By now you may have seen the photo of Jerry Falwell Jr that has been widely circulated on social media.
It’s certainly not my place to chastise Rev Falwell. I’ll merely say that I fully expect others associated with the University and the ministry on which it was built to give him a pass here.
It brings to mind the scandal that engulfed Evangelist Jimmy Swaggart back in 1991.
Some are leaping to Falwell’s defense. Others–as you might well imagine–believe this is a very big deal and that he should be held to account.
For me, there’s an irony at play here that is a bigger deal than what actually happened.
For many people–and I am one of them–Falwell is now most closely associated with Donald Trump. It’s impossible not to think of how he’s embraced Trump from day one in spite of Trump’s seemingly endless deplorable and cruel actions.
He has failed to call out trump for anything; anything at all.
He said nothing about trump’s outright cruel treatment of brown children whose “crime” was being brought to our southern border by their desperate parents fleeing danger in their homeland.
Falwell stood idly by while Mr Trump sullied his office in a myriad of ways. Sullied it over and over and over again for the last three years and nine months.
Here, I’m sad to say, is where I think this situation stands: unless the University and the ministry possess more discernment and integrity than I think they do, they will enable Falwell and give him the same unmerited kid-glove treatment that their leader has been giving our president.
That’s where I think this is heading. I certainly hope I’m proven wrong.
Brother Ben
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