The Fall of Falwell
Jerry Falwell Jr. finally got busted.
He got busted because he was so arrogant that he became careless and his sins became public knowledge.
Those who he was supposedly accountable to knew about his sin for a long time.
I would be willing to wager that the situation that was exposed was not the Falwell’s first and only sin…it was a lifestyle funded by a “Christian” university.
Jerry Falwell Jr. was good at what he did and that covers a multitude of sins in the world of Christian celebrity.
In almost every scandal we’ve covered the scandal wasn’t a momentary lapse of morals but a pattern of sin and entitlement supported by an inner circle.
Whether it be in the Roman Catholic Church, the Anglican communion, or evangelicalism, your sin will be covered if you are “successful” enough.
Where’s the grace?
Waiting for repentance…
We’ll be waiting a long time…until his ten million dollar severance gets down to an uncomfortable level.
This is not a story about the fall of a Christian leader.
It’s about the fall of a grifter who wore whatever mask necessary to enrich and empower himself .
With enough practice, we’ll eventually know how to tell the difference between the two…
Amazingly, I just read that Falwell walks way with a $10M severance package. How his scandal does not at least qualify as a breach of contract, I do not know. What I do know is that this is just “one more” Christian scandal, making it all the more difficult on the rest of the church to witness of Christ to the world.
Tim,
Indeed it does…
The Kingdom will survive.
JoelG,
Yes, it will…but I’ve always been moved by the story of the sin of Achan.
It tears us all down…
Michael. Regarding Achon, do you have any thoughts of where it says..
..the Valley of Achor will be a dooe of Hope?
10 million dollars could certainly go a long way to reduce the tuition at this place. Every time a student looks at his student loan bill I imagine he gets pretty angry. Unless he is part of the cult.
Nathan,
The promise always follows judgment…
Thanks Michael. I really like that. Short. Easy to remember when life gets crazy.
If I got 10 large for sinning, that’d be as great an enticement as the initial temptation. Talk about rewarding evil. Perhaps Liberty needs to rebrand the institution as liberal arts…
Nathan,
I may have that tattooed somewhere so I remember…
Maybe Liberty University should rename itself as Libertine University.
Falwell maybe didn’t “fall well” but he certainly landed on a cushy pile of cash. He has his reward for his years of self-service, but I suspect the heavenly treasures are a bit more lean.
This is very biblical . For judgment will START with the House of God. And it appears will start at the top . Remember Ted Haggard?
I would say it’s easy to criticize our leaders for they are held to a much higher standard .
However , I think it would be better if us believers choose to grieve instead, not for the leaders but rather for ourselves .
For just as the Passover passed by the blood on the posts of the Israelites , so the same principle that we would repent of our own hidden sins knowing that judgment of our leaders will also pass by us or on us.
It’s a call to giving our hearts back to God as the Bride of Christ. I do not defend these wolves but rather learn how God deals with His own ..
May God give us the discernment needed to call out the wolves before a sinful world does that leads many blind sheep to a House of whores where the spiritual pimps live versus the Bride of Christ waiting to be taken Home doing the will of the Father ..
” Libertine ” University…. a sad, sad title… I wonder what percent of the student body feel ashamed and betrayed…. I pray God sends conviction and wise counsel….
And i pray (not with the conviction i should) that Falwell Jr. repents, returns the undeserved largesse and finds what a wonderful, gracious, forgiving, holy God he has disrespected….
Our heir apparent CEO (my tech company) was fired for ethics violations shortly after he took the mantle. Yes, he got about a $10M cash severance, and likely had at least that much in stock. Boo-hoo that he lost his $400k profit sharing last year. Golden parachutes are a problem. If boards across the boards would all agree to limit this practice, we’d all maybe be better off.
Btw- I question that pool boy’s assertion that Falwell is a predator. He was first approached by his wife after all.
Falwell officially did nothing wrong. His wife backs him up on this and is falling on her sword. He has confessed to nothing. This entitles the happy couple to reap the tidy severance package which they will share and eventually split.
Question…. Falwell’s behavior – as accused – is evil, but massive severance compensations – undeserved – are not evil?
Are we revisiting Genesis chapter six? If so, I’m with Noah…. 😇
Of course I wonder that the Liberty U students who were expelled and sanctioned for violating the Code of Conduct for infractions far less serious that what the Falwells did say about it? Maybe they should get all the money they paid into their school back.
Of course it is only a matter of time before video and picture footage of their antics get on the Internet. Maybe if there is a billboard near their house, an ad with the evidence (with the appropriate black bars covering things up) will do nicely.
To deal with a crook like Falwell Jr, maybe every member of the Board at Liberty needs to be sacked as an example (whether they knew or not).
I want to hear more from the poster on the thread about Kenosha…. I don’t care much about the Falwell saga. It got adjudicated. Wealthy people, whether pundits or politicians or preachers all land on their feet — meh
I’ll reopen the thread in hopes of hearing from prodinov…
Seems the pool boy was not the only bull in the barnyard:
https://www.politico.com/news/2020/08/27/becki-falwell-affair-liberty-university-student-band-jerry-402559
Given this revelation, it seems only logical that Liberty University change its mascot:
https://twitter.com/Yaucolion71/status/1299114958509178881/photo/1