French Friday: Falwell & the Fruit of Evangelical Leadership

01/28/22 • 67 min

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He was the president of the largest Christian university and an influential political voice for millions of evangelicals. In a lengthy new Vanity Fair profile, however, Jerry Falwell Jr. now says he has contempt for “organized religion” and “religious elites.” David French and Skye Jethani discuss the shocking claims Falwell makes about Liberty University, how he lived a double life, and what his downfall says about American evangelicalism. Do Falwell and other disgraced leaders represent a bug or a feature of evangelicalism, and are ministries protecting bad or abusive leaders because they’re focused on the wrong fruit? Then, what’s the Electoral Count Act of 1887, and why is reforming it essential to protect American democracy?

0:00 - Start 0:21 - STORY 1: Vanity Fair profile of Jerry Falwell Jr. https://www.vanityfair.com/news/2022/01/inside-jerry-falwell-jr-unlikely-rise-and-precipitous-fall

4:17 - Falwell in context 8:16 - Victim or villain? 13:16 - Broader institutional implications 21:05 - Bug or feature? 27:14 - Measuring the wrong fruit 47:19 - An antidote: Being known 53:22 - STORY 2: Electoral Count Act reform https://frenchpress.thedispatch.com/p/stop-screwing-around-and-reform-the 1:06:33 - End

0:00 - Start 0:21 - STORY 1: Vanity Fair profile of Jerry Falwell Jr. https://www.vanityfair.com/news/2022/01/inside-jerry-falwell-jr-unlikely-rise-and-precipitous-fall

Previous Episode

Episode 493: Fundy Fashion & Native American Christianity with Matthew Milliner

A new study finds evangelicals see most thing in society in categories of good and evil while nonbelievers see more nuance. Phil, Skye, and Kaitlyn discuss the implications. Bob Jones University has a fashion design department. What could possibly go wrong? Pretty much everything when a student discovered his androgynous Jesus coat was a fundamentalist fashion faux pas. Then, art historian Matthew Milliner talks about his new book “The Everlasting People: G.K. Chesterton and the First Nations.” Milliner explains the arrogance and injustice of progressivism, and the surprising story of Christianity among indigenous North Americans that rarely gets told. Plus, 100 monkeys on a truck and drunks on a plane.

News Segment

0:00 - Intro 3:29 - Animal News https://apnews.com/article/oddities-pennsylvania-monkeys-animals-52100c02527985f7dde4674724bb3332

8:16 - News of the Butt https://www.nytimes.com/2022/01/22/us/covid-flight-passenger-violent.html

16:34 - Fundamentalist fashion faux pas https://baptistnews.com/article/how-a-students-fashion-design-project-upset-the-created-order-at-bob-jones-university/#.Ye7fBS1h1B0

39:50 - Can society be split into good and evil? https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2021/12/21/christians-religiously-unaffiliated-differ-on-whether-most-things-in-society-can-be-divided-into-good-evil/https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2019/03/the-yuck-factor/580465/

Sponsor 51:40 - This episode is sponsored by Abide: http://abide.co/holypost

Interview with Matthew Milliner “The Everlasting People: G.K. Chesterton and the First Nations” - https://amzn.to/3tY6PYx

52:44 - Interview Start/Intro 54:45 - Why this book? 1:01:27 - Chesterton’s worldview 1:08:00 - Progressivism then and now 1:15:08 - Christianity in native cultures 1:22:18 - Indigenous symbols 1:30:29 - EndOther resources mentioned: “Orthodoxy” by G.K. Chesterton - https://amzn.to/3G1TYGY“Dream Catchers” by Philip Jenkins - https://amzn.to/3FZJJDm

“One Church, Many Tribes” by Richard Twiss - https://amzn.to/3AuRksc

“Mixed Blessings” edited by Tolly Bradford & Chelsea Horton - https://amzn.to/35oZgjq

The Holy Post is supported by our listeners. We may earn affiliate commissions through links listed here. As an Amazon Associate, we earn from qualifying purchases.

Next Episode

Episode 494: Falwell Fallout & How Not to Read the Bible with Dan Kimball

Jerry Falwell Jr. is doing damage control following his profile in Vanity Fair (discussed at length in last month’s French Friday episode). He’s even posted a statement of faith affirming his Christian beliefs. But does that make his behavior better or worse? And how does populism explain his criticism of “religious elites” while enjoying all the benefits of being a religious elite? Is Falwell the victim of nepotism, and should ministry be a family business? Then, a researcher argues that a toxic reaction to the Religious Right can explain a bunch of cultural, political, and religious trends—including the rise of the “nones” and unchecked conspiracy theories. And data suggests Democrats project their moral belief onto their candidates, while Republicans adopt the moral beliefs of their candidates. Then, Skye talks to Dan Kimball about his book and video series, How Not to Read the Bible, about why it’s critical for churches to welcome questions and doubts, and how the biblical ignorance of leaders is driving young people to find answers outside the church.

News Segment 0:00 - Intro and updates from the crew 8:22 - Falwell fallout https://twitter.com/JerryFalwellJr/status/1486903286556938241?s=20&t=XaamDWl84N8x0qY4wbtRtw https://www.vanityfair.com/news/2022/01/inside-jerry-falwell-jr-unlikely-rise-and-precipitous-fall

January French Friday episode: https://www.holypost.com/post/french-friday-falwell-the-fruit-of-evangelical-leadership

25:39 - Article: “The backlash against rightwing evangelicals is reshaping American politics and faith” https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2022/jan/25/the-backlash-against-rightwing-evangelicals-is-reshaping-american-politics-and-faith

44:10 - Study on political candidates and moral beliefs https://www.psypost.org/2022/01/new-study-indicates-republicans-revised-their-moral-beliefs-to-be-more-in-alignment-with-donald-trump-62439

Sponsor 51:40 - Faithful Counseling: faithfulcounseling.com/holypost

Interview with Dan Kimball 52:53 - Interview start and intro 55:41 - Personal stories that led to the book/series 1:02:04 - Church as a factor 1:05:02 - Broader culture as a factor 1:15:24 - Personal conversion story 1:21:16 - Exclusivity issue 1:31:19 - End

Resources mentioned: hownottoreadthebible.com

“How (Not) to Read the Bible: Making Sense of the Anti-women, Anti-science, Pro-violence, Pro-slavery and Other Crazy-Sounding Parts of Scripture” - https://amzn.to/3HmHviQ

“How (Not) to Read the Bible” Study Guide plus Streaming Video - https://amzn.to/3ujSIwT

The Holy Post is supported by our listeners. We may earn affiliate commissions through links listed here. As an Amazon Associate, we earn from qualifying purchases.