[Vision2020] The Passing of an Ugly Giant of the Religious Right

[nickgier at adelphia.net]

Greetings:

I didn't use the one comment from that great liberal Barry Goldwater about Falwell.  He once said that if he met him he would kick him in the shins, but if he kept fouling the conservative movement, he would aim a little higher.

What evangelicals Cal Thomas and David Kuo said of Falwell was no more unkind that my list of ugly statements made by Falwell.  He said them, not I.  And there is more than sufficient evidence to prove that he was a false penitent.

I've appended the exchange I had with a Falwell apologist on New West.

Nick Gier

t's difficult to bash somebody over their bigotry or hatred, without seeming a little bigoted or hateful yourself. (Or to criticize someone's intolerance, without revealing your own.)

For those who are ganging up on Falwell over his anti-Semitism, apparently he repented... and you might say he found redemption later on in life. (Mr. Gier's piece sounds oddly like it was written maybe 10 years ago, back when Falwell was provoking so much debate.)

>From a news article written 3 days ago on http://www.thehill.com:

Political leaders say farewell to Falwell

... Present at the [funeral] ceremony was Rabbi Yechiel Eckstein, founder and president of the International Fellowship of Christians and Jews and goodwill ambassador of Israel. Eckstein said he knew Falwell for 30 years and credited him with connecting evangelical Christians with Israel and the worldwide Jewish community.

Falwell was “one of the first to build a bridge between evangelicals and Jews in America,” Eckstein said. “It is something that is important to the state of Israel and the Jewish people worldwide that we will not forget our friends who stood with us in a stalwart way, which Reverend Falwell did.

“Today it is far less controversial both in the Jewish community and in the Christian community to support Israel and the Jewish people,” Eckstein added. “On behalf of the state of Israel ... I am here to pay tribute.”

By Nick Gier, 5-27-07
To Irwin and Sisyphus, I say many thanks for the chuckle.

To bikeboy, I say that there plenty of recent evidence to demonstrate that Falwell is a false penitent. Please note the very recent reaffirmation of the 9/11 comments.

With regard to the good rabbi, here is a list long list of reasons why we should be suspicious of this character.  This is copied from a website that rates charities for their authenticity:

* Rabbi Eckstein's total compensation seems excessive at about $381,500 for 2002.

* IFCJ is a one-way street of Christians helping Jews. True cooperation, mutual understanding, and sympathy entails that Jews also help Christians who are in need and/ or being persecuted for their faith.

* IFCJ is simply a clever attempt to draw upon the financial resources of evangelical Christians by a man who actually opposes Christianity.

* Some people believe that IFCJ is more of a political organization acting as an arm of the Israeli government than a charitable organization whose principle commitment is to helping people in need.

* Many Jewish religious leaders have expressed skepticism over drawing alliances with evangelicals.

* Many Christian religious leaders believe that the Zionist project has little or nothing to do with biblical prophecy; hence, efforts to return the Jews to their homeland based upon considerations of prophetic significance are misguided.

* IFCJ, in promoting the Zionist cause, tends to ignore or downplay Palestinian suffering, which has occurred over the course of the Middle Eastern conflict

* Many of the projects supported by IFCJ are simply government projects, which already receive funds from other sources.