Falwell's "Assault Ministry"

[raysr]

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2006/01/29/radical-rights-falwell-_n_14696.html

[Ilsa]

1. Holy crap! China will have to pre-emptively nuke us if those morons

gain any more political power! We are so screwed with these people brainwashing their young and taking control of govt.

[tn-guy]

2. much ado about absolutely nothing

Sorry to disappoint you but they intend to form "a salt ministry" not "assault ministry". It's from Jesus calling his followers "the salt of the earth". In other words, a small number of people can have a great effect upon society.

Whether you agree with Falwell or not it's rather sad that the folks at huffingtonpost are so devoid of basic knowledge of Christians and Christianity that they were unable to understand the reference.

[Name removed]

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[Igel]

11. He can't be a freeper.

He can read and believes that sources are not only accurate the first time around ,but also the second time around.

"Correction: In the original version of this report, NEWSWEEK misquoted Falwell as referring to "assault ministry." In fact, Falwell was referring to "a salt ministry"—a reference to Matthew 5:13, where Jesus says "Ye are the salt of the earth." We regret the error."
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/11078887/site/newsweek/

..."We are training debaters who can perform a salt ministry, meaning becoming the conscience of the culture," says Falwell, who is also hoping the team will elevate the humble academic reputation of Liberty itself....

In any event, "who can perform assault ministry" sounds even stranger than "who can perform a salt ministry". I'm not sure how you can perform a ministry, but it's better than "performing ministry".

[Mayberry Machiavelli]

18. I actually like "assault ministry" better, sounds more cool, heh.

[raysr]

30. I think "Assault Ministry", right or wrong

is the reality of it.

[tn-guy]

27. Don't take my word for it, check for yourself.....

Matthew 5:13 - "You are the salt of the earth......."

And from the actual story, "We are training debaters who can perform a salt ministry, meaning becoming the conscience of the culture," says Falwell, .....

Now, as I said before, one does not have to agree with Falwell to see that "salt ministry" is not the same as "assault ministry". And as I also said before, its a shame that the folks at huffingtonpost.com don't seem to even understand the context of the phrase "salt ministry".

If that makes me a freeper or a troll, I'm OK with that. But I'll ask you to read the actual story yourself, read the scripture passage in context, think for a while and then reconsider. Give it a try.

[merh]

4. So tell me what basic knowledge of Christianity that is held by Falwell

which qualifies him as a "leader".

I really am quite curious.

[Name removed]

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[merh]

12. He won't melt away.

I want him to educate me. I want to know what qualifications Falwell has that puts him in that most respected position of "spiritual leader" for the fundies.

I want to know what Bible he has read, because he hasn't read the one that I know.


And, with all do respect, do not tell me what to do.

[raysr]

25. Good luck,

he's gone, hit and run, disrupter.

[tn-guy]

35. OK, I'll bite

I don't know what qualifications Falwell has. As far as I'm concerned, he's a big blowhard with little to no credibility. I guess the fact that he has "followers" makes him some sort of "leader" but that says nothing about his spiritual makeup, knowledge or qualifications.

Now that that's been covered, so what? My original post did not defend Falwell or make any points in his favor. I merely observed that it was a shame that so many people are apparently ignorant of the context of "salt ministry".

In my own church we have several ministries that fall into that category. We maintain a furniture ministry where we collect and repair furniture for those who suffer fires, evictions or other similar personal disasters. We also maintain a clothing closet for those in need. These and other ministries are attempts to be "the salt of the earth". The context is that just as a small amount of salt can season and preserve a large amount of food, a small number of dedicated people can have a great effect upon society at large.

Again, if that makes me a troll or freeper in some people's eyes, OK. I'll quit now as apparently I've offended quite a few people by my earlier comments.

[TNC4DNC]

40. You didn't offend me.

You have a right to say what you think, and I don't think being a Democrat and Christian should be viewed as being diametrically opposed, afterall the Dems are the ones looking out for the poor and disavantaged of society. It is important to show that there are Christians within our group, even if we don't always agree with others. By the way, your ministry sounds like it is doing great things for your community. O8)

[Erika]

9. Falwell has great vision

He's one of the few who say a purple teletubby as a perverse gay, or was it spongebob - or both?

[merh]

21. I believe he gave evil and perverse characteristics to both.

But I want our newbie to tell me about the whole Christian thing.

I am so curious how the likes of fundies and Falwell can consider themselves Christians as they are definitely not "Christ-like".

[JuniperLea]

6. Too bad Falwell and all the other televangelists

Have forgotten the basic knowledge of Christians and Christianity.

Bunch of greedy warmongers who have come in Jesus name to fool many... false prophets!

[mcscajun]

7. Oddly enough, it wasn't Huffingtonpost that got it wrong, it was NEWSWEEK

Huffingtonpost.com printed this Correction: In the original version of this report, NEWSWEEK misquoted Falwell as referring to "assault ministry." In fact, Falwell was referring to "a salt ministry"—a reference to Matthew 5:13, where Jesus says "Ye are the salt of the earth." We regret the error.

[HysteryDiagnosis]

8. Did Jesus promote preemptive war, depleted uranium, white

phosphorous, cluster bombs, torture, and other sundry items??? Be honest with yourself.


www.chris-floyd.com/Fallujah

www.getgreen.com

[upi402]

10. okay, NO!

Jesus was a socialist and a pacifist that would probably like * to turn his other cheek at this point.

[HysteryDiagnosis]

13. I was waiting for the devout Christian to think on that and answer

appropriately but you did just fine... thanks :)

[JuniperLea]

14. Who would Jesus bomb, kill, maim, lie about, cheat, etc.

I think Bush and his crony televangelists are using Jesus' name in vain every time they say they are doing God's work.


God doesn't need that kind of negative PR.

[HysteryDiagnosis]

24. Yeah.... and Katrina was sent by god to deal with all those evil

people... my ass, the idea of god in human hands.... has just the opposite effect that the idea of god has in his own hands.

[FreedomAngel82]

23. Did he not help the poor?

Or what about making women less equal than society? Jesus actually treated women as equals and had women in his close group (Mary Magdelene and a woman named Phoebe and Salome).

[BeatleBoot]

15. Falwell's A Christian?

If so, I must of missed the part about "hating people".

[FreedomAngel82]

19. Than you don't know them and their power

You think they're nothing? LOL. Honey you don't know what these people could do to our futures if they're involved in politics. You think it's bad now? *snort*

[FreedomAngel82]

16. Doesn't his college

train young conservatives to be politicians and they get internships with politicians who are with them?

[mcscajun]

22. Liberty University

Falwell's school, in Lynchburg, Va., pours a half million dollars into the debate program every year, with the goal of eventually flooding the system with "thousands" of conservative Christian lawyers. "We are training debaters who can perform a salt ministry, meaning becoming the conscience of the culture," says Falwell, who is also hoping the team will elevate the humble academic reputation of Liberty itself. "So while we have the preaching of the Gospel on the one side—certainly a priority—we have the confronting of the culture on moral default on the other side."

[Ikonoklast]

17. I wonder if Rev. Moon approved of this

After all, he OWNS Falwells' pasty ass.

[FreedomAngel82]

26. Yep

I wonder too.

They look pretty comfy here:

[Ikonoklast]

34. "Thanks for the dough, Rev. Moon.....I mean, God!"

"I was insolvent and close to receivership until Your Enlightened Highness coughed up a few Holy Million to bail my sorry ass out.
I sure hope that no one in the heartland knows that you own me lock, stock, and barrel. Sure would look bad as you proclaimed yourself Messiah and all."




Love and Kisses,

Your Jerry-Bear

[Name removed]

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[TNC4DNC]

28. maybe because you said "what a bunch of s**t, go home troll" just a guess

[raysr]

31. What's wrong with that?

[Mayberry Machiavelli]

29. It's against rules to call out trolls, even very obvious ones. You're

supposed to just alert on them.

[raysr]

32. Oh. I stand corrected. Nevermind.

[Xithras]

33. Why do you accuse him of being a freep?

What factual errors or lies can you find in his post? He/she saw an error and pointed it out...I'd have done the same thing. Or are you suggesting that a knowledge of Christianity automatically makes someone a suspected freeper?

[TNC4DNC]

36. Good question... I would like to know the answer to that too Xithras

[Name removed]

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[Xithras]

38. Wrong on all three counts.

1. You had a low post count once. So did I. Hell, at one point, so did Skinner. Accusing someone for a low post count is baseless and wrong.

2. I read, reread, and reread again, and I fail to see anything in that post that reads "Falwell supporter". The poster wasn't being a Falwell cheerleader, he was just pointing out a factual inaccuracy in the OP. Pointing out an inaccuracy does NOT make you a supporter. To be effective, it is imperative that ALL of our arguments be FACTUAL and ACCURATE. If an anti-Falwell article is factually incorrect, I want to know that so I don't make an ass out of myself trying to use it against him.

3. Knowledge of Christianity is NOT zealotry, and about half of the people on this board agree with that fact. I was an active Catholic as a child, attending both Catechism and a nondenominational Sunday School, so I can recite some sections of the Bible straight from memory. If someone were to incorrectly cite one of those passages, does pointing out that error make ME a zealot? Don't confuse knowledge, or even belief, of Christian scripture with zealotry or fundamentalism. There are plenty of Christian Democrats here on DU who are both religious, and as progressive as they come.

[raysr]

39. I'm going to break another rule

guess what I'm going to say

[TNC4DNC]

41. Thoughts written well.

I was going to respond to the "low post" comment, but after reading yours and how well your laid out your response I didn't feel like there was a need. Thanks.

[pinto]

42. Locking.

This thread got sidetracked. We encourage members to remain on topic - issues, not personalities.