Video: Larry Flynt remembers Jerry Falwell — warmly
posted at 8:58 am on May 17, 2007 by Allahpundit
The perfect counterpoint to Hitchens, and not just in terms of tone. Hitch accused Falwell explicitly of not believing what he preached; Flynt addresses that charge here amid some surprisingly sweet reminiscences.
How ironic that, of all Falwell’s critics, the pornographer emerges as the most decent.
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Well, it’s nice to see a little class for a change, isn’t it?
Bob's Kid on May 17, 2007 at 9:05 AM
“Degenerate human scum remembers Jerry Falwell…”
Lehuster on May 17, 2007 at 9:09 AM
Well said AP. I agree.
Wade on May 17, 2007 at 9:09 AM
If I recall, they, (Flint and Falwell) eventually became friends – talked often.
foxforce91 on May 17, 2007 at 9:09 AM
That was oddly heartwarming.
Slublog on May 17, 2007 at 9:17 AM
Though I’m not a fan of Larry Flint, I have to give him props for his honesty. It would have been much easier to keep silent.
Pulchritudinous Patriot on May 17, 2007 at 9:24 AM
I don’t know if it’s all that ironic based on his profession. Christianity began with prostitutes and tax collectors.
It’s actually sad that we seem to have gone away from that.
Esthier on May 17, 2007 at 9:41 AM
I hope you meant with the inclusion of prostitutes and tax collectors. Tax collectors, while not a fan, I don’t think that is a sin.
Wade on May 17, 2007 at 10:20 AM
Remembering Jerry Falwell
Harry Smith: Religious Leader Had An Unvarnished, Uncompromising View Of The World
TheBigOldDog on May 17, 2007 at 10:40 AM
For the time, actually, I think it was a sin. Tax collectors had to steal from the people in order to make a living. They would be told to collect a specific amount and would lie to their own people in order to get a little extra for themselves.
There’s a reason they consorted with prostitutes.
And maybe inclusion is a better word, but Christianity was born on the backs of these people following the resurrection of Christ. Were it not for some of the worst in society, Christianity may not even exist today.
Esthier on May 17, 2007 at 10:40 AM
Heck – look at the stinkin’ Corinthians. Even the pagans thought the Corinthians were waaaaay imoral.
Editor on May 17, 2007 at 10:43 AM
Well since this isn’t the thread specifically about his passing, I’ll say that Falwell had a very hard time speaking the truth in love.
When he made comments like his ones about AIDS or homosexuality being the cause of 9/11, does anyone here believe he turned more hearts towards Christ than he turned away from Him? I sure don’t.
I’ve found that Falwell, Baker and the rest of these media appointed spokesman make my calling as a christian [i]much[/i] harder.
Still, as I said in the other thread, I hope his belief in Christ was genuine and this interview with Flynt makes it sound as if it was.
Benaiah on May 17, 2007 at 10:43 AM
Oh my…
Wade on May 17, 2007 at 10:45 AM
I’m just saying that Jesus chose those people for a reason. He could have chosen anyone.
But he actually preached against the religious of His time and chose instead those society (often rightly) attempts to segregate themselves from.
I can’t imagine that this was a mistake.
Esthier on May 17, 2007 at 10:49 AM
Umm…yeah. I’m not exactly sure what she’s implying either. If it’s that Christianity included many of these people as a large portion of the initial believers, then I agree. Jesus took a special interest in people that the rest of society had labeled as cast offs or useless.
You can see that practice throughout the Old Testament and New Testament. I believe examples were made of such people because raising someone from the lowest point in society into being a prophet of God or having a position of power just shows God’s majesty and grace all the more.
Benaiah on May 17, 2007 at 10:53 AM
What’s next? Will AllahPundit confess that he secretly admired Jerry Falwell?….
Naaahhh!
CyberCipher on May 17, 2007 at 10:59 AM
Did my clarification not clear anything up?
Esthier on May 17, 2007 at 11:02 AM
It did but you were apparently typing it at the same time I was replying. ;)
Benaiah on May 17, 2007 at 11:07 AM
I got what Esthier is saying (I think) Look at the 3 main biblical characters that God inspired to write his word:
Moses – Murderer
King David – Adulterer, liar and murderer
Paul – Persecutor of Christians
That coupled with the fact that Jesus kept punking out the hollier than thou Pharasies is evidence against what alot of critics attack christians for.
JVelez on May 17, 2007 at 11:12 AM
I remember seeing them together on Larry King when “The People vs. Larry Flynt” was released. They seemed to actually like each other, despite their differences.
I mentioned this on another thread, but the thing that the portrayal of Falwell in “People vs. Larry Flynt” missed was Falwell’s personal warmth and sincerity, which seemed to come across to those who met him in spite of what they thought of his views.
SWLiP on May 17, 2007 at 11:14 AM
I figured that had something to do with it.
You’re elaborating a tad, but yeah, that’s the gist. God never picks the people most of us would pick, and the best example I can think of is King Saul (who was picked by Israel) and King David (who would never have stood a chance in an election).
Esthier on May 17, 2007 at 11:53 AM
God has a plan, it will be interesting to see if Mr. Flint ever chooses in his heart to become a part of it. One thing for certain, his association with Falwell has assured that he is not a man lacking in the truth of God’s Word.
Coulter’s column this week taken together with the interview above pretty clearly illustrates the worlds thought processes compared with those that God allows us to see of His, biblically speaking. For those who have eyes TO see it with anyway.
NRA4Freedom on May 17, 2007 at 12:38 PM
Who would have thought these two would become friends. Stranger things have happened I suppose.
vcferlita on May 17, 2007 at 12:55 PM
Unlike Hitchens Larry had ample and perhaps justifiable reason to speak ill of Jerry. Larry’s discourse on Jerry pretty much crucified Hitchens diatribe. Larry who did indeed suffer at Jerry’s hand had personal knowledge of Jerry, and came to the conclusion the Jerry was a sincere honest and decent person.
Hitchens who did not had only his own narcistic over inflated elitist ego to base his opinions of Jerry on, that and a deep seething hatred of anything Christian. Hence from a man deeply wounded by Jerry we get a compassionate and warm eulogy while from Hitchens we get a blistering hate filled rant.
If Hitchens represents the apex of pure intellectual development devoid of humanity he does a greater disservice to atheism them Jerry did to Christianity with his cruel and thoughtless suggestion that 9/11 was God’s punishment for America’s moral decay.
Larry came across as a warm compassionate human with a very big heart and a giant soul, Hitchens as a sick twisted soulless animal little different than the Islamofascist mullah teaching children to commit suicide to kill imaginary enemies in order to win favor with Allah.
doriangrey on May 17, 2007 at 12:55 PM
My opinion of Larry Flynt just went up quite a few notches. When people like Rev. Falwell die, it brings out the true face of people. On the one hand you have people like those on DU and DK who spew hatred to no end and on the other you have people like Mr. Flynt who prove that beyond the issues they are decent human beings.
JinxMcHue on May 17, 2007 at 1:49 PM
WHile Jesus was having dinner at Matthew’s house, many tax-collectors came and ate with him and his disciples When the Pharisees saw this, they asked his disciples,”Why does your teacher eat with tax collectors and sinners?”
On hearing this, Jesus said,”It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. But go and learn what this means: “I desire mercy, not sacrifice. For I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners.” Matthew 9:13
For some who were confident of their own righteousness and looked down on everyone else, Jesus told this parable: Two went up the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. The Pharisee stood up and prayed about himself, “God I thank you that I’m not like other men – the evil-doers, the robbers, adultures – or even like this tax collector. I fast twice a week and give a tenth of all I get.”
But the tax collector stood at a distance. He would not even look up to heaven, but beat his breast and said, “God have mercy on me, a sinner.”
“I tell you that this man, rather than the other, went home justified before God. For everyone who exhalts himself will be humbled and he who humbles himself will be exalted.” Luke 18:9-14
Our current society is a curious one. The media fetes a pornographer such as Larry Flynt, while being embarassed to be in the company of Jerry Falwell, a pastor. Many pastors would be horrified to be in the company of a so public a sinner as Flynt, yet Falwell was so comfortable with people and his own self and his relationship with God, that he was able to make a connection to the man, even with the added stress of the legal struggle between them.
This is what Christ did and asked of his followers. How precious it is to have the chance to hear a man such as Flynt speak so deeply and sincerely of Falwell.
naliaka on May 17, 2007 at 1:53 PM
Commendable! It’s a pity that the freedom of speech, won after such a costly fight by Larry, has lost so much ground.
Entelechy on May 17, 2007 at 3:17 PM
Indeed
The Ugly American on May 17, 2007 at 3:24 PM
Indeed. Yet a belief in Christ does not make Jerry Falwell special, or peculiar in any way. What made him special are his filmed & broadcast propositions concerning AIDS and homosexuality, and the culpability for the events of 9/11. Those revealed him to be a peculiar fellow indeed. His mea culpas on the subject were about as convincing as, say, Mel Gibson’s.
His multi-year legal battle with Flynt add to his peculiarity, but do not define him in any distinguishing way. That battle accrues to Flynt’s benefit, and to Falwell’s detriment.
It’s good for posterity that Flynt got to know the man, apart from all of the reasons that made him unique to society and political culture, and it adds a personal interest dimension to the public figure. For that discussion, few if any are more suited than Larry King – he’s the master (though Charlie Rose has the gift as well).
RD on May 18, 2007 at 7:03 AM