Jerry Falwell Sr.

[[File:Jerry_Falwell_portrait.jpg|thumb|right|165px|Falwell, in his post-segregationist/pre-death phase.]]
{{christianity|1}}
{{cquote|﻿ The facilities should be separate. When God has drawn a line of distinction, we should not attempt to cross that line… ﻿The true Negro does not want integration… He realizes his potential is far better among his own race.|||Falwell from the 1958 sermon "﻿Segregation or Integration: Which?", wherein he cited {{bible|Genesis|9|18|27}}<ref name=blumenthal>[https://web.archive.org/web/20100526111829/http://www.thenation.com/article/agent-intolerance Agent of Intolerance: Jerry Falwell is best known for crusading against abortion and homosexuality. But early on, he skillfully used race to galvanize the Christian right.] by Max Blumenthal (May 16, 2007) ''The Nation''.</ref><ref>''The Book of Jerry Falwell: Fundamentalist Language and Politics'' by Susan Friend Harding (2001) Princeton University Press. ISBN 9780691089584.</ref>}}
<choose>
<option>{{cquote|Every good Christian should line up and kick Jerry Falwell's ass.|||Senator [[Barry Goldwater]] (R-AZ)<ref>[https://www.theguardian.com/world/2008/feb/08/religion.usa God moves to the left] by Giles Fraser (7 Feb 2008 19.15 EST) ''The Guardian''.</ref>}}</option>

<option>{{cquote|If you had given him an enema he could have been cremated in a matchbox.|4=[[Christopher Hitchens]]}}</option>

<option>{{cquote|The empty life of this ugly little charlatan proves only one thing: that you can get away with the most extraordinary offenses to morality and to truth in this country if you’ll just [[User:Reverend_Black_Percy|get yourself called Reverend]].|4=[[Christopher Hitchens]]}}</option>
</choose>
'''Jerry Lamon Falwell, Sr.''' {{lived|1933|2007}} was an [[United States|American]] obnoxious [[theocratic]] [[segregation]]ist<ref name=blumenthal/> demagogue who spewed narrow-minded hatred at every chance, while presenting himself as a pretender to the homilies of one [[Jesus|Jesus Christ]].

As the creator of the [[Moral Majority]], he seemed to take inspiration from [[Billy James Hargis]]'s "Christian Crusade". The general impression among people who are not [[Sucker|his enthusiastic supporters]] is that he was a worthless prick; however, he was not involved in the sex or financial scandals that were the downfall of many of [[Televangelist|his contemporaries]] and [[Jerry Falwell Jr.|his son]].

According to Falwell, you should save what little forgiveness you have as a Christian for [[Ronald Reagan|Saint Ron of the Reaganite]]'s divorce.<ref>http://firstread.msnbc.msn.com/archive/2007/05/18/195338.aspx</ref>

==Gays did 9-11==
{{cquote|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 [[Pro-choice|abortionists]], and the [[feminism|feminists]], and the [[gay]]s and the [[lesbian]]s 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."|||[https://web.archive.org/web/20060725130443/https://home.comcast.net/~joe.grabko/falwell.mp3 Remarks] to [[Pat Robertson]] two days after the WTC attacks, 'The 700 Club''}}

Falwell got his first [[Molehill mountaineering|big win]] in 1981, after the city of Washington, D.C., briefly decriminalized gay sex. Falwell successfully lobbied Congress to overturn the decision, warning that D.C. would become “the gay capital of the world.”<ref>http://www.advocate.com/arts-entertainment/advocate-45/2012/08/21/45-biggest-homophobes-our-45-years?page=full</ref> During the 1980s, he would describe the growing [[AIDS]] epidemic as both "a lethal judgment of God on the sin of homosexuality"<ref name="Jordan">{{cite book |last=Jordan |first=Mark D. |date=2011 |title=Recruiting Young Love: How Christians Talk about Homosexuality |url=https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=VTtqkj0pP10C |location=Chicago |publisher=The University of Chicago Press |page=172 |isbn=978-0-226-41044-9}}</ref> and "also the judgment of God on America for endorsing this vulgar, perverted and reprobate lifestyle".<ref name="Jordan" />

Falwell also blamed [[homosexuality|homosexuals]], [[neopaganism|neopagans]], and [[feminism|feminists]] for the [[9/11|September 11]] attacks — and not, say, Christians [[Blowback|stirring up a hornet's nest]] in Muslim countries by maintaining a military presence in the Middle East and propping up oppressive dictators. He is also known for claiming that the character Tinky Winky, from the children's television program ''Teletubbies'', was a homosexual (for being purple, wearing a tutu, and carrying a handbag).<ref>[http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/276677.stm 'Gay Tinky Winky bad for children' at BBC news]</ref>

Speaking of minorities, Falwell was also a leading [[Antisemitism|anti-Semite]], claiming that the [[Antichrist]] was a male [[Jew]] and that "Jews can make more money accidentally than you can on purpose."<ref>http://www.publiceye.org/ifas/fw/9405/antisemitism.html</ref>

==Up your hole, with love, peace, and soul==
Falwell engaged in a famous legal battle with [[Larry Flynt]] that went all the way to the [[Supreme Court]]. The case was focused on a satirical liquor advertisement from Flynt's ''Hustler'' magazine in which Falwell talked about his first time having sex...'''with his mother'''...in an outhouse.<ref>https://vinepair.com/articles/how-a-fake-campari-ad-led-to-one-of-americas-most-famous-supreme-court-cases/</ref> Despite the fact that the advert was clearly marked as a parody at the bottom of the page, Falwell sued ''Hustler'' for libel. The court delivered a unanimous ruling in favor of ''Hustler'', declaring that the advert could not "reasonably be understood as describing actual facts about [Falwell] or actual events in which [he] participated",<ref>[http://law2.umkc.edu/faculty/projects/ftrials/falwell/sctfalwellvflynt.html Hustler Magazine and Larry C. Flynt, Petitioners v. Jerry Falwell], law2.umkc.edu</ref> and that the [[First Amendment]] should take precedence over Jerry's hurt feelings. This established a precedent that protects the right to parody public figures.<ref>[http://www.law.cornell.edu/supct/html/historics/USSC_CR_0485_0046_ZO.html HUSTLER MAGAZINE and Larry C. Flynt, Petitioners v. Jerry FALWELL.], law.cornell.edu.</ref> Falwell and Flynt later became friends when they discovered that they shared more in common than they realized, due to their similar Appalachian roots; Flynt even wrote a touching column about Falwell after he passed away.<ref>Larry Flynt, [http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/la-op-flynt20may20,0,2297247.story?coll=la-opinion-center Larry Flynt: My friend, Jerry Falwell]. Los Angeles Times, 20 May 2007.</ref>

==Oogie Boogie, is that you?==
Beginning in 1970, Falwell terrorized children annually with his [[Halloween]] [[Hell House]].

Falwell promoted anti-[[evolution]] and anti-[[ecumenism]] beliefs, captured for posterity in a creepily charming set of songs, "The [[Monkey]] Song" and "The Ecumenical Movement", sung by young {{wpl|Crystal Bernard}} and her sister at one of Falwell's church services.<ref>[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NKwlUmoiPVY Robin & Crystal Bernard - The Monkey Song & The Ecumenical Movement], [[YouTube]], from a recording of a televised church service by Jerry Falwell at Thomas Road Baptist Church in 1972.</ref>

==Legacy==
Falwell died on May 15, 2007, proving that even God was tired of Jerry's claptrap.{{efn|That, or God liked him so much that He couldn't wait until the [[rapture]] to get him. Or God loves all the other people because He doesn't want Falwell to be a giant pain in their asses anymore.}} After his death, [[Christopher Hitchens]] hitchslapped him to eternity on Anderson Cooper's [[CNN]] program.<ref>Anderson Cooper: Jerry Falwell's Legacy ([https://web.archive.org/web/20170612142602/http://www.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0705/15/acd.01.html Transcript], [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UIviufQ4APo YouTube video]) May 15, 2007.<BR />Also note Hitchens' appearance on [[Sean Hannity|Hannity & Colmes]] following Falwell's demise ([https://web.archive.org/web/20151005002455/http://atheistnexus.org/profiles/blogs/hitchens-takes-on-fox-news-on-jerry-falwell Transcript], [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=doKkOSMaTk4 YouTube video]) where he famously quipped: "If you gave Falwell an enema he could be buried in a matchbox."</ref> The world moved on. {{wpl|De mortuis nil nisi bonum||…}}

Falwell's legacy is [[Liberty University]]. He rose to national prominence when his other school, Liberty Christian Academy, prohibited non-white enrollment and, thus, lost [[tax-exempt]] status.<ref>[http://america.pink/jerry-falwell_2216734.html Jerry Falwell: Associated organizations]</ref>

Liberty University was chaired by his son [[Jerry Falwell Jr.]] until Junior resigned in disgrace in August 2020. Junior is rather svelte to the point of being unrecognizable compared to his bloated, bloviated, (thankfully) deceased dad. Looks like the kid's voraciousness is presently limited to [[money]] and [[God]] (in that order).<ref>Pulliam Bailey, Sarah, [https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/acts-of-faith/wp/2015/12/05/liberty-university-president-if-more-good-people-had-concealed-guns-we-could-end-those-muslims/ "Jerry Falwell Jr.: ‘If more good people had concealed-carry permits, then we could end those’ Islamist terrorists"], ''The Washington Post'' 12.5.15. ONWARD, CHRISTIAN SOLDIERS!</ref>

==Gallery==
<gallery>
File:Tinkywinky.jpg|The horrid homosexual character pictured here is wanted by Jerry Falwell for leading [[Jerry Falwell Jr.|children]] to enjoy [[Alcohol|rum]], [[sodomy]] and the [[Sadism|lash]], with emphasis on "sodomy".
File:Jerry Falwell Parody Interview in Hustler Magazine.jpg|Falwell: the parody ''Hustler'' interview
File:Hustler Magazine v. Falwell.pdf|''Hustler'' v. Falwell: ''Hustler'' won
</gallery>

==See also==
*[[Pat Robertson]], his former BFF
*[[Dominionism]]
*[[Fundamentalism]]
*[[Douchebag]]

==Notes==
{{reflist|group=note}}

==References==
{{reflist|2|80%}}

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