(CNN) -- Evangelist Jerry Falwell died Tuesday after he was found unresponsive in his office, an official at Liberty University told CNN.
Falwell, 73, was rushed to a Lynchburg, Virginia, hospital, where he was given CPR.
Falwell founded the Moral Majority in 1979 and is a nationally known voice for conservative Christian views.
In 1956, the 22-year-old minister started Thomas Road Baptist Church with just 35 members, according to his Web site. The church now has more than 24,000 members.
Shortly after starting the Lynchburg church, Falwell began broadcasting the "Old Time Gospel Hour" radio and television ministries.
He founded Liberty University in 1971.
Falwell has found himself at the center of several controversies, such as the one sparked by his comments two days after the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks in which he seemed to blame "abortionists," gays, lesbians, the ACLU and People for American Way for causing the attacks, saying they "helped this happen."
On September 14, 2001, he told CNN that he would "never blame any human being except the terrorists, and if I left that impression with gays or lesbians or anyone else, I apologize."
Falwell was hospitalized twice in early 2005 with acute onset pulmonary edema, or congestive heart failure, and at one point was placed on a ventilator.
He and his wife, Macel, have three children.
Lynchburg is going to be a madhouse with mourners pouring in from all over the world plus the inevitable media circus. I think I need to find an excuse to leave town for a few days.
Rob, thanks for posting that. I got to hear Jerry Falwell preach in Bellevue church here and he brought Charles Billingsley (who my wife LOVES, and loves to look at). He may have been maligned for politics, but down from the pulpit, after the service, he seemed like a sweet man.
Chris, that had me actually laughing out loud. Now my wife is convinced that wet shaving is some sort of mental illness...
Jerry, we would never see eye to eye on politics, or probably just about anything else. Still, you were one heck of a preacher, and I hope you are rewarded for your soul saving efforts in the great beyond.
All the best,
Jack
"All you need is love, love...love is all you need."
Like most religious fanatics, Phelps and his crew believe they're the only ones holy enough to get into heaven. Frankly, I wouldn't be too crazy about spending eternity with a bunch of jerks like that.
Last month, the group released a music video entitled "God Hates the World." Sung to the tune of "We Are the World," the song changes the chorus to: "God hates the world and all her people, you, every one, face a fiery day for your proud sinning. It’s too late to change His mind, you lived out your vain lives, storing up God’s wrath for all eternity."
TorzJohnson wrote:Like most religious fanatics, Phelps and his crew believe they're the only ones holy enough to get into heaven. Frankly, I wouldn't be too crazy about spending eternity with a bunch of jerks like that.
Well, as Mark Twain said, all the interesting people are in hell.....
And I am going to violate Robert's mother's excellent rule here, and say that Phelps actions are not only an affront to my religion, which he claims to share, but downright despicable. Even in this case, I am no fan of Rev. Falwell, although for the opposite reasons, but protesting at ANYONE's funeral is about as low as it gets.
-Mo
Alrighty, stickim up and hand over the Coates real nice and slow like....
Mark Twain is also credited with a reply to the question of which place would he rather go - Heaven or Hell.
He answered "Heaven for the climate - Hell for the company".
-Tom-
What the heck - lets just keep mixin' stuff together till it blows up or smells REALLY bad!!
I am no fan of Falwell, but his passing means that someone has lost a loved one. While you may not like him, you have to respect that fact. Let's just let this rest.
Randy
"I won't be wronged. I won't be insulted. I won't be laid a-hand on. I don't do these things to other people, and I require the same from them." J. B. Books
A great Christian with the courage to speak truth, and a great American. He will be missed by many. He made a difference. In fact, if not for Jerry Falwell, Ronald Reagan could have lost, and America would have been a much different place.
I, too, am biting my tongue. Only because it's amazing how people's definitions of "tolerance" only seem to go one way...
I doubt very much that anyone who has commented here actually knew the man that most so evidently dislike/despise.
Howard L. Sheppard
howardsheppard(at)sbcglobal.net
"I wish I were less awkward around strangers. I never know what to say when someone asks me who I am and what in the world I'm doing in their house." -- Andy Ihnatko
