Tomorrow, the Rude Pundit will more properly mourn the passing of Jerry Falwell, but in the immediate shock and horror of his sudden death, it is best sometimes to go back in a man's life to get his true measure. Here's Falwell preaching in 1958, quoted in a
Washington Post profile in 1988 by Walt Harrington:
"'In this message,' Falwell intoned pompously, 'I want to use the Bible alone as our guide. It is never worthwhile to give man's opinion...The answer to the whole subject can be found in Genesis 9:18-27.' Falwell went on to explain that Ham, the son of Noah, had seen Noah naked one day. When Noah discovered this, he cursed Ham's son, Canaan: 'A servant of servants shall he be unto his brethren.' Falwell explained that Ham later became the progenitor of the African race.
"He rambled on, still using 'the Bible alone' as his guide: 'The true Negro does not want integration...He realizes his potential is far better among his own race...We see the hand of Moscow in the background...We see the Devil himself behind it...It will destroy our race eventually...In one northern city, a pastor friend of mine tells me that a couple of opposite race live next door to his church as man and wife ...It boils down to whether we are going to take God's Word as final.'
"Oblivious to the hatefulness of his sermon, Falwell concluded: '...If we live in constant fellowship with the Lord, He can enable us to live Christ-like before others.'"
Ah, yes, Falwell may have recanted the segregationist language, but it's a virtual template for every one of his sanctimoniously vicious attacks on people who made his redneck stomach queasy, crazy with a glaze of mock rationality.
(For other rude ramblings on Jerry Falwell, check out a
post or two from
2004.)
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