I was reading this post about Jerry Falwell and just a few of the (as of right now) 358 comments. Talk about a polarizing figure! In between some of the hardcore anti-Falwellian comments was this one :
The hate-filled vitriol towards Dr Falwell speaks volumes that he was correct. Jesus said it first through (John 3). Folks hate Jesus and Dr Falwell because they love their evil deeds.
Men do indeed have a sinful heart that is in enmity towards God. Those that are lost without Christ can’t even pay respects to a fine man, husband, father, and grandfather because he stood for Christ. You that are spewing hate today should be ashamed of yourselves, if you were capable of shame that is.
The commenter is referring to John 3:19-21 where Jesus says:
“And this is the judgement, that the light is come into the world, and men loved the darkness rather than the light; for their deeds were evil. For everyone who does evil hates the light, and does not come to the light, lest his deeds should be exposed. But he who practices the truth comes to the light, that his deeds may be manifested as having been wrought in God.”
This also reminds me of something else Jesus said in Matthew 5:11,12:
“Blessed are you when men cast insults at you, and persecute you, and say all kinds of evil against you falsely, on account of Me. Rejoice, and be glad, for your reward in heaven is great, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you.”
The implication here is one that I fear many out-spoken fundamentalists hold and wear as a “Scarlett H,” so to speak. If I am hated for what I say and do then that proves I am doing God’s work. But some key ingredients are explicitly missing in this. Jesus said that “everyone who does evil hates the light.” Jesus did not say “everyone who hates is evil and everyone who is hated is the light.” The fact that there is hatred does not prove a damn thing either way.
So people hate Jerry Falwell. I’m sure that there were people who hated Bernardo Gui (watch The Name of the Rose with Sean Connery and Christian Slater) and other members of the Inquisition. There were and are people who hate Hitler, Stalin, Nero, Hussein. Does this mean all these people were doing God’s work and were “the light”? And if you hate Hitler, are you necessarily an evil doer?
Of course not. Even God hates!
So, the mere fact that Falwell is hated by some does not prove anything. Falwell’s “correctness,” as the original commenter says, cannot be proved by how much or little Falwell is hated. It can only be proven by the fire of God’s judgement.
The key to how much light we have in our selves is how much we emulate Jesus. The only fingers Jesus pointed were at the Scribes and Pharisees — religious leaders who should have known better. He didn’t condemn adulterers, prostitutes, tax collectors. He didn’t separate himself from them as many Christian Fundamentalists are doing today with homosexuals, liberals, pro-lifers. No. Instead, he ate with them; hung out with them; loved them. You can talk all you want about “loving the sinner and hating the sin” but all too often the “loving the sinner” part is missing.
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