We need more Mother Theresas and fewer Jerry Falwells
by Michelle Mundell
Jerry Falwell died today. After the initial shock that this man who would twist the Bible to blame all of the ills of the world on a few people would not be speaking again, I took some time to gather my thoughts and memories of this public figure.
When I was a teenager in the '70s, my grandfather insisted on watching Falwell "to hear what he was saying." My grandfather was not a believer, or so he told us, and television evangelists were lower than snakes in his book. Though not a believer, he had read the King James Bible of his confirmation at least twenty times with a lot of it memorized, and he would preach back at Falwell when Falwell went out of the lines of proportion.
I should mention that my grandfather was first a Farmer-Laborite and then a DFLer. He was a Eugene McCarthy democrat and took a lot of crap for being against Vietnam when Nixon was in the White House. As a small child, I heard people in the little town where I grew up call him a communist. It was said I was sent to Sunday school so that no one would ostracize him or me.
I detested watching Falwell's show. I have to tell you I became a Christian at age sixteen, and pretense, the "right clothes" and the "right look" have never been part of my being a Christian. Religiosity is not faith. Faith means going the distance for others, like Christ discussed in the Sermon on the Mount in Matthew. Kindness, empathy and love for one and all are what I have gleaned from the Scriptures. And it is not done blowing one's horn and shouting Bible verses at the top of one's lungs. Speak the truth in love is not screaming and pointing fingers.
This man who got so much airtime made a mountain of every molehill that he could find. When people are dying of starvation around the world, when children are being abused, when our water and the environment that God made are wasting away, this man blabbed away about perverts, cartoon characters and those who brought 9/11 upon us. I would allege that Falwell's good friend Bush 41 and his son have had more to do with "chickens coming home to roost" than those who chose their own lifestyle or have it chosen them by birth and genes.
The bottom line is that if one really wants to make a difference in the world, real issues need to be addressed and taken care of. The homeless, the hopeless, the hapless -- these folks need us to love them. Christ didn't stand around talking about gays. He addressed the hypocrisy and false piety of the Falwells of his day -- the Pharisees. It was the apostles Paul and Peter that were hammering the homosexual doctrine. Those who have belief in God need to focus on the issues of life and truth -- affordable housing, good food, water, and peace.
Just a few thoughts.
Jerry Falwell died today. After the initial shock that this man who would twist the Bible to blame all of the ills of the world on a few people would not be speaking again, I took some time to gather my thoughts and memories of this public figure.
When I was a teenager in the '70s, my grandfather insisted on watching Falwell "to hear what he was saying." My grandfather was not a believer, or so he told us, and television evangelists were lower than snakes in his book. Though not a believer, he had read the King James Bible of his confirmation at least twenty times with a lot of it memorized, and he would preach back at Falwell when Falwell went out of the lines of proportion.
I should mention that my grandfather was first a Farmer-Laborite and then a DFLer. He was a Eugene McCarthy democrat and took a lot of crap for being against Vietnam when Nixon was in the White House. As a small child, I heard people in the little town where I grew up call him a communist. It was said I was sent to Sunday school so that no one would ostracize him or me.
I detested watching Falwell's show. I have to tell you I became a Christian at age sixteen, and pretense, the "right clothes" and the "right look" have never been part of my being a Christian. Religiosity is not faith. Faith means going the distance for others, like Christ discussed in the Sermon on the Mount in Matthew. Kindness, empathy and love for one and all are what I have gleaned from the Scriptures. And it is not done blowing one's horn and shouting Bible verses at the top of one's lungs. Speak the truth in love is not screaming and pointing fingers.
This man who got so much airtime made a mountain of every molehill that he could find. When people are dying of starvation around the world, when children are being abused, when our water and the environment that God made are wasting away, this man blabbed away about perverts, cartoon characters and those who brought 9/11 upon us. I would allege that Falwell's good friend Bush 41 and his son have had more to do with "chickens coming home to roost" than those who chose their own lifestyle or have it chosen them by birth and genes.
The bottom line is that if one really wants to make a difference in the world, real issues need to be addressed and taken care of. The homeless, the hopeless, the hapless -- these folks need us to love them. Christ didn't stand around talking about gays. He addressed the hypocrisy and false piety of the Falwells of his day -- the Pharisees. It was the apostles Paul and Peter that were hammering the homosexual doctrine. Those who have belief in God need to focus on the issues of life and truth -- affordable housing, good food, water, and peace.
Just a few thoughts.
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1 Comments:
A note from the author: Just for clarification, my grandfather started receiving harrassment during the Eisenhower administration about his opposition to 'military advisors' that Eisenhower had sent. He spent years writing letters to Senators and Congressmen, even after all allegedly came home in 1975.
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