FROM THE FLORIDA COURIER STAFF: Daniel Beirute, attorney for Florida-based televangelist Paula White, unconditionally denied that White would be 'coronated' as was Bishop Eddie Long in a widely ridiculed ceremony in Lithonia, Ga.’s New Birth Missionary Baptist Church that went viral on YouTube. He also denied that White had ever been previously ‘crowned’ by erstwhile ‘rabbi’ Ralph Messer.

White is now pastor of New Destiny Christian Center, founded by the late Zachery Tims. New Destiny is one of Central Florida’s largest churches. She is also pastor of Without Walls International Church, one of Tampa’s largest churches.

Beirute denied a rumor that started in Orlando that White was somehow affiliated with Messer, who made Long a ‘king’ according to what Messer alleged was Jewish tradition. West Orlando News Online reported  "rumors that Messer will be in Orlando over the week-end to crown pastor Paula White, new leader of the New Destiny Christian Center (NDCC), queen."

"There is not a single shred of truth in it, and we cannot fathom where such ridiculous fantasy may have come from. Pastor White has no ties or affiliation with Mr. Messer. She does not endorse him in any way, and she would never consider participating in any so-called coronation under any circumstances, whatsoever," Beirute said in an email to Florida Courier Publisher Charles W. Cherry II.

Allegations of a Messer-White connection was mentioned on local talk radio, corroborated by a local rabbi, reported on the Florida Courier website – then went viral.

Harsh criticism

On Friday, Orlando’s WEUS-AM 860 aired a live episode of “The Don Miller Show” that harshly criticized both Long and Messer. Featured guests on the show were Rabbi Ira Michaelson of the Beth Tefillah congregation in Clermont, just outside of Orlando; Keith Johnson, a minister and author; and the Rev. Dr. Wil Gafney, an associate professor of Hebrew and Old Testament at The Lutheran Theological Seminary at Philadelphia.

Gafney wrote a blogpost entitled, “Christian Zionist Messianism Run Amok: Eddie Long's Torah Coronation,” that was reproduced on the Huffington Post. In it, after viewing the video of Long, Gafney cited 26 ways in which the ceremony misrepresented Jewish thought and practice.

‘Deeply offended’

Johnson, in a news release, had told of his previous experience with Messer.

"Ralph Messer has been exploiting African-Americans and making a mockery of the Hebrew roots of the faith for years," Johnson, who says he is a former NFL Minnesota Vikings chaplain, wrote.

"I first encountered Messer eleven years ago when my friend, the late Football Hall-of-Famer Reggie White, paid him an inordinate amount of money to learn Hebrew under his tutelage as a 'rabbi.' A year went by, and Reggie never received even a single Hebrew lesson. I decided to confront Messer with Reggie and Pro Bowler Hardy Nickerson as witnesses.

Couldn’t read Hebrew

"In their presence, 'Rabbi Ralph' admitted he had never formally been ordained as a real rabbi. I then challenged Messer to read from my Hebrew Bible, and he responded by making excuses for an hour about why it was “dangerous” to learn the language. I continued to insist he read from my Bible in Hebrew and with great effort, Messer managed to slowly sound out the first verse of the Bible one syllable at a time. It was obvious to everyone present that Messer did not possess the knowledge to read the Hebrew language, let alone to teach it.

"For the past ten years, I have seen Messer continue to throw around Hebrew terms he does not fully understand and misuse holy objects such as Torah Scrolls to manipulate people and bring them under his authority as a ‘rabbi’ and a supposed 'representative of the Jewish People and the Land of Israel.'

"As a United Methodist pastor who believes in the importance of the Hebrew roots of our faith, I am deeply offended by what he did this past week at New Birth Missionary Baptist Church. It is my sincere hope and prayer that by speaking out others will be spared from falling prey to his manipulative practices that offend both Jew and Gentile alike," Johnson wrote.

Fever pitch on radio

Messer’s coronation of Long was the sole topic of discussion for the hour-long radio show. About 10 minutes into the broadcast, host Don Miller confirmed that rumors were flying around Orlando that Messer was coming to town.

“I just heard he’s going around the country doing this...I just heard he’s heading to Florida and he’s going to do this at another church,” Miller said.

In response, Michaelson said, “He actually already did this to Paula White some years ago...this was after she was divorced from Randy White and before the scandal with Benny Henn came out. He took her and wrapped her in a scroll and said the same thing - ‘She’s wrapped in the Word of God.’”

For the remainder of the hour Miller, Michaelson and Johnson gave strong opinions about the meaning of Long’s coronation, calling it “blasphemy” and symptomatic of a “slave mentality” within some Black churches.

Denies it happened

When asked directly about whether Michaelson’s charge was true, Beirute, Paula White’s attorney, wrote to the Florida Courier, “I don’t know where Rabbi Michaelson gets his information, but my client categorically and unequivocally denies that that ever happened.”

Johnson expects that this is not the last word about Long’s coronation.

“Both heaven and earth now have the attention of what happened,” he said on the broadcast.