Falwell's Choice

According to the Banner, a publication of the Christian Reformed Church, Jerry Falwell has a close relationship with Benjamin Netanyahu, Israeli President and destroyer of peace plans.  Falwell runs a University in the appropriately named "Lynchburg" Virginia (nowadays, it is ideas and freedom of conscience that get lynched most often, in Falwell's empire).  He received an anonymous donation of $4 million to send 3,000 students to Israel.

Falwell believes that Israel shouldn't surrender any land to the Palestinians, as agreed to by Netanyahu's predecessor, Yitzhak Rabin (who was assassinated), because Jesus won't return to earth unless the Holy Land is completely occupied by the Jews.

This is just one of many examples of the rich complexities of Christian fundamentalism.  God is sovereign, omnipotent, all-knowing and all-seeing.  He will punish America for approving of Bill Clinton.  But men are more powerful than Falwell's God.  We are so powerful that we can keep God from coming back to earth.  We can do this by giving the Palestinians a homeland.    

I'd like to see Falwell meet face-to-face with the Palestinians and explain to them that they must spend the rest of their lives in refugee camps so that he, Falwell, the almighty Falwell (when he isn't busy trying to bring down Bill Clinton), can ensure that Jesus returns on time.

In a weird sort of way, this reinforces Falwell's views on President Clinton, since Clinton favours the peace process which is supposed to result in some Palestinian autonomy within territories of the Israeli State.  Ahh..... Now I see.

So, a big fat, rotting cactus to Falwell, for his militant hypocrisy.

*  *  *

And send a few roses to the students from Calvin College, Laura Hoeksema and Kelley Evans, who marched in protest at the so-called "School of the Assassins", the CIA's "School of the America's" at Fort Benning, Georgia, which has been linked to the members of the Salvadoran Military who murdered six priests in El Savador on November 16, 1989.  Laura and Kelley even crossed police lines, though the authorities, in a generous mood that day, didn't arrest them.

*  *  *

In the movie, Shakespeare in Love, the only visible Christian is a puritan preacher who rails against the evils of live entertainment.   I'm sure some Christians see this portrait as another attack of the liberal media on their religion.  On the other hand, look around you.  Who are the most visible proponents of the faith right now?  With the exception of Billy Graham, most of them are pinch-faced harpies of the political right, ranting about Clinton's sexual escapades when what they really hate is liberalism, his promotion of tolerance, his activism on racial issues, and his taxation policies. Think of Dave Barr, Tom Delay, Henry Hyde, Asa Hutchinson.  And there they are, in the pit, denouncing Shakespeare's "Romeo and Juliet". 

In the end, the puritan preacher is won over and cheers with the rest of the audience.  I don't think we're going to see Tom Delay embrace Betty Currie or Vernon Jordan with equal fervor anytime soon. 

If you think Shakespeare in Love was negative about conservative Christians, just wait...  the Lewinsky scandal hasn't quite perked its way through popular culture just yet, but I suspect that we will see an increase in the number of popular, Hollywood films in the next few years that show Christians in an unfavourable light.  Well, we showed them!

Copyright © 1999 Bill Van Dyk  All rights reserved.