Jerry Falwell: Difference between revisions
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{{Villain_Infobox | {{Villain_Infobox | ||
| | |Image = Jerry_Falwell_portrait.jpg | ||
|fullname = Jerry Lamon Falwell Sr | |fullname = Jerry Lamon Falwell Sr | ||
|alias = | |alias = "Reverend Fraudwell" | ||
|origin = Lynchburg, Virginia, United States | |origin = Lynchburg, Virginia, United States | ||
|occupation = Senior pastor of Thomas Road Baptist Church<br>Leader of the Moral Majority | |occupation = Senior pastor of Thomas Road Baptist Church<br>Leader of the Moral Majority | ||
|type of villain = Dark Priest | |type of villain = Dark Priest | ||
|goals = Create a theocracy (failed) | |goals = Create a theocracy (failed) | ||
|crimes = [[ | |crimes = [[Hate speech]]<br>[[Racism]]<br>[[Homophobia]]<br>[[Islamophobia]]<br>[[Anti-Semitism]]<br>[[Embezzlement]]<br>[[Money laundering]]<br>[[Xenophobia]]<br>[[Misogyny]]<br>[[Propaganda]] | ||
|hobby = Making hateful speeches<br>Delivering sermons}} | |hobby = Making hateful speeches<br>Delivering sermons}} | ||
{{Quote|The idea that religion and politics don't mix was invented by the Devil to keep Christians from running their own country. If there is any place in the world we need Christianity, it's in Washington. And that's why preachers long since need to get over that intimidation forced upon us by liberals, that if we mention anything about politics, we are degrading our ministry.|Falwell in a sermon in 1976.}} | {{Quote|The idea that religion and politics don't mix was invented by the Devil to keep Christians from running their own country. If there is any place in the world we need Christianity, it's in Washington. And that's why preachers long since need to get over that intimidation forced upon us by liberals, that if we mention anything about politics, we are degrading our ministry.|Falwell in a sermon in 1976.}} | ||
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==Villainy== | ==Villainy== | ||
*Falwell was strongly opposed to the Civil Rights Movement, so much so that he was considered a white supremacist. He was close friends with noted segregationist politicians [[George Wallace]] and [[Lester Maddox]] and was opposed to ''Brown v. Board of Education''. | *Falwell was strongly opposed to the Civil Rights Movement, so much so that he was considered a [[White supremacy|white supremacist]]. He was close friends with noted segregationist politicians [[George Wallace]] and [[Lester Maddox]] and was opposed to ''Brown v. Board of Education''. | ||
**About Martin Luther King he said: "I do question the sincerity and nonviolent intentions of some civil rights leaders such as Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., Mr. James Farmer, and others, who are known to have left-wing associations." This implied that the Civil Rights Movement was actually a form of | **About Martin Luther King he said: "I do question the sincerity and nonviolent intentions of some civil rights leaders such as Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., Mr. James Farmer, and others, who are known to have left-wing associations." This implied that the Civil Rights Movement was actually a form of communism. | ||
**In the 1980s Falwell said that sanctions against the apartheid regime of South Africa would result in what, he felt, would be a worse situation, such as a Soviet-backed revolution. He also urged his followers to buy up gold Krugerrands and push U.S. "reinvestment" in South Africa. In 1985 he drew the ire of many when he called Nobel Peace Prize winner and Anglican Archbishop Desmond Tutu a phony "as far as representing the black people of South Africa." | **In the 1980s Falwell said that sanctions against the [[apartheid]] regime of South Africa would result in what, he felt, would be a worse situation, such as a Soviet-backed revolution. He also urged his followers to buy up gold Krugerrands and push U.S. "reinvestment" in South Africa. In 1985 he drew the ire of many when he called Nobel Peace Prize winner and Anglican Archbishop Desmond Tutu a phony "as far as representing the black people of South Africa." | ||
*Falwell was virulently [[Homophobia|homophobic]]. He condemned homosexuality as forbidden by the Bible. Gay rights groups called Falwell an "agent of intolerance" and "the founder of the anti-gay industry" for statements he had made and for campaigning against LGBT social movements. | *Falwell was virulently [[Homophobia|homophobic]]. He condemned homosexuality as forbidden by the Bible. Gay rights groups called Falwell an "agent of intolerance" and "the founder of the anti-gay industry" for statements he had made and for campaigning against LGBT social movements. | ||
**In 1984, Falwell was ordered to pay gay rights activist and former Baptist Bible College classmate Jerry Sloan $5,000 after Sloan sued him for calling the homosexual-friendly Metropolitan Community Churches "brute beasts" and "a vile and Satanic system" that will "one day be utterly annihilated and there will be a celebration in heaven". | |||
**Falwell also regularly linked the AIDS pandemic to LGBT issues and stated, "AIDS is not just God's punishment for homosexuals, it is God's punishment for the society that tolerates homosexuals. | **Falwell also regularly linked the AIDS pandemic to LGBT issues and stated, "AIDS is not just God's punishment for homosexuals, it is God's punishment for the society that tolerates homosexuals. | ||
**After comedian and actress Ellen DeGeneres came out as a lesbian, Falwell referred to her in a sermon as "Ellen DeGenerate" | **After comedian and actress Ellen DeGeneres came out as a lesbian, Falwell referred to her in a sermon as "Ellen DeGenerate" | ||
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*He also showed traits of [[Anti-Semitism]], once saying that the anti-Christ was a male Jew and that "Jews can make more money accidentally than you can on purpose." | *He also showed traits of [[Anti-Semitism]], once saying that the anti-Christ was a male Jew and that "Jews can make more money accidentally than you can on purpose." | ||
*In 1994, Falwell promoted and distributed the video documentary ''The Clinton Chronicles: An Investigation into the Alleged Criminal Activities of Bill Clinton''. The video purported to connect Bill Clinton to a [[murder]] conspiracy involving Vince Foster, James McDougall, Ron Brown, and a cocaine-smuggling operation. The theory was discredited, but the recording sold more than 150,000 copies. | *In 1994, Falwell promoted and distributed the video documentary ''The Clinton Chronicles: An Investigation into the Alleged Criminal Activities of Bill Clinton''. The video purported to connect Bill Clinton to a [[murder]] conspiracy involving Vince Foster, James McDougall, Ron Brown, and a cocaine-smuggling operation. The theory was discredited, but the recording sold more than 150,000 copies. | ||
*He had been involved in a number of embezzlement and tax fraud schemes. | |||
==Legacy== | ==Legacy== | ||
Views on Falwell's legacy are mixed. Supporters praise his advancement of his socially conservative message. They also tout his evangelist ministries, and his stress on church planting and growth. Conversely, many of his detractors have accused him of [[Hate Speech|hate speech]] and identified him as an "agent of intolerance". | Views on Falwell's legacy are mixed. Supporters praise his advancement of his socially conservative message. They also tout his evangelist ministries, and his stress on church planting and growth. Conversely, many of his detractors have accused him of [[Hate Speech|hate speech]] and identified him as an "agent of intolerance". | ||
Social commentator and antitheist | Social commentator and antitheist Christopher Hitchens described his work as "Chaucerian fraud" and a "faith-based fraud." Hitchens took special umbrage with Falwell's alignment with "the most thuggish and demented Israeli settlers", and his declaration that 9/11 represented God's judgment on America's sinful behaviour; deeming it "extraordinary that not even such a scandalous career is enough to shake our dumb addiction to the 'faith-based.'" Hitchens also mentioned that, despite his support for Israel, Falwell "kept saying to his own crowd, yes, you have got to like the Jews, because they can make more money in 10 minutes than you can make in a lifetime". Appearing on CNN a day after Falwell's death, Hitchens said, "The empty life of this ugly little charlatan proves only one thing: that you can get away with the most extraordinary offenses to morality and to truth in this country if you will just get yourself called 'reverend'." | ||
At one point, prank callers, especially gay activists, constituted an estimated 25% of Falwell's total calls, until the ministry disconnected the toll-free number in 1986. Edward Johnson in the mid-1980s, programmed his Atari home computer to make thousands of repeat phone calls to Falwell's 1–800 phone number, since Johnson claimed Falwell had swindled large amounts of money from his followers, including Johnson's own mother. Southern Bell forced Johnson to stop after he had run up Falwell's telephone bill an estimated $500,000. | At one point, prank callers, especially gay activists, constituted an estimated 25% of Falwell's total calls, until the ministry disconnected the toll-free number in 1986. Edward Johnson in the mid-1980s, programmed his Atari home computer to make thousands of repeat phone calls to Falwell's 1–800 phone number, since Johnson claimed Falwell had swindled large amounts of money from his followers, including Johnson's own mother. Southern Bell forced Johnson to stop after he had run up Falwell's telephone bill an estimated $500,000. | ||
His son, Jerry Falwell Jr., is an American lawyer and university administrator, serving as the president of Liberty University in Lynchburg, Virginia since his father's death. He is an ardent supporter of Donald Trump, both before and since his election as President of the United States. | His son, Jerry Falwell Jr., is an American lawyer and university administrator, serving as the president of Liberty University in Lynchburg, Virginia since his father's death. He is an ardent supporter of [[Donald Trump]], both before and since his election as President of the United States. | ||
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