The venom expressed by some on the left and in the atheist community upon the death of Falwell is very revealing. I don't think you'd see anything comparable if, say, Michael Moore died. Falwell was, by all acounts, a good Christian. He didn't approve of things that Christianity teaches are bad, but he was unfailingly decent in the way that he treated individuals, even those he strongly disagreed with. Moreover, he didn't just condemn things like abortion. He sponsored programs to help unwed moms carry their fetuses to term. Unlike some of the other televangelists, he wasn't a hypocrite who preached one thing and did another. His lengthy public life was free of financial and sexual scandal.
And yet here is blogger Amanda Marcotte--a former employee of John Edwards--declaring that upon Falwell's death "the gates of hell swing wide open and Satan welcomes his beloved son." Religion columnist Cathleen Falsani of the Chicago Sun Times reacted this way. "Good. Ding-dong, the witch is dead." Then there were all the folks on Wonkette and other blogs who wished he suffered, wished he turned into a vegetable, and so on.
Why such venom? As I was pondering this question in my study I came across Christopher Hitchens' book savaging Mother Teresa. It's called The Missionary Position. Now of all the people in the world to write an expose about, why choose the saint of Calcutta? What was her offense, except to help poor and starving people to find, in their last hours, a measure of love and dignity?
To explain all this I think we have to turn to Shakespeare's Othello, where Iago says of Cassio, "He hath a daily beauty in his life that makes me ugly." And here we have it. Saintly people like Mother Teresa and committed Christians like Falwell inspire hatred because they point to a standard that holds us accountable. Even more, they live that standard showing that it is not some abstraction. But there is a powerful human tendency to want to pull these people down, so that the good guys can be revealed as not so good after all, and this becomes an excuse for us to continue to live in a petty and sordid way.
Reader Comments ( Page 1 of 1)
1. Although I personally do not dance on the grave of my enemies, I can understand why some have reveled in the death of Mr. Falwell. You wrote, by all accounts he was a good Christian. Then you note many who do not believe that proposition. So it cannot be by "all" accounts. And, certainly not by my account. in my opinion Falwell was an anti- Christ. He fomented hate against those who fought aparthied in S. Africa. He urged his followers to support racist and sexist agendas. He was far from following the teachings of Christ in his preaching. Just because he, and his followers, believe that they are good Christians doesn't mean they were. It only means that they have missed the real message of Christ, to love and see the good in everyone because we are all one. A good Christian does not use a tragedy such as 9/11 to foment hate against homosexuals and lawyers who represent the minorities. Falwell is dead, and I wish him all the best in the next life.
David Degner at 4:28PM on May 25th 2007
2. Well said!
Mark Peacock at 7:36PM on May 24th 2007
3. You said, "The venom expressed...is very revealing."
You don't say what you think that it reveals. Is it the same thing as Ann Coulter, Rush, 'Swiftboaters to hatchet Kerry' et al. usually reveal?
I'll bet the Christian 'right' knows what all this venom reveals.
Just because you see Falwell as a 'St. George' kinda figure and you see the entire groups as 'Dragon' kinda figures is 'revealing' to me...
... of course Falwell never did one itty-bitty thing wrong in your eyes... I coulda told YOU that.
pboyfloyd at 5:58PM on May 24th 2007
4. to Dinesh that that is!
Mark Peacock at 9:04PM on May 24th 2007
5. What of Fred Phelps and his clan claiming that Falwell is going to hell and going to protest at his funeral? I haven't seen you say ANYTHING about that. Remember: Phelps is one of YOURS. So why such venom from one on YOUR side, hmmmmmm?
Knight_of_BAAWA at 8:41PM on May 24th 2007
6.
I believe that Falwell was a good Christian under his own definition, and I don't recall many people bashing Mother Theresa because she certainly did do fantastic philanthropic work....Perhaps I am just not militantly anti-Christian like Hitchens.
The problem here, though, is that Falwell's agenda was to legislate morality upon those who do not follow his faith. This was entirely contrary to the founding principles of our country. We may be a predominantly Christian nation but we are not entirely Christian, and one of the founding principles of our country was that the minorities would not be silenced, or have the values of the majority forced upon them, because we are all created equal. The Puritans were a minority in England, and they left for America to find the freedom to express their beliefs. Too often, I think, do fundamentalists forget this and try to make our country conform to every Christian principle out there when that was never our founding fathers intention, because Christian principles will inevitably conflict with the principles of other faiths.
Our government has been secular since it's foundation. True there has been significant influence from Christians in our legal system, but we should never outlaw the morality of other faiths to support that because that is against the founding principles of our country. Need I remind people that many of our founding fathers were Deist's, who believed that God created the universe, then left us alone to our own will. To this day that does not conflict with our scientific understanding of the universe, for there are only metaphysical explanations at this moment for the creation of the matter that resulted in the big bang.
Peter at 4:46AM on May 25th 2007
7. Seems the Almighty was displeased with the way Falwell was applying his version of religion, thus called him 'home' earlier than a lot of us---age 72 I believe. If Falwell was so good why didn't the Almighty keep him at the wheel to 100, like some of us have to. No one wants to consider that. Long live predjudice.
hollowell at 12:46PM on May 26th 2007
8. Does long life necessarily mean pleasing to God? Perhaps Rev. Falwell was called home early as a reward for his devotion? Christ completed his assignment yet lived a short life; was he a failure?
Thanks for the good thought Dinesh. I don't agree with you on many issues but I do agree that we need to be agreeable even while disagreeing.
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Wally at 8:54AM on May 30th 2007
9. Let Iran get the bomb with very strict conditions. By denying them implies a state of inferiority which fuels their hatred and desire to acquire one. Either way, they will eventually acquire wmd. If they get it without our pemission, will they be more or less reckless than if they get it with our permission? Our continued presence in the middle east and war rhetoric will eventually come back to haunt or destroy us.
robert decell at 4:48PM on May 31st 2007