The Falwell/9-11 Controversy


Falwell states who he believes the REAL guilty parties for 9-11 are.

Jerry Falwell, along with Pat Robertson, had a quaint little discussion on the 700 Club about September 11 two days after the terrible disasters.

In his talks, Falwell pointed the finger at the groups-he-most-despises as being responsible for the attacks against our country.

A partial transcription of the interview is transcribed below, from belief.net:

"You Helped This Happen"
Partial transcript of comments from the Thursday, September 13, 2001 edition of the '700 Club.'

JERRY FALWELL: And I agree totally with you that the Lord has protected us so wonderfully these 225 years. And since 1812, this is the first time that we've been attacked on our soil and by far the worst results. And I fear, as Donald Rumsfeld, the Secretary of Defense, said yesterday, that this is only the beginning. And with biological warfare available to these monsters - the Husseins, the Bin Ladens, the Arafats--what we saw on Tuesday, as terrible as it is, could be miniscule if, in fact--if, in fact--God continues to lift the curtain and allow the enemies of America to give us probably what we deserve.

PAT ROBERTSON: Jerry, that's my feeling. 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: The ACLU's got to take a lot of blame for this.

PAT ROBERTSON: Well, yes.

JERRY FALWELL: And, I know that I'll hear from them for this. But, throwing God out successfully with the help of the federal court system, throwing God out of the public square, out of the schools. 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 who have tried to secularize America--I point the finger in their face and say "you helped this happen."

PAT ROBERTSON: Well, I totally concur, and the problem is we have adopted that agenda at the highest levels of our government. And so we're responsible as a free society for what the top people do. And, the top people, of course, is the court system.

JERRY FALWELL: Pat, did you notice yesterday the ACLU, and all the Christ-haters, People For the American Way, NOW, etc. were totally disregarded by the Democrats and the Republicans in both houses of Congress as they went out on the steps and called out on to God in prayer and sang "God Bless America" and said "let the ACLU be hanged"? In other words, when the nation is on its knees, the only normal and natural and spiritual thing to do is what we ought to be doing all the time--calling upon God.

PAT ROBERTSON: Amen

Understandably, Falwell's remarks sparked an uproar from the majority of our country. Realizing he'd put his foot in his mouth in the most inappropriate manner possible, and that this was, perhaps, NOT the time to be spreading his hatemongering, Falwell came back with a back-handed "apology" on his website:

DATE: September 17, 2001
FROM: Jerry Falwell

WHY I SAID WHAT I SAID
by Jerry Falwell

Despite the impression some may have from news reports over the past several days, I hold no one other than the terrorists, and the people and nations who have enabled and harbored them, responsible for the September 11 attacks on this nation. I sincerely regret that comments I made during a theological discussion on a Christian television program were taken out of their context and reported, and that my thoughts - reduced to sound bites - have detracted from the spirit of this time of mourning. Like most Americans, I watched the September 11 tragedy unfold on television. I immediately called our Liberty University family of thousands together for prayer at 2 p.m. on the day of the attacks.

On Wednesday, one day later, I led the Thomas Road Church in another call to prayer for America. On Friday, September 14th, President Bush invited me to join him, his family and administration and 3,000 others to the National Cathedral for a special Day of Prayer and Remembrance, where we asked God for His comfort, protection and wisdom. Since then, by television and radio, I have attempted to call together millions of people throughout this nation and around the world in remembering all those who died, and praying for our nation, the victims of this barbarism, and their loved ones. On Sunday, September 16, the Thomas Road Baptist Church, where I have served as pastor for 45 years, gathered thousands of dollars for the families of New York firefighters. Our members also gathered a huge collection of tools, clothing and other materials for the New York rescue and recovery efforts. My statements on the "700 Club" on Thursday, September 14th, were called divisive by some whom I mentioned by name. I had no intention of being divisive. I was sharing my burden for revival in America on a Christian TV program, intending to speak to a Christian audience from a theological perspective about the need for national repentance. In retrospect, I should have mentioned the national sins without mentioning the organizations and persons by name. I stated the deep concerns of millions of American evangelicals over America's sharp spiritual decline during the past generation. Over 40 million unborn babies have been aborted since Roe v. Wade. We have expelled God from the public square and the public schools. We have normalized an immoral lifestyle God has condemned. American families are falling apart. Because of our national moral and spiritual decline during the past 35 years, I expressed my personal belief that we have displeased the Lord and incurred his displeasure. I was asking a Christian audience on a Christian TV program to claim II Chronicles 7:14 and repent. I was calling upon the church to heed Proverbs 14:34, which says in paraphrase, "Living by God's principles promotes a nation to greatness; violating those principles brings a nation to shame. "I was blaming no one but the terrorists for the terror, but I was chastising us, the Church, for a generation of departure from God. I was doing what I have done for nearly 50 years in the pulpit - confronting the culture and calling for national revival.

ILL-TIMED COMMENTS

My mistake on the "700 Club" was doing this at the time I did it, on television, where a secular media and audience were also listening. And as I enumerated the sins of an unbelieving culture, because of very limited time on the "700 Club," I failed to point the finger at a sleeping, prayerless and carnal church. We believers must also acknowledge our sins, repent, and fast and pray for national revival. We are all involved in a very sensitive period of national mourning. We are closing ranks and coming together in a time of great loss, as we are also facing the likelihood of imminent war. And if, in that crucial context, my statements seemed harsh and ill- timed, I truly regret this and apologize. But, I repeat, I blame no one but the hijackers and terrorists for the horrific happenings of September 11. But I do believe God's protection of us as individuals and as a nation is dependent upon our obedience to His laws.

I wasn't buying this "apology", and wrote my views on it that same day:

It would only take someone with half a brain and just a smidgen of basic intelligence to see that Falwell did not apologize or take back anything; he says his "mistake" was in his timing and the fact that he mentioned the groups/organizations/individuals by name.

Therefore, Mr. Falwell isn't taking back his statement, not a bit, he just "admits" he shouldn't have called certain particular names out. This means he still stands by his original statement. He knows he hurt his image by saying it aloud in the midst of this crisis, and that appears to be the only thing he's "apologizing" for.

Futhermore, his recurring reference to his being on a "Christian" talk show, with a "Christain" message, intended for "Christian ears" was infantile. Cable is accessible to all and many; was he so naive to think that his message would not be heard the world over? I doubt so. Jerry Falwell said what he wanted to say and has no regrets about it. This "statement" makes that abundantly clear. He's just covering his ass so he won't look bad to his weak minded, simpleton minions.

Yet he got his message out...one way or the other. I can't stand someone who isn't strong enough to stand behind their own convictions. He spits out one comment, then turns around and tries to "smooth" it over just enough to make sure it doesn't cause any money to slip out of his slick little pockets; it's enough to satisfy the dullard minds while still sticking the knife in just deep enough to make his stab at the people he's condemned. Self righteous, power hungry, cult leading bastard!

All of those people who believe in him are ruled by a god alright; the god Jerry Falwell - who condemns and seeks to destroy people's free will so he can warp their minds and, in turn, empty their pocket books into his wallet. Of course Falwell fears and castigates such people! They represent the very thing that is his nemesis...and it ain't Satan, honey. Freedom of mind, of thought, of judgement - these are the evils of the god Jerry Falwell. For if any of his disciples fell into their evil clutches, his pocket book and ego would suffer greatly.

I sat to read Jerry's "Why I Said What I Said" statement with an open mind. I thought, "Okay, maybe..as happens frequently in the media...he was misunderstood, or misquoted. Perhaps it wasn't what he meant." I began to read giving him the benefit of the doubt, wholly prepared to throw down earlier beliefs on the story; forgive and apologize.

By time I got to the bottom of the statement I was more incensed than the first time I heard what the cretin said! He must have gotten some flack from one or two followers who shared a brain or two and decided he'd better say something to save face before he lost a few bucks.

But he didn't take it back and he didn't apologize, and I consider him no better than anyone else on our mother Earth who has killed in the name of any god or religious belief...including the bombings that took place last Tuesday. You want to blame someone, Falwell? Blame hate propagandists like yourself. For it is the belief that those who live and worship differently must be destroyed that causes things like the September 11th tragedy to happen.

You truly are a deplorable excuse for a human being, a piteous testimony to the loving God whose image you tarnish, and the most contemptible American that ever graced our country's beautiful soil.

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