Falwell In "Serious Condition"

[ponytail]

Falwell in 'Gravely Serious' Condition
By Associated Press

35 minutes ago


LYNCHBURG, Va. - The Rev. Jerry Falwell was hospitalized in "gravely serious" condition after being found unconscious Tuesday in his office at Liberty University, a school executive said.

Ron Godwin, the university's executive vice president, said Falwell, 73, was found unresponsive around 10:45 a.m. and taken to Lynchburg General Hospital. Godwin said he was not sure what caused the collapse, but he said Falwell "has a history of heart challenges."

"I had breakfast with him, and he was fine at breakfast," Godwin said. "He went to his office, I went to mine, and they found him unresponsive."

Godwin said Falwell was receiving emergency care. A hospital spokeswoman said she had "no information to release at this time."

Falwell, a television evangelist who founded the Moral Majority, became the face of the religious right in the 1980s. He later founded the conservative Liberty University and serves as its president.

Falwell survived two serious health scares in early 2005. He was hospitalized for two weeks with what was described as a viral infection, then was hospitalized again a few weeks later after going into respiratory arrest. Later that year, doctors found a 70 percent blockage in an artery, which they opened with stents.

Liberty University's commencement is scheduled for Saturday, with former U.S. House Speaker Newt Gingrich as the featured speaker.



I'm resisting the temptation to pray in a different way than I usually do...

[Rkitko]

Well, now he's gone...

I just have one question: Will he be martyed or will we finally, upon examination of his sock drawer, discover that he was a closet case?

[ponytail]

And now the revised version:


Rev. Jerry Falwell Dies
By Associated Press

22 minutes ago

The Rev. Jerry Falwell speaks at a rally on ...

LYNCHBURG, Va. - A Liberty University executive says the Rev. Jerry Falwell has died.

Falwell was hospitalized in "gravely serious" condition after being found unconscious Tuesday in his office at Liberty University, a school executive said earlier.

Ron Godwin, the university's executive vice president, said Falwell, 73, was found unresponsive around 10:45 a.m. and taken to Lynchburg General Hospital. Godwin said he was not sure what caused the collapse, but he said Falwell "has a history of heart challenges."

"I had breakfast with him, and he was fine at breakfast," Godwin said. "He went to his office, I went to mine, and they found him unresponsive."

Falwell, a television evangelist who founded the Moral Majority, became the face of the religious right in the 1980s. He later founded the conservative Liberty University and served as its president.

Falwell survived two serious health scares in early 2005. He was hospitalized for two weeks with what was described as a viral infection, then was hospitalized again a few weeks later after going into respiratory arrest. Later that year, doctors found a 70 percent blockage in an artery, which they opened with stents.

Liberty University's commencement is scheduled for Saturday, with former U.S. House Speaker Newt Gingrich as the featured speaker.



I admit I was whistling "Ding Dong The Witch Is Dead" as I posted this....

[mixtymotions]

One shouldn't speak of the dead unless they have something good to say. Jerry Falwell is dead. Good.

[Darlene]

I loved that Mixty, I was already to hear someone start to blast those who though badly of him. But you surprised me, you didn't say anything about him but "he was dead. good!" I loved it.
I was hoping and wishing that one more of those TV money grabbers was gone. And he is. GOOD!
Peace, Darlene

[ponytail]

Falwell credited his Moral Majority with getting millions of conservative voters registered, electing Ronald Reagan and giving Republicans Senate control in 1980.
"I shudder to think where the country would be right now if the religious right had not evolved," Falwell said when he stepped down as Moral Majority president in 1987.
Falwell had once opposed mixing preaching with politics, but he changed his view and in 1979, founded the Moral Majority. The political lobbying organization grew to 6.5 million members and raised $69 million as it supported conservative politicians and campaigned against abortion, homosexuality, pornography and bans on school prayer.
Falwell became the face of the religious right, appearing on national magazine covers and on television talk shows. In 1983, U.S. News & World Report named him one of 25 most influential people in America.
In 1984, he sued Hustler magazine for $45 million, charging that he was libeled by an ad parody depicting him as an incestuous drunkard. A federal jury found the fake ad did not libel him, but awarded him $200,000 for emotional distress. That verdict was overturned, however, in a landmark 1988 U.S. Supreme Court decision that held that even pornographic spoofs about a public figure enjoy First Amendment protection.
The case was depicted in the 1996 movie "The People v. Larry Flynt."
With Falwell's high profile came frequent criticism, even from fellow ministers. The Rev. Billy Graham once rebuked him for political sermonizing on "non-moral issues."
Falwell quit the Moral Majority in 1987, saying he was tired of being "a lightning rod" and wanted to devote his time to his ministry and Liberty University. But he remained outspoken and continued to draw criticism for his remarks.
Days after Sept. 11, 2001, Falwell essentially blamed feminists, gays, lesbians and liberal groups for bringing on the terrorist attacks. He later apologized.
In 1999, he told an evangelical conference that the Antichrist was a male Jew who was probably already alive. Falwell later apologized for the remark but not for holding the belief. A month later, his National Liberty Journal warned parents that Tinky Winky, a purple, purse-toting character on television's "Teletubbies" show, was a gay role model and morally damaging to children.
Falwell was re-energized after "family values" proved important in the 2004 presidential election. He formed the Faith and Values Coalition as the "21st Century resurrection of the Moral Majority," to seek anti-abortion judges, a constitutional amendment banning same-sex marriage and more conservative elected officials.
In 1987, Falwell took over the PTL (Praise the Lord) ministry in South Carolina after Jim Bakker's troubles. Falwell slid fully clothed down a theme park water slide after donors met his fund-raising goal to help rescue the rival ministry. He gave it up seven months later after learning the depth of PTL's financial problems.
Largely because of the Bakker and Jimmy Swaggart scandals, donations to Falwell's ministry dropped from $135 million in 1986 to less than $100 million the following year. Hundreds of workers were laid off and viewers of his television show dwindled.
Liberty University was $73 million in debt and on the verge of bankruptcy, and his "Old Time Gospel Hour" was $16 million in debt.
By the mid-1990s, two local businessmen with long ties to Falwell began overseeing the finances and helped get companies to forgive debts or write them of as losses.
Falwell's father and his grandfather were militant atheists, he wrote in his autobiography. He said his father made a fortune off his businesses _ including bootleging during Prohibition.
As a student, Falwell was a star athlete and a prankster who was barred from giving his high school valedictorian's speech after he was caught using counterfeit lunch tickets his senior year.

BTW, a note about the Bakker reference: Falwell secretly engineered Jim Bakker’s downfall and then offered to “help” by taking over the Bakkers’ ministry – in order to get control of their television statellite. He then became a vocal critic of the Bakkers. It’s ironic that Tammy Faye Bakker, ill as she is, has outlived him.

[DaveM]

Hey, maybe it's the Rapture....if they're all gone, I will truly begin to believe in a merciful God.

Mind, I don't think the likes of Falwell are likely to be admitted to the elevator that goes "up".

[Dee]

Eulogy for a Fool

For all the years of spreading hate in God’s name,

For misguiding millions with false information and outright lies,

For all the untold pain and misery you brought to people’s lives,

May God have mercy on your soul Mr Falwell.

[ponytail]

Amen, Daniel.

[Wildflower Fever]

Well at least ONE founder of a nutjob so-called university has passed on to his own metaphorical "pearly gates." Still, he wasn't as wacky as Pat Robertson, who we now know floods the Bush administration with Regent University "law grads." IF there is a hell, we'll see him there. Well, I will, being such a miscreant.:D Quick request for clarification please: was Falwell the one who tangled so oft with Larry Flynt, and was he also the cousin of Jerry Lee Lewis?:confused:

[Judy]

Whoever will protect us from the Teletubbies?

[Oak Kitten]

At times like this, I truly wish I believed in Hell, because that is where he belongs. And you know that if he REALLY believed in Hell, he would not have dared to live the wretched deceitful life he led. I'm just glad he's gone.

Oak

[Roady]

Seems like someone did a bit of vandalizing on Wikipedia in response to Falwell's demise. Don't look if you're easily offended. Click Wikipedia, You are so Funny (http://wonkette.com/politics/dept%27-of-kids-these-days-show-no-respect/oh-wikipedia-you-are-so-funny-260712.php)

[DaveM]

It's certainly as objective as most of the other content I've found on Wikipedia. And it would be poetic justice, after all.

I do not make a habit of praying, but would consider asking God to please come along and take the rest of Falwell's ilk "home", as they generally put it. Or as I would put it, send them back where they came from.

[Dee]

At times like this, I truly wish I believed in Hell ...

I'm confused. You meant this isn't hell?

Moving right along . . .

Falwell meets Socrates

SOCRATES: Hello, my name is Socrates. I have always tried to live my life always in seek of the truth. I always want to make the world a better place for my friends and family. I understand you are a man of God. Would you mind, Reverend Falwell, discussing a rather controversial issue today?

FALWELL: The biggest issue we face today is the morality of sex between members of the same sex.

SOCRATES: I heard you say you are a man of God. Would you mind helping to educate an old man on this matter you say is the biggest issue we face today? Who is this "we" you speak of?

FALWELL: Christians. We believe Jesus is the son of the one and only God, and that you can only achieve salvation through him. Do you know Jesus?

SOCRATES: We have many gods in Athens and Zeus is said the most powerful of all. Is this god that you speak of different than those gods?

FALWELL: God is a moral, powerful, and omniscient being. He is the creator of the earth, hell below, and heaven above. There is only one God.

SOCRATES: Zeus will not be comforted by that. How do you know this to be true?

FALWELL: The Bible says so.

SOCRATES: How do you know the Bible says what is true?

FALWELL: If you don’t know, then I can’t tell you. But let’s stay with the issue of homosexuality, which is an abomination in God’s eyes.

SOCRATES: How do you know that is true?

FALWELL: Look, we won’t get anywhere unless you accept as true what I’m telling you.

SOCRATES: Forgive an old man. So, what is the problem with homosexuality?

FALWELL: It is surely an abomination against God. It is a sin. It must not be allowed.

SOCRATES: The gods during my day saw no problem with homosexuality, in fact some encouraged it. How do you know that? I mean, do all people who believe in the God that you do, view this as offensive to God?

FALWELL: Like I said, if you don’t know, I can’t tell you.

SOCRATES: But simply repeating something cannot make it so. Tell me what is "sin"?

FALWELL: When you sin, you disobey God.

SOCRATES: Would you say that love and compassion are sins?

FALWELL: Dear heavens, no. Jesus commanded that we treat others, as we would want to be treated. He wants us to love one another. He also commanded that we not judge one another.

SOCRATES: So, how are two men or two women who love each other, disobeying God? I thought that a moral and just god, as you have just assured me he is, wants people to love one another. Clearly, any god should approve of two people in love if he commanded they love one another.

FALWELL: No, you don’t understand. People can’t love one another if they are the same sex. It is an abomination against God.

SOCRATES: I’m sorry; I cannot comprehend how there is a question of morals or ethics, when it comes to love. Two men love each other. You still have not really answered my question. How is it wrong, compared to a man and a woman being in love?

(con'd (http://www.epinions.com/content_2990710916))

[ponytail]

May 16, 2007 11:00 AM ET

NEW YORK The death Tuesday of conservative minister Jerry Falwell, who led the rise of Christian politics, but sparked controversy with his anti-gay and anti-liberal comments, drew mixed reactions on editorial pages today as some papers sought to point out his successes, while others called him a divider and an exploiter.

While The New York Times, The Washington Post, Los Angeles Times or USA Today did not offer editorials on his death, a string of other dailies weighed in,
from Maryland to California.

The News & Advance of Lynchberg, Va., where Falwell's Liberty University is located, praised the late leader, calling him "a minister who loved the Lord and took seriously Christ's admonition to carry the Gospel to the four corners of the globe." The paper also devoted its entire front page to Falwell's death, with more than four pages of inside coverage.

By contrast, the more liberal San Francisco Chronicle, while noting Falwell's impact and political power, stressed his use of faith to counter progressive beliefs.

"Falwell ... knew how to exploit the growing power of television to expand his ministry by reaching out to new audiences. His rise as a political force in the 1980s, however, came through his adeptness at identifying and exploiting cultural and religious divisions," a Chronicle editorial stated. "Over time, Falwell marginalized himself with his over-the-top statements, such as his contention that purple-clad TV character Tinky Winky was a gay role model and morally damaging for kids. Two days after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorists attacks, Falwell suggested that abortionists, feminists, gays and lesbians, the ACLU, liberals and others who tried to 'secularize America" had made God angry and had "helped this happen.' He later apologized."

Some quotes from other newspaper editorials on Falwell are below:

***

The Dallas Morning News

"This editorial page often disagreed with the Southern Baptist minister, such as when he said that 9/11 might be God's judgment on America because of gays, feminists, pagans and liberals. Those remarks were embarrassing and silly, and a long line of ministers and lay leaders rightly denounced them for their venom. In fact, that reaction demonstrated how Mr. Falwell's brand of political Christianity was beginning to lose its luster within evangelicalism. New leaders were rising, pushing issues like care for the environment and compassion for Africans suffering from AIDS. Younger pastors like Rick Warren and T.D. Jakes have become voices of a less partisan movement that engages the wider world but is not as closely tied to the Republican Party. Mr. Falwell's death marks not only the passing of a man, but the passing of an era."


The Sun of Baltimore

"He could be so outspoken, often outrageously and sometimes cruelly, that it blunted his message. In recent years, he drew the most notice for asserting that one of the Teletubbies was homosexual and for blaming the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks on 'the pagans and the abortionists and the feminists and the gays and lesbians ... all of them who have helped secularize America.'"

"Yet he played a key role in giving voice to conservatives, many in rural areas, who believed their views were being ignored in Washington. His Moral Majority, the 6-million-member lobbying organization Mr. Falwell founded in 1979, helped deliver the White House to Republican Ronald Reagan in 1980 and shaped the course of American politics through six more presidential elections."


The Orange County Register

"While the Rev. Falwell struck us as a genuine and decent person, his movement left a lot to be desired. In particular, the Christian right had trouble separating its religious and political elements. He and other such leaders often viewed the government as the means to achieve their social aims."


The Star Tribune in Minneapolis

"It's tempting, at the death of the Rev. Jerry Falwell, to wonder whether he finally found what he seemed to be looking for. Whatever his personal faith might have been, Falwell's public and very political spirituality seemed based on a belief in a vengeful God: AIDS was punishment for homosexuality, Sept. 11 was punishment (though he later recanted) for abortion, paganism and the ACLU. Oh yes, and homosexuality."

"One did not have to believe in the Rapture to see that, under Falwell's leadership, huge numbers of Christians disappeared from mainstream U.S. politics. He ran the Moral Majority almost as a party in its own right, and he claimed credit for helping put Ronald Reagan in the White House."


***
Here's hoping the Dallas Morning News quote calling it "the passing of an era" is prophetic.

[RedjackRyan]

I personally have seperated the man from his politics/faith. The few hours I spent with Mister Falwell, I enjoyed.. his venom laced rhetoric I did not enjoy nor support. Rest in peace Mister Falwell, and to hell with your venom and hate.

[ponytail]

Jesus Called; Jerry Answered: A Prayer for Brother Falwell
Written by Chris Floyd
Wednesday, 16 May 2007
by Chris Floyd

Lord, we gather here tonight to remember your departed servant, Brother Falwell, as he wings his way toward the great beyond, praise God. Lord, we know that there are many out there tonight – lost souls, Lord, be with them, Jesus – who will profane this solemn occasion with scorn and mockery. Dear God, we know that Brother Falwell's many victories in Your precious Name stirred up the Devil in a multitude of hearts, and that his enemies – and Yours, Lord Jesus – are rejoicing tonight at his passing. Lord, we will not be among that number. Although at times we found ourselves in loving, prayerful opposition to some of Brother Falwell's understandings of the faith, dear Lord, tonight we lift him up, praise God, we lift him high, unto Thee we commend his spirit.

No, Lord, tonight we will do Brother Falwell the honor of treating with him as he in his lovingkindness and tender mercy always treated with others, especially those, dear God, whom he found in opposition to his understandings of the faith. Jesus Lord and Saviour, we recall how in his God-given wisdom Brother Falwell saw into the heart of things and knew that those who suffer death and affliction have brought these divine scourges upon themselves through their own wickedness and weaknesses. Lord, Brother Falwell taught us how you remove Your shield even from the most faithful should they falter on Your road. Even nations divinely blessed as no land in the history of Creation may be struck by death and fire from the dark forces You marshal as instruments of Your wrath.

Therefore, Lord, we know that this very night, as the formaldehyde streams through the corpulent remains of Your departed servant, that Brother Falwell was struck down by Your mighty Hand, in an act of wisdom far beyond the ken of sinful man to comprehend.

Every day, precious Lord, Brother Falwell preached Your wrath. Every day, precious Lord, he preached Your love of war. Every day, precious Lord, he called Your blessings down upon the dealmakers and bagmen, praise God, upon the profiteers of suffering, praise Jesus, upon the divinely appointed leaders who practiced their deceptions and loosed their destructions only in Thy name, Lord, only according to Thy will, Lord, only in the greater service of Thy divine plan, O Jesus Christ our Lord and Saviour. No sparrow falls but that You order it; no missile strikes but at Thy dread command. And no great mass of swollen flesh falls from the disgorgement of its own physical corruption but that You, precious Lord, have done the deed. This is what Brother Falwell himself has taught us in his long years toiling in Thy bounteous vineyard: that he died because You withdrew Your protection and smote him in Your anger for his iniquities.

No, Lord, we will not mock Brother Falwell tonight. In life, his clotted ignorance brought him wealth and fame and power: as Thou sayeth in the Scriptures, he has received his reward. Instead, we beseech thee, Almighty God, to take Brother Falwell tonight and deal with him according to his own understanding of the faith. Be the God that he imagined, deal with him as he said You dealt with others, give him every measure of mercy that he himself bestowed. Amen.


***

As Herman Munster would say -- Oopsie! The above actually is from The AtlanTIC Free Press, published in New Zealand.

[DaveM]

A principle tenet of the faith Falwell claimed to represent is: "judge not, lest ye be judged". As he devoted his career to judging others, surely turnabout is not only fair play, but divine duty.

[lucille]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YkAPaEMwyKU



Mmmmmmmmm

[ponytail]

Thanks for that clip. What a delight to hear somebody say it, and on CNN, no less.

[Dee]

You tell ’em Mr Hitchens!

[ponytail]

http://www.cagle.com/news/FarewellFalwell/main.asp

[Bat]

Thanks for that video, Lucille...right on, Christopher Hutchins!
Charletans, all!

[Randy & Betty in Pa]

Good evening all

Not being one to often speak ill of the deceased I can say only... Who was this thread about anyway...

TINKIE WINKY FOR PRESIDENT!!!!!A moral and intelligent choice

Best to all

R. from Pa

[DaveM]

There are some other wonderful Christopher Hitchens clips on YouTube, notably one in which he leaves Sean Hannity essentially speechless on questions of faith and belief. Well worth checking out.

And bravo to Mr. Hitchens for his seeming utter lack of fear to speak his mind.