The church attended by the white man accused of killing eight people in three massage parlors in the Atlanta area, mostly women of Asian descent, condemned the shootings Friday and said they ran against the ‘gospel and the teachings of the church.
Crabapple First Baptist Church in Milton, Georgia, also announced in a statement that it plans to remove Robert Aaron Long, 21, from its members because “he can no longer claim to be truly a regenerating believer in Jesus Christ.”
Previously, the church had only issued a brief statement expressing condolences, not to mention Long. He also closed his social media accounts and made his website private.
On Friday he said such measures were taken to protect the safety of his congregants.
Congregants felt “bewildered” when they learned the alleged shooter was a member of the community, according to the statement. 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,” he said.
“These unthinkable and flagrant murders directly contradict his own confession of faith in Jesus and the gospel.”
Investigators are still trying to find out what forced Long to commit the worst mass murder in the United States in nearly two years.
Police said he told them he had no racial motivation and claimed he had a “sex addiction” and apparently attacked what he saw as sources of temptation.
These statements caused a great deal of uproar and 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, weep and pray for the families of the victims and that he deeply regrets: “the fear and pain that Asian Americans experience as a result of Aaron’s inexcusable actions.”
“No victim can be blamed,” Crabapple First Baptist said. “Only he is responsible for his actions and evil 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, above all, is a malignant and grave sin. We also explicitly denounce any form of hatred or violence against Asians or Asian Americans. ”
Assaults on Asian Americans have increased nationwide during the coronavirus pandemic. The virus was first identified in China and former President Donald Trump and others have used racially charged terms to describe it.
The church said it collaborates with law enforcement and prays for “earthly justice and divine justice.”
Tyler Bayless, who lived with Long in an addiction recovery center in Roswell, Georgia, for at least six months until early 2020, described him as “a little socially uncomfortable, but not calm or quiet.” Long asked him to pray for him at least a couple of times, Bayless said, but he never imposed his beliefs on others.
“I was sure he had some interesting religious beliefs, but he was never openly insistent on this kind of thing. As if it was never like, ‘I have to save your soul,’ ”Bayless said.
Bayless recalled several times Long said he expired and went to a massage business, prompting extreme self-hatred, guilt, and a public confession that he feared could be harmed. Once, Long asked him to grab a hunting knife, Bayless added.
“He said,‘ You know, I went to one of these places. I feel like I’m falling from God’s grace, ”Bayless said.
“I mean, that was the kind of pain he was suffering because of what his religious beliefs led him to think about the acts he was performing.”
Bayless also said Long was trying to limit its use on social media to avoid what he saw as sources of temptation to sin.
Joshua Grubbs, a professor of clinical psychology at Bowling Green State University in Ohio who has investigated the intersection of sexual, religious, and moral behaviors, said that especially in the United States, men of conservative religious background may be prone to interpret “just a little bit of sexual behavior that violates your morale 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 a sex addiction, I feel so bad, I’m going to go out and kill eight people, ’I just don’t buy it,” said Grubbs, who has also treated people with the problem. “It’s not true to my experience as a researcher or clinical psychologist.”
Grubbs advises religious leaders on how to discuss sex, pornography, and “out-of-control sexual behaviors,” and discourages the use of language that can cause or worsen feelings of depression and shame.
“I’ve never found any religious leader to suggest” that the cure for behavior is to “go kill people” to make it possible. “I have never heard of it. It’s an absurd premise. “
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