Details HERE:

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=10188427

I wonder where he is right now?
-Is he - as he hoped - a'la Tertullian, busily chortling at the d*mned
writhing in flames of "Hell", and blissfully lollygagging, slack-jawed, at
the sight of old "Yahweh" sternly glowering from "His" white throne?
Is he following a blond, bearded, vaguely fey-looking "Jesus" around in a stupified semblance of homo-erotic rapture?
OR...
-Perhaps he's now getting a taste of how all those impressionable
little kids (and naive adults) felt when he spouted dire threats about
"Hell" for unbelievers, and how said kids and adults were teetering
on the edge of it?
-Perhaps he is now finding out what it felt like to be poor, and ponying
up money you couldn't afford to spend on Falwell's ministry (like my great-grandma, rest her soul, did the last 20 years of her life to the Falwell and Jimmy Swaggart.)
-Could it be, that now he knows how the families of the 9/11 victims felt, when he attributed that event to the "judgement" of his big invisible friend in the sky?
-Could it be, he's now RELIEVED to find out that the monster he preached about, had no literal objective reality..?
-Could it be, that he now recognizes what foolishness it was to LITERALLY interpret that foggy old book?
Anyway, goodbye Jerry (and good riddance.) Wherever you
are, at least I'm reasonably sure I WON'T be. (That's a comforting thought, if ever there was one..!)

B-man

He'll probably find out how wrong he was about a number of things. Probably will feel regret.  Eventually he'll be glad that he was wrong, when he takes everything into consideration. He's a divine soul just like everybody else, so I wish him the best.

I saw a show which showed that other Evangelical groups weren't too happy about him. They believed he went too far and made other Evangelicals look bad.  Hopefully his followers will look for preachers who aren't as extreme.

He could very well be stuck in a hollow heaven..perhaps we should look for him?

B-dawg wrote on May 15^th, 2007 at 7:26pm:

Details HERE: http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=10188427 I wonder where he is right now? -Is he - as he hoped - a'la Tertullian, busily chortling at the d*mned writhing in flames of "Hell", and blissfully lollygagging, slack-jawed, at the sight of old "Yahweh" sternly glowering from "His" white throne? Is he following a blond, bearded, vaguely fey-looking "Jesus" around in a stupified semblance of homo-erotic rapture? OR... -Perhaps he's now getting a taste of how all those impressionable little kids (and naive adults) felt when he spouted dire threats about "Hell" for unbelievers, and how said kids and adults were teetering on the edge of it? -Perhaps he is now finding out what it felt like to be poor, and ponying up money you couldn't afford to spend on Falwell's ministry (like my great-grandma, rest her soul, did the last 20 years of her life to the Falwell and Jimmy Swaggart.) -Could it be, that now he knows how the families of the 9/11 victims felt, when he attributed that event to the "judgement" of his big invisible friend in the sky? -Could it be, he's now RELIEVED to find out that the monster he preached about, had no literal objective reality..? -Could it be, that he now recognizes what foolishness it was to LITERALLY interpret that foggy old book? Anyway, goodbye Jerry (and good riddance.) Wherever you are, at least I'm reasonably sure I WON'T be. (That's a comforting thought, if ever there was one..!) B-man

Yeah!!! He's probably having to bow down to all those past popes, archbishops, tele-evangelists, right-wing christian religious zealots, Don types, who intellectualize
and change the original scripts(which was corrupted anyway), to suit themselves in
current modern thinking....ie: 'Sermon on the Mount':...Jesus's discourse to the 5000
on his mother's recipe's for unleavened bread, Nazareth style, and, sun dried fish
with chives and mint..........Darth..May both sides of the force be with you.

Probably not good to judge those passed over, likely to find yourself in the same place some day needing a little kindness and understanding.

Lekatt wrote on May 21^st, 2007 at 8:24am:

Probably not good to judge those passed over, likely to find yourself in the same place some day needing a little kindness and understanding.

We all judge!!! You hypocrite!...Darth. May both sides of the force be with you.

Darth Benedict wrote on May 22^nd, 2007 at 2:56am:

Lekatt wrote on May 21st, 2007 at 8:24am: Probably not good to judge those passed over, likely to find yourself in the same place some day needing a little kindness and understanding. We all judge!!! You hypocrite!...Darth. May both sides of the force be with you.

Even that christian warlord god, who sends
those to eternal pain and torment, who choose not to accept his mythical son and saviour? jesus christ...Get Real!..Darth. May both sides of the force be with you.

Quote:

We all judge!!! You hypocrite!...Darth. May both sides of the force be with you.

Only the unawakened judge.

If only everyone lived by The Four Agreements by Don Miguel Ruiz:

BE IMPECCABLE WITH YOUR WORD
Speak with integrity. Say only what you mean. Avoid using the word to speak against yourself or to gossip about others. Use the power of your word in the direction of truth and love.

DON'T TAKE ANYTHING PERSONALLY
Nothing others do is because of you. What others say and do is a projection of their own reality, their own dream. When you are immune to the opinions and actions of others, you won't be the victim of needless suffering.

DON'T MAKE ASSUMPTIONS
Find the courage to ask questions and to express what you really want. Communicate with others as clearly as you can to avoid misunderstandings, sadness and drama. With just this one agreement, you can completely transform your life.

ALWAYS DO YOUR BEST
Your best is going to change from moment to moment; it will be different when you are healthy as opposed to sick. Under any circumstance, simply do your best and you will avoid self-judgment, self-abuse and regret.

Namaste', Mairtreya

its so nice to see Mairlyn grace our board once more. I heard she's a teacher on the inner levels. I heard this from a friend I believe is already a master in disguise.

and the way she expresses herself, I figure everything I heard about her is right on.

thanks for the thoughts Mair. :)

Darth,

There is wisdom in the phrase "judge not, less ye be judged."  It is the same logic which stops the stoning of the prostitute when Jesus says "let he among you who is without sin cast the first stone."  It is simple, it is the law of karma.  Of course we are doing the judging ourselves, not some external stern faced elderly man with a long flowing white beard.  But what you send out to the universe tends to come back at you.  For every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction - true on earth and in heaven.

If any of you read through the numerous pages on this forum, discussions with people like Don and other knowledgeable christians, you find that the notion of a vengeful, judgemental God is a creation of man, not the real underlying message of either christianity or judaism.  This is the point at which you, dear Darth and Chumley go astray.  You take the leap and assume that all christians believe in the vengeful, judgemental supreme being.  In response, you become a spiritualist, and denounce christianity, looking at its negative side only.  To me, it is like a horse wearing blinders.

Open your heart to the true message behind judeo-christian thought about the unity of all things, and the love of God and heaven.  Understand that the point is not to deny others entry to heaven (as Fallwell may have misinterpreted the bible in saying), but to show the love of God and the secret to raising oneself up out of the cycles of violence and despair here on earth.  That is, through the love of each other, and love of God.  This message of love found in judeo-christian thought is completely in alignment with what spiritualists and people at TMI/astral adepts have found in their own explorations.  

Mair,

That was beautiful, and well said.

Peace,

Matthew

Well said Matthew.

In the immediate aftermath of Jerry Falwell's death, I was deeply moved by the kind tributes of some of his intellectual opponents in TV debates (e.g. Al Sharpton).  They shared stories of how kind and considerate he was to them offstage and of his tireless efforts to help battered women and alcoholics.

Most moving was the response of Mel White, an important author on gay spirituality who had clashed with Jerry on various occasions.  In his closeted phase as a movie producer, Mel had been my communications professor in seminary and was one of the best teachers I've ever had.  Mel used to co-author Jerry's books before Jerry knew that Mel was gay.  Despite Jerry's opposition to Mel's lifestyle, Mel and his partner love Jerry and actually decided to attend his church in Lynchburg!

There is often a serious disconnect between people's belief systems and their true spirituality.  Some scholarly types who agree with most of my Christian beliefs seem self-centered and cold.  Some Christian Fundamentalists who might dismiss me as a liberal or a New Ager are graced by PUL in all their relationships.  When we presume to consign some to a Hollow Heaven and others to the "real" Heaven, we must keep in mind that a loving character is far more important than one's belief system per se.   And contrary to what many assume, mere belief saves no one in biblical theology.  

Jerry Falwell was the mouthpiece for a spirituallity  that  is quite standard, especially in the south.   He would consider me theologically dangerous and I am OK with that.  I respect him as sincere and loving, despite the fact that I must oppose some of his theology with all my heart.  

I was particularly appalled by Christopher Htichins who gloated over Jerry's "carcass" liying on that office floor and excoriated him as a liar and a fraud.  I was proud of the cable commentators who made Hitchins look silly, ignorant, and bigoted, despite their own opposition to some of Jerry's positions.  Mastery of PUL requires us to learn to disagree agreeably and to resist the temptation to impute unworthy motives to our intellectual adversaries.

I must keep this in mind as I relocate to the Pacific Northwest to once again become a pastor.  I will be living near Marilyn and will of course expect her to be in church every Sunday. ;D

Don  

Beautifully stated Don!  Thanks for posting.

Congratulations on your new venture!  I know many blessings await you and all those you come in contact with in your new congregation.

Love, Kathy :-)

Never mind, Don and L.O.L.,
That Jerry Falwell was the American equivalent of a Taliban
cleric. And DON, I'd give a little due respect to Christopher
Hitchens if I were you. (That is, if you like things like cars, antibiotics,
flushing toilets, the Internet... and the ABSENCE of things like the rack,
the iron maiden, hanging/drawing/quartering, the rectal pear, burning at the stake, ect.)
If people like Falwell have their way, we'll be riding jackasses
and carrying bows and spears (and lice and fleas also) come 100 years.
A NEW DARK AGE.
Is that what you want? (If it happens, it  won't be because of
people like Hitchens..!)

B-man

I agree with you Don. Very well stated!  :)

Don-

Congratulations!!  You deserve the very best in your new position as pastor.  I hope you continue to post here, because your insights and wisdom are very much valued.  

When do you report?  I bet your congregation will be the source of many accounts of afterlife communication.  I hope you are able to share some of them with the board.

Godspeed to a wonderful and caring person.

In my naive zeal at Lifelines at Monroe I "accidentally" retrieved Jerry. It seems that even Jerry Falwell gets to 27. I posted about it in the Retrieval section, and am a bit surprised that with all the chit chat about it here no one actually went out there for him. Even Jerry gets the gift. my friends.

It's in every one of us, not just some of us.

Blessings and Light,

Thomas

Don,

We need a new thread for Congratulations to you! But I know you're following this thread, so
           C O N G R A T U L A T I O N S !

The beauty of the NW is legendary! and as Mair and I talked once, a focal point for moving through the coming changes!  How exciting for you all up there !

No need to forget us entirely though. I notice OBDude still gets back on site sometimes. We'll be looking forward to hearing from you.

Bets

Greetings Thomas,

To get this thread back on track, you said: " I posted about it [retrieving Falwell]
in the Retrieval section, and am a bit surprised that with all
the chit chat about it here no one actually went out there for him."

Somewhere along the way I picked up the idea that recently passed souls needed a few days to go through orientation at the reception area and get sent to their BST/Focus level.  I thought they were supposed to have that experience so they could relate to their changed situation and any lessons to be learned from their recently ended life.
Maybe someone could set me straight on that ?

(Then I'd still be stuck with the celebrity status thing of being 'tongue-tied' with a famous person, but guess that's just a personal problem to face sometime.)

So, congrats on not having either of those misunderstandings and for getting him to a better place!

Bets