The church that attended the white man charged with the murder of eight people at three massage parlors in Atlanta, mostly women of Asian descent, condemned the shooting Friday, saying they were contrary to the gospel and the church’s teachings.
Crabapple First Baptist Church in Milton, Georgia, also announced in a statement that it intends to remove 21-year-old Robert Aaron Long from his membership because he can no longer confirm that he is truly a born-again believer in Jesus. Christ is not ‘.
Previously, the church issued only a brief statement in which it expressed condolences without mentioning Long. It also closed its social media accounts and made its website private.
On Friday, it said measures had been taken to protect the safety of its congregations.
Congregation was “upset” when they learned the alleged shooter was a member of the community, the statement said. His family has belonged to the church for years.
“We saw Aaron grow up and accept him into church membership when he made his own confession of faith in Jesus Christ,” he said.
“These unthinkable and serious murders directly contradict his own confession of faith in Jesus and the gospel.”
Investigators are still trying to discover what forced Long to commit the worst mass murder in the United States in nearly two years.
Police say he told them he was not racially motivated and claimed he had a ‘sex addiction’, and he apparently made a statement of what he saw as sources of temptation.
These statements were widely shouted and caused skepticism, given the locations and that six of the eight victims were women of Asian descent..
Crabapple First Baptist said he would continue to mourn, mourn and pray for the families of the victims and that it deeply regrets that ‘the fear and pain that Asian Americans are experiencing as a result of Aaron’s inexcusable actions’.
“No blame can be placed on the victims,” Crabapple First Baptist said. “He alone is responsible for his evil deeds and desires.”
The church also said it does not teach that acts of violence are acceptable against “certain ethnic groups or against women” or that women are responsible for men’s sexual sin against them.
‘Murder is a particularly heinous evil and a serious sin. We also expressly condemn all forms of hatred or violence against Asians or Asian Americans. ”
Assaults against Asian Americans increased during the country’s coronavirus pandemic across the country. The virus was first identified in China, and former President Donald Trump and others use racially charged terms to describe it.
The church said it was cooperating with law enforcement and praying for ‘both earthly justice and divine justice’.
Tyler Bayless, who lived with Long in a recovery addiction service in Roswell, Georgia, for at least six months until early 2020, described him as a bit socially uncomfortable, but not unconditional or quiet. “Long has long asked him to pray for him at least a few times,” Bayless said, but never imposed others’ beliefs.
‘He had some interesting religious beliefs, I’m sure, but he was never very openly concerned about that kind of thing. Like he never was: “I have to save your soul,” Bayless said.
Bayless recalled several times when Long said he lapsed and went to a massage company, causing extreme self-loathing, guilt and public confession that he feared he could harm himself. Long once asked him to hold a hunting knife, Bayless added.
“He said, ‘You know, I went to one of these places. I feel like I’m falling out of God’s grace, ” Bayless said.
“I mean, it was the kind of pain he was having because of his religious beliefs that made him think about the deeds he was doing.”
Bayless also said Long tried to limit his social media use to avoid what he saw as sources of sin.
Joshua Grubbs, a professor of clinical psychology at Bowling Green State University in Ohio who has studied the intersection of sexual behavior, religion and morality, said men with conservative religious agents in the United States in particular tend to little to interpret ‘little sexual behavior that violates their morals as addiction. ”
But there is no evidence that that sexual behavior will put anyone to violence against others, he said.
“The idea that ‘I’m sex addicted, I feel so bad about it, I’m going to kill eight people’, I just do not buy it, ‘” says Grubbs, who also treated people with the problem. . “This is not true of my experience as a researcher or clinical psychologist.”
Grubbs advises religious leaders on how to discuss sex, pornography, and ‘out-of-control’ sexual behavior, and recommends using language that may cause or exacerbate feelings of depression and shame.
‘I have never once encountered a religious leader who suggested’ that a cure for the behavior is to ‘go and kill the people’ that make it possible. ‘I’ve never heard of it. This is an absurd premise. ‘
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