a/k

The Passing of Giants

Doubtless Jerry Falwell's passing is old news by now as the blogosphere has been buzzing about it for well over a day now. Enough bashing of the dead has been going on all over so I won't add to an already disrespectful and angry mob. However, I can't say I have any respect for Reverend Falwell; mostly because of his bigoted representation of a religious stance that held more in common with historical Jewish Pharisees than anything attributed with a peacefully subversive Christ.

Chris Floyd over at Empire Burlesque has a...well...disturbing prayer penned to God.

Lord, we gather here tonight to remember your departed servant, Brother Falwell, as he wings his way toward the great beyond, praise God. Lord, we know that there are many out there tonight -- lost souls, Lord, be with them, Jesus -- who will profane this solemn occasion with scorn and mockery. Dear God, we know that Brother Falwell's many victories in Your precious Name stirred up the Devil in a multitude of hearts, and that his enemies -- and Yours, Lord Jesus -- are rejoicing tonight at his passing...

Definitely not sparing any pleasantries in the biting sarcasm. It gets somewhat better. The logic is horrendous--we learned it from Rev. Falwell. He'd be proud of us we're sure.

...therefore, Lord, we know that this very night, as the formaldehyde streams through the corpulent remains of Your departed servant, that Brother Falwell was struck down by Your mighty Hand, in an act of wisdom far beyond the ken of sinful man to comprehend. Every day, precious Lord, Brother Falwell preached Your wrath...

God I'm sure seminary students at the famous Liberty U will be studying this senseless act of a sovereign God for a long time.

Every day, precious Lord, he preached Your love of war. Every day, precious Lord, he called Your blessings down upon the dealmakers and bagmen, praise God, upon the profiteers of suffering, praise Jesus, upon the divinely appointed leaders who practiced their deceptions and loosed their destructions only in Thy name, Lord, only according to Thy will, Lord, only in the greater service of Thy divine plan, O Jesus Christ our Lord and Saviour. No sparrow falls but that You order it; no missile strikes but at Thy dread command. And no great mass of swollen flesh falls from the disgorgement of its own physical corruption but that You, precious Lord, have done the deed. This is what Brother Falwell himself has taught us in his long years toiling in Thy bounteous vineyard: that he died because You withdrew Your protection and smote him in Your anger for his iniquities...

The same sovereign God obviously needed some way to even out the celestial afterlife the day this giant died, so he called home Yolanda King later in the day. King, daughter of Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr., was only 51 but was well-known for continuing in the tradition of activism and nonviolence forged by visionaries like her own father.

"She was an actress, author, producer, advocate for peace and nonviolence, who was known and loved for her motivational and inspirational contributions to society," the King family said...

All I can say is St. Peter sure must have had an interesting day at the pearly gates yesterday!

My heart goes out to the families of the deceased. May a merciful God watch over you and give you peace.