{"article":{"id":10182,"heading":"Falwell blames gays, abortion rights, etc. for terrorism","author":"submitted by Michael Balliro","created":"2001-09-15 15:15:39","modified":"2001-09-15 19:53:02","last_modified":"Sun, 16 Sep 2001 02:53:02","article":"

Falwell says U.S. has lost God's

protection because of spiritual void

Gustav Niebuhr, New York Times



Friday, September 14, 2001

The Rev. Jerry Falwell said yesterday that the American Civil Liberties Union, along with abortion providers, gay rights proponents and federal courts that had banned school prayer and legalized abortion, had so weakened the United States spiritually that the nation was left exposed to Tuesday's terrorist attacks.

The conservative Baptist minister said that \"the ACLU's got to take a lot of blame for this,\" according to a partial transcript of televised remarks he made on \"The 700 Club,\" Pat Robertson's religious program.

In the transcript, distributed by the liberal organization People for the American Way, Falwell described the ACLU as \"throwing God out successfully with the help of the federal court system, throwing God out of the public square, out of the schools.\" Referring to the terrorist attacks, he said he would point a figurative finger at those \"who have tried to secularize America\" and say: \"You helped this happen.\"

Robertson, in a separate statement, agreed, saying Americans had insulted God by allowing abortion and \"rampant Internet pornography.\" He also chided the U.S. Supreme Court for, among other things, limiting prayer in

public schools.

\"We have a court that has essentially stuck its finger in God's eye,\" Robertson wrote. \"We have insulted God at the highest level of our government. Then, we say, 'Why does this happen?' \"

Falwell, asked to explain his remarks in a telephone interview last night, said he was making a theological statement about how various groups had so offended God that the attacks could occur. He said he did not intend to shift actual blame from the terrorists who carried out the attacks.

\"I sincerely believe that the collective efforts of many secularists during the past generation, resulting in the expulsion from our schools and from the public square, has left us vulnerable,\" Falwell said. \"God has protected America from her inception. It is only recently that many have decided God is unnecessary.\"

Falwell added he does not believe God \"had anything to do with the tragedy,\" but that God permitted it.

\"He lifted the curtain of protection,\" Falwell said, \"and I believe that if America does not repent and return to a genuine faith and dependence on him, we may expect more tragedies, unfortunately.\"

The Associated Press contributed to this report.<\/p>\n","contact":"m_balliro@yahoo.com","link":"","address":"","phone":"","parent_id":0,"mime_type":"text\/plain","summary":"An example of some of the ugly rhetoric we might expect from J. Falwell. How come the mainstream press can't find space for some of the reasonable voices I find here on the IMC?","numcomment":2,"fileurl":"\/uploads\/","filesize":null,"article_url":"\/news\/2001\/09\/10182.php"},"attachments":[],"comments":[{"id":10190,"heading":"Yeah. Right.","article":"\"Tinkie-Winkie!! Dipsy!! Usama!! Po!!\"","author":"Alex","parent_id":10182,"mime_type":"text\/plain","created":"2001-09-15 16:17:04","modified":"2001-09-15 16:29:24","fileurl":""},{"id":10229,"heading":"this one is more explicit","article":"Falwell blames gays, liberal groups for terrorist attacks \r\n \r\n Anti-gay advocate makes remarks on '700 Club' broadcast;\r\nRobertson nods approval \r\n \r\n by Lou Chibbaro Jr.\r\n Washington Blade\r\n \u00a9 2001, Window Media LLC\r\n \r\n WASHINGTON, Thursday, Sept. 13 -- The Rev. Jerry Falwell said\r\ngays, feminists, \"pagans,\"\r\n and a host of liberal advocacy groups have made \"God mad\" and\r\nmust share the blame for\r\n the terrorist attacks this week that took the lives of thousands of\r\nAmericans at the World\r\n Trade Center in New York and at the Pentagon outside Washington.\r\n \r\n Falwell made his remarks Thursday, Sept. 13, while appearing on\r\nthe religious television\r\n program The 700 Club, hosted by the Rev. Pat Robertson. Falwell\r\nand Robertson are among\r\n the nation's strongest opponents of gay civil rights.\r\n \r\n \"I really believe that the pagans, and the abortionists, and the\r\nfeminists, and the gays and\r\n lesbians who are actively trying to make that an alternative lifestyle,\r\nthe ACLU, People for\r\n the American Way - all of them who have tried to secularize\r\nAmerican - I point the finger in\r\n their face and say, 'You helped this happen,'\" Falwell said on the\r\nprogram, which was\r\n broadcast nationally.\r\n \r\n \"Well, I totally concur,\" Robertson told Falwell, \"and the problem is\r\nwe have adopted their\r\n agenda at the highest levels of our government.\" \r\n \r\n The comments by Falwell and Robertson came at a time when gay\r\nactivists have joined\r\n leading Republicans and Democrats in calling for national unity and\r\nfull, bipartisan support\r\n for President Bush's planned response to the terrorist attacks.\r\n \r\n \"The terrible tragedy that has befallen our nation, and indeed the\r\nentire global community, is\r\n the sad byproduct of fanaticism,\" said Lorri L. Jean, executive\r\ndirector of the National Gay\r\n and Lesbian Task Force. \r\n \r\n \"It has its roots in the same fanaticism that enables people like\r\nJerry Falwell to preach hate\r\n against those who do not think, live, or love in the exact same way\r\nhe does,\" Jean said.\r\n \r\n \"The tragedies that have occurred this week did not occur because\r\nsomeone made God mad,\r\n as Mr. Falwell asserts,\" Jean continued, in a statement released\r\nSept. 13. \"They occurred\r\n because of hate, pure and simple.\" \r\n \r\n In separate statements released this week, the national gay groups\r\nLog Cabin Republicans\r\n and National Stonewall Democrats condemned the terrorist attacks\r\nand declared their\r\n support for President Bush's efforts to respond to the incidents.\r\n \r\n \"Gay and Lesbian Americans across the nation are united today,\"\r\nsaid Log Cabin executive\r\n director Rich Tafel. \"In the face of defending our nation together, all\r\ndifferences fall away,\r\n and all other issues pale in comparison.\"\r\n \r\n \"This week's tragedy truly asks all of us to come together as a\r\npeople to bury our dead, to\r\n comfort and heal all families and to rebuild this strong nation,\" the\r\nNational Stonewall\r\n Democrats said in a statement. \"Stonewall Democrats join in\r\nsolidarity with all Americans in\r\n placing our loyal support behind our national government and our\r\npresident.\" \r\n \r\n The group added, \"Gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgendered\r\nAmericans also have paid with\r\n their lives and their honor, and we join in saluting their sacrifices and\r\nthose of every\r\n American who suffered these terrible, senseless events.\"\r\n \r\n \"Now is the time to join together behind our president and our\r\ngovernment in defense of our\r\n nation,\" said Tafel of the Log Cabin group. \r\n \r\n See Related Stories: www.washblade.com ","author":"anon","parent_id":10182,"mime_type":"text\/plain","created":"2001-09-15 19:53:02","modified":"2013-11-10 23:35:36","fileurl":""}]}