Was Falwell a product of his upbringing?

[Quixote1818]

Believe me I don't shed a tear for this guy but as someone who always tries to look for the best in people I have to wonder if under different circumstances Falwell might have turned out OK? The fundamentalist mindset is very much a mental sickness in my view. It's easy to see things in Black and White and think like conservatives do and just condemn him as heartless and evil. He certainly caused a lot of pain in many peoples lives and his words most certainly lead to a lot of violence against gays and lesbians among others. He should never be forgiven for those things since he never came to terms with his hatred, however I can't help but think of the Amish people who went to the funeral of the man who killed all those children. I remember being moved in a very powerful way buy their actions. I am very much an agnostic, humanist but I am also a great admirer or Jesus Christ. I don't believe him to be God and I have my doubts that he ever claimed to be God, however as the agnostic/Deist Thomas Jefferson once said of Jesus "His religion was perhaps the greatest the world has ever seen or is likely to see". I am sure Jefferson was moved by the ability of Jesus to see every person almost as a child before society and prejudices could be inflicted on a person. Jesus taught of forgiveness, loving your enemy and looking for the potential in all people. Falwell didn't pay much attention to these parts of the Christian Religion which is a shame because they are the most beautiful parts.

I don't have a problem with those who have a lot of anger toward Falwell, as I do my self. I would just like us to take this moment in history as an opportunity to try to look at people like Falwell and try to understand what caused them to become the mentally ill person they became and remember that even Jerry Falwell was once a cute little innocent Baby that could have been molded many different ways. Do anger and hate make us feel better? How about trying to forgive and look for the potential for good that was probably inside Falwell someplace? What good can we learn from all this and how can we use what we learn to help create a better world in the future? From my experience, that is what liberalism is all about. I would like to see us live up to those ideals.

[SoCalDem]

1. Nope.. he just figured out that people can be gullible

and a smooth-talking preacher-man can make a great living by snookering them out of their money..in exchange for promises of salvation

[RevCheesehead]

2. I was surprised to learn he was once a baseball star.

Apparently, the Cardinals were trying to recruit him, but in college, he turned his life over to the Lord.

I can't help but wonder a)how different things might have been; and (b) if the Lord had any regrets about that "free will" thing.

Actually, to answer your question:
He apparently had a conversion experience while in college. And in his eagerness and zeal, I think he followed what he thought was the "moral" choice, rather than his personal choice.

New converts to the faith tend to see things in black/white, rather than shades of grey. Certainly, his environment had something to do with his ultra-conservative views. And, perhaps most importantly, new converts are AFRAID TO QUESTION OR DOUBT THEIR FAITH. What they don't realize is that questioning is the path to growth and deeper understanding.

[Quixote1818]

7. "Questioning is the path to growth and deeper understanding."

That is such an important statement.

I also think many of these people who gain incredible power and influence begin to think God has chosen them. They are so high on thinking God has hand picked them and their ego gets so big, they lose all touch with reality and think everything they think, is what God is telling them to think. It must be very intoxicating! Unless they lose everything like Tammy and Jim Baker and are JOLTED back into reality, they will continue to live in this imaginary world. They are basically schizophrenic in my opinion.

[RevCheesehead]

14. Jesus warned the disciples not to be like the pharisees.

He washed their feet, and told them to do the same. Pastors who do not understand humility have not understood the message. It's about servanthood, and never, ever thinking that you're too good or important to be bothered with menial tasks.

When you undervalue the tasks of others, you belittle the person who's doing the work. That's why the moral majority and the Repuke party is so fucked up. They simply either do not or choose not to see that behind a minimum wage job is a person, struggling to survive.

Of all the characters in the gospel, I like to think of myself as the donkey that Jesus rode into Jerusalem on Palm Sunday. First of all, I need to remember that my task is to carry Jesus to the people. Also, I need to remember that most people will see me only as a jackass. :)

Feet: firmly planted on the ground.
Head: on shoulders - not in the clouds or up the backside.
Hands: for serving others.
Heart: for God, and for loving and forgiving others.

[havocmom]

3. No, he was a product of his avarice

lots of people has similar beginnings and did not go on to become greedy control freaks preying on the weak minded.

[GreenPartyVoter]

4. Peopl can change. That is what the whole point of the faith he chose is. To choose to be

a better person. Whether or not he succeeded.....well, I would guess not but I can't say what was in his head and heart 24/7.

[magellan]

5. I don't think liberals learn anything from this

We already knew that Falwell was a major obstacle to the true teachings of Christ, and his death means his work on this earth promoting hatred is done. It can be encapsulated and regurgitated by the Right for the next few decades, but they'll get no new material from him. And for that I'm grateful.

[jgraz]

6. That time he had sex with his mom in an outhouse had to leave a scar

[Dark]

8. I was a fundamentalist. I held every single view that he did, if not more conservative.

Fuck him. Fuck everything he stood for.

I didn't celebrate any other conservative's death. But his demise brings me joy.

He was a bastard. The Human race just got a little better.

[Breeze54]

9. dupe

[Breeze54]

10. I heard Fartwell in an interview say his Dad used to beat him...

severely. As in a drunken, bat-shit, crazy, athiest kind of way!

[SoCalDem]

11. not that unusual in someone his age. Parents used to beat the crap out of their kids

Treating kids with "kid gloves" is fairly recent

(although there are some psychos out there who still beat up their kids)

[Breeze54]

18. I know but it may explain his hatred

for athiests and "sinners". :shrug:

[rainbow4321]

12. Looks like Falwell was somewhat of a troublemaker...and also stole his friend's fiancee?

And at one point, his father lied about Falwell's age..enabling him to get his driver's license at 13 yrs old.


http://www.bhsbees.com/jerry_falwell_bio.htm

I attended Brookville High School (BHS) for grades 8-11. There was no 12th grade in Campbell County high schools when I graduated in 1950. I was fullback and captain of the football team. I was also editor-in-chief of the school newspaper and graduated as valedictorian. The records will also show that my third grade mischief had somewhat escalated by the time I was in high school, resulting in my not being allowed to deliver the valedictorian address. We went through two or three principals during my four years at BHS. Some have blamed me and my buddies for this attrition.
<snip>

Dad had a drinking problem that worsened as he grew older. This never seemed to affect his business performance, but it worried my mother very much. Dad died when I was only 15. I remember him making a profession of faith in Christ only days before his death. A local businessman, who was also a Gideon, brought a Presbyterian pastor to his bedside. I was not yet a Christian. But I remember the dramatic change in my father during the last days of his life. That businessman told me this story in recent years. He has since passed
<snip>

I graduated from Brookville High School when I was 16. I had managed to obtain a driver's license three years earlier, before I was legally of age. My father attested that I was older than I was. So, I had my own car as a young teen. In those days, very few young people had automobiles. This made me the "leader of the pack". It also contributed to keeping me in constant disciplinary problems at home and at school. Playing football, basketball and baseball and providing the transportation for the "Fairview Gang" kept me very active.

<snip>

I first saw Macel on my conversion night, January 20, 1952. She was playing the church piano. We met shortly thereafter. At the time, she was engaged. I had my work cut out for me. As fate would have it, her fiancée was my dorm roommate at BBC later that year. It is a long story, but God brought us together before 1952 was history. We have been in love ever since.

[MrSlayer]

13. He could have done an enormous amount of good.

If he had brains and talent and charisma enough to build this empire of hate he could have just as easily gone the other way. It would have been the more difficult path but still as attainable as the other. Alas, he chose not to and so goes down in history as a hatemongering piece of shit.

[Marie26]

15. It's charitable to think so

But I don't think that's true in Falwell's case. I think he found a route to money, fame & power and made the most of it. But I do agree with your point about most fundamentalists, Falwell's followers. Most people are just looking for a guide to help them through this life, and Falwell & other leaders offered them that.

[no_hypocrisy]

16. To a certain extent, but he defined himself and decided his life ultimately.

Lynchburg, Virginia is a small city on the banks of the James River. It offers not much opportunity unless you are part of the government or the church. The city was named after John Lynch, a farmer who used to hang his slaves by their thumbs, hence adding the lexicon to our vocabulary, "lynching". The area was segregated and Jim Crow was the order of the day until the late 60s. (Down the road in Amherst County, the county administration building had two sets of restrooms for whites and "coloreds" and the cemeteries are still silently segregated.)

Jerry grew up as a wild boy and got into trouble according to locals. He was born in ca. 1934, just after the time of famous media evangelicals like Billy Sunday and Father Charles Coughlin (OK, he was catholic, but still a media figure.) That had to have made an impression on him. Throw in Sinclair Lewis' "Elmer Gantry" and you have a powerful message of how to rise to power via the pulpit.

In the 60s when Jerry was first getting started with Thomas Road Baptist Church, he preached the segregation because the message "sold". Then came civil rights and he found that segregation didn't have the same punch as it used to. He started Liberty Baptist Church and had fundraisers that were broadcast on many TV stations for its day. Enter Ronald Reagan and Falwell was savvy enough to hitch his star to Reagan's. Without RR, it's possible Falwell would have still been known somewhat outside of Lynchburg, but he certainly would not have had the influence of government policy like he has had for more than a quarter of a century.

So like any great literary or real villain, Jerry Falwell just took advantage of the situation around him as an opportunist, found enablers, and using the message of God, he had sufficient protection against criticism as he gained power and wealth. It's a Greek tragedy of our time, and unfortunately, we will continue to see this played out without his presence. His passing does not alter history a wit.

[Philosoraptor]

17. I'm given to understand that both his parents were atheists, but I could be wrong.

[supernova]

19. I didn't know his dad was athiest

until they announced that yesterday in the wall to wall eulogy fest on TV.

It made me wonder if his fundamentalism wasn't indicative of a complete rebellion from his father?

[Annces]

20. I wonder if people who spread fear and distrust

do not grow in strength because people around them allow them to be that way, either from forgiveness or fear, or following the social norms. He could have been nipped in the bud, but somehow he flourished. The worst people I have met, are the ones who project their own ugly view of the world onto those around them, instead of trying to make it a better place.