Who Is Jonathan Falwell?
Posted by truthtalklive on 16 July, 2009
The last name might sound familiar. His father was the Reverend Jerry Falwell, one of the most influential and recognizable figures of the evangelical church over the last 50 years.
When he died suddenly in in 2007 , the 20-thousand member Thomas Road Baptist Church in Lynchburg, Va. was without its founding pastor.
The Sunday following his father’s death found young Jonathan in the pulpit of the church where he had grown up, suddenly thrust into the spotlight…Scared? You bet. Humbled? Without a doubt. Today on Truthtalk Live, a pre-recordedconversation that Stu Epperson, Jr. had with Jonathan Falwell in May of 2009.
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9 Comments on “Who Is Jonathan Falwell?”
I wonder if this guy is as stupid and evil as his father. Here are some well-known Falwell quotes from the famous fascist:
“Christians, like slaves and soldiers, ask no questions.”
“If you’re not a born-again Christian, you’re a failure as a human being.”
“The idea that religion and politics don’t mix was invented by the devil to keep Christians from running their own country.”
How about Chris Hitchen’s comment to Bill O Reilly after Falwell died? He said if they gave Falwell an enema they could have buried him in a matchbox.
Cute Bernie[grin].
Bernie – You were fine with this comment until the last paragraph. Curious as to why you felt like you had to make such a comment at all. Perhaps you could have done some research on Jonathan before posting something like this….or perhaps you were using this as a scapegoat to post other’s comments about his father….just for fun…right? Still not necessary.
Warning #1.
Moderator
Those of us old enough to remember Falwell from the 60s know he was an outspoken segregationist and racist. He fought against the civil rights legislation tooth and nail and wasted millions of donated dollars to do this. Check this speech out if you don’t believe me:
Jerry Falwell, sermon delivered at Thomas Road Baptist Church on Sunday night, March 21, 1965, titled “Ministers and Marches ” Quoted in full from Perry Deane Young’s, God’s Bullies: Power Politics and Religious Tyranny (New York: Holt, Rinehart, and Winston, 1982).
Here is the quote Falwell will rightly be remembered by:
AIDS is not just God’s punishment for homosexuals; it is God’s punishment for the society that tolerates homosexuals.
The comment Chris Hitchens made was May 17, 2007 the on Hannity and Colmes show, not on Bill O’Reilly’s show. I apologize if anyone was offended by my posting of it.
This is the reaction to Falwell’s death from American Atheists:
“While we recognize and respect the grief of friends and relatives, it must be acknowledged in the wake of Rev. Falwell’s death that he and the organizations he founded, especially the so-called Moral Majority, were serious threats to our Constitution and, specifically, the separation of church and state.”
“Jerry Falwell was instrumental in galvanizing millions of American evangelicals into an intolerant, sectarian and authoritarian political movement. Gays, women, secularists, civil-libertarians and other groups who did not fit in to his plan to construct ‘One Nation Under God’ were stigmatized and attacked. Civil liberties were in jeopardy. Falwell and other religious right leaders advanced their political agenda in the name of Christianity, while demonizing their opponents.”
“Perhaps the most ignominious moment in Falwell’s career was his appearance with Rev. Pat Robertson on a television program which blamed the terrorist attacks of September 11 not on Islamic fundamentalist fanatics, but on a wide swath of the American people — women (because of their support for abortion), gay and lesbian Americans, and individuals and organizations like American Atheists which labor for the separation of church and state.”
“We cannot and must not lionize Rev. Jerry Falwell because he is now dead. We expect that some politicians beholden to the religious right, who perhaps owe their political careers in part to Falwell, will praise him for his religiosity or avuncular style. The truth is, however, that the Rev. Jerry Falwell was a dangerous man who opposed and worked against many of the key values underpinning our secular American democracy.”
– Ellen Johnson, President
AMERICAN ATHEISTS
American Atheists is a nationwide movement which defends the civil rights of nonbelievers, works for the separation of church and state, and addresses issues of First Amendment public policy.
Jonathan Falwell: “preach on biblical and moral issues (such as traditional marriage or abortion); urge constituents to register and vote; discuss positions of the candidates; even personally endorse candidates.
“Further,” Falwell continued, “churches are permitted to distribute nonpartisan voter guides, register voters, provide transportation to the polls, hold candidate forums and introduce visiting candidates.”
As we can see Jonathan Falwell has stepped right into his daddy’s boots. This younger Falwell is a very dangerous religious fanatic and like his daddy is a shameless liar. One false claim he’s made is that none of his churches have ever lost their tax-exemptions because of politicking. They have and anyone can check the Internet and see a whole slew of lies coming from Lynchburg where it seems it is business as usual.
It’s hard not to be cynical about it. It would be refreshing if one of the televangelist heirs just shut down the whole operation, gave away the proceeds and disappeared from the spotlight of celebrity.
Trust fund kids inheriting the family business. Nothing wrong with that.
Fred, check out “One PUnk Under God”, a documentary on Jay Bakker, son of infamous James and Tammy Faye Bakker. Its very moving.
Thanks for toning it down some Bernie. Seriously, we appreciate that.
Moderator
My band and I had the opportunity to play at a conference in which Jay Bakker was a speaker. I definitely disagree with some of his social stances, but I respect his unorthidox ministry which reaches out to those who would otherwise never hear the gospel. If many of the Falwell ilk would refuse to deal in the “ministry as usual” mindset, then the world would be more apt to, at least, give audience to the Message of Christ. I often lead worship in the “Religion KILLS” t-shirt provided me by Jay, and that statement could never be more true. “One Punk…” is a pretty good documentary too.
Tyler: Glad to hear from you again. Yes, I agree, religion kills…..but JESUS gives life! Hallelujah!