Jerry Falwell is Dead

Hello All,
I am very sad. Jerry Falwell passed away today.
I did not agree with his politics, for the most part.
But I knew he loved Jesus and was a man of faith.
He made many statements in the realm of religion that
I didn't agree with, but again, he was a person that
often realized that he had to re-examine what he said
and had the humility to say he was wrong or unsure.
I won't judge him. I will miss his spirit.
He was interesting, caused dialogue and discussions, and
I truly believe, sought to do good.
He was one of the few that opposed abortion, but actually
offered a place for mothers to give birth, and if they chose,
he took their children and took care of them until they could
be adopted.
For the most part, I truly opposed his political ideas, but admired
that he had convictions. I share his love of God.
In strange way, I am happy that he is with God in a new way. I
am glad for his transformed nature and new birth.
His passing creates many feelings, I am sure. Let the charity
of life allow us to pray for his family in this time of sorrow, and
appreciate the good things he has done.
Let the faith of life remind us how we all change and evolve, and
also are always learning to be better while never achieving goodness.
Let the hope of life grant us the joy of thinking, and the ability to forgive the thoughts we and others have shared that are destructive.
Let us recall, the humanity of us all. We walk a path that is ours,
and many do not understand. Jerry Falwell walked his path.
As I said, I often disagreed with him, but he did not waver in the wind. And wrong or right, I believe he was sincere in his convictions. For that, I honour him.
Take Care,
Fieldthistle

My mother taught me to keep quiet if I have nothing good to say, so I will be very quiet on this topic.

Eloquent and thoughtful as usual, Fieldthistle. Thank you for posting.
I, too, have mixed feelings on his passing, but definitely sympathy for his family at this difficult time.

I did not agree w/ the man but hope the Lord will grace me to go as quickly.

Never made it to The Rapture.

quote:

Originally posted by Tony Bad

My mother taught me to keep quiet if I have nothing good to say, so I will be very quiet on this topic.

Tony--Your thoughts echo mine exactly, so like you, I choose to say nothing negative about the man.

However, I will say that it's just a shame that Mr. Falwell did not choose the same philosophy. (Okay--I guess that I did say something, but at least it was a reasonably objective statement, and not a negative one.)

Fieldthistle, you spoke very eloquently. You spoke for me, I have nothing better to add. Thank you for speaking up.
Ole Rouxdog

Out of respect to Fieldthistle, a member I hold in high regard, I'm keeping my big, flapping, opinionated yapper shut. And only for that reason.

It's been over a week now. It's been a fair amount of time for mourning.
Can we at least state why the world is a better place with him now unable to toss out his hateful rhetoric hidden behind a gross misinterpretation of the bible?

here are some gems:
"The idea that religion and politics don't mix was invented by the Devil to keep Christians from running their own country”

"Textbooks are Soviet propaganda"

“It appears that America's anti-Biblical feminist movement is at last dying, thank God, and is possibly being replaced by a Christ-centered men's movement which may become the foundation for a desperately needed national spiritual awakening”

“God continues to lift the curtain and allow the enemies of America to give us probably what we deserve”

"I hope I live to see the day when, as in the early days of our country, we won't 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!"

"Grown men should not be having sex with prostitutes unless they are married to them."

“Christians, like slaves and soldiers, ask no questions”

"I'm glad now, at age 66, that I never used alcohol or tobacco... I've buried a lot of friends who used tobacco or alcohol."

My comments on this would surely eject me from the forum; pronto. Therefore, I remain behind the

His famous 9/11 statement:

"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.'"

But he did apologize:

"I would never blame any human being except the terrorists, and if I left that impression with gays or lesbians or anyone else, I apologize."

I did not agree with very many of Jerry Falwells statements but even Al Sharpton admited that he believed that Falwell was honest in his statments even though they were somewaht incorrect.

I think Falwell was a Christian man who believed what he said. When he felt he was incorrect, he apologized.

Personally, I would have never been a part of his church but I think that in his mind, he was a good man. I think he mean't well even though he offended others..

Paul E. Smith
Knoxville, TN

Personally, I prefer the term "homo-American." :)

I think the definition, or at least "a" definition of insane, is believing with all your heart and conviction, in something that is completely preposterous.
What made him so dangerous is that he spewed very potent venom and encased it in something that seemed palatable.

Condolences to his family.

I clicked on this because I thought I might be the only person to point out the hugeness of the hate he spewed while alive. Since I am delighted to find that almost everything I might have said has been said, I won't bother repeating it. I'll just say that niether I nor anyone I know personally caused 9/11, or had anything to do with causing it, in spite of what Jerry said.

Amen, BT. I have have wondered about the conversation Mr. Falwell and God must be having. Not sure I believe in an anthropomorphic God having such a conversation, but if there is one, surely a hate-monger wouldn't be given a speed pass to heaven.