Dr. Falwell, you just don't get it

Just two days after the attack on the World Trade Towers, Americans were shocked to hear two leaders of our own domestic "Taliban" utter statements which may well have destroyed any remaining credibility which they may have held up to that point, even amongst their own followers.

Speaking about the attack on Pat Robertson's "700 Club", Jerry Falwell said...

"The abortionists have got to bear some burden for this because God will not be mocked. And when we destroy 40 million little innocent babies, we make God mad. 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 have tried to secularize America — I point the finger in their face and say, 'You helped this happen.'"

Pat Robertson, the host of the "700 Club" responded at once by saying, "I concur completely." Later on in the exchange, Falwell added, ``God continues to lift the curtain and allow the enemies of America to give us probably what we deserve.''

``Jerry, that's my feeling,'' Robertson responded. ``I think we've just seen the antechamber to terror. We haven't even begun to see what they can do to the major population.''

 

Jerry Falwell's first phony apology

There was immediate outrage. Falwell initially offered a half-hearted explanation. Falwell's first "apology" was characterized by it's complete lack of sincerity and true regret.

He said, ``I sincerely regret that comments I made during a long theological discussion on a Christian television program yesterday were taken out of their context and reported, and that my thoughts -- reduced to sound bites -- have detracted from the spirit of this day of mourning."

As you can see, his first "apology" wasn't an apology at all. In actuality, he defended his comments! He blamed others for taking them "...out of context" and reducing them to "...sound bites".

 

Jerry Falwell's second apology

Only when the furor over his remarks continued to grow did he offer an apology that, finally, at least sounded real...

``In the midst of the shock and mourning of a dark week for America, I made a statement that I should not have made and which I sincerely regret,'' Falwell said. He added: ``I want to apologize to every American, including those I named.''

Robertson claims ignorance

Pat Robertson, who had responded to Falwell's on-air comments by saying, "I concur completely" had his publicists release a new statement. It characterized Falwell's remarks as ``severe and harsh in tone and, frankly, not fully understood [by Robertson]''. That's a far cry from "I concur completely". If Robertson didn't understand the comments, as he claimed, why would completely concur (agree) with them?

The answer is simple. Both Falwell and Robertson believe precisely what they said. Only when the outrage amongst Americans had risen to a fever-pitch did they duck for cover. We had always expected this kind of thing from our politicians, but from our ministers, too?

 

The real story here

Again, the truth here is actually very obvious, and it is pretty sad as well. What Jerry Falwell said is what he actually believes. His apology was not motivated by a true understanding of the foolishness of his statement or of his devilish practice of dividing people. It was motivated by the outcry which followed the events.

Just ask yourself one honest question. If there were no outcry, do you really think Jerry Falwell would have apologized?

Falwell, Robertson and the many others who compose America's religious right believe in the "US versus THEM" interpretation of Christianity and of the scriptures. They believe that America doesn't belong to all of it's citizens. Rather, it only belongs to people who believe in the kind of God that Falwell and Robertson believe in.

 

The wrong kind of God

Jerry Falwell believes in the wrong kind of God. He sees God as someone who blesses you when you "do good" and curses you (and all of your neighbors) when you do bad. The kind of God who allows extremists to invade your air space and kill thousands of innocents because you dare give human rights to gays and lesbians.

I believe in a different God. The God I believe in loves all of His children, including the gay and lesbian ones. And He wants them to have equal rights and enjoy life to its fullest. My God doesn't punish you when you do bad. Rather, He gently lifts you out of your mistakes and plants your feet on higher ground in a spirit of pure love. My God's heart turns sad when people do wrong. The heart of Jerry Falwell's God turns furious and vengeful.

The bottom line? Jerry Falwell may have mouthed an apology, but he really doesn't get it. His problem was not in making those divisive statements at the wrong time. His problem is in making them (and thinking them) at all.

It is time, in America, for people to accept their gay and lesbian brothers and sisters? Why? Because we only need look to the Taliban and other Islamic extremists to see what happens when we do not.

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