Criticism of Long isn't about some petty tit-for-tat battle for forgiveness. No, it's about a man who spent years twisting a few biblical verses to condemn gay people, then in turn quietly settled out of court after being sued for allegedly engaging in more homosexual activity than the closeted parishioners he spooked into sexual suppression.

Long is the person who once said, "Homosexuality is a manifestation of the fallen man." People are within their rights to suggest that the pastor appears fallen as well. A settlement doesn't necessarily confirm guilt, but when you promise to fight like David but end up settling out of court, it looks suspicious.

Slavery, misogyny and segregation were all once justified in the Bible. Such is the problem with allowing agenda-driven clergymen to be biblical literalists of convenience and dictate what is and isn't right.

In the documentary For the Bible Tells Me So, Bishop Desmond Tutu explained, "The Bible is the word of God through the words of human beings speaking in the idiom of their time." That's why it's now OK to touch women when they're on their periods, and not so much to sell your children into slavery. Yet when it comes to gays, we allow hatred to continue being spewed despite constant reminders of the possible consequences.

Over time, will homophobia finally join other antiquated prejudices? Not if we don't start analyzing Scripture and sexual identity for ourselves. Not if we dismiss gross hypocrisy as a Jesus-excused "wreck" and condemn those who distance themselves from that hypocrisy. And especially not if we allow Long to go on to build new houses of hatred.

Michael Arceneaux is a Houston-bred, Howard-educated writer currently based in Los Angeles. You can read more of his work on his site. Follow him on Twitter.

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