Jerry Falwell, 1933-2007

[d_rawk]

I've been trying to be more charitable about him than he's been towards innumerable other people, but it's hard.

The worst I'm willing to say is ... I can't imagine a day where I'll wake up and think "I wish Falwell was on TV right now, because my blood is feeling a little too cold this morning."

Casper Milquetoast now that is classic.

Good riddance to ... erm, I mean to say, RIP.

[Dr_Evil_Mouse]

Just saw this. Interesting comment at the end; I wonder how it holds up.

Thousands Attend Falwell Funeral

Thousands of people have attended the funeral of the leading US conservative evangelist, the Reverend Jerry Falwell, in the town of Lynchburg, Virginia.

Mr Falwell, who died last week aged 73, was the founder in the 1970s of the Moral Majority - a right-wing religious pressure group.

It played a key role in turning conservative religious groups into a powerful political force in the US.

Mr Falwell had campaigned against abortion, homosexuality and feminism.

His alliance with Republicans in the 1980s was a key help in the elections of Ronald Reagan as president and many political leaders had sought his support.

However, many leading Republicans decided not to attend the funeral service in a sign that the political influence of the religious right over the party was waning, correspondents say.

President George W Bush sent a mid-level aide to represent him.

[Kanada Kev]

Now that does say something!

[phishtaper]

yes, the pendulum is on the backswing ...

[MarcO]

he was totally sincere in his beliefs and efforts - completely misguided, imo, but sincere.

right, and it's exactly that same sincerity that leads men to fly planes into buildings, shoot abortion doctors, set women and children on fire because of a beauty pageant, beat their suburban children and vote for political organizations dedicated to initiating a final apocalyptic war in the Middle East.

This religious "sincerity" thing is dangerous indeed and certainly not something to be celebrated or encouraged (not that I'm suggesting you are doing that).

[phishtaper]

and fwiw, i dont think he was all that sincere

[Dr_Evil_Mouse]

Well, yeah, there's sincerity, and then there's stubbornness, insecurity, desperation, and the thirst for power. Those can be hard categories to sort out.

Accordingly to the wikipedia entry on the word -

An often repeated etymology proposes that "sincere" derived from the Latin sine = "without", cera = "wax". According to this explanation, dishonest sculptors in Rome or Greece would cover flaws in their work with wax to deceive the viewer, therefore, a sculpture "without wax" would mean honesty in its perfection.

There is some controversy over the source of the word. Some believe the story about the wax. The Oxford English Dictionary, however, deflates this charming etymology, stating “There is no probability in the old explanation from sine cera ‘without wax’â€. Instead, the OED explains "sincere" actually derives from the Latin sincerus meaning "clean, pure, sound.†According to the American Heritage Dictionary[1], the Latin word "sincerus" is derived from the Indo-European roots "sem" and "ker," generating an underlying meaning "of one growth," hence "pure, clean."

In other words, nobody seems to know what "sincerity" means.

[nibbler]

This ABC news bit talks about a foiled bomb plot at Falwell's funeral.

[timouse]