smutek wrote:
Falwell wasn't a christian. Not by christian standards atleast. I do understand what you are saying though. I notice a lot of people jumping on christians mainly because they are christians.
Personally I'm not a Christian myself, but I have no problem with Christians.
Tone Deft wrote:

Yeah, being a leader of a 24,000 member church he started, a christian university, a christian radio station, a christian candidate for president. You're not a christian yet you're imposing your standards of chrisitanity on him?? You're in serious denial. I understand, they scare me too.
I don't know man, maybe I am imposing standards on the guy but I am certainly not in denial. Not even sure how that applies to my statement.
I'm not a Christian but I have read the bible twice, of my own free will too - imagine that! I've found that what a lot of people practice and call christianity runs contrary to some of the core principles of the religion; compassion, understanding, forgiveness, humility,
tolerance, acceptance... etc.
I've actually found that all of the core principles behind christianity, and really a lot of other religions, match very closely my own core moral/spiritual beliefs and goals. It's not that different really, I just don't give a name to my god, other than god.
2 of the most influential people in my life are christians. They are extremely open minded and good people. Neither of them
ever try to "convert" me, or save me, or anything of the sort, and they both know that I am not a christian. They have their beliefs and values and they try to live them to the best of their abilities. They believe in leading by example I suppose one could say.
One of them is the Lutheran pastor that married my wife and I. I have always had, and still have, a serious aversion to organized religion. I have so much respect for this man that I consulted him on some spiritual matters that were troubling me last summer. And again, he knows I am not a christian. I went to the church every Saturday for a few months to speak with him and bounce my ideas off him. We met privately for a number of weeks and, with the exception of
asking me if I'd like to pray with him at the end of our talks, never once did he mention the word Jesus, try to "save" me, convert me, or anything of the sort.
As I got older my distaste of organized religion has not went away, but I have learned to distinguish between the people and the insitution. People who blindly criticize chrisitanity however, to me, are pretty much the same as the cats who blindly spread it, and no different than the cats that criticize and stereotype Islam.
One and the same. The same ignorance and fear, just directed at different targets.
So in a nut shell that's the way I see it.
The reasons I did not like Falwell were pretty much the same as you though. he was not a christian, he was the epitome of the institution, a millionare political operative, an exploiter and a manipulator.
He wasn't about what the religion is about, least not the way I see it.