Rest In Peace Jerry Falwell

Here at the GTB, it isn't really a secret that we have very strong feelings towards Jerry Falwell and his politics. Hell, the good reverend even had his very own subject tag. That being said, and politics aside, it is with great sadness that we acknowledge the death of Reverend Jerry Falwell today at the age of 73.

While most of what he did angered us, his passion for his beliefs ignited in us similar passion for our own. His often inflammatory rhetoric provoked thought, introspection, and discussion, and for that, we would like to thank Reverend Falwell.

Sometimes you don't really know how strongly you believe in something until somebody vocalizes the things you don't. At the GTB, Jerry Falwell did that for us time and time again. Our thoughts go out to his friends and family during this incredibly difficult time.

Jerry Falwell, Comedian and Climatologist

Jerry Falwell blames global warming on Satan. Well, actually, he blames Satan for using the ruse of global warming to distract Christians from their true mission of evangelism. Speaking to his congregation in Lynchburg, VA, last week, Falwell said that even though some Christian leaders have been "duped" into believing the "science" of global warming, "the jury is still out" on whether humans are causing, or could stop, global warming. He added that the Bible teaches that God will maintain the Earth until Jesus returns, so Christians "should be responsible environmentalists, but not first-class nuts." And since every good speech is rounded out with a good joke, Falwell finished up with this zinger, "'An Inconvenient Truth' should have been titled 'A Convenient Untruth.'"

This is good news. God is taking care of the earth, so we can relax a little bit. I just threw 12 styrofoam containers full of glass and old hypodermic needles out my office window onto an elementary school playground. No worries! Jesus has it under control.

It is a little strange because previously Jerry Falwell has stated that "The whole (global warming) thing is created to destroy America's free enterprise system and our economic stability." So which is it? Is Satan using global warming to distract evangelism or is he using it to make America poor? Or maybe both at once? Maybe the basis of evangelism is to promote America's free enterprise system? That can't be right. Jerry Falwell boggles the mind.

And just for good measure, here are a few more Jerry Falwell gems to brighten your Thursday:

Jerry Falwell on 9/11: "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.'"

Jerry Falwell on AIDS: “AIDS is not just God's punishment for homosexuals; it is God's punishment for the society that tolerates homosexuals”

Jerry Falwell on Religion: “If you're not a born-again Christian, you're a failure as a human being”

Jerry Falwell on the separation of church and state: “The idea that religion and politics don't mix was invented by the Devil to keep Christians from running their own country”

The only thing Jerry Falwell has going for him is that he doesn't like Fred Phelps:

"Fred Phelps does not give the religious right a bad name, because nobody claims kin to that guy."