A Legacy of Polarization [Falwell]

On Faith (Newsweek/WA Post) ^ | 5/15/07 | Rev. Dr. Susan Brooks Thistlethwaite

[madprof98]

The Rev. Jerry Falwell will be remembered very differently on the religious and political right and on the religious and political left.

The current polarization of American religion and society is a product of the mixing of religion and politics that Jerry Falwell advocated. That is his legacy. If you like that polarization, you will remember Rev. Falwell as a pioneer; if you decry that polarization, you will hope that the country repudiates the mixing of religion and politics that he so typified and that he orchestrated so effectively.

[snip]

The Moral Majority in some ways redefined the word “moral,” or at least so narrowed it that it became synonymous with issues of sexuality: abortion, homosexuality and pornography. Moral issues such as poverty were squeezed out of the public square by the very efficient work of this lobbying group. In some ways, Rev. Falwell’s single-minded focus in this regard was typified by his comments, after the attacks of 9/11, that the attacks were the result of God’s anger with gays, lesbians, abortionists and feminists, a comment for which he later apologized.

After the 9/ll attacks, however, his polarizing rhetoric was expanded to include Muslims.

[snip]

I did not know Rev. Falwell, but I know people who knew him well and regarded him as a sincere Christian and dedicated to his principles. This is important to remember and yet it underlines the fundamental problem with his legacy.

Sincerity is not enough. The world can no longer afford the kind of absolutist religion and politics Rev. Falwell helped to popularize. It will literally be fatal.

[madprof98]

I would prefer 10,000 Falwells to one Rev. Dr. Susan Brooks Thistlethwaite. This is her Newsweek biography:

The Reverend Susan Brooks Thistlethwaite, is the 11th President of Chicago Theological Seminary. She has been a Professor of Theology at the seminary for 20 years and director of its graduate degree center for five years. Her area of expertise is contextual theologies of liberation, specializing in issues of violence and violation. An ordained minister of the United Church of Christ since 1974, the “On Faith” panelist is the author or editor of thirteen books and has been a translator for two translations of the Bible. Her works include Casting Stones: Prostitution and Liberation in Asia and the United States (1996) and The New Testament and Psalms: An Inclusive Translation (1995). Since the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, Thistlethwaite has been working diligently to promote peace, including a presentation at the U.S. Institute of Peace, which appears in one of their special reports. Most recently she edited and contributed to Adam, Eve and the Genome: Theology in Dialogue with the Human Genome Project (2003).

[TommyDale]

Newsweek/Washington Post liberal leftist religion commentary is worthless.

[Dilbert San Diego]

“Moral issues such as poverty were squeezed out of the public square by the very efficient work of this lobbying group.”

I thought that the war on poverty took care of the issues of people who are grappling with poverty. That’s why Falwell didn’t address that “moral” issue. Perhaps he thought that good Democrats had solved that problem, so he addressed other issues.

[ImpBill]

"The world can no longer afford the kind of absolutist religion and politics Rev. Falwell helped to popularize."

Bull! The world, as this chap would have us believe, isn't the end to all ends. The "world" of no absolutes is fatally flawed. There are absolutes! We would all be much better off living by codes that are indeed black and white and not the gray, wishy/washy muddle of situational ethics.

While not a great follower of Dr. Falwell's, I always applauded his moral compass - God!

[randog]

Her area of expertise is contextual theologies of liberation...

TRANSLATION: I make stuff up.

[ASA Vet]

Moral issues such as poverty were squeezed out

Yep, not working to support yourself and your family is immoral.

[I see my hands]

"The world can no longer afford the kind of absolutist religion.."

Correct. It's already exhausted it's budget for absolutist religion, i.e. Leftism with its many sacraments and tenets. Socialism and Eco-egoism for examples.

[mkjessup]

It sounds like Thistlethwaite had this pathetic excuse for a commentary pre-typed and in the can waiting for Reverend Falwell to check out.

I submit that the ‘Reverend Doctor Susan Brooks Thistlethwaite’ should have been spending less time on faux-important topics like ‘contextual theologies of liberation’ (and less time pre-writing articles commenting on the death of Jerry Falwell), and more on the need to confess one’s sins, ask Jesus Christ to save one’s soul, repent of those sins, and become a new creature in Christ so you don’t end up in HELL!

I wonder how many altar calls the Reverend Doctor Susan Brooks Thistlethwaite has conducted? I’d like to know. Maybe I’ll write her.

Because THAT is what Jerry Falwell was all about, each and every day of his life spent serving God, and that was bringing sinners to Christ.

[DuncanWaring]

The world can no longer afford the kind of absolutist religion and politics Rev. Falwell helped to popularize. It will literally be fatal.

I wonder if she'd like to take this up with the followers of the Mad Prophet of the Eighth Century?

[Tax-chick]

Rev. Dr. Susan Brooks Thistlethwaite

The name is all that one really needs to know about Rev. Dr. Susan, bless her heart.

The teachings of Jesus Christ, of course, weren't "polarizing" in the slightest. Everyone thought He was the greatest thing since ethanol, and they made him Emperor of Rome.

(Oops, wrong translation ...)

[Enchante]

"contextual theologies of liberation"

Leftist b.s. for "radical agit-prop"

[I still care]

When Christians stand up for you believe and apply your morality to your politics they are devisive. But when liberals step up and apply their “morality” to politics they are being brave and progressive.

When morality is taken out of politics, what you have are powerful heathens capable of total immorality.

[rogue yam]

This article is the standard leftist approach: spew invective at those with whom you disagree while sanctimoniously decrying “polarization”.

[mimaw]

The atheist left heard from once again.

[mort56]

This poor man is not even dead twenty four hours before these “Christian” liberals begin feasting on his memory in an effort to push their secular agenda.

Rev. Thistlethwaite, you should be ashamed of yourself but I fear you and your ilk do not even understand the concept.

[Cacique]

“Poverty” is only a moral issue to a marxist. To the rest of the sane world it’s a matter of economics.

[Timmy]

One big difference. The Left has absolutely no class. You would never see Rev. Falwell making these kind of statements about another's death.

[Dilbert San Diego]

Consider how we define morality. For example, Al Gore has been saying that global warming is a moral issue. Why is it ok to cite morality on that issue, but not on issues of abortion or same sex marriage, or other issues where there’s a moral component to people’s thinking??

There is an intersection of morality and our laws and societal standards. For example, murder is both against the law and is part of the Ten Commandments. It’s both a moral matter and a legal matter. Should we say our laws against murder are unconstitutional because somebody imposed their morality on our laws?

[ChessExpert]

The current polarization of American religion and society is a product of the mixing of religion and politics that Jerry Falwell advocated.

Bill Clinton did a 1000 times more to polarize American society than did the Reverend Jerry Falwell. And what of Newsweek, the Washington Post, and this woman spewing venom at the time of a man’s passing? Usually when someone dies, we try to find common values, not take cheap shots at someone who cannot reply. What an opportunistic, vengeful coward. She does not maintain any pretense of civility. I guess being a socialist means conventional standards of decency do not apply.

After the 9/ll attacks, however, his polarizing rhetoric was expanded to include Muslims.

So the 9/11 attacks just happened somehow, without a cause. The lack of context is a typical liberal ploy. These attacks, and many before them, were attacks by Muslims against the United States. She shouldn't blame the Reverend Falwell for seeing reality when she can not.

[IronJack]

Yeah, FALWELL was the “polarizing” influence in American politics. Not the left-wing fruitcakes who trashed the legacy of individual liberty upon which the nation rested. Not the race baiters and dialecticists like Conyers and Rangel and Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton. Not the drunk, womanizing elitists like John Kerrey and Ted Kennedy. No, Jerry FALWELL is the man who drove a wedge into American politcal thought ...