Current Affairs & Politics & Religion 15 May 2007 03:16 pm
Christian Kindness
Jerry Falwell died today. The progressive religious blogosphere is full of Christian kindness.
But, of course, he did not share this Christian kindness towards people like us. This is the man who blamed gays for AIDS, who said “”I really believe that the pagans, and the abortionists, and the feminists, and the gays and the lesbians who are actively trying to make that an alternative lifestyle, the ACLU, People For the American Way, all of them who have tried to secularize America. I point the finger in their face and say ‘you helped this happen.’“ and ”[Homosexuals are] brute beasts…part of a vile and satanic system [that] will be utterly annihilated, and there will be a celebration in heaven.“
This is a man who, at the same time as he professed to be a spokesperson for Christianity, certainly didn’t really ask the question WWJD (what would Jesus do?) I just finished reading The Last Week by John Dominic Crossan and Marcus Borg. In it, based upon the Gospel of Mark, Borg and Crossan make it so clear that Jesus was a religious and political activist, working to upend the Roman domination system that was actively supported by the temple hierarchy, and that’s why he was executed. And Falwell was working on erecting a Christian theocracy which would be the kind of domination system Jesus would have fought against.
We didn’t just disagree with him. We are willing, because of our philosophy of life and governance, to allow people like him to speak. In fact, we would fight so that he could speak. Meanwhile, he would have rather wiped us off the map. I don’t really ever know what to do with that disparity.
Christian kindness is a good thing, but I would rather the progressive religious blogosphere had decided to have some moments of silence, instead.
Technorati Tags: jerryfalwell, religion
on 16 May 2007 at 4:04 am 1.Boy in the Bands: Scott Wells on the practice of Christian faith said …
Im not sad Falwells gone
I remember a maxim one of my religion professors more ill than any of us late teen scholars knew offered the class before the lecture started. In so many words: Its a sin to wish someone dead, but you can enjoy some obituaries mo…
on 16 May 2007 at 9:41 am 2.Mystical Seeker said …
I couldn’t agree with you more. The man promulgated hate throughout his vile public career, and now that he is dead, it is if people feel obligated to rewrite history and forget all the terrible things that he did.
on 16 May 2007 at 1:33 pm 3.rev mommy said …
For a lot of people, Jesus looks just like them. So for Jerry, Jesus must have been a fat republican male with white hair.
I wonder what he would make of my Jesus who is a big black mad mama?
=o)