RIP Jerry Falwell

[IronCaballo4]

http://www.cnn.com/2007/US/05/15/jer....ap/index.html

AP Reports he passed away at 73 years old...Rest in Peace

[RhodyYanksFan]

RIP weirdo.

[4bronxbombers]

RIP weirdo.

LMAO!

[Octoberbaby]

Sorry, but I never did like this man. Why be a hypocrite about it?

[mjdlight]

Bye Jerry, I hope you learned something in your time here on Earth, but I doubt it.

[penguin4]

http://www.cnn.com/2007/US/05/15/jer....ap/index.html

AP Reports he passed away at 73 years old...Rest in Peace

I can't see why the average sane-minded American would wish this guy Rest In Peace when he wouldn't've said the same thing to most of us.

[Bosox Guy in Chitown]

He's in a warmer place now.....

[NYYFAN5388]

RIP Jerry

[TinoFan84]

He's in a warmer place now.....

I know I shouldn't laugh at this ... but I did ...

I know the "politically correct thing" would be to not comment if I can't say something nice ... but it did make me laugh.

[montyque]

Right about now, Jerry's either saying "Hey I was right!" or "Holy crap, was I ever off the mark!"

[fredgmuggs]

Does this mean it's OK to watch the Teletubbies again?

[Jersey Yankee]

If the majority of people were moral, then he wouldn't need such a self-serving name as "Moral Majority". It would be like saying "ink pen", or "silly Pink Sux fan". Certain things are presumed.

I still can't understand why some reverend came aboard the same time as Reagan did. It's like he was his religious think tank person.

I don't need anyone telling me that the majority of people are moral. If that were the case, then why the countless listings under "Escorts" in the Manhattan Yellow Pages every single year? Why do so many people stumble out of bars drunk, then drive home? People kick their dogs, yell at their spouses, shaft someone who's not as much in a position of power as they are.

While all this may be wrong, it does show that the majority of people aren't moral. Now had he said the Moral Minority, I would've been more interested. Something about stepping up to a higher level, rather than pretending I must join everyone else's supposed high moral standards, would've interested me more.

R-I-P, but I do hope that people don't act like they're the end-all and be-all as far as high moral standards. Jimmy "I Have *SINNNNNNNNNNED* Swaggart (along with a few copies of Hustler) can attest to that.

[4bronxbombers]

He's in a warmer place now.....

[NYDCYankee]

I can't see why the average sane-minded American would wish this guy Rest In Peace when he wouldn't've said the same thing to most of us.

That's not fair. If you feel that way then I would venture to guess than you are no better than he is.

Death is death. And though he made me angry more than once about the way he portrayed Christians and distorted my faith, I still wish that he Rests In Peace.

[PalmerGA]

I was taught to not speak ill of the dead. I have done it, however (i.e. Saddam, executed serial killers, etc.), but I'll pass on JF. It's not that I'm a big fan or approve of the way he delivered his message - I just don't see the point. RIP, Reverend.

[Cattledog]

"AIDS is the wrath of a just God against homosexuals. To oppose it would be like an Israelite jumping in the Red Sea to save one of Pharaoh's charioteers . . . AIDS is not just God's punishment for homosexuals; it is God's punishment for the society that tolerates homosexuals." --Jerry Falwell, 1991

As far as I am concerned, it is one less homophobe in the world.

[Sam18]

I hope he gets raped by Hitler.

[RhodyYanksFan]

"AIDS is the wrath of a just God against homosexuals. To oppose it would be like an Israelite jumping in the Red Sea to save one of Pharaoh's charioteers . . . AIDS is not just God's punishment for homosexuals; it is God's punishment for the society that tolerates homosexuals." --Jerry Falwell, 1991

As far as I am concerned, it is one less homophobe in the world.

If only he was just a homophobe.

If you're gonna start posting his greatest hits, you gotta add the one about how 9/11 was God being mad at us for tolerating gays.

[fredgmuggs]

I wasn't the biggest Jerry Falwell fan but I respected the sincerity of his convictions while not agreeing with many of them, or his politicising them.

He is gone now and this particular thread probably offers neither the appropriate time, or the correct place to be debating Falwell's legacy.

[penguin4]

That's not fair. If you feel that way then I would venture to guess than you are no better than he is.

Death is death. And though he made me angry more than once about the way he portrayed Christians and distorted my faith, I still wish that he Rests In Peace.

I didn't say "I hope he burns" (as he's talked about people of my kind); I just said I don't see any reason to wish someone well who's caused the majority of the population nothing but strife with his extremism. He's dead. That doesn't mean we should suddenly sing his praises.

[Bosox Guy in Chitown]

That's not fair. If you feel that way then I would venture to guess than you are no better than he is.

Death is death. And though he made me angry more than once about the way he portrayed Christians and distorted my faith, I still wish that he Rests In Peace.

Some will see this as harsh, but for a man that preached bigotry and homophobia, the only tragedy here is that he lived to ripe old age.

I wish I believed in heaven and hell b/c I would get comfort from the thought of him roasting right now.

[SalingerNY]

I hope he gets raped by Hitler.

For starters...

[Barb51850]

I didn't like the man, but I will pray for his soul.

[#1PaFan]

If only he was just a homophobe.

If you're gonna start posting his greatest hits, you gotta add the one about how 9/11 was God being mad at us for tolerating gays.

Yeah, I put him in the same class as the bastards that protest at funerals. (Well, I guess I shouldn't have used the word "class.")

[Toaderly]

That's not fair. If you feel that way then I would venture to guess than you are no better than he is.

Death is death. And though he made me angry more than once about the way he portrayed Christians and distorted my faith, I still wish that he Rests In Peace.

Well said. I agree completely.

[Panamaniac42]

If you're gonna start posting his greatest hits, you gotta add the one about how 9/11 was God being mad at us for tolerating gays.

Re: 9/11
"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.'"

"I therefore believe that that created an environment which possibly has caused God to lift the veil of protection which has allowed no one to attack America on our soil since 1812," he said.


Ssssssseeya.

[PaulieIsAwesome]

I was taught to not speak ill of the dead. I have done it, however (i.e. Saddam, executed serial killers, etc.), but I'll pass on JF. It's not that I'm a big fan or approve of the way he delivered his message - I just don't see the point. RIP, Reverend.

I'm inclined to agree with you, Palmer. I didn't agree with him, particularly like him, and not so PC that I've got a problem with other people saying this stuff, but I personally don't speak ill of the dead.

[NYDCYankee]

I didn't say "I hope he burns" (as he's talked about people of my kind); I just said I don't see any reason to wish someone well who's caused the majority of the population nothing but strife with his extremism. He's dead. That doesn't mean we should suddenly sing his praises.

I don't think anyone his singing is praises. I certainly wasn't, and I don't see anyone in this thread that is.

[NYDCYankee]

Some will see this as harsh, but for a man that preached bigotry and homophobia, the only tragedy here is that he lived to ripe old age.

I wish I believed in heaven and hell b/c I would get comfort from the thought of him roasting right now.

Again, I don't see anyone calling this is a tragedy, or saying they are sad to see him go.

And I think by saying you would get comfort from him roasting in hell those statements are not very different than what he would say.

Just the way I see it.

[Bosox Guy in Chitown]

Again, I don't see anyone calling this is a tragedy, or saying they are sad to see him go.

And I think by saying you would get comfort from him roasting in hell those statements are not very different than what he would say.

Just the way I see it.

Fair point - I just don't see the value in affording him a courtesy (in life or death) that he wouldn't afford most people he didn't like. He was a horrible, horrible human being and the world is a better place in his absence.

[SheffRocks11]

I didn't like the man, but I will pray for his soul.

same...

[JDPNYY]

Hell just became a lot less spacious.

[penguin4]

Fair point - I just don't see the value in affording him a courtesy (in life or death) that he wouldn't afford most people he didn't like.

Yes, that was more or less what I was trying to say, too.

[jlw1980]

Whoa, somebody has vandalized the Wikipedia article for the Southern Baptist Convention (which I clicked on when I was looking for quotes from Falwell, while reading his Wikipedia article). This message is at the top of the page, in bold:

ATTENTION EVERYONE! There will be a celebration in front of Thomas Road Baptist Church on May 19, 2007 at 1:00PM. The public is cordially invited to attend. Please bring posters and plycards depicting Jerry in hell (preferably with Jerry being sodomized by Satan or fornicating with his mother). Representatives from the media are especially encouraged to attend. Please help us send Jerry to hell in style! Never forget the hate and venom that spewed from this scumbag's mouth.

Damn!

I can't bring myself to wish that he rests in peace, because I think he was disgraceful, but so is garbage like that. It makes the people who wrote it look just as bad as the man they despise.

[fredgmuggs]

Whoa, somebody has vandalized the Wikipedia article for the Southern Baptist Convention (which I clicked on when I was looking for quotes from Falwell, while reading his Wikipedia article). This message is at the top of the page, in bold:



Damn!

I can't bring myself to wish that he rests in peace, because I think he was disgraceful, but so is garbage like that. It makes the people who wrote it look just as bad as the man they despise.

Ironic, isn't it?

[jlw1980]

Ironic, isn't it?

Indeed...I reported the vandalism not five minutes ago and it has been removed all ready.

[NYDCYankee]

From ABC News tonight.

(5/15, story 2, 2:55, Gibson) reported, “Next, we turn to the death of one of the most influential and controversial religious leaders in America. The Reverend Jerry Falwell found a way to harness the power of faith for political purposes. He would found unconscious in his Lynchburg, Virginia office at Liberty University today and could not be revived. Falwell, you’ll recall, founded the Moral Majority nearly three decades ago, helping to usher in a wave of conservative politicians. But his legacy is much more complex than that. Here's ABC's Dan Harris.” Jerry Falwell: “This is a nation under God, built upon the principles of the Old and New Testament.” ABC (Harris) added, “Today, the Reverend Jerry Falwell, one of the commanding generals in the culture wars, was remembered by allies and adversaries. The Reverend Billy Graham said, ‘We did not always agree on everything. But I knew him to be a man of God.’” Reverend Jesse Jackson: “He had a heart of gold. A mind of his own. But a heard of gold.” Mark Grooms, Thomas Terrace Baptist Church: “I am in a bit of shock, that my friend, my mentor, my pastor. And he's always been my pastor through all these years. Has gone. And I won't see him again.” Harris: “Falwell, the son of an atheist, became a pioneering and polarizing force in American religion and politics. He founded one of the first mega churches, the Thomas Road Church in Lynchburg, growing it from 35 members in the 1950s to 24,000 today. He was one of the first televangelists. Reverend Falwell was also one of the first to organize evangelicals into a political powerhouse, founding the Moral Majority in 1979.” Richard Land, Southern Baptist Convention: “He registered 12 million voters between 1976 and 1980 and probably did as much as anybody else to elect Ronald Reagan, which I think is a very good thing.” Harris: “After becoming the face of the religious right in the 1980s, some say Falwell lost his influence. In the final years of his life, Falwell alienated some in his own movement with a series of controversial statements. For example, he said the children's TV character, Tinky Winky, was a gay role model.” Falwell: “That's the pagans and abortionists and the feminist and the gays.” Harris: “Perhaps his most infamous remark came after 9/11, for which he blamed gays and feminists, among others.” Falwell: “All of them who tried to secularize America, I point the finger in their face and say you helped this happen.” Prof. Randall Balmer, religion historian, Columbia University: “It discredited him both in the evangelical community and certainly beyond the evangelical community. I think at a certain point of his career he reached the level of self-parody.” Harris: “While his influence may have waned in later years, there's no question that Jerry Falwell helped evangelicals make a major imprint on the national scene. The debate is whether he elevated the faith or unnecessarily politicized it. Dan Harris, ABC News, Miami.”

[Octoberbaby]

One major thing that Jerry Falwell did that made me think of him as a hypocrite was after the Jim Bakker fiasco, Falwell descended upon Bakker's Church and Christian Center, taking over and putting himself in charge and pushing Bakker out. Not that I feel so sorry for Bakker but what business did Falwell have to perform a take over on an enterprise that had nothing to do with him? People who live in glass houses shouldn't throw stones. Moral Majority my foot!

[yankeesAZ]

Can't say I'll miss him. I'll leave it at that.

[NYDCYankee]

One major thing that Jerry Falwell did that made me think of him as a hypocrite was after the Jim Bakker fiasco, Falwell descended upon Bakker's Church and Christian Center, taking over and putting himself in charge and pushing Bakker out. Not that I feel so sorry for Bakker but what business did Falwell have to perform a take over on an enterprise that had nothing to do with him? People who live in glass houses shouldn't throw stones. Moral Majority my foot!

Your right, Tammy Faye hates him. She talked about it in her documentary.

[IronCaballo4]

Your right, Tammy Faye hates him. She talked about it in her documentary.

Actually tonight on Larry King she called in with her condolences. She's not doing too well herself, she's apparently down to 65 pounds

[jlw1980]

Actually tonight on Larry King she called in with her condolences. She's not doing too well herself, she's apparently down to 65 pounds

Wouldn't she be dead at 65 pounds? That's about the weight of an average 8-year-old child.

[IronCaballo4]

Wouldn't she be dead at 65 pounds? That's about the weight of an average 8-year-old child.

Well that's what was on the news the other night (she lives nearby). She's a real sweet lady, I'll never forget my first day working at PetSmart last summer and she walked in asking me about gravel for her frogs

[NYDCYankee]

Well that's what was on the news the other night (she lives nearby). She's a real sweet lady, I'll never forget my first day working at PetSmart last summer and she walked in asking me about gravel for her frogs

I know I heard, she wasn't doing well. She's an awesome lady, seems like the type that would have frogs.

[wexy]

One less hate fulled person in the world and going south of the border.

[NyQuil]

Does this mean it's OK to watch the Teletubbies again?

Sure, if you want to go to hell.

[Octoberbaby]

Actually tonight on Larry King she called in with her condolences. She's not doing too well herself, she's apparently down to 65 pounds

They played a previous clip on Anderson 360 in which Tammy Faye said she doesn't know if she can ever forgive Falwell for what he did. She said he may as well have just killed her. Now that she, herself, is on her deathbed I think she wanted to speak with him to try to place it behind them but it never happened.

[Octoberbaby]

Wouldn't she be dead at 65 pounds? That's about the weight of an average 8-year-old child.

She is really on her deathbed, sadly.

[NYDCYankee]

They played a previous clip on Anderson 360 in which Tammy Faye said she doesn't know if she can ever forgive Falwell for what he did. She said he may as well have just killed her. Now that she, herself, is on her deathbed I think she wanted to speak with him to try to place it behind them but it never happened.

Didn't he allude to Jim Baker being gay? Just to try and discredit him further.

[tommo10]

R.i.p