The Definition of Megalomania

Jim Burroway

February 3rd, 2012

From Webster’s:

1: a mania for great or grandiose performance
2: a delusional mental disorder that is marked by feelings of personal omnipotence and grandeur

Webster’s definition is insufficient to diagnose Atlanta’s Bishop Eddie Long, so I will leave the determination of whether he suffers from a mental disorder to those who have the credentials to do so. But I do think this should at least provide sufficient illustration for the dictionary’s definition of the word:

For his Jan. 29th service at New Birth Missionary Baptist Church, where he took a leave of absence late last year in the wake of child molestation allegations, Bishop Long featured a Rabbi, Ralph Messer, who spoke at length about why Long is a “king.” Presenting what he claimed were 300-year-old sacred scrolls discovered some 70 years ago outside a concentration camp in Germany, Messer pronounced Eddie Long as king in “God’s government.”

Long has been crowned Atlanta’s Sun Myung Moon.

UPDATE via Joe.My.God: I wonder if Rabbi Messer knows this guy.

Bernie

February 3rd, 2012

These people are truly “touched in the haid”…..

Snowman

February 3rd, 2012

Ain’t my king, that’s for sure.

I’m also pretty sure his god is not the God I was taught about when I was a kid, and if it is then that god is not worth following.

If God really is omnipotent, why does He seem to need guys with big fancy churches, nice suits and TV shows to reach people??

Been my experience He doesn’t, and guys like Eddie Long only exalt or worship their Self, they are their own god.

Tony P

February 3rd, 2012

Those people are the ultimate con men. It’s all high theater, the lights, the music, the production!

And didn’t you notice the buckets by the sides of the pews, those aren’t barf buckets.

revchicoucc

February 3rd, 2012

@snowman: God doesn’t need THESE guys. But they sure do THINK God needs them. Luke 1:52: He (God) has brought down the powerful from their thrones and lifted up the lowly.

Within a year, this church’s attendance will have dropped by a third or more, giving by 50% It will be in financial trouble and unable to get out of it. Without the star attraction — Eddie Long, not God — there won’t be any reason to go there any more.

Paul in Canada

February 3rd, 2012

Send in the clowns……..again.

MJC

February 3rd, 2012

This is like the Super Bowl for the addled and delusional.

SammySeattle

February 3rd, 2012

These sacred scrolls?: http://www.nytimes.com/2012/02/03/nyregion/rabbi-menachem-youlus-says-he-lied-about-saving-torahs.html?_r=1

JohnAGJ

February 3rd, 2012

I have no doubt that most Christians would be repulsed by this spectical, with quite a number of them labelling this as “heresy”. Talk about an ego trip…

Hyhybt

February 3rd, 2012

Despite things like this turning up, I *swear* not everybody in the state is a raving loon.

Blake

February 3rd, 2012

@Tony P — you’re pretty spot on: http://www.ajc.com/news/2005-ajc-report-bishop-619032.html

The arrogance expressed by Bishop Long in the linked article still astounds me.

What I can’t believe is that I still know people who attend his church. I have a feeling their decision to continue to attend is related to this phenomenon: http://volokh.com/2011/02/08/people-believe-what-resonates-with-their-beliefs-an-interesting-experiment/

Blair Martin

February 3rd, 2012

I don’t know about “meglamonia” but I sure as eggs see “mass hysteria”

Lucrece

February 3rd, 2012

Did anyone not get any pornographic role-playing vibe with the whole “remove the foreskin, raise it up, unbelt” language?

Matt

February 3rd, 2012

I think Newt would be in contention for whose picture should appear in the dictionary for this word.

pax58

February 3rd, 2012

Just for record: this “rabbi” is from Jesus for Jesus- a Christian fundementalist group- not Jewish. Everything they did to that Torah-if it is real, is sacrelige to Judism.For one thing, you never touch it with your hands. To take the most sacred object of another religion and use it in such a way goes beyond disgust.

MCB

February 3rd, 2012

A column on HuffPo’s religion’s page did a good job breaking down everything incorrect about this coronation: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/rev-wil-gafney-phd/a-biblical-scholar-rebuts-claims-eddie-long-coronation-video_b_1249602.html?ref=religion

Snowball

February 4th, 2012

Well if he’s from “Jews for Jesus” than he’s not a Rabbi…and for that matter I’ve only ever known a few Messianic Jews and all of them were Rednecks. I think I’d be surprised if this guy was actually ethnically Jewish, most of them in my experience are not.

Why they can’t just say that they are converts to Christianity, I’ve no idea. Why keep up the charade?

StraightGrandmother

February 4th, 2012

Well this goes to show, you REALLY can’t cure Stupid.

It sure makes good theater though.

When Americans criticize people from the Caribbean and Africa for believing in Witch Doctors and Voodoo, how is this any different?

stephen

February 4th, 2012

i am nauseated, angry, sad, and disgusted!!!

Lindoro Almaviva

February 4th, 2012

I can inly watch it in small installments, I am appalled, bemused, insulted and hysterically laughing all at once. Whys has the Jewish community not thrown a fit is surprising.

Well, apparently the man has not learned and we will be hearing back from him very soon, now that his ego is even bigger (and we thought it was not possible). He will fall by the weight of it.

Erin

February 4th, 2012

How about the foreskin comment? These guys are just laughing right at the people in the audience, and it still goes over the audience’s heads.

Didaskaos

February 5th, 2012

I am thoroughly amused. Here, here at last, is religion utterly unashamed to be its natural, silly spectacular self. How can people complain about this as a silly, self-serving bizarre use of religious traditions, when the traditions themselves are, and have always been, silly, self-serving, and bizarre? Who would hold Moses to account for lifting up the brazen serpent? For making signs with the withered hand?

Just take it as silly theater and let it be what it is.

—Didaskalos

Rachel

February 5th, 2012

22 chromosomes, 1 added by man? For some reason, it was that comment that really made me facepalm. Maybe because I was brought up by fundamentalist Christian parents and am inured to general hyper-emotional religious BS.

jim b

February 5th, 2012

That’s a Wackadoodledoo for ya.

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