*STANDING OVATION*May I borrow this (with appropriate citations?)

That was a very good post, and it’s kind of cool that you have that personal basis to start from. I agree absolutely with four of your five ways and the last two were discussed a lot in my old Church in Atlanta. Regarding avoiding liberal politics, I agree with your premise that trying to make Jesus partisan is always wrong and bad for both government and the faith of the people. That said, the work you thought you were going to do in the White House might have been good work for the government to do had it been done. Faith is almost never served by religion’s influence in government but sometimes government can get better through the involvement of communities of faith as long as the connection is non-partisan and non-sectarian (and pantheistic.) I guess what I mean is I agree that we shouldn’t try to portray Jesus as a Democrat or a Republican but we have to be honest about Jesus and that means recognizing that he was conservative in some ways and in some ways liberal. Our job is to follow him wherever he leads.

By the way, I read a book many years go called Rescuing Jesus, I can’t remember the author’s name. I found the approach to Falwell, Robertson, Reed et al to be as slanted as their approach to the author but it was an interesting read and I recall the conclusions as both fair and in line with what you’re saying here.

This is re the Larry King Live show f/ the other night. Neither you or Jim Wallis gave a direct response to something Barry Lynn said: people don’t want their politicians acting like they’re resolving these issues on the basis even of the Holy Scripture, which 80 percent of Americans claim is their holy scripture. They want reason, God given or otherwise, to play a role in deciding the most contentious issues of our time.

Tom, that’s a very interesting quote. David, I can imagine self-promotion feeling uncomfortable in this space but I’d be thankful if you would post here when you were going to be interviewed in the media. As a matter of course, I watch very little television so I’m not likely to find out from them that you’ll be on but I enjoy this blog and would enjoy seeing similar conversations take place in other fora. Or maybe you did let us know and I’m a bad, bad reader.

Dear David, My wife says to tell you she totally agrees with your comments on what the church needs to do. And she feels that unfortunately too much of the church has been led the wrong way, and that that isn’t what the Bible teaches. How’s Kim doing? Isn’t she getting pretty close now? We keep thinking the date is either in May or June. Did you decide on a name yet? “Tom” notwithstanding, I keep thinking “David Jr” would be nice. But just let us all know when the time comes. Again, best wishes – Pete Ahlstrom

I had great admiration for him only because he was the first (one of the first?) that I heard preach it wasn’t a sin to even vote. I am not happy where the “Religious Right” has gone but it shows the imperfection of man. I certainly am unhappy with the Republican Party…which makes voting options more difficult. Great blog (I hope to read your book this summer!).

If the religious right is in decline following the death of the most divisive religious hate monger in recent history, someone tell Fox “News”. The Repub candidates are tripping over each other pandering to the Falwellian lowest common denominator, which just about all the Repub candidates apparently think they must win over to become President. The state of Repub politics, tainted by staunchly conservative Christianity, is in as sorry a state as the gluttonous Falwell’s health had been.

The bit on “avoid liberal politics” is B.S.

One other quick comment: On the Bnet homepage, the lead story “loop” begins with Falwell, immediately followed by Thich Nhat Hanh. Talk about going from the ridiculous to the sublime!

When Al Sharpton dies, wanna lay bets on whether people will jump all over him for using the pulpit for race baiting hatred? I won’t hold my breath.

You said: Bring food, take out trash, warm their car in winter or wash their car in summer, bake brownies. Serve. Hey, even Satan can do that!!

It is refreshing to know that Christianty is going to be set free from the bondage of the republican party,and the conserative right. For years now,the church in america sounded like a cult. Ministers preaching the doctrine of right-wing radio/TV talking heads. Pastors sounding more like the world, than the world itself. I thank God that the doctrine Of Christ is returning to our nation. How did we get on that slippery slope in the first place? Did we all backslide?

You said: Bring food, take out trash, warm their car in winter or wash their car in summer, bake brownies. Serve. Hey, even Satan can do that!! Then it’d be pretty sad if we can’t, wouldn’t it? And I don’t think its if Satan could, its if Satan would..

You said: Bring food, take out trash, warm their car in winter or wash their car in summer, bake brownies. Serve. Hey, even Satan can do that!! An example of pandering (just say “Satan” to rally the culture-war troops)rhetoric that, thanks to people like Falwell, the non-Christian public tends to think is typical Christian thinking. As I note on my own blog, as a fellow sinner saved by grace and not by “thinking the right things about God,” dancing on Falwell’s grave is not the right thing to do; on the other hand, I think it’s appropriate to critique his legacy…and frankly his words and behavior over the years, and subsequent guilt-by-association, make it more difficult for non-Christians to hear and respect their Christian neighbors.

Liberals (Democrats, Marxists, Progressives, GLBT’s, Commies, Secularists etc., etc., etc.,) DO NOT share or care about the little list of deceny you posted. Liberals (the et al’s above) grind away without ceasing to envelope our world into THEIR politics no matter what. Any dissent of Liberalism is attacked and silenced, denigrated and outlawed. Our universities mirror your politics not God’s politics. Falwell always sounded like the Apostle Paul ot Elijah the Tishbite to me. Falwell spoke the truth about behaviors and beliefs no differently then they did. Liberals like Jim Wallis sound like King Bera. Both Paul and Elijah were “polarizing figures.” David Kuo wants Christians to shutup for a few years, so that Liberals (Democrats they’re called in America) can cement evil abominations into and over everyone in the United States, the same way they have in Europe. There is no melting pot where evil and the Gospel can be mixed together. But Liberals believe in only that. Listen and hear Democrat beliefs: The Democrats (LIBERALS) have proven time and time again, that IT IS ALL about Marxist secularism in taxing the family to a hellish existence. About slaughtering the unborn for sexual freedom. Exalting and encouraging sodomy and perversions are to be grasped by our youth. And implementing pederasty in the restriction of parental rights (look at Massachusetts and California Dens of gay-culture.) in the outlawing of Christian voice (or anyone else’s) in opposing homosexuality. David,”How” did Falwell preach a different Gospel? How did Falwell teach anything wrong when compared word for word with the New Testament writers? Peter and Paul, and Jesus before them, dealt with food and slavery and yet left the condemnation of same-gender sex acts well in place and even clarified the wrong in the behavior. “TEST” all things that Falwell said and did. He is certainly honest about the Gospel. Far more accurate than Jim Wallis, Andrew Sullivan and any Liberal. Falwell should never have apologized for some of the things he said about sexually perverted miscreants (which includes abortion) and sinners and why the Lord will remove his protection and favor over America because of them. Elijah and Paul woundn’t have. Muslims are no different tha Babylonians when it comes to who and what the Lord will use to destroy our sick and wicked culture of the corrupted. Falwell did repent when it was called for when he erred in his walk.You haven’t. You still think Christians should bhe silent in the face of our enemies. No Christian was martyred for being quiet about the world and society around them. Notice that Liberals are no different than non-Christians. They all rejoice in the same things. But comparing the words of those that presented the New Testament to us in their “inspired writings,” and you can see that Falwell was not off of the path they preached. A Christian cannot be indistinguishable from a wordly person. David, you look and sound like a typical liberal. Now it looks like you will say and do anything to please the masses to incure their favored son status. You should just as well move to Hollywood and start blogging for Sojouners or thier other incarnation the Christian Alliance for Progress. Ever wonder why “progressive” means returning back to Sodom and Gomorrah? It’s fascinating.

Has anyone ever thought of Daniel and Esther?Or why God had prophets around the political leaders mentioned in the Bible? David would have gotten away with murder and adultery. Instead, he was turned from his liberal ways to being a conservative.This was done through the “word of God.” It was done through pronounced judgments on individuals and nations as a whole. David?

Thanks for sharing, Donny.

Esther wasn’t a prophet. Just sayin’

Doug, Esther was a God-believing person who was put into place to protect the people of God from those who would destroy them. Jerry Falwell was so right about the enemies of God. Another great man will rise to take his place. Liberals the New Romans (Re-Romans) of todays world can never win over the people of God. They can ruin those that embrace liberalism, but not much else will happen. Did Haman and his agenda win over that of the people of God? We do npt even need to mention the word or Name of God for righteousness to be victorious over the reprobates. I did though disagree with Falweel’s politcs a bit. We Christians should not bother with reprobates that have been given up by God. Paul and the apostles were not neophytes concerning evil and the people that promote it. Paul’s correct preaching in Romans speaks as loudly and correctly today to the Church as it did to Nero’s Roman world. In fact it looks as if Paul wrote on things happening today. It always amused me that Falwell and Paul’s eneimes behave exactly the same way. First the abortionists and then the groups that rant, rave and rail against Christians. Re-Romans. You would think that Jim Wallis was working with Hadrian when it comes to what the GLBT and Liberal culture has planned for Christians. Falwell was a a great voice for Paul and Peter in a world gone mad. Falwell stuck to the Gospel of Christ as did the apostles. He knew he couldn’t stop this slide to Sodom and Gomorrah that the western world has embraced. He new that minds are seared closed to the Gospel in so much of the Leftist community.When I listened to Falwell, I heard a man that knew the real world around him. He soundly exactly like Paul or Pater who knew the Truth too. Falwell did not corrupt the Gospel like the typical Progressive/Liberal does. And see who it is that is revelling in the passing of Falwell. It is the same old degenerates, only now with cell phones.

Thanks for the great post – I’ll be sending friends here, as you do a great job of laying out this dilemma for those of us who are devoted to Jesus but not so much to Jerry. And I second whoever suggested that you post when you’ll be on TV so we can tune in.

This is probably the BEST thing I’ve read in Beliefnet in ages. The writer completely echoed everything I believe about Falwell.

While we try to decide what Falwell was to us all . . . the Gays and Lesbians are in our public schools indoctrianting impressionable children and promoting homosexual behavior be embraced by kids. Massachusetts, the state of Romney is the worse offender of deceny in the US (massresistance.org). The Democrats are becoming more and more brazen anti-Christian Marxists with every single hate crime bill. God will raise up another Jerry Falwell or America is to be toast. I’m purchasing butter and jam today.For me and my family, we will have chosen God.

Donny, “I’m purchasing butter and jam today. ” is a good line. As for you and your house, you’re kind of Old Testamenty this week. I think I completely skipped the book of Joshua until my 30s. 24:15 is very compelling.

Doug, I’ll paraphrase it: Or the gods of American hedonism?

Can anyone show FROM SCRIPTURE . . . . . . where the Reverend Jerry Falwell was in error in his positions? I’ve tested the man and his words and actions, and see that he aligns himself well with what is written in the Gospels and what Luke, Peter, John, James and Jude wrote. Let’s start with the genders of the married couple “according to Jesus” shall we?

Donny, that’s a fair modernization of “the gods of Amorites in whose land you dwell” but I do think there’s something important in the passage and the sense of choice. Even on the day Joshua gave that speech, when the Jews had conquered the levant and were in triumph, even after God had slowed the descent of the sun to aid the Israelites, Joshua says “Choose this day whom you will serve.” As you hopefully know by now, I don’t question your faith but what worries me and many others about the theocratic bent of Falwell and his fellow travelers is that in this land, which was never dedicated nationally to any particular devotion, would we be free to choose whom we serve? There has been a lot of talk from the religious right that it is anti-Christian to give people the same choice Joshua offered Israel in a moment of greater certainty.

Yes, Jesus was a nice guy. Yes, if we all tried to be like him (i.e. a nice guy) then the world would be a better place. However, in a democracy we have to make choices. We have to choose whether to vote for Policy A or Policy B. A Christian will base his decision, at least in part, on what policy he thinks Jesus would approve. Of course, most things are a mix of good and bad with no clear Jesus approved position. However, any politically active Christian must on some level convince himself that, at the very least, Christ would not object to what he is doing. Therefore, the pro-choice candidate must convince himself that Jesus would not object to a right to abort, and the anti-entitlement candidate must convince himself that Jesus would not object to sound economic policy over the government feeding the poor. Consequently, it is impossible to simply drop the WWJD question from politics. To do so would circumvent the reason for becoming a Christian in the first place (i.e. to better know and follow God s will). We need more debate about what Jesus wants, not less. By refusing the confront people like Falwell with Christian reasons (instead of politically correct reasons) why he is wrong, we only feed the myth that moderate Christians are not true believers.

Anybody remember back in the 70s… …when Christians were, in general, pragmatic voices of reason, and atheists of the day, notably Madeline Murray O’Hair were, in general [unfortunately for them] whack jobs? Now we are in the midst of a decades-old widespread movement by Christians to the right, affecting not only Southern Baptists but Christians across the board. Conservative beliefs permeate even many “mainstream” denominations… …and now, Christians are, in general [unfortunately for them] whack jobs, and atheists of the day, notably Sam Harris and Richard Dawkins are, in general, pragmatic voices of reason…!

David, Your steps are all well and good, but you ignore the fact that we still live in the world, in this country, which affects our everyday lives. Your recommendations essentially sound like you are saying avoid politics. That’s simply impossible when so much of our lives, including our religious lives, are affected by our secular government. If we are to play our role in determining who will control that government that affects our lives, its obvious that our faith beliefs will influence us in that sense. I believe that life is sacred – so I’m going to oppose abortion and embryonic stem cell research. I believe marriage between a man and a woman with the intent to create life glorifies God, so I’m going to oppose same-sex marriage. I believe in Christ’s teachings on social justice. I also recognize that this is one area where Christians have the greatest potential to comtribute individually, and I notice that private/religious charities somehow always seem to be more efficient with money and make a greater effort to comfort those in need as well as making a concerted effort to fix the underlying problem in order to minimize the number of people who will be afflicted in the future. In comparison, however, government has an all together dismal record when it comes to spending money. So when all of these positions influences my vote, it usually happens to be the candidate with an (R) after his name. It is no surprise that it was the same for Falwell and Robertson and countless others. I was not a big fan of Falwell, and I’m even less of a fan of Robertson. Their faith leads them to place the emphasis on condemnation, leaving little room for redemption (at least in their public statements – Falwell, I understand, did a lot of work with caring for those suffering from addiction, those with unplanned pregnancies, and, obviously, those who couldn’t afford higher education.) My faith leads me to focus more on the opportunity for redemption in believing in God and accepting Jesus. If any of this makes me a theocrat or a divisive figure. There is a reason committed Christians tend to vote Republican, and its not just because Falwell or Robertson tell them to. It’s because the issues they care most about are being addressed by the Republicans more so than the Democrats. Are Republicans perfect? No. But it’s also insane to say the Republicans don’t really care about Christians because abortion is absolutely illegal in all states yet. Any realistic voter realizes things can’t change that quickly, but I’m absolutely certain the pro-life cause is in much better shape with The Roberts and Alito additions to the court than it would have been with whatever Ruth Bader Ginsburg/Stephen Breyer-type clone a President Kerry would have appointed.

Donny, I live in Massachusetts and am the father of a child with profound developmental disabilities. Our community has the moral commitment (and, thank God, the resources) to provide her with an excellent education. I can think of no better example of saints in our midst than the teachers, therapist and others who have cared for, and loved, this child who is so loved by God. All of this is provided courtesy of my neighbors’ tax dollars in this bluest of blue states. Those who would attack Massachusetts should check the beam in their own eye, before worrying about the specks in ours. Peace.

It’s all about Jesus Christ. People don’t lead folks to Jesus. It’s the Holy Spirts is who leads people to Jesus Christ, Christianity is not Jerry or any other man or woman of God. It’s Jesus we are to be transformed into…Hello!

I read your article and I don’t fully understand where you are coming from with the comments but I would like to suggest that instead of waiting until our dear brother in Christ left to go to the Father, to talk about him to the world, it would have been more biblical to share it with him face to face while he was still here. If indeed your heart behind what you wrote was out a genuine concer for the gospel. I share this while no anger or ill will in my heart, but out of a concern for unity in the body of Christ. Jesus said that the world would know that we are His disciples because of our love for one another.

Aquaman, EXCELLENT post. I salute you.

“I thank God that the doctrine of Christ is returning to our nation.” I agree. But I wonder will this include what Christ said about divorcing one man or woman and marrying another, how this is adultery. All these divorced and remarried couples in christian churches today aren’t there because of “fornication” either. Hello. Lots of us christian nowadays love to treat people like Jerry Falwell, Pat Robertson, Benny Hin…like they are just these evil hypocritical Pharisees. I’m African American, and lets all admit something, it’s easy to rail against older conservative white men and women in suits, and (in my church anyway) old gossiping black women in church-lady hats. Gossipers and conservative-right wing folks are easy targets. But sins like homosexuality, drinking, adultery, murder, theft..etc. are addressed in more tolerant “Such were some of you” sermons. Gossiping women and white right wing conservatives, “Shame on you!!”

Bill, I am sorry, I do not get your post. But, I am aware that when Jesus saw a prostitute about to be stoned to death, Jesus said ‘Let he without sin cast the first stone’… How many Falwellian Christians today would have started throwing like crazy…? IIRC, C.S. Lewis wrote in Mere Christianity that they worst of the cardinal sins was ‘vainglory’…which is (was) “oozed” from the likes of Falwell, Dobson, Robertson, Wm. Donahue, Delay, etc. etc. etc…each time they open their mouths.

Why Fundamentalism is THRIVING and not DYING: They are on the payroll now!! From today’s AP article, in which Pres. Jimmy Carter calls a failure a failure and labels GWB’s foreign policy the worst in American history. Carter, a devout Baptist, also had harsh words for GWB’s “faith based initiatives”: Carter also offered a harsh assessment for the White House’s Office of Faith-Based and Community Initiatives, which helped religious charities receive $2.15 billion in federal grants in fiscal year 2005 alone.”The policy from the White House has been to allocate funds to religious institutions, even those that channel those funds exclusively to their own particular group of believers in a particular religion,” Carter said. “As a traditional Baptist, I’ve always believed in separation of church and state and honored that premise when I was president, and so have all other presidents, I might say, except this one.” God help us all.

You know, I think something is being missed here. I may have missed it but I’ll say it any way. Good taste dictates that you wait until a fair amount of time has passed before you do a hatchet job on the deceased. I find the conduct of those who are attacking Dr. Falwell so soon after his death contemptable.

aquaman and pacific231, The atheists and Leftists look like the whack jobs when they scream and rant against decent people when their agenda is opposed. massresistance.org is not editing photos and flyers. Massachusetts is become either Sodom or Gomorrah increasingly so each and every day.

“The bit on “avoid liberal politics” is B.S. L-Dog | 05.16.07 – 10:28 pm | # ” I don’t think that was the point. I read it as saying that one should go from one extreme to the other. In other words, two wrongs don’t make a right. Everyone should be striving for balance. That is the way is sounded to me. Donny, I just don’t know what to say. You’re promoting that mass resistance site, and the LEFT sounds wacky??? Whatever.

oops! I thought I previewed well enough. I meant to say that one should NOT go from one extreme to the other. Sorry.

There really isn’t much to debate regarding Christ’s politics. It is plain and simple; Jesus was against sin. Both sins of commission and sins of omission. These are plainly described within the text of Holy Scripture. There’s nothing to debate… if Jesus says not to do it, then don’t; if He says we should do it, the do. That means that we should continue to resist temptation and “not conform to the evil desires you had when you lived in ignorance” (1 Peter 1:14) because we as believers should know better. Also, we should choose the narrow path when it comes to our “choices”. That means being accountable to each other for our actions. We should be: saving a life by allowing it to be born, actually feeding the hungry with our hands instead of our intentions, how about giving that creepy looking guy with the broken car a lift to the next gas station, visiting prisons, mentoring a youth, moving your mom into your home instead of a nursing home. That’s what Jesus would do. Falwell challenged me on these things. He took the hard line and held me to a higher standard. He demonstrated his beliefs through his charity, generosity and love for mankind. These were all hallmark values of Jerry Falwell. Just because you don’t agree with his approach doesn’t make him bad or wrong. Don’t be so narrow minded. Where I come from we still measure a person’s legacy by their achievements and integrity, not by whether we agreed with them or considered them a friend. “Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.” James 1:27

Every Christian will be moved by the spirit in different ways as they seek to follow Jesus’ teachings and the will of God. Some will be moved to preach the hard-hitting truths as stated in the Bible (including homosexuality as a sin), and some will be moved to show the compassionate side of Christianity (following Jesus’ example when he stepped in for the woman and said “let he without sin cast the first stone”). Both are representing God, and both are right. Neither are misrepresenting God’s teachings. The problem I see with the way our media and society is set up, the most conservative person who can be made to look like a nut case will be covered by the media to represent the protestant/evangelical church. I can’t remember the last time I have seen a national media outlet cover the good works people do as a result of their faith, the compassion that millions of Christians show daily to both Christians and non-Christians, or any other positive article about a Christian (other than a slight mention that they are a “church-goer”). The church IS the followers of Christ, not the person who can speak the loudest. To cover only those who can be portrayed as heartless and fear-mongering (whether true or not) as leaders of the Christian church, that is evidence that Christianity will never win the popularity contest through media coverage or political might. I pray that Christians do what is right as set by God, and do their best to be a good representative of God. Read the Bible and let the Holy Spirit lead you in the right direction as is God’s will, and don’t hold the leaders of the “Christian movement” as the ultimate source of truth. No person, leader or otherwise, is infallible. My faith does not waiver for the mistakes of Christian leaders, nor for any other reason.

“…truths as stated in the Bible (including homosexuality as a sin)… Oh, honestly! When are you people going to realize that all of the scriptures were written by human beings, and therefore contain at least some trace elements of their “editorial” impact e.g. their personal convictions]? To my knowledge, the only thing God directly and physically WROTE were the Ten Commandments. If you’re going to condemn me for lying with a man as with a woman, then I’ll expect you to likewise refrain from wearing red. That Leviticus was one strange pup. Look, this thing has been beaten to death, and you people still don’t get it. Gay folks like me are BORN this way; it’s not a choice, it’s not a preference, it’s not some bizarre indoctrination. It’s the way I was made — um, the way God made me. For you to claim it’s a “sin” is to suggest that God makes mistakes. Yikes, talk about brazen actions! I’m so grateful that I wasn’t raised in any one religion; this has given me the luxury of approaching it anew and trying to figure out why there are so many variation of faith in God. It’s my strong conviction that God is not some old man wearing white robes and sitting on a throne — God is in every molecule in the universe. God is in nature [and no, I'm certainly not some earth-worshipping wiccan] — and I personally think that homosexuality is nature’s way of toning down the population explosion. Other than the Ten Commandments, I observe little of what the Old Testament holds. I don’t call myself a “Christian,” but I do try to follow Christ’s dictates — which, if I’m not mistake, is what card-carrying Christians are SUPPOSED to do. I don’t judge others, belittle others, ignore those in trouble, hope for retaliatory punishment for wrongdoers, take pleasure in others’ misfortune [what the Germans term "Schadenfreude"], get needlessly angry at strangers for inadvertantly [or even intentionally] cutting me off on the freeway, vent hostility at anyone for disagreeing with my views [oy, how Americans love doing that], or think that someone different than me [skin color, physical abilities, religion, politics] is somehow inferior to me — that last one is a level of egomania that a lot of people relish embracing, and which Christ wouldn’t be too thrilled about. Anyhow, I wish people would stop harping endlessly about sexuality. I don’t gnash my teeth imaging what others are doing behind closed doors, so I find it very odd that some people get a thrill out of doing just that. Foaming at the mouth is very unattractive. If you want to rail at people, rail at those who harm others; do God [and your blood pressure] a favor by not being preoccupied by what consenting adults are doing, as long as they aren’t doing it in your presence.

You said the defining characteristic of Christianity is hope. I’d prefer to think of it as love.

Never did I say that I was angry with anyone for desiring a relationship with a member of their same sex, and I have a very close friendship with a lesbian. I used homosexuality as an example because it is the topic which seems to infuriate most non-Christians and is used as an example to display the “bigotry and hatred” that Christians are perceived to possess. However, lying is a sin as is adultery as is jealousy. I myself was born with an insatiable appetite for food. Gluttony is sinful, and I fight with my natural urges every minute of the day. I believe that sin is sin, no matter the “degree” you assign to it. Not forgiving your neighbor is as bad as murder, at least from God’s perspective.

David, You manage to skirt the issue, which allows you to stay on the good side of a lot of the posters on your blog. Except Donny, of course, who still sees you as a “liberal.” And why shouldn’t he? Because truthfully, no matter what you do, you can’t have it both ways. Either you deny politics altogether — insist on being “apolitical” — and allow the Christian Right to define what Christianity is…. Or you take a good long look at what you believe, and you stand up for it. Do you believe that a fetus smaller than your pinky finger — or even smaller than a fingernail — is a human being so invested with human life that a woman should be forced to carry that child for nine months and go through the pain of childbirth for it? What if that “woman” is a twelve year old girl who was impregnated by her uncle, stepfather or father? (There are tens of thousands of these cases a year in the United States.) What do you truly believe? And how do you square that with your Christianity? What DOES your Christian faith say about homosexuality? Is it a sin or not? What do you think of the Christian Right’s obsession with homosexuality, as though it (along with abortion and the theory of evolution) were what Jesus came to Earth to stamp out? What does your Christian faith say about an America where some people are rich beyond all measure, unable ever to spend all their money no matter how hard they try, while many children go to antiquated, broken-down schools in the cities? For that matter, what would Jesus think of the financial corporations that have gotten rich off of giving loans that bankrupt or squeeze every penny out of people earning $10/hour? What would He think of our health care system in this, by far, richest and most powerful nation in history? If someone calls this “liberal,” so be it. In the rest of the free, developed world, what I’m writing is called simple common sense.Maybe you think you can avoid having opinions on political ideas. But not to choose is to choose. Come out with what you believe. Maybe you can explain how you differ with both liberalism and conservatism, and if so, I’d love to hear it. But mealy-mouthed centrism is not Christ-like. It really isn’t.

“What does your Christian faith say about an America where some people are rich beyond all measure, unable ever to spend all their money no matter how hard they try, while many children go to antiquated, broken-down schools in the cities? For that matter, what would Jesus think of the financial corporations that have gotten rich off of giving loans that bankrupt or squeeze every penny out of people earning $10/hour? What would He think of our health care system in this, by far, richest and most powerful nation in history? If someone calls this “liberal,” so be it. In the rest of the free, developed world, what I’m writing is called simple common sense.” Larry Points very well taken, Larry, but then I live in part of the “rest of the free, developed world.” By the way, why does Donny always beat on Massachusetts, did the lights all go down in Massachusetts or something?

Jerry Falwell was a bigot and I wish conservative Christian apologists would quit defending him after he so openly wished all gay people would die from AIDS. You’re no different from muslims, who never stand up before their leaders who promote violence and hatred. Quit praising this bigot! This is embarassing for Christianity!

Pastor Jerry Falwell’s strong voice in a corrupted world will be sadly missed. His steadfast faith and bold stance against moral injustice and heathen living made him a strong figure in the last many decades. The Christian community has lost a powerful advocate for Christ and His church.

I wonder how many people he sent to hell that could have otherwise been saved. I wonder how many people he sent to hell who thought they were saved.

If you meant to be provacative on the heeels of Reverend Falwell’s funeral you succeeded! Your WORK w/ your lost friends would have been better served hearing just a little fire & brimstone instead of all mush and softball preaching. You can meet the Reverend in Heaven and tell him of your torpedo plans! I’m embarassed for you not Reverend Falwell and The Bad Ole Republicans.