The church attended by the white man accused of killing eight people at three massage companies in the Atlanta area, mostly women of Asian descent, condemned the shootings on Friday and said they go against the gospel and the church’s teachings.
The First Crabapple Baptist Church in Milton, Georgia, also announced in a statement that it plans to remove Robert Aaron Long, 21, because he “can no longer claim that he is truly a regenerated believer in Jesus Christ”.
Previously, the church had issued only a brief statement expressing condolences, not to mention Long. It also closed its social media accounts and made its website private.
On Friday, he said these measures were taken to protect the safety of his followers.
The congregants were “disturbed” when they learned that the alleged sniper was a member of the community, the statement said. His family has belonged to the church for many years.
“We saw Aaron grow up and accept him as a member of the church when he made his own profession of faith in Jesus Christ,” it said.
“These unthinkable and blatant murders directly contradict your own confession of faith in Jesus and the gospel.”
Investigators are still trying to find out what prompted Long to commit the worst mass murder in the United States in nearly two years.
The police said he told them he was not racially motivated and claimed to have an “addiction to sex”, and apparently attacked what he saw as sources of temptation.
These statements caused great uproar and skepticism due to the locations and that six of the eight victims were women of Asian descent.
First Baptist Crabapple said he would continue to mourn, mourn and pray for the victims’ families and that he deeply regrets “the fear and pain that Asian Americans are experiencing as a result of Aaron’s unforgivable actions.”
“No blame can be placed on the victims,” said Crabapple First Baptist. “Only he is responsible for his evil actions and desires.”
The church also said that it does not teach that acts of violence are acceptable against “certain ethnicities or against women” or that women are responsible for the sexual sins of men against them.
“Murder, especially, is a hideous and serious sin. We also explicitly denounce any and all forms of hatred or violence against Asians or Asian Americans. “
Attacks against Asian Americans increased across the country during the coronavirus pandemic. The virus was first identified in China, and former President Donald Trump and others used racially loaded terms to describe it.
The church said it is cooperating with law enforcement and praying for “earthly justice and divine justice”.
Tyler Bayless, who lived with Long in an addiction recovery facility in Roswell, Georgia, for at least six months until early 2020, described him as “a little socially awkward, but not reserved or quiet”. Long asked him to pray for him at least a few times, Bayless said, but he never imposed his beliefs on others.
“He had some interesting religious beliefs, I’m sure, but he was never very aggressive about that kind of thing. As if he never thought, ‘I need to save your soul,’ ”said Bayless.
Bayless recalled several occasions when Long said he gave up and went to a massage business, which led him to self-navigate, guilt and public confession that he feared he might be hurt. Long once asked him to hold a hunting knife, Bayless added.
“He said, ‘You know, I went to one of those places. I feel like I’m losing the grace of God, ‘”said Bayless.
“I mean, that was the kind of pain he felt because of what his religious beliefs led him to think about the acts he was doing.”
Bayless also said that Long tried to limit his use of social media to avoid what he saw as sources of temptation to sin.
Joshua Grubbs, professor of clinical psychology at Bowling Green State University in Ohio who researched the intersection of sexual behaviors, religion and morality, said that especially in the United States, men of conservative religious backgrounds may be prone to interpret “just a little bit of sexual behavior that violates your morals as an addiction. ”
But there is no evidence that these sexual behaviors predispose someone to violence against others, he said.
“The notion that ‘I have an addiction to sex, I feel so bad about it, I’m going to go out and kill eight people’, I just can’t believe it,” said Grubbs, who also treated people with the problem. “It is not true for my experience as a researcher or clinical psychologist.”
Grubbs advises religious leaders on how to discuss sex, pornography and “uncontrolled sexual behaviors” and advises against using language that can cause or worsen feelings of depression and shame.
“I never met a religious leader who suggested” that the cure for behavior is “going to kill people” that make it possible. “I never heard that. It’s an absurd premise.”
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