Bishop Eddie Long Apologizes to the Jews for Being “Kinged”

February 8, 2012 by Kellie Williams in Latest News with 2 Comments

Last week, we showed a video of Bishop Eddie Long being “kinged” at his church by guest speaker Rabbi Ralph Messer. Apparently, Long received negative backlash from the Jewish community and it’s practitioners. Bill Nigut, Southeast Regional Director of the Anti-Defamation League, said he was “horrified” by the ceremony and adds that,

“For the ADL it’s a real wake up call that a lot of people do not understand our liturgies and practices. Guys like Messer are troubling to us because they appropriate real ritual or in this case, make one up.”

Associate professor of Biblical Studies at Interdenominational Theological center, Jamal-Dominique Hopkins said the service was, “something I’ve never seen or read within the Judeo-Christian tradition.” The Union of Messianic Jewish Congregations and the Messianic Jewish Alliance of America released a joint statement reading,

“Messer is not recognized by any major branch of Messianic Judaism and, under the standards of UMJC and MJAA, is not even considered part of our community let alone a rabbi. He is operating entirely outside the mainstream Messianic Jewish community.”

Yikes! Talk about the cold shoulder! Long has since apologized in a letter to Nigut saying,

“The ceremony was not my suggestion, nor was it my intent to participate in any ritual that is offensive in any manner to the Jewish community…[and denounced] any action that depicts me as a king, for I am merely a servant of the Lord.”

Meanwhile, Messer (who did the ‘kinging’, per say) released his own statement also denouncing the king appointment saying the service,