After the over-the-top King crowning video of Bishop Eddie Long went viral, another high profile televangelist is taking heat because of their ties to Rabbi Ralph Messer.
Pastor Paula White was rumored to be crowned Queen in a future service. An allegation that White and her representative vehemently deny.
Statements were released on Paula White’s website to deflect the connection between White and Rabbi Messer. Then an anonymous person uploaded a video that shows a torah wrapping demonstration similar to the one performed at Bishop Eddie Long’s new birth church.
White has previously interviewed Rabbi Messer, reportedly a Messianic Jew, on her television show, the statement affirmed. However, the statement also insisted that White has “no ties or affiliation” with Messer and that “she does not endorse him in any way, and she will not be participating in any events with him.”
Included with White’s statement was a comment her attorney, Daniel Beirute, made to the Florida Courier’s publisher, in which he called the publication’s report a “ridiculous fantasy” and insisted that 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.”
But the 2009 video, which has already gone viral on the Internet, clearly shows Messer performing a nearly identical Torah wrapping on the pastor, which have led some to speculate that White’s attorney was not entirely forthcoming in his statement.
The ceremony involving Long, interpreted as a “coronation” ceremony by observers, is said by Messer to be symbolic of Long being “wrapped in the Word of God,” which serves as protection for the person within the scroll’s folds. Both Messer and Long received harsh criticism from Jewish observers, as the Torah is seen as sacred in Judaism. Following a bashing from the Anti-Defamation League, Long publicly apologized Sunday for participating in the ritual.
Paula Whites Torah wrapping video can be seen below.
