Today the Reverend Jerry Falwell passed away. While the reports are still sketchy, there is already speculation that his demise was heart related.
As reported on Yahoo:
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 Tuesday 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.
Godwin said he was not sure what caused the collapse, but he said Falwell “has a history of heart challenges.”
Rev. Falwell was most noted for his work in furthering the Religious Right, and particularly for founding Liberty University, which is a hotbed for conservative ideologies. Those of us on the liberal end of things decry his religious and political views, and there will undoubtedly be those who will celebrate his passing.
While I have always disagreed with his brand of faith and politics, I rarely find someone’s death to be cause for celebration, and today is no exception.
While he may have been misguided in his beliefs, Rev. Falwell is an obvious example of a person who lived out their faith passionately. If there is something liberals can glean from his life, it is that faith must be done in the public square and must be done in a way that is full of vigor.
I didn’t like Jerry Falwell, yet I mourn the passing of one of my fellow human beings. All those with a heart for love must do the same. Here we have a perfect example of the Christ ethic- we must love our enemies, we must pray for those that persecuted us.
We have nothing to lose by loving our enemies, and we have everything to gain.
Something like this is bittersweet. We should and I do grieve the death of even one with whom I seriously disagree. There will be a suitable time to address his legacy. In my brief posting I did not that this marks the beginning of an end of an era. When you think of the ages of the key leaders of the Religious Right — they are in their 70s. The younger Evangelicals by and large are going in a different direction — eg Rick Warren or Brian McLaren.
[...] the rest- Faithfully Liberal - » Godspeed Rev. Falwell It is appropriate to pray for Rev. Falwell and his family during this moment. Compassion should [...]
Well said. This post is excerpted at West Virginia Blue in Jerry Falwell: A legacy of politics of hate and division
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