Founder of Moral Majority, Jerry Falwell dead at 73

[Bangkoktraveler]

The Rev. Jerry Falwell, the television minister whose 1979 founding of the Moral Majority galvanized American religious conservatives into a political force, died Tuesday at age 73.

 

Falwell was found unconscious and without a pulse in his office at Liberty University, the college he founded in Lynchburg, Virginia, said Ron Godwin, the school's executive vice president.

 

Though paramedics tried to revive him at his office and en route to Lynchburg General Hospital, "Those very timely and very efficient and effective efforts were unsuccessful," Godwin said.

 

Godwin said he had breakfast with Falwell Tuesday morning and said they talked about the future.

 

"He seemed to be in good spirits," Godwin said.

 

Godwin said they finished breakfast about 9:50 a.m. ET and Falwell went into his office. He was found there about 11:30 a.m. ET.

 

The minister, who had a history of heart trouble, was pronounced dead of heart failure at 12:40 p.m. Tuesday, his doctor, Carl Moore, told reporters. He had been hospitalized twice in early 2005 with acute onset pulmonary edema, or congestive heart failure, and at one point was placed on a ventilator.

 

Moore said it was "a little early to speculate" on what caused Falwell's death, but said he did have a heart condition.

 

"I would assume that he passed away from a cardiac rhythm abnormality, which can be a manifestation of any heart disease, heart attack or otherwise," Moore said.

 

Godwin told reporters that Liberty students and members of Falwell's congregation were gathering at Thomas Road Baptist Church for a service later this afternoon.

 

Falwell, a onetime prospect for baseball's St. Louis Cardinals, founded the Thomas Road Baptist Church in Lynchburg in 1956. Within six months, he was airing his "Old Time Gospel Hour" on radio and television, and he founded Lynchburg Bible College -- now Liberty University -- in 1971

 

In 1973, Falwell began a series of meetings with fellow pastors and conservative politicians on what he considered their responsibility to support "pro-traditional family" policies. That led to the founding of the Moral Majority, which claimed to have mobilized nearly 9 million voters and helped put Ronald Reagan in the White House in 1980.

 

In his 1980 book, "Listen, America!," Falwell said religious voters "cannot be silent about the sins that are destroying this nation," which he identified as pornography, abortion, "amoral liberals," drugs, welfare and the abandonment of biblical morality.

 

"If Americans will face the truth, our nation can be turned around and can be saved from the evils and the destruction that have fallen upon every other nation that has turned its back on God," he wrote. "There is no excuse for what is happening in our country. We must, from the highest office in the land right down to the shoeshine boy in the airport, have a return to biblical basics."

 

Falwell and the religious conservative leaders who followed are now a bulwark of the modern Republican Party and helped turn the once solidly Democratic South into the base of the GOP.

 

But he has found himself at the center of several controversies, such as the one sparked by his comments two days after the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks in which he seemed to blame "abortionists," gays, lesbians, the ACLU and People for American Way for causing the attacks, saying they "helped this happen."

 

A day later, he told CNN that he would "never blame any human being except the terrorists, and if I left that impression with gays or lesbians or anyone else, I apologize."

 

Godwin said that Falwell had planned for a transition and that his two sons would carry on his ministry.

 

"He has left instructions for those of us who have to carry on, and we will be faithful to that charge," Godwin said.

 

Falwell is survived by his wife, Macel, and three children.

 

 

[Steve]

They left out that he was also a segregationist preacher in his early days as well.

For a man of God that was supposed to spread love as a Christian he was more divisive than a uniting force.

I've always felt ministers should stay out of politics but definitely not pick a side. There's a difference between trying to right a wrong a right like MLK and Gandhi did than some like Falwell who wanted a theocracy of sorts.

[cavanami]

>But he has found himself at the center of several >controversies, such as the one sparked by his >comments two days after the September 11, 2001, >terrorist attacks in which he seemed to blame >"abortionists," gays, lesbians, the ACLU and People >for American Way for causing the attacks, saying >they "helped this happen."

WTF...

He left out; space aliens, Jews, Arabs and all others besides "his" people.

[Tiger Moth]

Taken from an interview of Alistair Horne, British Historian, ""Now, I'm reminded of one of my heroes, Talleyrand," Horne continued. "He was a real old rascal. But among his many very wise statements, he said, 'Wherever there's trouble, look for a priest.' He was a defrocked priest so he knew what he was talking about."

 

Of course, priest can be expanded to include equivalent terms used in other denominations/religions.

 

Here is a link to the entire article/interview which I found very entertaining and informative.

 

http://www.salon.com/opinion/kamiya/2007/05/08/alistair_horne/index.html

[Steve]

Great article!

[Bangkoktraveler]

"He left out; space aliens, Jews, Arabs and all others besides "his" people."

 

aaah, shouldn't you have left out Arabs?

And shouldn'y you have replaced Arabs with mother-in-laws?

And what about the Klingons and Castro?

 

 

[chuckwoww]

Excellent article. I think Horne has it right on almost every point (so it must be good). I'm not sure a mercenary Indian army would solve the problem though. They'd still be seen as infidel occupiers.

[Julian2]

He's careful not to come up with a solution. Tabloid journalists can say what they like and it's gone in a week but analysts like Horne write for posterity and they are very careful to avoid being wrong.

[foreigner]

 

1. pro life

2. anti gay

3. pro israel

that is jerry falwell & the evangelical political movement.

 

his bio claims the he almost played professional baseball

keith olberman reported this evening his staff could find no record of his baseball prowess.

[Steve]

Well, we at least know Bush reads. lol. I am very curious as to Blair's motives. The Brits I know talk about the 'Bush's poodle' thing and the honoring the 'special relationship' thing but I am still skeptical. On the other hand Clinton went against public opinion and committed to the Balkans due to the 'speical relationship' as well so perhaps it is so. Just hard to believe, he could be led like that, Blair seems too smart a man. But I don't know him like the english do.

 

Its said that Saddam had enacted a plot to kill Bush the elder. Is that why Dubya went into Iraq? A personal vendetta?