentley apologized Wednesday for his inauguration day remarks about only Christians being his brothers and sisters and said he would work for people of all faiths. Mr. Bentley said he was speaking as an evangelical Christian to fellow Baptists when he made the comments from a church pulpit during a Martin Luther King Day event. “If anyone from other religions felt disenfranchised by the language, I want to say I am sorry,” he said. Governor Bentley, a Republican, told the church crowd just moments into his new administration: “Anybody here today who has not accepted Jesus Christ as their savior, I’m telling you, you’re not my brother and you’re not my sister, and I want to be your brother.”

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October 5, 2010 · 1:52 AM

The Grio: New Birth hears no evil, sees no evil in Bishop Long sex scandal

I simply chose to reserve judgment on this matter until all the facts are out.

The Grio

Everything “seemed” to be back to normal at New Birth Missionary Baptist Church for the first Sunday in October. Like every Sabbath — when there’s no sex scandal rocking the 25,000 member mega-church — the parking lot is always full and it takes forever to get in and out of the traffic near the suburban Atlanta church.

No change in the amen corner either. The saints, sinners, the congregants were all there cheering on their fearless leader, the Rev. Eddie Long, who calls himself a bishop. I have never quite understood how one becomes or is elevated to a bishop in a Baptist church, since Baptists do not operate under a diocesan system.

“Seemed” to be back to normal, seems the best way to describe New Birth this week in that all too often things rarely are as they seem.

Webster defines the word seem two ways: 1: to appear to the observation or understanding; 2: to give the impression of being.

So on communion Sunday New Birth gave the impression of being, well, normal. Long’s sermon did not address the storm in which he, and by extension his flock is embroiled. He made no references to the lawsuits accusing him of sexual coercion by four young men. He did say that “in times of challenge, there are several things that come out. Your faith will be strengthened or weakened, my faith is being strengthened.” He also said he would not be “pulled into a street fight.”

But in the background, it’s hard to believe anything is normal at the church. Church lawyers continue to release public statements chastising the young men’s legal effort, yet there still has been no all-out denial by Long himself. The church has hired a private investigator to help it make its case. If there is no wrongdoing, why do you need a Magnum P.I.? And, there is still the possibility that other young men could come forward with similar stories.

What continues to be so troubling is that no one has asked the simple question: “What if the young men are telling the truth?”

What if they are telling the truth? Then what?

Even the greatest skeptic would have to wonder how could four young men, in their teens at the time, allege the sexual escapades happened, make up all these gory details. All of it? Really? The fourth young man, from Long’s satellite church in Charlotte, N.C. reportedly, did not even know the other plaintiffs, but his allegations are almost identical to the other three.

Continue reading…

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October 4, 2010 · 2:34 AM

Eddie Long, Atlanta Bishop Accused Of Sexually Abusing Young Men, Says He’s Not Going Anywhere

Huffington Post

A megachurch pastor accused of luring four young men into sexual relationships said Sunday that he won’t be pulled into a street fight over the allegations and vowed that his faith has been strengthened.

Bishop Eddie Long did not directly mention the accusations to thousands of cheering supporters during services at New Birth Missionary Baptist Church in suburban Lithonia. But his remarks seemed directly addressed to his accusers.

“In times of challenge, there are several things that come out. Your faith will be strengthened or weakened,” he said, to growing applause. “My faith is being strengthened.”

Long told supporters at New Birth Missionary Baptist Church that he is “not going to be pulled into a street fight” and that he doesn’t hate anyone. But he directed his listeners to turn to a passage in the Book of Job that read: “Those who hate you will be clothed with shame, and the tent of the wicked will be no more.”

As his devoted flock cheered, Long joked that he accidentally led them to the wrong page. “That was the Holy Ghost,” he said, flashing a smile as the sanctuary echoed with laughter.

Long’s more than hour-long sermon was greeted with thunderous applause and adoration. Several thousand parishioners flocked to the suburban Atlanta complex for the 8 a.m. service, and cars snaked in traffic for miles after it was over.

Long became one of the nation’s most powerful church leaders over the past two decades, transforming a suburban Atlanta congregation of 150 into a powerhouse of 25,000 members that includes high-profile athletes, entertainers and politicians.

The bishop is a father of four who has been an outspoken opponent of gay marriage and whose church has counseled gay members to become straight. But the TV preacher’s empire was threatened last month when the four men filed a civil lawsuit claiming Long abused his spiritual authority to lure them into a sexual relationship.

Two of the young men say he targeted them after they enrolled in the church’s LongFellows Youth Academy, a program that taught teens about sexual, physical and financial discipline. The other two – one of whom attended a satellite church in Charlotte, N.C. – have made similar claims.

The men say they were 17 or 18 when the relationships began. Local and state authorities have declined to investigate because Georgia’s age of consent is 16.

Long has not addressed the accusations directly, but promised Sunday that he would not let his legal troubles prevent him or his church from doing its work.

“I ain’t going to stop living,” he said amid more applause.

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September 29, 2010 · 1:40 AM

Bishop Eddie Long’s Followers Will Stay True

Some may not appreciate the tone of Black Voices blogger Paul Shepard in this article.  However, someone has to be the grown-up in the crowd and spell out the situation for what it is.  It appears Mr. Shepard has decided to take that role.

For those who are steadfast supporters of Bishop Eddie Long, I hope you understand that not everyone out there carries the support for the Bishop, as you do.  For those of you who have your doubts, this piece by Mr. Shepard may help you go in either direction.

Black Voices’ Black Spin – Paul Shepard 

It should surprise no one that many followers of disgraced church leader Bishop Eddie Long will stand by his side despite allegations that the anti-gay rights preacher lured four young men into sexual romps.

We watched Jimmy Swaggart weep, we watched Jim Baker apologize and we watched their flock stand at their side despite admissions that they did exactly what they preached against to their congregation.

So if you are waiting for followers at the suburban Atlanta New Birth Missionary Baptist Church to rebel against a leader who appears to have engaged in the most hypocritical behavior possible, you may have a long time to tarry.

First of all, none of the charges against Long have been proven. At this point, it’s his word against those of the four young men.

Second, church is all about redemption. No matter the crime or transgression, a sinner is supposed to always be able to find refuge in the church, and that’s exactly what Long needs.

It is interesting that during his first public comments on the scandal, Long never exactly denied the charges. He simply said he was not the man who was being characterized in the news media.

He also added that he was going to fight the charges that he abused his “spiritual authority.”

Parsing the bishop’s words might not provide an accurate picture of what is going on in this messy case of he said.

All I know is that I would have a much more sympathetic view of Bishop Eddie Long had he not been such an anti-gay crusader, leading marches against gay rights legislation and talking down the gay lifestyle at every opportunity.

But even if Bishop Long is revealed to have taken advantage of his authority as church leader with any of these four men, I’m sure he will continue to enjoy huge popularity and influence if he just says he’s sorry.

Just ask Jimmy Swaggart.

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September 22, 2010 · 4:51 AM

Eddie Long, Atlanta Bishop, Accused Of Sexual Abuse By Male Parishioners (Updated)

My daughter-in-law is one of those who adamantly refuses to believe that this man could do ANYTHING wrong.  On the other hand, I always imagined him to be a latent womanizer.   Whatever his vice, I’m afraid I didn’t believe he was a true “man of the cloth”.

Once again, this is why Ghandi’s quote rings so true with me and my belief system:

“I like your Christ, I do not like your Christians. Your Christians are so unlike your Christ”

My sentiments, exactly.  Studying and researching about the “historic Jesus” is fascinating, but espousing to ANY organized religion is simply not for me.

9-22-2010 UPDATE:  I want to say this about my above opinion on this issue:  Bishop Eddie Long is innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.  I think my earlier post didn’t take that into consideration when I voiced my opinion.  For that, I apologize to Bishop Long and his family for my hasty comments.  I truly hope that these allegations are not true and that the Bishop will be exonerated.

Huffington Post

ATLANTA — Two men have filed a lawsuit accusing Bishop Eddie Long of exploiting his role as pastor of an Atlanta-area megachurch to coerce them into sexual relationships when they were young members of his congregation.

Lawyers for the men, now 20 and 21, say they filed the lawsuit on Tuesday in DeKalb County Court. The Associated Press generally does not identify people who say they were victims of sexual impropriety.

Craig Gillen, Long’s attorney, said Tuesday the pastor “categorically denies the allegations.”

“We find it unfortunate that these two young men would take this course of action,” Gillen said, adding that Long had not yet been served with copies of the lawsuits.

The men were 17- and 18-year-old members of Long’s New Birth Missionary Baptist Church in Lithonia, when they say Long abused his spiritual authority to seduce them with with cars, money, clothes, jewelry, international trips and access to celebrities.

B.J. Bernstein, an attorney representing the plaintiffs, said that when the relationships started, the plaintiffs were past the legal age of consent in Georgia, which is 15.

“Defendant Long has utilized his spiritual authority to coerce certain young male members … into engaging in sexual acts and relationships for his own personal sexual gratification,” the lawsuits read.

When asked about a possible motive for the accusations, Gillen referred to a break-in at Long’s office in June.

Bergstein said one of the plaintiffs is facing a criminal burglary charge in the incident. She said the break-in was a way of lashing out at Long.

Bernstein said she contacted the U.S. Attorney’s Office earlier this month when she became aware of the young men’s allegations. She did not know what action, if any, the agency planned to take.

Orzy Theus, a spokesman for the DeKalb County district attorney’s office, said she was not aware on Tuesday of an investigation in that office related to the allegations.

Long was appointed pastor of New Birth in 1987. Then, the church had about 150 members. Less than four years later, the church had grown to more than 8,000 members, many of whom reside in DeKalb County, home to many affluent African-Americans. Athletes and entertainers claim membership at the church, and among its prominent clergy is the Rev. Bernice King, the youngest daughter of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.

Today, New Birth sits on 250 acres and has more than 25,000 members, a $50 million, 10,000-seat cathedral and more than 40 ministries – including the Longfellows Youth Academy, a tuition-based program for young men 13 to 18.


http://www.newbirth.org

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