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“Televangelist, Christian Leader Jerry Falwell Dies”

How’s Larry Flynt doing?  From NPR’s glowing, non-biased encomium:

The Rev. Jerry Falwell, a pioneer among televangelists who later became a leading voice in the national debate over Christian values, has died at the age of 73. Falwell was found unconscious Tuesday in his office at Liberty University in Lynchburg, Va.

A fundamentalist preacher, Falwell burst onto the national scene in 1979, when he launched an organization he presumptuously called the Moral Majority. Critics liked to say that it was neither. What is undisputed is that the Moral Majority became the vehicle that carried millions of born-again Christians out of their separatist tendencies and into the center of political activism.

They did it by bringing politics to the pulpit, getting churches to hand out voter guides, and creating get-out-the-vote drives that would become the envy of many a politician. The religious right was born — and Falwell became its chief spokesman. The goal was to overturn the Supreme Court’s ban on school prayer and reverse the nation’s direction on feminism, abortion and gay rights.

“I believe that homosexuality is moral perversion,” Falwell told NPR in 1996. “I think it is a violation of the laws of nature, as well as the laws of God. I do not think that that gives me permission to be unkind or ungracious to a person who may be living a homosexual lifestyle.”

In some ways, Falwell was an unlikely religious leader. He was born Aug. 11, 1933, and grew up in Lynchburg, the son of a one-time bootlegger who hated preachers. His grandfather was a staunch atheist.

But Falwell heard the call while listening to a radio preacher. He built a church from scratch — Thomas Road Baptist — in Lynchburg. It grew to a mega-church of well over 20,000 members. He started a Christian school, then a college and most recently a law school, raising much of the money from his television ministry. Critics said he spent more time asking for contributions than ministering to viewers.

Falwell followers saw him as a capable defender of decency and of godly values, but he often had detractors gnashing their teeth. He once told a gathering of ministers that the anti-Christ is a Jewish male who is alive in the world today.

Two days after the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, during an appearance on Pat Robertson’s television show, Falwell claimed that the attack was God’s judgment on America’s immorality.

“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 try to secularize America — I point the finger in their face and say, ‘You helped this happen.’”

Later, Falwell apologized, saying his remarks were insensitive and that he never meant to blame anyone except the terrorists.

Barry Lynn, leader of Americans United for Separation of Church and State, has been one of Falwell’s harshest critics over the years. Lynn says Falwell was wrong about everything, but he does give Falwell credit for standing up for his beliefs.

“He was the key point-man in the creation of the modern-day religious right. And for a lot of Americans, he will be forever the face of the religious right,” Lynn said.

Wow.  A shorter version might have read, “This son of a bootlegger and grandson of an atheist, the man responsible for giving rise to godbotherers in politics and breaking down the sacred separation of church and state, died today, leaving behind a legacy gleaned mostly from begging.

“On the plus side, though, he seemed to believe his own presumptuous bullshit.  So, you know, you gotta give him that much.”

Now, I’m no fan of Falwell’s, but the guy built his ministry from nothing, and opened a private university and law center.  His arguments generally came from a strict (though by no means “fundamentalist,” as NPR would have it) adherence to his Christianity and its principles and teachings.

Seems to me he deserved a more even-handed obituary than the one funded by our tax dollars and filtered through the progressive cheesecloth that makes up much of NPR these days.

I’m sure others will have more to say.  In fact, I wouldn’t be surprised if certain bloggers were celebrating just a bit by taking their vaginas out for a nice lunch.

100 Replies to ““Televangelist, Christian Leader Jerry Falwell Dies””

  1. kelly says:

    What is undisputed is that the Moral Majority became the vehicle that carried millions of born-again Christians out of their separatist tendencies and into the center of political activism.

    WTF? “Separatist tendencies”? Separating from…what, exactly?

    I can’t remember who the commenter was on a recent thread (so pardon the lack of attribution), but he/she remarked on how childish the left’s view of Christianity is. So, more grist for that mill.

  2. Rick says:

    I wouldn’t be surprised if certain bloggers were celebrating just a bit by taking their vaginas out for a nice lunch.

    Andrew Sullivan for one, no doubt.

    Cordially…

  3. David Ross says:

    How about, “cynical confidence trickster who bilked billions out of emotionally vulnerable people, who induced millions of Christians to drag ass on AIDS research, and who tried his best to destroy biology education in this nation finally enters the presence of the Lord (of the Flies)”?

    Or, even shorter – “He was evil. Now, he’s gone.” Good riddance.

  4. ThePolishNizel says:

    Whew, one less godbag they have to worry about!  Next to Zarq, Jerry was the scariest man in the world.  Oh, ok, he was scarier than Zarq.

    TW:  read37

    This is the last day that I will be reading this blog as a 37 year old.

  5. David Ross says:

    And there’s an interesting sociological phenomenon at work right here on this blog – where people who might have started out as liberal, gay-neutral, and pro-science are forced to support a creature like Falwell for fear of offending their (new) “core” audience.

    It’s similar to what happens at Reason; whose commenters are willing to “postpone” their libertarian principles in order to polish their anti-Bush bona fides. Or, dare I say, what happened to David Brock and then to Andrew Sullivan…

  6. eLarson says:

    WTF? “Separatist tendencies”? Separating from…what, exactly?

    In Christian theology, there is the concept of the Kingdom of God–what we might call ‘spiritual things’, and then “the world” (the non-spiritual).

    Prior to Falwell the tendency for churches to stay huddled in their congregations, thereby leaving the politicking to “the world”, was very prevalent.

  7. sestamibi says:

    I agree with Falwell on most issues, and am waiting for some really scurrilous stuff to be said (like when Alec Baldwin, Bill Maher, or Keith Olbermann weigh in, for instance), but I don’t see anything in this obit that is particularly offensive.  It looks like everything in it is true, confirming that whatever else is said about him, Falwell was nothing but controversial. 

    I am, however, waiting for the first attribution of “God doesn’t hear the prayers of a Jew”, which was actually said by Rev. Bailey Smith.

  8. TallDave says:

    Wait, so he was a religious leader without a violent militia that beheads people?

    No wonder he got no respect form the media.

  9. JHoward says:

    From the leading-with-your-face department:

    1:09PM: 

    …he/she remarked on how childish the left’s view of Christianity is.

    1:13: 

    “…cynical confidence trickster who bilked billions out of emotionally vulnerable people, who induced millions of Christians to drag ass on AIDS research, and who tried his best to destroy biology education in this nation finally enters the presence of the Lord (of the Flies)”?

    Four MINUTES, Dave?  Come on, man.

    fear83

  10. JPS says:

    Sorry for the thread hijack, but I have to ask:

    sestamibi, how’d you choose that name?  Seems to me it’s the medical nickname for a technetium compound I know better by its chemical name.

    (Got nothing to say about Falwell.)

  11. Blue Hen says:

    who induced millions of Christians to drag ass on AIDS research

    As opposed to Robert Mugabe, Progressive beacon, whose stance on AIDS includes bulldozing an AIDS clinic run by the eeeeevil Catholic Church. Now if the ACLU ran it, then that might be a different story. But they don’t, so it ain’t.

    I believe that the beautiful people refer to him as “controversial”.

    Thank goodieness that now we can finally begin spending money on AIDs research.

    Oh… We already are?

    Incidentally, are we spending more on AIDs research or heart diease? And which is the bigger killer? Are we spending more on AIDs research or TB? And hasn’t a new strain of TB been identified? One which spreads faster?

  12. happyfeet says:

    Ross, go to lunch. It’s NPR that will be keenly interested in annointing the new “face of the religious right” as soon as possible. People around here? Not so much. If Falwell had never lived, NPR would have had to invent him. Because they hate the dirty Christers is why.

  13. JHoward says:

    Prior to Falwell the tendency for churches to stay huddled in their congregations, thereby leaving the politicking to “the world”, was very prevalent.

    Also: Prior to the IRS being molded by politics, the pressure for churches to stay huddled in their congregations, thereby leaving tax-free political speech to “the world”, was nonexistent.

  14. JHoward says:

    …people who might have started out as liberal, gay-neutral, and pro-science are forced to support a creature like Falwell for fear of offending their (new) “core” audience.

    Dave’s after the lucrative Protein Wisdom for Dummies gig.  How come I never think of this stuff?

  15. Percy Dovetonsils says:

    …where people who might have started out as liberal, gay-neutral, and pro-science are forced to support a creature like Falwell for fear of offending their (new) “core” audience.

    I don’t recall anyone every defending Jerry Falwell around here, and I am quite sure that the term “idiotarian” was coined by Glenn Reynolds in “honor” of Falwell and Pat Robertson’s post-9/11 gibberish.

    Wait, I can think of one positive thing I can say:  “Jerry Falwell: most likely, had a more pleasant personality than David Ross’.”

  16. kelly says:

    How about, “cynical confidence trickster who bilked billions out of emotionally vulnerable people, who induced millions of Christians to drag ass on AIDS research, and who tried his best to destroy biology education in this nation finally enters the presence of the Lord (of the Flies)”?

    I rest my case, your honor. Or, alternatively, QED. Thanks, Mr. Ross for your valuable contribution.

  17. Charlie says:

    What could we possibly do to get those douchebags at NPR off public funding?

    “If Falwell had never lived, NPR would have had to invent him. “

    Brilliant.

  18. Percy Dovetonsils says:

    From the previous thread:

    Jerry Falwell’s dead.

    *******

    Meh.

    Posted by Dan Collins | permalink

    on 05/15 at 12:06 PM

    Yep, there’s some of that rallying-round-the-Christianist flag stuff you always see at Protein Wisdom.

  19. Blue Hen says:

    where people who might have started out as liberal, gay-neutral, and pro-science are forced to support a creature like Falwell for fear of offending their (new) “core” audience.

    Yes that’s it. I love being forced.

    And what in hell is ‘pro-science’? You want pro-science? Fine. Let’s prioritize research spending on dieases using criteria that are ‘science’ based’, not ‘gay-neutral’ based, whatever that means. I suspect that it translates as being politically and financially advantageous to a designated group.

    A ‘pro-science’ emphasis would mean dieases that affect the greatest cross section of the population, which are usually pnuemonic (airborne) would get priority. It would also mean that healthcare workers who have infectious dieases might possibly be discouraged from infecting their patients. A former dentist’s patient would have appreciated that, but she’s also with the Lord of the Flies. And good riddance, eh? Currently healthcare workers are teasted for TB. and some for some forms of hepatitis. But not AIDs. It would also mean that Immigration control would either stop someone with AIDs as readily as they would someone with TB, or stop neither.

  20. Aldo says:

    Seems to me he deserved a more even-handed obituary than the one funded by our tax dollars filtered through the progressive cheesecloth that makes up much of NPR these days.

    The Left screamed bloody murder when Kenneth Tomlinson tried to make NPR a little more balanced.  Of course, they are now busy reviving the Fairness Doctrine so that they can do to all media what Tomlinson wanted to do to tax-supported NPR.

  21. Paul Zrimsek says:

    I am the Core Audience! I demand pie!

  22. Blue Hen says:

    I am the core audience! And I should know; people tell me that my posts are the pits!

    But I have appeal.

  23. mojo says:

    “If you can’t say anything nice, don’t say anything at all.”

    — Mom

    Obituaries, like funerals, are for the living. The dead care not.”

    — Me

    SB: speak39

    in tongues?

  24. The GOP says:

    Shit.  Who are we going to pander to now?

  25. Fred says:

    Or, even shorter – “He was evil. Now, he’s gone.” Good riddance.

    Its got to be aesthetics.  It has to be.  There’s simply no other reason for a rationale human to describe Jerry Falwell as an “evil” “creature”.

    Mistaken?  Wrong?  Silly?  Sanctimonious?  Arrogant?  Dim?

    All of those things, and more, at various points in time.  But the haters want to run people like Falwell right out of the human race and I posit that its visceral, not intellectual.

  26. kelly says:

    You must marvel at the wonder of this intertubenet thingy: the elapsed time for the piss to hit the grave is measured in nanoseconds. Oh, hell, who am I kidding? You don’t even have to wait for the interment, just aim for the still warm corpse, right, David?

  27. BJTexs says:

    but he/she remarked on how childish the left’s view of Christianity is.

    I think I was the one that originally made that point. The NPR report is actually kind of mild.

    BTW: When Larry Flynt dies do you think NPR will end their obit with a quote from, say, Dobson?

    Thought not…

    who induced millions of Christians to drag ass on AIDS research

    The mainstream press and progressives always belieived that Falwell wielded more power than he actually possessed. Being Conservative and Christian, there was much of what Pat and Jerry said that I accepted, with the certain knowledge that they would suddenly, without warning, fall off the sanity wagon and something completely insane (like the 9/11 rant or Pat saying the hurricanes were God’s punishment.)

    Mr. Ross, I believe that despite Jerry’s best or worst intentions, if you were to read (or reread) “And the Band Played On” you would notice the overwhelming conclusion was the gay community largely dropped the ball on AIDS due to their aggressive refusal to abandon their newly liberated lifestyle.

    But, then again, my lesbian sister-in-law still believes that the CIA ordered by Ronald Reagan cooked up AIDS to rid the world of all the gay sinners. She really pissed that she can’t find a way to tie W to this.

    Nuance; the other white meat.

    Fred: Well said!

  28. Rob Crawford says:

    They did it by bringing politics to the pulpit, getting churches to hand out voter guides, and creating get-out-the-vote drives that would become the envy of many a politician.

    No one ever did that before!

  29. TODD says:

    I liked Falwell, spoke his mind and stuck to his guns. I always didn’t agree with all he said, but yes he built an impressive following and empire from nothing.  God speed Jerry

  30. Al Maviva says:

    Mojo… Dave’s onto us man… we only say what we say because we’re afraid of offending the “core audience.”

    Y’know.  Like that bastard Fred. 

    Whoops!  Dammit.  Now they’ll never let me post here again.

  31. Rob B. says:

    David,

    if it really bothers you that Dan launched such a sterling defense of Falwell, AKA as his epic “meh”, then you sould go check out the the more balanced tolerence and refelction of the enlightened non-christianist at Fark and Daily Kos.

    I found it incredibly inspiring the way that elements of the “enlightened secular progressives” reached across the asile in a show of respect and tolerence to offer such epic wisdom and respects as:

    “So i guess him and jesus arent bff anymore?”

    “HAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHA. No rapture for you, dicksmack!”

    “say hi to satan for us, jerry! congrats on ripping off all those old ladies!”

    “$5 says he’s in for a coma relating to meth and gay sex binging.”

    and the ever famous “I hope they find out he was wearing panties and panty hose with a butt plug stuck in him at the time.”

    In light of that, people here ARE positively kissing ass, aren’t they?

  32. Percy Dovetonsils says:

    OT:

    still believes that the CIA ordered by Ronald Reagan cooked up AIDS

    BWAH!  Oh, like the CIA can do anything other than fight vicious Washington turf battles.

    If the CIA tried to create the AIDS virus, it probably would have found a cure for cancer instead.

  33. Blue Hen says:

    Al Maviviviva (echo effect)

    Thou hast transgressed, and have blasphemed against the Core. To trifle with the Core is heretical, and not at all nice.

    You may return to the right side of the Core, should you provide pie to the assembled throng. I’m partial to strawberry -rhubarb myself.

    Go forth, and obtain pie

  34. Pablo says:

    How’s Larry Flynt doing?

    They were buddies at the end of the day.

  35. Fred says:

    Y’know.  Like that bastard Fred. 

    That’s right, bitches!  I AM the core audience!

    PANDER TO ME!

  36. BJTexs says:

    WARNING: OBSCURE CARTOON REFERENCE!

    Core, chief!

    THIS ENDS THE OBSCURE CARTOON REFERENCE!

    YOU MAY NOW RETURN TO YOUR PATHETIC BLOVIATING!

  37. me says:

    taking their vaginas out for a nice lunch

    What will that generally cost ya, say, in the L.A. area? And what do they like to eat? Vegetarian? BBQ?

  38. What will that generally cost ya, say, in the L.A. area? And what do they like to eat? Vegetarian? BBQ?

    me, please don’t go there. I’m trying to behave myself.  oh to heck with it.  Lady fingers.

  39. B Moe says:

    What is undisputed is that the Moral Majority became the vehicle that carried millions of born-again Christians out of their separatist tendencies and into the center of political activism.

    They did it by bringing politics to the pulpit, getting churches to hand out voter guides, and creating get-out-the-vote drives that would become the envy of many a politician. The religious right was born — and Falwell became its chief spokesman.

    There had been plenty of politically active ministries before, Falwell was just better organized, realized the potential of cable TV, and I believe, realized that when the government took over the charity business it freed up alot of church money for politics.

  40. happyfeet says:

    the national debate over Christian values

    Um, googling “debate over Christian values” is getting me exactly 10 hits. #1 is npr.org.

  41. mojo says:

    Fred, et Al:

    What’s all this I hear about “offending The Core‘s audience”? I mean, if they could sit through that gigantic POS, shouldn’t they put up with pretty much anything? Up to and including being beaten with hockey sticks?



    What?



    Oh. Never mind.

  42. Pablo says:

    And what do they like to eat? Vegetarian? BBQ?

    Sausage, naturally, though the hardcore ones prefer it fake.

  43. chris says:

    Maybe today was the rapture. How disappointing if so.

  44. SteveG says:

    Put another 200 lbs on Falwell and he’d look like Michael Moore…. now that he’s dead.

    Eerie.

    I’m not the least bit disturbed. Christianity is built on the foundational belief that all are flawed. The Judeo Christian story line reads like a parade of knuckleheads.

    Putting the AIDS outbreak on Falwell is a little misdirected. Falwell’s statements and policies on AIDS were very consequence oriented, but gay America wanted a pill right now to make the problem go away. The best short term solution to combat the spread of AIDS in the early days was to stop “dragging <your> ass” all over town…

    Here lies Jerry Falwell “the white Jesse Jackson”

  45. happyfeet says:

    Taz ‘Rat’ Finch: How many languages do you speak?

    Dr. Conrad Zimsky: Five, actually.

    Taz ‘Rat’ Finch: I speak one. One Zero One Zero

    Zero. With that I could steal your money, your secrets, your sexual fantasies, your whole life. In any country, any time, any place I want. We multitask like you breathe. I couldn’t think as slow as you if I tried.

    It would be really an accomplishment to write worse dialog than that.

  46. Percy Dovetonsils says:

    Hey, mojo, happyfeet, ix-nay on the ore-ca, willya?

    Let’s not give Al Gore anything else to obsess about, or else our taxes eventually will be hiked 50% to pay for a laser-shooting, self-propelled drilling machine that can swim through magma.

    And I bet Halliburton won’t even get the commission, either.

  47. me says:

    I’ve heard some like sushi?

  48. happyfeet says:

    I did kinda like the part where they were rescued cause of the whales. It really made me reflect on how intertwined all life is and how we’re really going to have to work together if we want to survive. In his way, I think Jerry understood that too:

    “I do not think that that gives me permission to be unkind or ungracious to a person who may be living a homosexual lifestyle.”

  49. Mikey NTH says:

    B.J. – Dangermouse’s henchhamster, Penrod.

    ThePolishNizel – Happy Birthday!

    For Mr.Falwell: I’ve got nuthin’ to say. He didn’t speak for me, and he wasn’t evil.

  50. Farmer Joe says:

    I don’t think I’d have a lot good to say about Fallwell, but jeez, I can’t believe some of the comments I’ve seen around the net. You’d think the guy had, jeez, blown up the world trade center or something.

  51. BJTexs says:

    Mikey:

    Gold star and all of my adult children will tell you that Dangermouse was their favorite cartoon growing up.

    Dangermouse:”Where are you from?”

    Uniformed Mouse: “I’m in the French Foreign Legion. I joined to forget.”

    Dangermouse: “Forget what?”

    Uniformed Mouse: “I dunno, I forgot.”

  52. Rob Crawford says:

    I don’t think I’d have a lot good to say about Fallwell, but jeez, I can’t believe some of the comments I’ve seen around the net. You’d think the guy had, jeez, blown up the world trade center or something.

    No shit. I never thought much of him, but the reaction to his death is turning him into a sympathetic figure.

    I have to wonder—when Castro’s finally announced stable, how will the people celebrating Falwell’s death react?

    And which of the two—Castro or Falwell—has done more harm? Which of the two treated gays and AIDS patients worse?

  53. happyfeet says:

    I would say Castro.

  54. Jeff Goldstein says:

    Sorry, was away with the wife and kid.

    Let me address this:

    And there’s an interesting sociological phenomenon at work right here on this blog – where people who might have started out as liberal, gay-neutral, and pro-science are forced to support a creature like Falwell for fear of offending their (new) “core” audience.

    I have no idea to whom this is specifically addressed, but for my part, I would hardly say I’ve EVER “supported” Falwell.

    At the same time, I see no reason to turn him into the Devil, either, simply because he based his life around a core set of beliefs that are infused throughout western culture to begin with.

    Social conservatives are only a problem to me when they begin agitating for judicial activism or nannystatist laws brought about by judicial fiat.

    Otherwise, they are simply another interested voting bloc.

    Cathy Young had a great article that touched on some of this last month.  Let me see if I can find it.  I wrote her an email about it at the time because I think it touched on the problems libertarians have with social cons, and—inadvertantly perhaps—left space for classical liberalism to assert its bona fides.

    Ah.  Here it is.  Never blogged on it because it was only available in the print edition but maybe I’ll give it its own post when I have time.

  55. JD says:

    When either the media, or a leftist (I know, generally they overlap) tells me that something is undisputed, I know for a fact that they are about to tell me a bald faced lie. 

    I am no fan of the Falwells and Robertsons of the world, but those that seem to be taking some glee in his passing are disgusting.

  56. Enlightened says:

    The best short term solution to AIDS now is still – stop dragging your ass around town, and stop sharing your drug stick.

    The best long term solution is stop dragging your infected ass, vagina and drug sticks around town.

    But the dirty little secret about AIDS is – it is a 100% preventable pandemic. We have known how to stop it for twenty years.  People that continue to practice unsafe behavior should not be rewarded with drugs or vaccines that will excuse their lack of self restraint.  Harsh?  Too bad.

    After attending a funeral in 1991 for a gay friend that died of AIDS (the 20th person I knew that died of it) and hearing members of the funeral party make plans to go out and get some ass sex at the bookstore through the bathroom peep hole, I told them all to get f–ked. 

    I have no sympathy for AIDS victims besides the babies that are born with HIV.  Thanks to the idiots that spawned them they get a death sentence.  A cure for them would be a blessing.  However there would not be HIV infected babies if it weren’t for the parents. 

    Falwell pissed off the crybabies that want to drug and whore around town and have the government clean up their mess.  Good for him.

  57. TomB says:

    And there’s an interesting sociological phenomenon at work right here on this blog – where people who might have started out as liberal, gay-neutral, and pro-science are forced to support a creature like Falwell for fear of offending their (new) “core” audience.

    I know that you dropped your load on the rug and ran, but if you should come back for another evacuation, I don’t suppose I could trouble you for, you know, some actual examples of what you are talking about, huh?

    ‘cause that would be grrrrreat, um, yeah.

  58. happyfeet says:

    After attending a funeral in 1991 for a gay friend that died of AIDS…

    Wow. That was like 16 years ago.

  59. Carin says:

    That virtually the entire right supported Falwell was a liberal fantasy.

  60. Patrick (the other one) says:

    from the quoted article:

    “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 try to secularize America — I point the finger in their face and say, ‘You helped this happen.’”

    Seems about right to me.  Why’d he apologize?  OBL railed against the infidel’s sins and debauchery.  I doubt he was talking as much about WalMart and Halliburton as he was about one guy popping another in the can.

    (not that there’s anything wrong with that…)

  61. That virtually the entire right supported Falwell was a liberal fantasy.

    But it has a certain ring of truth, therefore it must be true. After all, they’re the “reality based community”.

  62. Enlightened says:

    Falwell is not and never was required to support homosexuality. No one is.

    Your not a better person if you do or a worse person if you don’t.

    The activism of force-feeding us what a core group of roughly 6% of our total population thinks we should believe is patently absurd.

  63. happyfeet says:

    It wouldn’t be so bad if homosexuals weren’t so darn homogeneous.

  64. Enlighted says:

    Wow. That was like 16 years ago.

    Yeah – Wow.  20 of my friends and associates died between 1984 and 1991. 

    Pity some people just can’t practice self control.

  65. MayBee says:

    As far as I know, Falwell was no hypocrite.

    That’s more than can be said about many people that spend their lives pushing an agenda.

  66. Carin says:

    But it has a certain ring of truth, therefore it must be true

    Yes, it does have that “truthiness” factor going for it.

  67. SteveG says:

    Oh yeah…. on the subject of “biology education” and the Falwell torpedoing thereof… I mean really… blaming Falwell for Al Gore is a bit much.

    But thinking harder, I see that Al does resemble a fat televangelist both in look and delivery and he probably is as good of a scientist as Pat was…. so maybe David is right.

  68. happyfeet says:

    Liberty U put up pictures of him on the splash. Is that really the best picture they could find? I think they were caught off guard. The second one is much better, except for the whole darkness-is-closing-in effect.

  69. JHoward says:

    Its got to be aesthetics.

    What isn’t about appearances over there.  Witness little Dave, present thread.

    Pity some people just can’t practice self control.

    Oh, now that just looks bad.

    But it has a certain ring of truth, therefore it must be true.

    You barbarian.  Please know that blaming a dead preacher for government not curing preventable fatalities occuring in the, uh, leisure sector is the height of morality.  Because it looks good.  Somehow.

  70. Rick Smith says:

    Jeff-

    Followed the link to Amanda Marcotte.  Told her she obviously wasn’t ready for a national campaign, told her Falwell was dead and wouldn’t say or do anything to piss her off again, called her a moron.  What was so offensive that she didn’t allow my comment?  Must have been the moron thing, Huh?

  71. McGehee says:

    So, does anybody know who the father of his baby is?

    Or am I thinking of someone else?

  72. cynn says:

    I have nothing to say one way or the other about Falwell.  He never personally accosted me, so live and let live, as it were.  What is interesting to me is these evangelicals who orchestrate a cult of personality that gathers enough momentum to become a political force.  Politicians need to analyze this phenomenon and bottle the essense.

  73. jdm says:

    I think the term “idiotarian” was invented by Charles of Little Green Footballs to describe Pat Robertson and his we-deserved-9/11 schtick. But the term has so much room for so many…

  74. happyfeet says:

    LGF claims anti-idiotarian

  75. RiverCocytus says:

    Falwell was no peach, but I’ll agree with MayBee; as far as I know he lived up to standard of integrity that is worthy of laud in and of itself.

    The man should have stuck to theology; when it came to politics he had a serious case of foot-in-mouth. He definitely did not speak for this Christian’s opinion many times. In fact, he should have shut his trap on many occasions—tired of having to explain that his words do not speak for all of God’s people…

    Anywho, an otherwise muted time of respect for a controversial and influential man of our time is disrupted by a leftist hatefest. Somehow, it is not surprising, only disappointing.

    tw: miss34 – yes, they certainly missed the mark on this one.

  76. happyfeet says:

    Still, the problem here seems to lie with dubious prosecution, not so much with the verdict.

  77. ThePolishNizel says:

    I was not a Falwell fan, either.  Strictly because he not only blurred the line between the religious and state, but crossed it way too much.  One of the basic facts, that I love Christianity and Christ’s teachings for, is His built in separation.  The irony is that the relgious left is no better.  In fact, they have blended religion and state much more effectively than Falwell and his ilk ever could hope to do.  If there are Unitarians out there, can you please tell me what exactly you are?  I have a sister who is a freshly minted Unitarian (former evil Catholic) and she claims that she goes to Church every sunday. 

    And thank you, Mikey NTH, for the kind words.

    tw:party58

    Yeah, maybe when I turn 58, but not so much for 38.

  78. Major John says:

    It would be really an accomplishment to write worse dialog than that.

    Now wait just a darn minute – did you see any of the Conan movies?!

    I’m with Dan on this one – meh.

    As for the odd-left reaction… Man, do these folks have some pent up rage issues or what?

  79. furriskey says:

    If Jerry Falwell was a Christian, I’m a Muslim.

  80. sagy says:

    here’s why the conservatives don’t know howto play politics and its frustrating. his funeral should be a time to get down in the gutter and give speeches like they did at coreeta scott kings funeral and lambast them and their failed policies. now is the time to stick it in their faces. when i saw the king funeral my jaw dropped and i said whers myteam, why arent they out on the field…anyone?[crickets chirping] lets go..we’ve got policies / why should i fight for them when the conservatives won’t bother/ control the narrative? good luck, how else will only a few know about the gays not wanting to close bathouses in san fran/ i got to go buy a book 15 yrs later and then say to myself ‘those bastards’game over/im extremely..frustrated? angry? disgusted? see i have feelings too

  81. happyfeet says:

    Conan movies were like rated R. They wouldn’t let me in.

  82. TheGeezer says:

    I wouldn’t be surprised if certain bloggers were celebrating just a bit by taking their vaginas out for a nice lunch.

    Won’t that cause infections?

  83. estaban says:

    Furriskey,

    “Judge not that you not be judged.”

    As a born-againer, it was always this credo that kept me from fully embracing Falwell’s politics. But neither will I judge him.

  84. cynn says:

    PolishNizel:  Who exactly are the religious leftists that are suborning the right’s non-stop march to moral superiority?  Unitarians?  I have no idea what they represent; sounds squishy and suspiciously all-inclusive.

    The hard rightists have assumed the invisible cloak of religious authority to insinuate their agenda into the public consciousness.  It works well for them.  Falwell was a master; I give him his due.

  85. furriskey says:

    I’m very judgmental, Estaban. Without judgment we risk making fools of ourselves.

  86. Jamie says:

    It’s fortunate, then, cynn, isn’t it, that our liberal society denies any religion an unchallenged bully pulpit. Look, apparently some Muslims find a call to violent jihad very compelling – worth suicide and murder. Is it so terrible that some Christians find a call to social conservatism compelling, when that conservatism is first, supportive of some very important social constructs like longterm monogamy and the nurturance of children, a strong sense of individual responsibility, and the value of hard work and personal integrity; and second, tempered (where necessary) by civil rights guarantees in the public sphere?

    As a Christian myself, though of a different bent from Falwell, I’m all for eternal vigilance so that we don’t give away those guarantees… but hating the sin and loving the sinner (WRT a “hard right” view of homosexuality, for instance) seems a durn sight better than hating the sin and killing the sinner.

  87. cynn says:

    I was waiting for someone to make the tenuous connection beteen the christianist right and islamists.  There’s a huge difference, obviously.  The first advocates self-preservation through a recruitment by shame campaign, and the second relies on a culture willing to to produce martyrs by increasing its population in the face of mass self-sacrifice.

    As long as the christianists don’t explode too much, they may have the spiritual advantage here.

  88. JHoward says:

    Say what?

  89. marcus says:

    If Jerry Falwell was a Christian, I’m a Muslim.

    I’m very judgmental, Estaban. Without judgment we risk making fools of ourselves.

    For with what judgment ye judge, ye shall be judged: and with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you again.  Matt 7:2

    In other words, whatever standard you use to judge others will be used by others to judge you.

    Having said that, I have a question:  By which standard do you judge Falwell’s salvation to be fraudulent?

  90. Jeff Goldstein says:

    As long as the christianists don’t explode too much, they may have the spiritual advantage here.

    It’s been a long time since the Crusades and the Inquisition.  Seems to me that you’re fairly safe.

  91. Pablo says:

    What is interesting to me is these evangelicals who orchestrate a cult of personality that gathers enough momentum to become a political force.  Politicians need to analyze this phenomenon and bottle the essense.

    Al Gore is on the case. Hollywood has annointed him, and the race is on.

  92. cynn says:

    Say what?

    What’s your problem, Mr. Hates The System?

  93. furriskey says:

    By which standard do you judge Falwell’s salvation to be fraudulent?

    By my standards. I am happy to live and be judged by them.

  94. happyfeet says:

    It’s been a long time since the Crusades and the Inquisition. Seems to me that you’re fairly safe.

    But wasn’t it the Christianists that started the whole ”scrapbooking” thing? I don’t feel safe.

  95. Pellegri says:

    I can’t say I agree chapter and verse with the man, but he was doing good as he knew it to the best of his ability–and I come from a school of thought that doesn’t celebrate death, no matter whose death, so all the (predictable) glee from certain quarters is disgusting.

    Godspeed, Jerry Falwell.

    Really interesting discussion on AIDS here, and something I’d be glad to enter into if it didn’t seem grotesquely OT (to me, anyhow).

  96. marcus says:

    By my standards. I am happy to live and be judged by them.

    Fair enough.  And props to you for your honesty.

    By Biblical standards, everything I know about Falwell indicates he put his faith and trust in the Lord Jesus Christ for salvation, which means he was a Christian and, contrary to Marcotte and others, is currently in the presence of the Lord.

  97. happyfeet says:

    But also it was kind of a slow news day.

  98. furriskey says:

    Please don’t think I hold any brief for Marcotte.

    We are all in the presence of the Lord.

  99. marcus says:

    Please don’t think I hold any brief for Marcotte.

    No, not at all, furriskey.  Marcotte represents the extreme view, and I apologize if I came across wrong.

    I guess I’m trying to say that the genuineness of a person’s Christian faith should be judged according to the Bible, since the Christian faith itself is defined by the revelation of scripture.  Sort of like discerning the authenticity of a Muslim based on the teachings of the Koran.

  100. kelly says:

    I wouldn’t be surprised if certain bloggers were celebrating just a bit by taking their vaginas out for a nice lunch.

    Speaking of vaginas, has anyone seen or heard from timmah? I’m a bit worried he might be on a mojito/ecstacy bender and we may never hear from him again.

    No, check that. Cheney is still alive as of this hour.

    Carry on.

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