ISSUES: Eddie Long: Confused Hypocrite?

There are a lot of ironies in Bishop Eddie Long’s sex scandal. For example, in his sermon Sunday, Long said he feels “like David against Goliath.” Really? On the one side we have one of the most powerful clerics in America, and on the other four allegedly abused young men. “As far as I know, none of the accusers is driven around in a Bentley,” Robinson observes in the Washington Post. “I’m pretty sure the preacher has that whole David-Goliath thing backward.”

Of course, the big irony is that Long preaches intolerance towards homosexuals, and is now accused of homosexuality himself. “I’m guessing that maybe Long has some questions of identity to grapple with,” Robinson says. He should embrace them. The black church has long needed to face its homophobia. “Nothing he learns about himself can negate all the good works he has done. … Maybe he could forgive himself. Then maybe he could forgive all the gays and lesbians he so coldly condemns.”