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IN MEMORIUM: JERRY FALWELL 1933-2007
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(AP Photo/The Roanoke Times, Kyle Green, File)
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I have seen very little about
the death of Jerry Falwell, other than a few not so nice cartoons: one says, "All is well that ends Falwell." This is not good.
My personal view of Falwell is that he was media created. He was a country preacher with a vision and a way to get money out of people.
Liberty University, founded by Falwell, from all I can tell, is a first rate school and has attempted to steer clear of the right wing philosophies that have defined the narrow interests of a place like Bob Jones University.
I've always thought several things about Reverent Falwell- sincere, intolerant, courageous, mysterious, and a Christian bound for heaven.
Falwell was sincere in his beliefs and stuck to a basic gospel except when he went off on tangents chasing after social issues and putting his own brand of interpretation on the Scriptures, i. e., homosexuality. One of his own former speech writers and consultants, Mel White, a gay guy, was a ghost writer for two of Jerry's books. He came out in 1994, after he had worked for Falwell. Dr. White said about Falwell: “It breaks my heart to think that Jerry died without ever discovering the truth about God’s lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender children. I sincerely hope that one day his school and his church will have a change of heart.”
Falwell became a symbol of division for the so-called liberal media. The mystery to me was why he always gave them such a clear shot. Honestly, he loved the camera. Was he an egomaniac who became drunk with publicity, even to his own detriment? Maybe so. Many have. In Falwell's case, he seemed to be able to handle it pretty well; and, long after his "moral majority" dissolved in 1989, he was constantly associated with it as the architect.
Since he has exited the stage for the final time, I'll miss him. I think he was a good man and went to heaven and will enjoy the company of many of those he rejected on earth. God bless his heart. JD
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