Dr. Jerry Falwell passes to Glory at 73
Without a doubt yesterday’s death of Dr Jerry Falwell has been felt throughout the land, in the both the secular and christian communites. Last night the national TV talk shows and newscasts were full of facts and comments of every kind. I was astounded by the insensitivity shown by a few of his critics and relieved by the civility of others. Of course much deserved words of commendation and respect have been flowing from both religious and political figures who appreciated the overall impact of Falwell’s ministry. The most outrageous comments that I have heard came from humanist/atheist Christopher Hitchens on CNN’s “360″ News show last night. His name-calling tirade accused Falwell of being a complete and virtual “criminal” fraud and “phoney”. Even the very liberal host, Anderson Cooper, was somewhat surprised by Hitchen’s absurd claim that Falwell was devoid of “sincerity” and did everything he did only to “rob the gullible”. I have placed a link about Hitchens in this post only to warn believers of his antipathy for all things christian (and religous). Those of us called to defend the faith need to be informed. More on this later…back to our subject…
We Jacksons had more than one opportunity to experience Jerry’s engaging personanlity and forceful presence. His personal approach to his working and ministry relationships was quite different from his public perception. He was outgoing, friendly and tirelessly compassionate…while at the same time principled, determined and bold. Unknown to many was the fact that for most of his life, he was a “jokster”…He Loved to play practical jokes, sometimes quite elaborate ones…and almost no one was off-limits. Most of his close relationships knew to beware at all times.
One thing that no one can deny is that he lived to advance the Kingdom of God by spreading the Gospel of Jesus Christ. His greatest legacy will be the multiplied thousands of graduates of his Liberty University that will spread his message of “Faith and Freedom” for decades to come. Though I did not agree with everything he did or said, I have great respect for his life and ministry. More than once I was moved and challenged by his preaching…particularly his preaching to us pastors and church leaders. Let me hear from you about how he touched your life!
Come on…Come blog with me!
Paul Jackson / The Highlands Church,sbc
FYI: Funeral arrangements are at the Liberty University link above.
This entry was posted on Wednesday, May 16th, 2007 at 9:30 am and is filed under FAMILY, NEWS, ARC Evangelism. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
May 17th, 2007 at 2:26 pm
I was also saddened at how vile some people have been in attacking his beliefs and what he stood for. But that is the way of the world now. Even here is little ole’ Arkansas, look at the absolute hatred people have for President Bush and Houston Nutt. People spew hatred at a much greater rate than ever before.
On a positive note about Rev. Falwell, one of the things I admire about him was his founding of Liberty University. With a son attending Ouachita Baptist University, I have been struck about how important these faith based schools are for our youth. They may not be perfect, but they are light years better than most public universities where liberalism reigns supreme.