Recently, some Christian Right watchers might have spotted a fellow calling himself "Bishop" Eddie Long appearing on Destiny Church broadcasts. The sleep-deprived may have also spotted his evangelical TV show now screening here in the post-midnight infomercial wasteland. Who is this guy? Like Tamaki, he broke away from the Apostolic Church, another Pentecostal outfit, and it appears that Long has had quite an influence on Tamaki's religious philosophy. Based in Atlanta, Georgia, Long's sect has 25,000 members. Moreover, I can also report that Long's sect, New Birth Missionary Baptist Church, runs an African-American-targeted "exgay" organisation called "Spirit Controlled Sexuality." Ah, so Brian and Hannah Tamaki got the idea for their 'ex-gay' outreach from this character? It goes deeper than even that. Tamaki is allegedly "under the authority" of Long, and probably bases his own sect on the New Birth model. So, what is New Birth's philosophy about lesbian and gay rights? According to an African-American gay Pentecostal network, Operation Rebirth, it goes something like this. When Gaaard (a.k.a. in NZ as God) invades your life during a fundamentalist conversion, fission and cloning occur, and the same thing happens during reproductive heterosexual sex. For this reason, though, lesbian and gay sex results in a 'spiritual abortion,' as does cloning. However, upon fundamentalist conversion, people can mutate into heterosexuals and be reconciled to this somewhat amoebic Gaaard once more. Actually, it reminds me a little of Maori spirituality's concept of 'atua' which pervades everything, which may explain Brian Tamaki's attraction to it. Tamaki has incorporated in an 'ancestral curse' element which is reminiscent of 'tapu' as well. Long is an opponent of same-sex marriage and supports Focus on the Family's so-called Federal Marriage Amendment, or failing that, state-based bans on same-sex marriage and civil unions. It seems that the US Christian Right is aware of the growth of Maori Pentecostalism, and wants to exploit it through fostering connections between their African-American contingent and Destiny Church. Hmmm. First Bill Maier of Focus of the Family (US) visits us, now Eddie Long and the fringe elements of Martin Luther King's family. The New Zealand Christian Right can never be accused of originality, can it? Craig Young - 19th November 2004