Jesus versus Falwell (dueling quotes show stark contrast)

[NAO]

Recently Radical Cleric Jerry Falwell made this public statement:

"blow them all away in the name of the Lord."

That has to be my favorite Falwell quote. I found a Jesus/Falwell dueling quote, showing the contrast, on this site:

http://www.whtt.org/whtt.shtml?articles/Mongr.htm

Jesus said (Matthew 5)

Blessed are the peacemakers: for they shall be called the children of God.

Falwell said (speaking of Muslims):

I'd rather be killing them over there than fighting them over here.

Jesus said in Matthew 5:

Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you.

Jerry Falwell said:

But you've got to kill the terrorists before the killing stops. And I'm for the President to chase them all over the world. If it takes 10 years, blow them all away in the name of the Lord.

The Lord Jesus said:

Ye have heard that it hath been said, An EYE FOR AN EYE, and a tooth for a tooth: But I say unto you, do not resist evil: but whosoever shall smite thee on thy right cheek, turn to him the other also.

Jerry Falwell said:

Well, when they kill my family and blow those towers down...

Jesus Said:

I say unto you, inasmuch as ye have done it (either good or evil) unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me. (Our paraphrase of the last half of Matthew, Chapter 25.)

[IdaBriggs]

1. Mind if I put some of these on the www.WasJesusTortured.com website? nt

[NAO]

3. They are from The Bible, and Falwell's public statements, respectively.

...so the quotes themselves are in the public domain.

I snipped the particular arrangement of the quotes from the site "We Hold These Truths" (link was provided) but since they are public domain statements, I don't think permission is required.

BTW, I don't know anything about that site, or what it represents. I just Googled "blow them all away in the name of the lord" to get the exact wording Falwell used, and that site came up, and I was impressed with the contrast.

[captainslack]

2. I always knew ole Jerry didn't get it.

You just proved it beyond a shadow of a doubt.

Thank you.

[newyawker99]

16. Hi captainslack!!

Welcome to DU!! :toast:

[WMliberal]

4. i'm sooooooooooooo putting that on my AIM profile!

[kimchi]

5. This needs to be made into a flyer.

Or just a bumper sticker

WWJS? Blow them all away?
or Love your enemies?

[catmandu57]

6. thank you, good work

the contrasts between what passes for religion, and religious thought these days is a travesty/ Somehow, I inagine that if you read these quotes to a "believer" they'de back good ole jerry.

[NAO]

7. Jesus said, "if someone stikes you, turn the other cheek"...NOT

"if you think someone MIGHT strike you, kick the shit out of them before they get the chance", which is the essence of Bush's "preemptive war" doctrine.

Real simple, basic stuff. Hard to miss, but somehow millions of Evangelical Christians manage to miss it.

More obvious points:

When the religious leaders were gathered to stone the prostitute, Jesus intervened and told them that "whoever was without sin should cast the first stone". They all left.

Jesus also said, "Judge not." He told people to get the beam out of their own eye before they worried about the splinter in other people's eyes.

And of course, Jesus constantly stressed feeding the hungry, caring for the sick, and helping the needy.

Despite these very plain and basic teachings of Jesus Christ...The Christian Vales Vote provides a mandate to
1. ban gay marriage and
2. slash social spending.

Yep, they get it, for sure.

[King Coal]

8. And you know what else?

Jesus said:

That Jerry Falwell is a lard-ass blowhard!

[GreenPartyVoter]

9. And RWers wonder why so many lefties embrace Christ

-------------------------------------
Would Jesus love a liberal? You bet!
http://timeforachange.bluelemur.com/

[ThoughtCriminal]

10. WWJD about school prayer?

Jesus:
"And when you pray, you shall not be like the hypocrites. For they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the corners of the streets, that they may be seen by men. Assuredly, I say to you, they have their reward. But you, when you pray, go into your room, and when you have shut your door, pray to your Father who is in the secret place; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you openly. And when you pray, do not use vain repetitions as the heathen do. For they think that they will be heard for their many words."

Am I missing something here?

[MnFats]

11. and of course, pretty much all of the Beatitudes...

..."Blessed are the:
...."peacemakers.."
....."meek..."
....."those who grieve..."
....."those who seek justice..."
......"the pure of heart...."

how many of those were at the GOP convention?

[recovering democrat]

12. Related questions

These are quotes from the messages of a couple of right-wing preachers on the subject of war and killing. The first one provided no quotes or specifics for his pronouncements. The second threw in a few specifics on the subject.

"The commandment to not kill is related to murder. Otherwise, the same God that said "Thou shalt not kill" would not have also commanded the government authorities to execute those who commit capital offenses. Neither would He have commanded His people to engage in warfare to execute enemies, as He did many times in the Old Testament. What are "peacemakers"? You seem to imply that peacemakers are passivists, people who wouldn't defend their country. Terrorists would love folks like you. It makes their job easier."

"Read your Bible again and see how many times God told His government leaders to kill. Abraham (Isaac); Moses, Joshua, Samson, Solomon, Samuel (remember King Agag), David.
Then remember Jesus telling His Disciples to carry their swords for self-defense. Remember Peter pronouncing judgment (death) over Ananias & Saphira. Then Paul speaks of the right of Government to bear the sword (meaning to wage war and to kill criminals). It is you who needs to re-read the Bible and get a true picture of this subject. Christians who defend themselves are not committing murder. A nation that defends itself against an enemy who had attacked and killed its citizens is doing its duty and is supported by scripture. President Bush is a Christian leader who is defending you and all of us against an enemy who wants to kill us. Iraq included. Stop listening to the lies of appeasers who would allow your enemies to come after you and kill you."

Their religion, like Falwell's, is fascinating to me but very scary!

[NAO]

17. Old Testament, non-Gospel parts of New Testament very different

The Old Testament, and to a lesser extent, the collection of writings collectively known as The New Testament (from Acts to Revelation) - that is the parts of the Bible other than those which purport to be the actual words of Jesus - are radically different in teachings and in tone from the Gospels.

Christian apologists have concocted elaborate explanatory statements, and constructed systematic theologies, to make everything fit together, but if someone just READS the Gospels, it's quite obvious that Jesus taught very different things than the Old Testament writers before him and Paul after him.

I do not personally subscribe to the doctrines of any church or religion. I generally view religion in a very negative light. But in a recent re-examination of the Gospels, I was reminded that Jesus viewed religion in a very negative light. He criticized and harassed the respected religious leaders of his day - the equivalent of the Falwell's, the Robertsons, the Dobsons of his day - and they got so angry with him that they had him killed.

When Pilate wanted to release Jesus because he found no fault with him, it was the "chief priests and elders" who incited the people to choose Barabbas - a known criminal - over Jesus. Can anyone think of another time in history when the "chief priests and elders" have incited the people to choose a known criminal?


Mark 15:1-14

15:1 And forthwith in the morning the chief priests held a
consultation with the elders and scribes, and the whole
council (the moral majority of the day? -nao),
and bound Jesus, and carried him away, and delivered
him to Pilate.

15:2 And Pilate asked him, Art thou the King of the Jews? And he
answering, said to him, Thou sayest it.

15:3 And the chief priests accused him of many things: but he
answered nothing.

15:4 And Pilate asked him again, saying, Answerest thou nothing?
behold how many things they testify against thee.

15:5 But Jesus yet answered nothing: so that Pilate marveled.

15:6 Now at that feast he released to them one prisoner, whom
they desired.

15:7 And there was one named Barabbas, who lay bound with
them that had made insurrection with him, who had committed
murder in the insurrection.

15:8 And the multitude crying aloud, began to desire him to do
as he had ever done to them.

15:9 But Pilate answered them, saying, Will ye that I release to
you the King of the Jews?

15:10 (For he knew that the chief priests had delivered him for
envy.)

15:11 But the chief priests moved the people that he should
rather release Barabbas to them.

15:12 And Pilate answered, and said again to them, What will ye
then that I shall do to him whom ye call the King of the
Jews?

15:13 And they cried out again, Crucify him.

15:14 Then Pilate said to them, Why, what evil hath he done? And
they cried out the more exceedingly, Crucify him.

[recovering democrat]

18. A good analysis

Your perceptions are, to me, quite accurate. After the latest election rounds of elation among what I call the "Christian crazies", I started looking to the Bible as a resource to argue with them. While Democrats have been about supporting religions freedoms, the Republicans have promoted themselves as the political home for the Christians. Except for the right-wing crazies, the Christians I know are open to honest reminders of the words of Jesus. I actually got one of the two I quoted to admit that he could not quote me any words attributed to Jesus supporting any of the statements he makes.

Note the criticism of the Freepers in another post about Mel Gibson, who has been one of their heroes for the "Passion of the Christ" until he apparently said something nice about Michael Moore and questioned the Iraq war.

WWJD? Good question!

[NAO]

13. There are so many of these, someone could construct a critique of

the entire corpus of Bush policies, based solely on the teachings of Jesus.

It would be interesting to see what publishing houses were interested in the book - (would Christian presses like IVP want it or would they shun it?) and also to note the reaction in the Christian community.

[goforit]

14. Hand this out to all his followers.

[goforit]

15. Better yet send this to Mel Gibson and all Christian organizations.

[NAO]

19. Thanks to all replies - got any more?

I'm compiling a sheet, for pdf, that documents these Bush/GOP vs. Jesus quotes.

I think it will be effective for some people, but others will be so full of church doctrine and teachings that they will not be able to see what is right in front of them.