more on Falwell

Everyone seems to be fawning over Rev. Jerry Falwell, which bothers me not a little. Of course we should respect the family of the departed and I'm sure people are sad and bereaved yada yada, but that doesn't mean we get to whitewash his troubled legacy. President Bush issued a statement stating that "Jerry lived a life of faith and called upon men and women of all backgrounds to believe in God and serve their communities. One of his lasting contributions was the establishment of the Liberty University, where he taught young people to remain true to their convictions, and rely upon God's word throughout each stage of their lives." Is that really how we should remember this man? Is it really fair to paint such a flattering portrait of a man whose faith was filled with such outraged contempt for liberals, gays, other religions and non-evangelical Christians? We seem to forget that his quasi-radical evangelical views frequently offended and angered people, and that he had to retract his bombastic statements on several occasions. Was he so deserving of the fond farewell we've given him?

Let's take a look at a few more of the views he needs to be remembered for:

On birth control: "The argument that making contraceptives available to young people would prevent teen pregnancies is ridiculous. That's like offering a cookbook as a cure to people who are trying to lose weight."

On feminists: "I listen to feminists and all these radical gals - most of them are failures. They've blown it. Some of them have been married, but they married some Casper Milquetoast who asked permission to go to the bathroom. These women just need a man in the house. That's all they need. Most of the feminists need a man to tell them what time of day it is and to lead them home. And they blew it and they're mad at all men. Feminists hate men. They're sexist. They hate men - that's their problem."

"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."

On choosing your own faith: "If you're not a born-again Christian, you're a failure as a human being."

On sexuality: "AIDS is not just God's punishment for homosexuals; it is God's punishment for the society that tolerates homosexuals."

"I do not believe the homosexual community deserves minority status. One's misbehavior does not qualify him or her for minority status. Blacks, Hispanics, women, etc., are God-ordained minorities who do indeed deserve minority status."

"Homosexuality is Satan's diabolical attack upon the family that will not only have a corrupting influence upon our next generation, but it will also bring down the wrath of God upon America."

On the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution: "The idea that religion and politics don't mix was invented by the Devil to keep Christians from running their own country."

"If we are going to save America and evangelize the world, we cannot accommodate secular philosophies that are diametrically opposed to Christian truth ... We need to pull out all the stops to recruit and train 25 million Americans to become informed pro-moral activists whose voices can be heard in the halls of Congress.
 I am convinced that America can be turned around if we will all get serious about the Master's business. It may be late, but it is never too late to do what is right. We need an old-fashioned, God-honoring, Christ-exalting revival to turn American back to God. America can be saved!"

"There is no separation of church and state. Modern US Supreme Courts have raped the Constitution and raped the Christian faith and raped the churches by misinterpreting what the Founders had in mind in the First Amendment to the Constitution."

"The ACLU is to Christians what the American Nazi party is to Jews."

On scientific truth: "The Bible is the inerrant ... word of the living God. It is absolutely infallible, without error in all matters pertaining to faith and practice, as well as in areas such as geography, science, history, etc."

On what it means to be a Christian: "Christians, like slaves and soldiers, ask no questions."

On environmentalism: "The whole (global warming) thing is created to destroy America's free enterprise system and our economic stability."

Most of these quotes taken from here.