Re: Celebrating the Death of Jerry Falwell
On May 16, 2007, at 6:46 AM, Joseph Catron wrote:
Jerry Laymon Falwell Sr., August 11, 1933 =96 May 15, 2007: RIP. History will judge you, as it will the rest of us. May God have mercy on us all.
http://www.thecarpetbaggerreport.com/archives/10806.html
I have to admit, writing about Falwell=92s death poses an awkward =
challenge for me. When I worked at Americans United for Separation of =
Church and State for several years, I read Falwell=92s materials, I =
listened to his speeches, I watched his interviews, and got a real =
sense for who this man was and what he devoted his life to.
In literally every instance, I was repelled and appalled. But is it =
not callous to bash a man just hours after his death?
I have another idea =97 I=92ll document Jerry Falwell=92s professional life= =
and let his record speak for itself.
March 1980: Falwell tells an Anchorage rally about a conversation =
with President Carter at the White House. Commenting on a January =
breakfast meeting, Falwell claimed to have asked Carter why he had =
=93practicing homosexuals=94 on the senior staff at the White House. =
According to Falwell, Carter replied, =93Well, I am president of all =
the American people, and I believe I should represent everyone.=94 When =
others who attended the White House event insisted that the exchange =
never happened, Falwell responded that his account =93was not intended =
to be a verbatim report,=94 but rather an =93honest portrayal=94 of =
Carter=92s position.
August 1980: After Southern Baptist Convention President Bailey Smith =
tells a Dallas Religious Right gathering that =93God Almighty does not =
hear the prayer of a Jew,=94 Falwell gives a similar view. =93I do not =
believe,=94 he told reporters, =93that God answers the prayer of any =
unredeemed Gentile or Jew.=94 After a meeting with an American Jewish =
Committee rabbi, he changed course, telling an interviewer on NBC=92s =
=93Meet the Press=94 that =93God hears the prayers of all persons=85. God =
hears everything.=94
July 1984: Falwell is forced to pay gay activist Jerry Sloan $5,000 =
after losing a court battle. During a TV debate in Sacramento, =
Falwell denied calling the gay-oriented Metropolitan Community =
Churches =93brute beasts=94 and =93a vile and Satanic system=94 that will =
=93one day be utterly annihilated and there will be a celebration in =
heaven.=94 When Sloan insisted he had a tape, Falwell promised $5,000 =
if he could produce it. Sloan did so, Falwell refused to pay and =
Sloan successfully sued. Falwell appealed, with his attorney charging =
that the Jewish judge in the case was prejudiced. He lost again and =
was forced to pay an additional $2,875 in sanctions and court fees.
October 1987: The Federal Election Commission fines Falwell for =
transferring $6.7 million in funds intended for his ministry to =
political committees.
February 1988: The U.S. Supreme Court strikes down a $200,000 jury =
award to Falwell for =93emotional distress=94 he suffered because of a =
Hustler magazine parody. Chief Justice William H. Rehnquist, usually =
a Falwell favorite, wrote the unanimous opinion in Hustler v. =
Falwell, ruling that the First Amendment protects free speech.
February 1993: The Internal Revenue Service determines that funds =
from Falwell=92s Old Time Gospel Hour program were illegally funneled =
to a political action committee. The IRS forced Falwell to pay =
$50,000 and retroactively revoked the Old Time Gospel Hour=92s tax- =
exempt status for 1986-87.
March 1993: Despite his promise to Jewish groups to stop referring to =
America as a =93Christian nation,=94 Falwell gives a sermon saying, =93We =
must never allow our children to forget that this is a Christian =
nation. We must take back what is rightfully ours.=94
1994-1995: Falwell is criticized for using his =93Old Time Gospel Hour=94 =
to hawk a scurrilous video called =93The Clinton Chronicles=94 that makes =
a number of unsubstantiated charges against President Bill Clinton =97 =
among them that he is a drug addict and that he arranged the murders =
of political enemies in Arkansas. Despite claims he had no ties to =
the project, evidence surfaced that Falwell helped bankroll the =
venture with $200,000 paid to a group called Citizens for Honest =
Government (CHG). CHG=92s Pat Matrisciana later admitted that Falwell =
and he staged an infomercial interview promoting the video in which a =
silhouetted reporter said his life was in danger for investigating =
Clinton. (Matrisciana himself posed as the reporter.) =93That was =
Jerry=92s idea to do that,=94 Matrisciana recalled. =93He thought that =
would be dramatic.=94
November 1997: Falwell accepts $3.5 million from a front group =
representing controversial Korean evangelist Sun Myung Moon to ease =
Liberty University=92s financial woes.
April 1998: Confronted on national television with a controversial =
quote from America Can Be Saved!, a published collection of his =
sermons, Falwell denies having written the book or had anything to do =
with it. In the 1979 work, Falwell wrote, =93I hope to live to see the =
day when, as in the early days of our country, we won=92t have any =
public schools. The churches will have taken them over again and =
Christians will be running them. What a happy day that will be!=94 =
Despite Falwell=92s denial, Sword of the Lord Publishing, which =
produced the book, confirms that Falwell wrote it.
January 1999: Falwell tells a pastors=92 conference in Kingsport, =
Tenn., that the Antichrist prophesied in the Bible is alive today and =
=93of course he=92ll be Jewish.=94
February 1999: Falwell becomes the object of nationwide ridicule =
after his National Liberty Journal newspaper issues a =93parents alert=94 =
warning that Tinky Winky, a character on the popular PBS children=92s =
show =93Teletubbies,=94 might be gay.
September 2001: Falwell blames Americans for the 9/11 terrorist =
attacks. =93The abortionists have got to bear some burden for this =
because God will not be mocked. And when we destroy 40 million little =
innocent babies, we make God mad. I really believe that the Pagans, =
and the abortionists, and the feminists, and the gays and the =
lesbians who are actively trying to make that an alternative =
lifestyle, the ACLU, People For the American Way, all of them who =
have tried to secularize America. I point the finger in their face =
and say, =91You helped this happen.=92=94
November 2005: Falwell spearheads campaign to resist =93war on Christmas.= =94
February 2007: Falwell describes global warming as a conspiracy =
orchestrated by Satan, liberals, and The Weather Channel.
Say what you will about the man and his life, but he leaves behind a =
colorful background.