Reports: Jerry Falwell Dead

[db44]

Aparently Falwell was found unconscious this morning and an aide is saying he has died at the age of 73.

My favorite coverage so far is CNN, which has shown a clip of the Teletubbies already.

[Richard Tafoya]

LA Times:
http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-ex-falwell15may15,0,969561.story?coll=la-home-center

The Rev. Jerry Falwell, the television evangelist who founded the Moral Majority and used it to mold the religious right into a political force, died today shortly after being found unconscious in his office at Liberty University, a school executive said. He was 73.

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. "CPR efforts were unsuccessful," he said.

...

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.

...

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.

[shining star]

Darn.

[*rockstar54*]

I almost feel kind of sorry for him. His judgement day couldn't have been too pretty.

[Annoyedlistner]

my prayers are with his family.

thats about it though...he was a man that taught it was ok to be judgemental...he tried to preach the word of god and hate at the same time.

he must have been a very confused soul.

I'm personally a christian...and i'm not really sure if Falwell made it to see the Lord today......

[pinky]

I'm not going to speculate about his personal Judgement Day.

But, being the person I am, I hope to find out some day how it went. ;)

[Spiderweb]

I must admit in contrast to the Pope say, that on no message board I've read is there a single good thing about this man.

As I'm not from the US I only know about his risible comments to - is there any redress to the balance?

As for the evangelical movement there are loads of things I do like about it - it's passion, it's proclamation of the message of Christ etc but I do hope that that movement can become more liberal/less hateful in places. There are some sections of it that are doing it.

[Sunflowergirl]

I'm not going to lie. I cheered when I heard the news. That man's ministry was neither moral, nor a majority. Some people improve this world through their lives, and some by their passing.

I hope Mr. Falwell's vision of God comes true for him.

[Spiderweb]

Lol, even Fred Phelps is happy he's dead and is going to picket his funeral - would have thought they would have been almost brothers. This is comedy genius! :laugh:

[SparkleHugs]

While I have to say I pretty much agree with most everyone on this mans passing, I think picketing anyones funeral is rather uncouth. I mean, someone loved him and they should be respected in their time of grief even if we don't respect the deseased.

[pinky]

Agreed. But Fred Phelps is a bastard. His cult members were picketing funerals of soldiers killed in Iraq, because they were fighting for the US, a country he says supports gay rights.

I find it odd that he would picket Falwell's funeral, though. Birds of a feather, and all.....

[Spiderweb]

Falwell apparently criticised Phelps' church though which is apparently the unforgivable sin of blasphemy against the holy Ghost.

[SparkleHugs]

These sound like two men who will spend eternity together. :devil:

[pinky]

Yep. And if there's any justice, it will be in a gay bar. :roll:

[DoubleEdgeSword]

Dead, huh? Oh well.

[db44]

'Cause Phelps is so in tune with the Holy Ghost.

Spider, I think one very telling tidbit if you look around LD is that we are talking about Falwell here and in the Bruce political forum, and not in F&R. Despite what he may have told his followers and the world, I don't think many accept him as a religious leader... We, they do, but not one who respected the Bible the way he should have. He used it more to spread the seeds of hatred towards people not of his view or ilk, and for political and personal gain... I have trouble with all these televangelists who live in mansions and create their own emipres with the money they have sent to them. I think Jesus would have wanted them not to build such empires, but take what they need and give the rest to charity and to help their fellow man... More than just the Moral Majority and Christian Coalition are unworthy of being called faithful towards Jesus.

Then again, I wonder how many of those charities they would find an objection for... AIDs research for instance? Nah, gays and unwed people get that. I'm sure they'd have a problem with my favorite (Habitat for Humaninty); afterall, we build houses for people around the world even if they are from non-Christian countries.