What have the works of the late rev. falwell meant in your life?

[Philosoraptor]

God bless him, I just can't help think of ronnie reagan and how chummy he and the good reverend were, and I just can't help but remember that whole moral majority thing, and how he herded his followers into the voting booths and how they've absolutely infested our government like cockroaches ever since.

And Dear Lord his many, many hilariously hateful quotes!

Give me your impressions of dear jerry as we all wish him well.

What has the good reverend meant in your life?

[niyad]

1. convinced me there is no god--a true deity would have smote him for the blasphemy of the hatred and

evil that man spewed in the guise of "religion"

[Philosoraptor]

2. michael reagan praising how jerry got his sainted father elected.

[Greeby]

4. Whos to say he hasn't

Maybe he was on a long lunchbreak

[no_hypocrisy]

3. It's been like have a Harpy following me since college.

I went to Sweet Briar College, which is ca. 12 miles away from Thomas Road Baptist Church in the late 70s. We heard about this Jerry Falwell character who was able to raise $1 million during a 24-hour telethon for Liberty Baptist College. Later, a Liberty student visited our campus and we were compelled to do the Pledge of Allegiance before a night of Chopin and Liszt. I thought there was something odd also about how one of the Liberty students was a substitute teacher at one of Lynchburg's public elementary schools and told the little kids there was no Santa, but rather, something better: Jesus Christ.

In 1980 after graduation, like a bad penny, Falwell was in the news all the way up in New York City. He was threatening to use his "clout" to get Reagan elected. The next thing I know, one of his associates was claiming that God doesn't hear the prayers of Jews, and I was really thinking WTF.

Ever since, he's been made a media star, whether it's been "saving" the PTL and Jim Bakker's organization, or vying with James Dobson or Pat Robertson to replace Billy Graham as the Evangelist In Chief.

I resent how his "church" corporation has been quietly buying up land in the city of Lynchburg, taking it off the tax rolls and consequently increasing the tax burden on the non-church taxpayers.

While I don't wish him harm so to speak, I wouldn't mind him having a little of that "Job" experience to make him a bit more of a humble christian if it's still possible.

[Swamp Rat]

5. He was a thorn in the Crown of Jesus.

He was one of many.

[WiseButAngrySara]

14. So true Swamp Rat. (Beware of wolves in sheeps clothing and

Don't do as the hypocrites do.)

[BrainRants]

6. In a roundabout way, he made me a Democrat.

Seriously.

There was an episode of WKRP in Cincinnati in the early 80's (I was in my teens) where Falwell was portrayed by an actor who wanted to censor songs on the station. The clip is available here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4mHdAoJSPEs

At the end of the episode, Mr. Carlson reads him the lyrics to "Imagine" including "Imagine there's no heaven" to which the Falwell character replied "Blasphemy!" and said the song should be banned.

Mr. Carlson replied, "But the song says 'Imagine'. Are you banning the words, or the thoughts?"

As an impressionable teenager, it cemented my disrespect of the Moral Majority, and also made me a John Lennon fan for life.

[Philosoraptor]

8. That WAS an excellent episode.

[BrainRants]

15. I feel no shame in saying good riddance.

He was a hateful, bigot who stole my religion and used it as a cudgel for power.

I can only say what I've said many times over the years:

"Go to hell Falwell!"

[Philosoraptor]

7. Will they praise his fat, late ass at the right wing debates tonight?

Woah! jerry upstages ronnie reagan!

[blondeatlast]

12. Poor, poor, neglected Gipper. Will he even get a nod tonight?

It may get interesting since they know they have to appeal to the moderate voters while grabbing the cash from the useful idiots of the RRR.

[Philosoraptor]

9. And he's not only merely dead, he's really most sincerely dead.

[Dogmudgeon]

10. My first activist group: "Abort Moral Majority"

1978, IIRC.

They were good times. They were bad times. But mainly, they were bad times.

--p!

[Jim Warren]

11. Looks like they opened the express chute to hell

He was ordered not to take the stairs.

[Tulum_Moon]

13. Just glad the fat

bastards dead. Now we wont have to see his influence during the next elections.

Good Bye and good riddance.