Fall from grace of another preacher (Thomas Weeks) and another politician (Kevin Rudd)

I confess that I take perverse pleasure in commenting on stories that expose the hypocrisy of sanctimonious preachers and self-righteous politicians. Therefore, it is with unprecedented schadenfreude that I write today’s article about two recent developments: one, which should damn Bishop Thomas Weeks, III to hell; and the other, which should ruin Australian opposition leader Kevin Rudd’s political career.

Weeks is the founder of Global Destiny churches who became, effectively, a kept husband after he married Juanita Bynum (in a “million-dollar ceremony”) in 2002. Because, even though he was doing pretty good business as a televangelist based in Washington, DC, it wasn’t until he married Bynum that Weeks became a national Christian celebrity…albeit by basking in her reflected glow.

After all, as charisma goes, Weeks is to Hillary (Clinton) as Bynum is to Bill. But the analogy ends there. Because, in every other respect, all indications are that Bynum was utterly devoted to and supportive of Weeks. Unfortunately, she could not help the way her inspiring holistic message overshadowed his pedestrian evangelistic hucksterism.

(Indeed, with her televised sermons and bestselling books aimed at empowering women, she is (or was) fast becoming the Oprah Winfrey of televangelism. Whereas, with his peddling gimmicky steps for “walking towards the Next Living Level” as one of the tolls the faithful must pay on the highway to heaven, he has already become the P.T. Barnum of the genre.)

But, even though they had a thriving (gospel) business partnership, their marriage was apparently doomed from the words “I do”; not least because, in addition to his hair-trigger temper and fragile ego, Weeks was always dogged by reasonable suspicions about his sexual preference. Therefore, only his most gullible parishioners could have been surprised when they separated earlier this year.

But everyone had to have been surprised by reports that Bynum agreed to meet him at a hotel near Atlanta’s Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport early on Wednesday “to try to reconcile”. After all, the abiding theme of her empowerment ministry is helping women decide when it’s time to leave abusive relationships, which, by her own admission, she has had to do on too many occasions….

Then, people had to have been positively shocked when those reports revealed that at about 4 am a hotel employee was alarmed by sounds of a couple fighting in the parking lot. And that when he looked outside, he saw Weeks:

…choking her…pushing her to the ground and then kicking and stomping on her.

It was at this point that the employee reportedly yelled for someone to call the police before running outside to pull Weeks off Bynum.

By the time police arrived, however, Weeks had already fled the scene.

Of course, enquiring minds (of which there is no greater density anywhere in America than in the black church) want to know what made Weeks go off like this. After all, one has to assume that if Bynum was hanging out with him at 4 am, she was trying not only to reconcile, but also to give up some booty.

I suspect she triggered his rage when she said something like: “no more gettin some on the down low if ya wanna be with me”. But my Lord, the things that make you go hmmmmm….

At any rate, Bynum wasted little time filing assault charges against him. And, after coming to his senses, Weeks turned himself in on Thursday, when he was duly arrested and charged with physical assault and “making terroristic threats to kill his wife”.

However, to get a sense of the venal nature of this man and his ministry, consider this: As soon as he posted his $40,000 dollar bond, Weeks sent out an urgent request to all of his longsuffering parishioners to contribute to “The Raven Fund” that was already set up to pay Atlanta’s best lawyer to defend him. And, unfortunately, I have no doubt that many of them will contribute as if saving their souls depended on it….

Meanwhile, from the sublime to the ridiculous:

Australians were treated to a series of tabloid stories last week, which exposed Kevin Rudd, Australia’s Christian-crusading opposition leader, as a strip-club-cruising drunk.

Never mind that the reports were only about “the kind of mistake blokes make” – as Rudd maintains. And in this case, his mistake was sauntering into a New York strip club called “Scores” in 2003, where he reportedly groped at the naked strippers so aggressively that he was kicked out….

Of course, he denies his behavior was as bad as reported; although his denial is somewhat undermined by the fact that he also admits that he:

…can’t remember much about the night because he was too drunk.

More to the point, however, since becoming opposition leader last December, this married father of three has been riding high in opinion polls by touting his “back to basics Christian family values”. Therefore, it would be entirely fitting if this story exposing his hypocritical behaviour causes him to be hoisted by his own petard.

Did you hear that Kevin Rudd saw a disappointing poll this morning? It was bereft of a gyrating naked woman. [one of the jokes now making the rounds in Australia]

Truth be told, however, even Rudd’s hypocrisy compares favorably with the acute disillusionment Australians evidently have with the 11-year premiership of grandfatherly John Howard. In fact, with defenders like one Senator Brown spinning this story so brilliantly, he might be elected prime minister this Fall by a landslide:

Four years ago Kevin Rudd got drunk and took himself into a strip club.
Four years ago John Howard, sober, took Australia into the Iraq war.
I think the electorate can judge which one did the more harm.

Ouch!

UPDATE – on Weeks

September 4: “Prophetess” Bynum held a
news conference today to put media speculation about her marital spat into proper perspective; ie, to “stop all the majoring in minor things”. Here’s a little of what she said:

I forgive my husband….I wish Bishop Weeks the best.

I don’t want to be seen as a damsel in distress….I’m not a victim, I want to become an advocate….This is not a religious issue….this is a social issue.

Domestic violence now has a face and a name. Domestic violence is now my mantle. This has changed my life forever….

Never mind that domestic violence got a face and a name more than 13 years ago – after OJ Simpson slaughtered his wife. In fact, this notorious case prompted nationwide changes in laws dealing with domestic violence, which undoubtedly is what caused serious charges to be filed against her husband with such dispatch.

But Bynum seems more concerned about finding a secular hook for her women’s ministry than about prosecuting her husband for beating the crap out of her; or, more importantly, about getting therapy to heal her emotional and psychological wounds. Moreover, one wonders why this latest beating inspired her professed domestic-violence epiphany, when documented bouts of domestic violence in her previous relationships did not….

Clearly, her credibility on this subject leaves a great deal to be desired. Indeed, if she does not take Bishop Weeks back, chances are that some psychological defect will drive her to find another man to beat her up. Not that that will stop physically and emotionally battered women from hanging on Bynum’s every word…and donating their hard-earned cash to her egocentric cause….