The Rev. Jerry Falwell dies

[kfrost06]

The Rev. Jerry Falwell — founder of the Moral Majority and the face of the religious right in the 1980s — died Tuesday after being found unconscious in his office, a Liberty University executive said.

Ron Godwin, Liberty's executive vice president, said Falwell, 73, had been found unresponsive around 10:45 a.m. and was taken to Lynchburg General Hospital.

Godwin said he was not sure what caused the collapse, but noted that Falwell had “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 in 1979, became the face of the religious right in the 1980s. He later founded the conservative Liberty University and served as its chancellor.

In the 1980s, Falwell saw his political lobbying organization grow to 6.5 million members, raising millions of dollars for conservative politicians and helping to elect Ronald Reagan president.

A biography of Falwell on Liberty University's Web site states that "with the impetus of the newly organized Moral Majority, millions of people of faith voted for the first time in 1980 and helped elect Ronald Reagan and many conservative congressmen and senators."

Falwell survived two serious health scares in early 2005. He was hospitalized in February for two weeks with what was described as a viral infection, then hospitalized again in March with congestive heart failure after being found unconscious. At that time he had to be resuscitated by EMTs at the hospital emergency room.

A native of Lynchburg, Falwell and his wife, Macel, have three children and eight grandchildren.

His Jerry Falwell ministries take in about $200 million a year in revenues, according to Liberty University's Web site.

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

[singern]

First off, May he rest in peace.

As to his ideology, I found it to be narrow minded, and extremely insulting to other cultures . The idea that if you do not believe in Christ you will go to hell is beyond my understanding, and contrary to the idea of a loving and forgiving God.

[BgMc31]

Agreed, rest in peace! BUT, the man was one of the most devisive people in America. Props to him for standing up for his ideals and voicing them, even if they were devisive and IMO, wrong! It will be interested to see some of the die hard conservatives come to his defense because he did say 9/11 was punishment to the US for becoming a secular progressive society and following the rhetoric of gays, feminists, etc.

[alphaman]

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,272477,00.html

[alphaman]

First off, May he rest in peace.

As to his ideology, I found it to be narrow minded, and extremely insulting to other cultures . The idea that if you do not believe in Christ you will go to hell is beyond my understanding, and contrary to the idea of a loving and forgiving God.

So you think you're entitled to enter into heaven on your own terms?

[Mighty Joe]

So.....Is he going to heaven??

[biglouie250]

i believe in karma so i will not speak ill of the dead, that being said he will not get a "rest in peace" from me and i will leave it at that.

[RamyGras]

So you think you're entitled to enter into heaven on your own terms?

Obviously this is a thread for people that believe in religion. But, I think that singern is referring to the fact that Jews aren't going to hell for being Jewish. And, I agree.

[biglouie250]

Obviously this is a thread for people that believe in religion. But, I think that singern is referring to the fact that Jews aren't going to hell for being Jewish. And, I agree.

what happens to scientologists? are there padded rooms in heaven?

[Tock]

As far as "resting in peace," I wish him all the peace he brought on
those who did not fit into his narrow views of morality.

Nevertheless, my guess is that since he's pretty well dead, he's resting pretty well.

[Tock]

Hmmm . . . that's Fox News . . .
As reliable as they are, Falwell might still be alive and well.

Got any reliable references?

[RamyGras]

Hmmm . . . that's Fox News . . .
As reliable as they are, Falwell might still be alive and well.

Got any reliable references?

I don't blame you. But yes, he is dead. Al-Jazeera has just reported it. So...

[RA]

Hmmm . . . that's Fox News . . .
As reliable as they are, Falwell might still be alive and well.

Got any reliable references?

You mean slanted so far to the left you could hang a birdhouse on it..hmmm

go watch cnn, nbc, cbs, abc, etc... I know you dont like to hear the truth Tock, just what you want to hear.

[Kristofer68ss]

hmmmm...RIP

I wonder if Larry Flint threw a party.

I personally wont miss him. He is one of the many reasons i have MAJOR issues with organized religion.

[Mike Dura]

LoL. I respect your self-restraint but I'm not going to hold back. Jerry Fallwell was one intolerant nazi. His anti-gay rhetoric was destructive and tragic. I can imagine a poor Christian boy exposed to this ignorant and hateful rhetoric feeling like something was "wrong" with him and I'm sure it's led to suicide (or a lynching) in more than one case. Fascist pig. May he rot in hell (figuratively speaking. Wake up, hell is not a place, it's right at hand because people like him and Pat Robertson exist in this world). He would parrot the old plug "hate the sin not the sinner" - he was clearly a hater.

As far as "resting in peace," I wish him all the peace he brought on
those who did not fit into his narrow views of morality.

Nevertheless, my guess is that since he's pretty well dead, he's resting pretty well.

[singern]

So you think you're entitled to enter into heaven on your own terms?

Yes absolutely, by being a good person.
The idea that only believers of Christ can enter heaven is completely ignorant and contrary to the very definition of Christs teachings.

Jerry Falwell does not meet my criteria of a good person, his inability to distinguish right from wrong, and good from bad is directly responsible for untold suffering and even murder in the name of his belief.


Granted I am not a big believer, but I do believe God has a place at his side for all good people of all cultures, and faiths.

[Information]

Do not make this a religious discussion.

[Mike Dura]

That's beautiful. I wish more people can have that mentality peaceful and enlightened mentality. Unfortunately, that's far from the scheme of things because people are more interested in the ideology, dogma, and literal-minded interpretations than they are God, love, or transcending ideas. Carl Jung once said, "religion is a defense against the religious experience."

Here's a good read, Thich Naht Hahn's "living Budha, living Christ." It's a book that promotes tolerance by showing the similarities of the two great religions and it's written in a highly readable way. His books are the perfect beach read and it even makes this guy with "an axe to grind" feel a bit more relaxed.

Yes absolutely, by being a good person.
The idea that only believers of Christ can enter heaven is completely ignorant and contrary to the very definition of Christs teachings.

Jerry Falwell does not meet my criteria of a good person, his inability to distinguish right from wrong, and good from bad is directly responsible for untold suffering and even murder in the name of his belief.


Granted I am not a big believer, but I do believe God has a place at his side for all good people of all cultures, and faiths.

[gixxerboy1]

Sad to say but the world is better off

[singern]

Do not make this a religious discussion.

Not at all, merely a debate on the actions and ideology of Falwell.

[biglouie250]

Sad to say but the world is better off

+1............... cant help it. the man was a bigot, sexist, antigay and a moron. larry flynt should roll tracks on his grave with his wheel chair.

[alphaman]

Edited

[alphaman]

That's beautiful. I wish more people can have that mentality peaceful and enlightened mentality. Unfortunately, that's far from the scheme of things because people are more interested in the ideology, dogma, and literal-minded interpretations than they are God, love, or transcending ideas. Carl Jung once said, "religion is a defense against the religious experience."

Here's a good read, Thich Naht Hahn's "living Budha, living Christ." It's a book that promotes tolerance by showing the similarities of the two great religions and it's written in a highly readable way. His books are the perfect beach read and it even makes this guy with "an axe to grind" feel a bit more relaxed.

The fact that Dura chimes in with this should be enough for you all to accept Christ!

[Mike Dura]

Lol. Oh stop it!

The fact that Dura chimes in with this should be enough for you all to accept Christ!

[Lexed]

may he rest in peace

[singern]

Edited

Im not insulting your faith, far from it.
I only disagree that any one faith is above another. But by saying that only your faith will get you into heaven you are in fact insulting all other religions.
Falwell earned his reputation by spewing this very idea of intolerance and lack of respect to others..

[Mike Dura]

The only problem there is that his religion doesn't seem to tolerate other religions (in as far as other faiths being equally legit or "true"). When Christ says, "no one goes to the father but through me" that invalidates other worldviews/religion. It's a way of thinking that doesn't put Christians in harmonly with other religions. Buddhism, by contrast, does tolerate. Regarding faith, Buddhism doesn't concern itself with it because who needs faith when you have experience (i.e., the experience of god, love, or awe if you want to call it any or all of those things). If one experiences "God," an impersonal god, you don't need to project a human image or human attributes onto "it" whatever you think or feel "it" is. Where that is done, one gets stuck into an idea and the religion is reduced to a mental event. Where there is written Buddhist texts, the purpose of the writing is to transcend the words and gets into experience - similar to how poetry works. The practice of Buddhism is meditation, again, going beyond the concept. The second best thing to experience is trying to talk about it but that's where the misunderstandings tend to happen and that's where one gets stuck into concepts - a common event for Christians. Christianity, as practiced by most Christians (save the Christian monks), really seems more like lip service to me kind of like heads without bodies, if that makes sense.

Im not insulting your faith, far from it.
I only disagree that any one faith is above another. But by saying that only your faith will get you into heaven you are in fact insulting all other religions.
Falwell earned his reputation by spewing this very idea of intolerance and lack of respect to others..

[Tock]

+1............... cant help it. the man was a bigot, sexist, antigay and a moron. larry flynt should roll tracks on his grave with his wheel chair.

One of these days I'd like to take a trip to Virginia, visit his grave, and pee on it to commemerate the times he pissed me off.

[Mike Dura]

That's what I like to hear. I feel the same about anyone with the Falwell mentality which is characterized as the authoritarian personality and the closed mind. I'm with you but the thing is, I don't think I have enuff pee to go around. Too many of them and the politicians have a field day exploiting them.

One of these days I'd like to take a trip to Virginia, visit his grave, and pee on it to commemerate the times he pissed me off.

[Tock]

That's what I like to hear. I feel the same about anyone with the Falwell mentality which is characterized as the authoritarian personality and the closed mind. I'm with you but the thing is, I don't think I have enuff pee to go around. Too many of them and the politicians have a field day exploiting them.

True, there's not enough to go around, but we all do what we can . . .

[Hoggage_54]

This is the guy who blamed "the pagans, and the abortionists, and the feminists, and the gays and the lesbians ... who have tried to secularize America" (September 13, 2001) for 9/11, when it was actually ignorant, brainwashed, religious fanatics like himself who caused it.

[Logan13]

Agreed, rest in peace! BUT, the man was one of the most devisive people in America. Props to him for standing up for his ideals and voicing them, even if they were devisive and IMO, wrong! It will be interested to see some of the die hard conservatives come to his defense because he did say 9/11 was punishment to the US for becoming a secular progressive society and following the rhetoric of gays, feminists, etc.

Devisive? The same could be said for those who are forcing gay marriage on the population.

[Logan13]

what happens to scientologists? are there padded rooms in heaven?

Oh no you didn't............

[Information]

Edited

You were given a warning. This is your last suspension. Next time you will be banned.

[Information]

Closed