Atlanta Jews Outraged, Horrified By Preacher's Ceremony Using Holy Torah

Atlanta, GA - Jewish leaders are criticizing a ceremony that involved a controversial megachurch leader being wrapped in a religious scroll and exalted as a “king” to the applause of his parishioners.

The video from a service last Sunday at New Birth Missionary Baptist Church shows Ralph Messer, a Messianic preacher, instructing two men to slowly wrap Bishop Eddie Long in a large scroll that’s purported to be the Torah.

“It doesn’t matter where you go, how you try to attack him. He’s sealed,” Messer proclaims, before the scroll is opened to reveal a teary-eyed Long. Moments later, Long was seated in a plush chair, covered in a prayer shawl while holding the sacred scroll and lifted by four men.

“He now is raised up from a commoner to a kingship,” Messer proclaims, as the men walk Long’s seat around an adoring crowd.

The Torah is one of Judaism’s most sacred objects and Jewish groups said the notion that it was used in a ceremony at the church was offensive.

The notion that he wraps Bishop Long in a Torah is horrifying simply because it’s completely inappropriate. It’s an awful way to use the Torah,” said Bill Nigut of the Anti-Defamation League. “And it doesn’t in any way approximate any Jewish ritual.”

Long was accused of sexual misconduct in September 2010 by four male former church members who accused him of abusing his spiritual authority. He settled out of court in May for an undisclosed amount.

He took a leave of absence last year to deal with his divorce and other personal issues, but returned to the pulpit in January.

The video, which was recorded Sunday, shows Long sitting on a chair under a spotlight as Messer repeatedly chants, “It’s a new birth.” The camera pans to congregation members, who cheer.

New Birth Missionary Baptist Church and Messer did not immediately return calls for comment. In a statement released to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Messer said lifting the preacher on the chair was a way to honor him.

My message was about restoring a man and to encourage his walk in the Lord,” Messer said in the statement. “It was not to make Bishop Eddie L. Long a king.”