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The infamous leader of the Thomas Road Baptist Church, the PTL, the National Liberty Journal, Liberty University, and the Moral Majority was found dead this morning in his office at Liberty Univeristy in Virginia.
The controversial televangelist used his influence to push his agenda of conservative intolerance onto the Republican party who accepted it and enable it even today.
That sort of influence hasn't always sat well with all Republicans. John McCain in 2000 said, "Neither party should be defined by pandering to the outer reaches of American politics and the agents of intolerance, whether they be Louis Farrakhan or Al Sharpton on the left, or Pat Robertson or Jerry Falwell on the right." But then almost a year ago today McCain delivered a commencement speech at Liberty University, in what many called a sell-out move on McCain's part.
Two days after 9/11, Falwell went on the 700 Club with Pat Robertson and blamed feminsts, gays, lesbians, and the ACLU, among others, for the terrorist attacks: "And, I know that I'll hear from them for this. But, throwing God out successfully with the help of the federal court system, throwing God out of the public square, out of the schools. The abortionists have got to bear some burden for this because God will not be mocked. And when we destroy 40 million little innocent babies, we make God mad. I really believe that the pagans, and the abortionists, and the feminists, and the gays and the lesbians who are actively trying to make that an alternative lifestyle, the ACLU, People For the American Way -- all of them who have tried to secularize America -- I point the finger in their face and say 'you helped this happen.'"
Just like Rush Limbaugh and others, Falwell seemed to hate feminists more than any other group. He once said this about people who yearn for equal rights for women: "I listen to feminists and all these radical gals - most of them are failures. They've blown it. Some of them have been married, but they married some Casper Milquetoast who asked permission to go to the bathroom. These women just need a man in the house. That's all they need. Most of the feminists need a man to tell them what time of day it is and to lead them home. And they blew it and they're mad at all men. Feminists hate men. They're sexist. They hate men -- that's their problem."
In regards of making it easier for teens to practice safe sex, Falwell said, "the argument that making contraceptives available to young people would prevent teen pregnancies is ridiculous. That's like offering a cookbook as a cure to people who are trying to lose weight." The portly minister was clearly ignorant to the fact that the successful diet program Weight Watchers has many cookbooks, and studies have shown that people who use condoms find that they get pregnant less than those who don't use protection.
The photo above is from the time that he promised his viewers that if he was able to get $20 million from them that he would slide down the water slide at Heritage USA.
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i'd love to be a fly on the wall for that introduction.
I wonder what irrational, degrading, offensive fundamentalist will replace him.
well, our president is going to be unemployed in a few years...
Funny how you lefties get so offended by what this man said and stood for, but then on the other hand you're constantly whining about protecting rights of free speech. Sounds like the reason you're judging and condemning this man is because he judged and condemned others. What's happening to your ideals of "tolerance"? Or if someone doesn't say exactly what you want to hear, I guess they're not worthy of "tolerance"? Aahhh, the postmodern worldview is a wanker sometimes.
I didn't necessarily agree with everything Falwell said or stood for, but the man knew the Truth, and the Truth set him free. And in spite of all his failures and shortcomings, he is with his Heavenly Father now - not because he was good enough or said and did all the right things, but because Jesus Christ paid the price on Calvary for his sins and reconciled him to God. That's the beauty and hope of our salvation - it doesn't depend on man who runs or wills, but on God who has mercy (in Christ). It's the only Way, my friends.
Grace & peace
falwell knew paul pierce?
i have a new-found respect for the guy.
Hey Carl,
Where in what has been written on this page do you see any sort of intolerance toward what he was allowed to say? This is your weapon: blame someone for doing something they didn't do and that proves your own point. That's an awesome strategy!
Stating our opinions of the man, what he said, or anything else is our right. As it is his right to spread hate. Nevertheless, he is open to criticism.
There aren't any liberals being intolerant here; there is just you being inflammatory.
"Funny how you lefties get so offended..."
John McCain is a lefty?
someone alert the media.
PERSONALLY, I AM OPENING A BOTTLE OF CHAMPAGNE TO CELEBRATE JERRY FALWELL'S DEATH!
Carl,
Maybe during your homeschooled crazy Christian upbringing no one ever bothered to explain that there's a huge difference between criticizing what somebody says and preventing them from saying it. The former is merely criticism the latter is censorship. Just as Jerry Falwell can say any damn thing he wants to, anyone else can criticize any damn thing he says.
And as for Jerry knowing "the Truth" (if you spell it with a capital T does that make it truthier?), I'm laughing my ass off. Jerry Falwell was a man of false thought loudly proclaimed virtue... like most prominent evangelical preachers (Ted Haggard anyone?). His pathological obsession with the "sin" of homosexuality and the evils of abortion blinded him to the much more important values of compassion, tolerance and equality espoused on nearly every page of the New Testament.
Beyond that he was nothing but a thinly veiled con man fleecing people of everything he could get his hands on. If people want to donate their hard earned dough to such an odious hypocrite, that's their business, but don't claim Jerry Falwell had found the path to holiness. The man was, is and always will be a total piece of shit.
"The man was, is and always will be a total piece of shit."
Amen.
Hey Friends,
It's kind of late here on EST, but I'll do my best to continue this dialogue...
(My apologies, this is brutally long, but I got carried away) :o)
First, when you say that these are only opinions and criticisms, I beg to differ. Where do you draw the line between opinion and hate-mongering, which is in its purest form “intolerance”? Dragging a man through the proverbial mud (when he died only hours ago) and slandering him by calling him a piece of shit and breaking out champagne bottles in celebration is a little more than a harmless opinion. Is there not even a hint of respect for the man's family and close friends, who are no doubt grieving? Once again, even if you don’t agree with his views, does your disagreement warrant an all-out tirade against him?
I will agree that the article itself doesn’t necessarily defame him, but it’s written with an obvious mocking tone and clear disdain against him. So, I agree that’s free speech and this writer is free to state his opinions in this matter. It’s mainly the comments that I felt were degrading. So, point conceded. I’ll give you that one :o)
Second: what about all of the people he helped and served in his pastoral ministry and Liberty University? What about all of the people who have been blessed by his commitment to higher education and reaching people in the church and surrounding communities? I guarantee you that there are numerous people whose testimonies would paint a completely different picture than the repetitive sound bites they’ll be showing on CNN. I have no doubt that there are many people who were positively affected by his ministry. Once again, this man had his faults, but who among us doesn’t?
Can’t we all agree that we’ve said hateful things under our breath or even within earshot of someone whose appearance doesn’t make sense to us? Maybe it’s a "lefty" comment, or maybe it's a homeschooling Christian thing or a “gay” reference, or a racial comment, or maybe (here in TN) it’s a redneck or “poor white trash” thing. But why do we overlook our own sins and epithets against others and point to this man as being that much worse? Well, the simple answer, friends, is that each and every one of us is full of pride (myself included) and we want the glory – we don’t want to own up to the fact that we’re all prideful and full of sin and arrogance. And I’m saying that for myself as well. I’ll admit that I struggle every day to love my neighbor, and I’ve failed a billion times, and I’ll fail a billion times more.
Jerry Falwell had a tendency to say controversial things at inopportune times, in a spirit that was inconsiderate and arguably hateful.. And that’s not pleasing to God.. But again, as Jesus said to the group who was about to stone a prostitute who had been caught in the act: “Which one of you is perfect? Then let him or her cast the first stone”.. The bottom line, in my opinion, is that none of us has a right to call this man a piece of shit – because if we’re honest with ourselves, we’re all pieces of shit. My testimony is this: I’m a piece of shit that’s been saved by grace. Once I was lost, now I’m found. I once was blind, now I see. I still sin and I still F up, but that’s why I live my life at the foot of the cross. My life has been transformed by the gospel of Jesus Christ, and I now have eternal hope and peace, where before my life was nothing but a self-induced train wreck.
The beauty is that there is forgiveness in Christ for all the wrong things done and said.
One final thing: I’d like to clarify the gospel quickly: Jesus, contrary to popular opinion, wasn’t just a hippie with a message of peace and love. He was crucified because He claimed to be the Son of God, King of the Jews, i.e. the Messiah. Upon checking the New Testament, Jesus’ first words were “Repent”. To repent means to turn from sins and turn toward God in faith. His own claim is that He was and is the Way, the Truth and the Life (yeah, those are capitals!) Yes, there is a message of peace and love, but it’s intermingled with the fact that there is a just and holy God who cannot tolerate sin in any form. Our only hope is Christ and His righteousness we receive when our hearts are cleansed by His love for us demonstrated on the cross.
Jesus’ claim of deity can’t be denied. He was the same one who said “Come to me, all you heavy-laden, and I will give you rest. My yoke is easy, and My burden is light”. What other “religious” teacher has ever made such a claim? Or, John 8:58, “..before Abraham was born, I AM”.. That, friends, is not a great moral teacher, but rather someone speaking with authority on a par with God. Read C.S. Lewis' "Mere Christianity" for more on that, it'll blow your mind.
The bottom line is that Jesus presented Himself clearly as the Truth, that He is the only way to the Father. Take it or leave it. Jesus also said to His followers that because the world hated Him (execution style), therefore the world will hate those who identify with Him and speak His truth boldly (John 15:18-20). So, we Christians expect persection and ridicule and rejection. It comes with the territory.
OK, finally and quickly, because I’m almost asleep: regarding abortion and homosexuality and the like: Abortion is a modern-day holocaust. If you think that a "fetus" is not a living, real unborn person (just like slaves were called chimps and Jews were called sub-human), have you seen GE’s 4D ultrasound images? Tell me that’s not a living person and I’ll go down a water slide in a 3-piece suit. What 3 things are we guaranteed in this country, above all else? Life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. What's the first thing listed? Kudos to Jerry for fighting for the voiceless.
Homosexuality and feminism are tricky, and I must admit that the church in general has done a miserable job in reaching out to these communities. Falwell was wrong in his approach on this – dead wrong. Rather, pastors should humbly and lovingly explain God’s design for sexuality and biblical womanhood as defined in His Word. Then, we can engage and discuss these issues in an environment that is not inflammatory and gets to the heart of the matter.
OK, it’s friggin’ late. I’ve gotta retire. Sorry to bore you with all this preaching.. haha.. Take care ya’ll… and God bless..
Not reading all that.
Here's the wreck of what still remains of Falwell's Heritage USA debacle.
sbno dot illicitohio dot com backslash heritage backslash heritage01 dot html
Carl, if you're going to try to convince anyone about Jesus' divinity, you should've at least tried to be original.
I personally don't have a problem with what Jesus taught, for the most part. Be good. Don't hurt people. He was a humanist. Awesome.
What's funny is that you add to that, with great conviction, that he MUST have been the son of God. What can possibly make you think that was true? I think the earliest Christians made a huge mistake by saying that man wrote the Bible rather than saying they found it under a rock or some such thing. You're actually believe that man, WHO CHRISTIANS BELIEVE IS FALLIBLE and sinful, wrote the book that you base all of your beliefs on.
Then, there is Falwell who uses the facade of being this upstanding Christian, with his own interpretation of the Jesus' teachings and you Evangelical types are all over it. What makes you think Jesus would have wanted you to sacrifice? What makes you think he didn't want you to have raunchy sex? What makes you think he didn't want you to get obscenely drunk? What makes you think he didn't want to splooge all over yourself while dreaming (assuming you could control that)?
Do you actually think he set out rules for all of these things or that some poor sap who wasn't invited to any parties 2000 years ago decided this would be a good way for him to make some friends - by hating on the people having fun?
Wait, to answer any of my questions, you'd have to think and that might be asking too much from an Evangelical. Good luck!
In all of the BS those who enjoy maligning the dead are writing, I wonder if they have the guts enough to acknowledge that what the media focused on was not who the man was. I wonder if they'll acknowledge, as Rick Warren wrote, "...his compassionate heart, his gentle spirit, his enormous sense of humor, and the millions he invested in helping the underprivileged. Jerry founded the Elim Home for alcoholics, the Center for tutoring inner city children, the Hope Aglow ministry to prisoners, Liberty Godparent Home for unwed mothers, and literally dozens of other compassion projects to help the poor, the sick, and others in desperate need."
Yeah...sounds like a real immoral, hypocritical, unloving and intolerant guy to me. Oh that we would all be more intolerant. I wonder what the myriad individuals who were blessed by the aforementioned services that Jerry Falwell initiated think of him? That will be his real legacy, untold as it probably will be.
>Funny how you lefties get so offended by what this man said and stood for, but then on the other hand you're constantly whining about protecting rights of free speech. Sounds like the reason you're judging and condemning this man is because he judged and condemned others
Irrelevant point. Having the opportunity to be offeded is what free speech (the kind we "lefties" get our panties in a twist about) is all about. If someone on the left EVER said Falwell or anyone else should be censored, then they get thrown out of Club Pinko. At least MY Club Pinko. But that doesn't mean we (lefties) have to stay silent when people say stupid things. Take your post, for example. I may be offended (not really) by your dumb comment but I have no problem with you saying it. I see stupid bumperstickers all day long but I don't go smashy-smashy on their asses. I just go home and make my own bumpersticker that says something like:
"Bill o' Rights, not Bill O'Reilly."
The difference of course is that Falwell's perfect world is not pluralistic. Rights contract rather than expand. Why would he be against the ERA or Gay Marriage? What business is it of his? I don't care if he wants to bone his momma do I?
Jerry Falweel did a lot of great things in the way of charity. He had his opinions, most of which I agree with. Feminists are man haters, they are not about equality. Abortionists are murderers. The reason people hated Jerry Falwell is because they don't like Republicans and Conservatives and Christians. Jerry Falweel is a hero of mine. And I think most Christians are intimidated by the left's negative words about him. Let's talk about some real scumbags: Hugh Hefner, The Supreme Court Justices that approved abortion and all the Feminists out there spewing male-hatred everywhere you look.