Jerry Falwell: Should We Warn or Praise? by David Cloud

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 If anyone deserves to win the 'Billy Graham award for hypocrisy and compromise,' that would be Jerry Falwell, hands down! Another who had led, and still does, millions down the path of self-destruction! He, too, will keep Billy Graham good company in Hell!

Christ's sad prophecy in Matthew 7 coming to pass:

 ¹²Therefore all things whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, do ye even so to them: for this is the law and the prophets.

 ¹³Enter ye in at the strait gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat:

 ¹⁴Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it.

 ¹⁵Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves.

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Jerry Falwell: Should We Warn or Praise?

April 19, 2011 David Cloud, Fundamental Baptist Information Service, P.O. Box 610368, Port Huron, MI 48061, 866-295-4143, fbns@wayoflife.org

Was the late Jerry Falwell’s (1933-2007) overall influence to the Independent Baptist movement good or bad?


Falwell’s spiritual compromise and error was not late in coming and was not small by any measure. It was evident even by the 1970s that the man had made a 180 degree turn from his earlier stand and that he was determined to conduct a broadly ecumenical ministry. He was doubtless sincere in his desire to “bring America back to God,” but sincerity didn’t keep Moses from being judged by God when he struck the rock [twice] instead of speaking to it. “And if a man also strive for masteries, yet is he not crowned, except he strive lawfully” (2 Timothy 2:5). [Yet, material goods and fame tend to obfuscate one's vision! This is extremely common in our day, everywhere!]

In 1999 I issued a warning report entitled “Jerry Falwell: The Billy Graham of Independent Baptists.”

Though Falwell claimed to be a fundamental Baptist, in reality he was a groundbreaking ecumenist who helped pave the way for the end-time harlot “church.” He happily worked alongside Roman Catholics, Charismatics, unregenerate Jews, Mormons, and religionists of many stripes who are staunchly opposed to the doctrine that he professed to hold in his Baptist church.

In a sermon preached in Evansville, Indiana, on December 12, 1978, Falwell said, “I believe God has called us in this last quarter of the 20th century to bring respectability to fundamentalism” (cited from Don Jasmin, Why Do Fundamental Schools Go Apostate, 2007, p. 171).

That was the same unscriptural objective that was announced at the founding of the New Evangelical movement in the late 1940s. When Christianity becomes respectable in the sight of this sin-cursed world, it has left its Biblical moorings. The Lord Jesus Christ is Almighty God, but He wasn’t respected when He came into the world 2,000 years ago, and He is not respected by the world today. Christ’s apostles were certainly not respected by the religious crowd or by the world at large. They were mocked, hounded, persecuted, and killed.

One of Falwell’s first concrete steps toward compromise was in the late 1970s when he decided that he needed to influence politics, and toward that end he formed the Moral Majority.

This was a dramatic change of his doctrine. In the 1960s Falwell had said, “Nowhere are we commissioned to reform the externals. We are not told to wage wars against bootleggers, liquor stores, gamblers, murderers, prostitutes, racketeers, prejudiced persons or institutions, or any other existing evil as such. I feel that we need to get off the streets and back into the pulpits and into our prayer rooms” (“TV Evangelist Jerry Falwell Dies at 73,” USA Today, May 15, 2007).

By the late 1970s Falwell had made an 180 degree change in doctrine with the formation of the Moral Majority. By 1986 the organization had 500,000 active contributors and a mailing list of six million people. At that time, Falwell said that Catholics made up the largest constituency (30%) (Christianity Today, February 21, 1986).

In his autobiography Strength for the Journey, Falwell referred to the “Catholic brothers and sisters in the Moral Majority” (p. 371).

Christianity Today, Nov. 2, 1979, recorded an ecumenical gathering Falwell attended that year. “Seated with Falwell on the platform were ministers of varying racial, ethnic, and denominational backgrounds, including traditionalist Catholic theologian, William H. Marshner.” A “traditionalist” Catholic theologian, of course, is one who teaches that salvation is by grace plus sacrament and works [as does EVERY CULT EXISTENT, such as Mormonism, Islam, Jehovah's Witnesses, Hinduism, etc.], that infants are born again through baptism, that the Pope sits in the seat of Peter and is the legitimate head of all churches, that the mass is the unbloody re-sacrifice of Christ in which Jesus Himself appears on the Catholic altar in the form of a wafer and is to be worshipped under that form [while it is the priest represents Christ! Thus we have, during Mass, CHRIST EATING CHRIST! PICTURE THAT!!], that Mary is the immaculate Mother of God and Queen of Heaven, etc.

Falwell was one of the speakers at the April 1980 “Washington for Jesus” rally. On that occasion he joined hands with Catholic priests John Bertolucci, John Randall, and Michael Scanlon, as well as modernist Robert Schuller [another apostate!], and a host of radical, doctrinally goofy Charismatics, including Jim Bakker of PTL [with the air-conditioned dog-house], Pat Robertson of the 700 Club, and Demos Shakarian of the Full Gospel Business Men’s Fellowship International.

In an interview with the National Catholic Register published in the May 9, 1982, issue, Falwell said that Ronald Reagan and Pope John Paul II are “the greatest men in my lifetime.” Falwell did not give any warnings about the pope’s false sacramental gospel that is cursed of God. While admitting that there are differences between Roman Catholics and “conservative Protestants,” Falwell made the amazing statement that Roman Catholics accept “the new birth experience.” Surely the man knows that the Roman Catholic Church equates the new birth with baptism [to be given AFTER one has repented of one's sins, and professed belief in Christ! Acts 2:38 Can a new-born baby do that?] and that in no sense do Catholics believe in “the new birth experience” in a scriptural manner. While attending the St. Louis 2000 ecumenical conference with press credentials, I asked many “conservative charismatic Roman Catholics” who work for various Catholic ministries when they were born again, and not one of them gave a scriptural answer. Many of them did not even know what I was talking about. [DITTO for me!] One replied, “That isn’t a Catholic term, is it?”

In 1983 Cal Thomas, Moral Majority’s director of communications, said that the group was composed of Jews, Catholics, Mormons, Protestants, and some “non-religious” members. He noted that they do not pray in their meetings. How could they! Jerry Falwell told a meeting of the Religious Newswriters Association that “if we ever opened a Moral Majority meeting with prayer, we would disintegrate” (The Flaming Torch, Jan.-Feb, 1983, p. 14).

That same year Gary Habermas, a professor at Falwell’s school, co-authored a book which, according to an advertisement in Charisma magazine, reached an amazing conclusion: “The Shroud [of Turin] [which the Catholic church claims to be Christ’s burial shroud] is almost certainly authentic. Through its revelation about the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, it helps build faith in an unbelieving age” (The Flaming Torch, Jan.-Feb. 1983). Habermas would have us believe that a bogus Catholic relic can actually build faith in an unbelieving generation, an amazing conclusion for a supposed fundamentalist to reach. There are many biblical reasons for rejecting the Shroud of Turin. For one, the image on the Shroud depicts a longhaired man. This could not possibly be the Lord Jesus Christ, according to 1 Corinthians 11:14, which says it is a shame for a man to have long hair. [Just supposing that such "relics" had any import, why, JUST WHY, would the apostles not have endeavored to give it mention in the many letters left us that make for the New Testament?!]

In the December 1984 issue of Falwell’s Fundamentalist Journal, a Roman Catholic cardinal was given a forum to tell biblical fundamentalists what he felt they needed to hear. This is like asking the Devil what he thinks of fundamental Baptists! [Awesome analogy!] Journal editor Edward Dobson said:

“‘What would you say to a fundamentalist if given the opportunity?’ This was the question we recently asked a Jewish rabbi, a Roman Catholic cardinal, an evangelical leader, and an articulate voice for liberal Christianity ... For too many years, we fundamentalists have existed in our hermetically sealed world and promoted the attitude that we do not care what anyone else thinks about anything [Rightfully so!: 2 Corinthians 6:14]. In this issue of the Journal, we venture into new territory and listen to what others say and think about fundamentalism. The article by Joseph Cardinal Bernardin is especially interesting. It reflects many of the changes that have occurred in the Roman Catholic church in recent decades. We view much of that change in a positive light. ... To Cardinal Bernardin’s unique insight into the American Catholic church we say, ‘gratias’” [I totally disagree!  This is no more than the child molester offering the unsuspecting child some candy!] (Fundamentalist Journal, Dec. 1984).

God has not called His people to listen to heretics; He has commanded that we mark and reject them (Romans 16:17-18)! The apostle Paul didn’t ask the Pharisees and Judaizers to critique his and Timothy’s ministry. And for a supposed fundamentalist to call the changes in Rome “positive” is evidence of overwhelming ignorance and spiritual blindness.

In his 1984 biography about Falwell, Dinesh D’Souza, quoted Falwell as saying, “I know many Catholic priests who are born again and who preach the same message I do” (p. 169). D’Souza added: “To the chagrin and horror of fundamentalists, [Falwell] is frequently seen at prayer meetings with Catholics and Jews. ... He has become more gracious--he is more accepting of Roman Catholics and orthodox Jews” (Falwell Before the Millennium, pp. 180-181).

It is not graciousness in any biblical fashion to join hands with heretics and unsaved religionists in ministry and to have an “accepting” attitude.

Well does the Bible warn, “Be not deceived: evil communications corrupt good manners” (1 Corinthians 15:33). Falwell ignored this warning to his own spiritual downfall.

The March 1985 issue of Falwell’s Fundamentalist Journal contained the following statement on page 14:

“Extremists who declare that the Papacy is anti-Christ, or who dehumanize others with emotive declarations of their own bigotry, are insensitive to others and lack the love of Christ.” [WOW!! At least these hold TRUE to the word of God!  Christ had no use for any leaven! In John 6, one does not see Him running after those who rejected his stern and not-to-be-compromised word!]

Ever since the founding of the Roman Catholic Church [Ah! And when was that? The Roman Catholic FABLE has it their way, but, HISTORY records it as being done through Constantine, a PAGAN, IN THE FOURTH CENTURY!], Bible believers have labeled it anti-christ [It has been "labeled" by the word of God in Revelation 17 and 18!]. In our 331-page book Rome and the Bible we provided many such quotations from Albigenses, Waldenses, Anabaptists, and Protestants. Falwell slandered all of these persecuted brethren of the past for his foolish statement mis-characterizing their zeal for the truth and love for the Lord as bigotry and hatred.

In was also in 1985 that Falwell gathered with thirty-two Catholics, Protestants, and Jews at Indiana University for discussions sponsored by Rabbi Leon Klenicki (Australian Beacon, Nov. 1985).

That same year Falwell invited radical, immoral Catholic Senator Edward Kennedy to speak at Liberty Baptist College and Thomas Road Baptist Church, thus providing this confused, immoral man a platform from which to influence not only Falwell’s church members and students but also those who watched the televised event.

“The Senator announced to the audience of 5,000, ‘I am an American and a Catholic.’ He then lectured them on Pope John XXIII’s renewal of the gospel call and the voice of Catholic bishops in the U.S.A. He opened his speech with these words. ‘I have come here to discuss my beliefs about faith and country, tolerance, and truth in America. ... I love my country and I treasure my faith.’ ... In spite of Kennedy’s travesty of historical facts [How surprising! The Roman Catholic institution has cornered the market of falsifying History!], open defiance of Biblical standards (‘I utterly reject any such standards,’ he said), his obvious scorn of Biblical truth and defense of his Roman faith, the Senator was given two standing ovations and was interrupted a dozen times by applause. Cal Thomas’ impression as Moral Majority spokesman was that this is a step towards ‘disarming ideologues on both sides’” (The Flaming Torch, Jan.-Mar. 1985).

This “ideologue,” for one, refuses to be “disarmed."

The Fundamentalist Journal for December 1986 ran a photo of Falwell addressing the students at Notre Dame University, a major Roman Catholic school. Not only is Notre Dame University, which is named after the Catholic Mary, a hotbed of Catholic dogma; it is a hotbed of theological modernism. The professors teach that the Bible is a mixture of truth and myth, that Adam and Eve were not historic figures, that the world evolved, that Jonah was not swallowed by a whale, etc. [If the Holy word of God stated that Jonah had swallowed the whale, I would believe it! There is NOTHING impossible for God to do, if He so wishes!]

In an editorial in the January 15, 1988, issue of Christianity Today, author Terry Muck described Falwell’s radical, ground-breaking ecumenism as a wonderful thing.

“Perhaps Falwell’s greatest accomplishment, however, was getting Protestants, Catholics, and Jews to work together on common causes. The Moral Majority is a coalition of groups that heretofore had let theological differences stand in the way of coordinated activity on shared concerns like abortion and pornography. It stands as a model of ecumenicity of the best sort—an agreement to work together on issues without trying simply to gloss over theological differences” (Christianity Today, Jan. 15, 1988).

Falwell spoke highly of the pope on several occasions. In his January 1985 Moral Majority Report, Falwell called the pope and Billy Graham great moral and religious leaders.

In 1988 Falwell mailed a letter to bookstores advertising a film about Pope John Paul II. Falwell made the following amazing statement about this Mary-worshiping pope:

“Dear Christian Bookstore Owner: Pope John Paul II will never become a Baptist, and it is for sure that I will never convert to Roman Catholicism. However, I have stated often that I believe this Pope is a man of unique character and courage. His consistent stand on moral and social issues has provided the world leadership so desperately needed at this hour. Robert Evans is the Cecil B. deMille of this generation. It should be, then, no marvel that Mr. Evans has so perfectly captured the innermost person and principles of John Paul II. When I first watched the ‘Power of Faith,’ I was deeply moved. While the Pope and I have broad doctrinal and theological differences, this man’s commitment to the dignity of human life and his strong opposition to tyranny and bigotry provide a shining light for the people of our generation who need such reinforcement.[Gee! I am sure this is not the comedy hour, but I can do no more than laugh out loud at this! This MORON obviously forgot John Paul II's influence during the war in Croatia in the early 1990's, where thousands of "non-believers" were murdered, even after agreeing to convert!]... I think people from all faiths and walks of life will appreciate this film” (Jerry Falwell, Moral Majority Report, Jan. 1985).

Why would a Baptist leader promote a video about a religious leader who preaches a false gospel and thereby leads multitudes to eternal Hell? The Bible says the pope is thereby under God’s curse (Galatians 1). Did Falwell not fear that someone reading his recommendation of the pope might be encouraged to listen to him and thereby be deceived into following Catholicism? The Bible says we are not even to bid “God speed” to those who deny the doctrine of Christ (2 John 8-11), because those who assist false teachers become partakers of their evil deeds. In praising the pope and recommending his video, Falwell did much more than bid him “God speed.”

Billy Graham, the veritable prince of ecumenism, was the commencement speaker at Falwell’s Liberty University in 1997, and in the October 1995 issue of the National Liberty Journal Falwell praised Graham for his “long and faithful ministry.” Billy Graham, who accepts degrees from Catholic colleges and says the Catholic gospel is the same as his own; who has turned thousands of converts over to apostate churches; who thinks John Paul II was a great evangelist [?? One who cared not what the Gospel says?]; who thinks there is special power in infant baptism; who doubts that Hell is a place of literal fiery torment [Christ spoke more of Hell than He did of Heaven!  But don't expect to find this in the perverted Vatican-sponsored hundreds of "bible" versions existent!]; who invites Catholic bishops onto his platform to bless those who come forward at his invitations; who praises Christ-denying modernists; who has promoted practically every perverted Bible version to appear in the last five decades--Billy Graham has had a faithful ministry? Such a statement was clear evidence of incredible spiritual blindness on the part of Dr. Falwell. (For documentation of Graham’s wretched spiritual compromise see “Billy Graham’s Sad Disobedience” at the Way of Life web site.)

When New York’s Cardinal John O’Connor died on May 3, 2000, Falwell praised him. O’Connor was was one of the most prominent Catholic leaders in America. In his news fax on May 4, Jerry Falwell said:

“The Cardinal and I differed on a few theological and social issues, but my respect for him was unwavering because of his ministerial kindness and unconditional willingness to help those in need. . . . Every pastor in America can learn a great lesson from this man. We should never permit our political or social differences to hamper our God-given instruction to minister to our fellow man. As a minister of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, I cannot expect people to take this message seriously if I am unwilling, as a representative of Christ, to meet them where they are. Change in people’s lives comes after a relationship with Christ begins, so we must be frequently disposed to taking the Gospel to unfriendly environments. Cardinal O’Connor embodied this mandate. I am grateful that John O’Connor -- a man of courageous faith -- had such a profound influence on the Catholic Church through his fifty-five years of ministry. I pray that another pro-life, pro-family [This is really a laugh!!  Were it not for the CATHOLIC VOTE, we would not have a murderer sitting in the White House today, he to have sponsored legislation during his brief tenure as a Senator, all of 150 days!, that PREVENTED help be given to the baby in a botched abortion!] minister can be found to fill his significant and substantial shoes.”

I can understand how Falwell could say he was thankful for Cardinal John O’Connor’s efforts against abortion and homosexual “rights,” but in praising him so profusely and in failing so completely to warn that the cardinal preached a false gospel, Falwell was grossly misleading his listeners and doing them a terrible mis-service. Yes, he did mention in passing that he and O’Connor “differed on a few theological and social issues.” A FEW! Cardinal O’Connor believed that salvation is through the sacraments of Rome, that the pope is the Holy Father and Vicar of Christ, that the Catholic priesthood mediates between God and man, that Mary is the sinless Queen of Heaven, that dead “saints” can answer prayer, that the mass transforms wine and a wafer into the literal body and blood of Jesus Christ, that Christians go to purgatory, etc. Are those simply “a few” theological matters? In truth, they are the difference between Heaven and Hell! Yet Jerry Falwell--addressing his vast listening audience composed of people from all sorts of denominations, including Catholic--left them with the impression that he believed Cardinal O’Connor was a true Christian minister. Furthermore, according to 2 John 9-11, we are not even to bid false teachers like John O’Connor “godspeed.” We are not even to greet them, let alone praise them!

We see just how cozy Falwell became with Roman Catholicism in a scene described by Keith Fournier in his book Evangelical Catholics [Here an outright MISNOMER! No EVANGELICAL could EVER be a Catholic! To be a Catholic is TOTALLY CONTRARY TO THE WORD OF GOD!]. Fournier, Dean of Evangelism at Roman Catholic Franciscan University of Steubenville, verified Falwell’s shifting position concerning the Roman Catholic Church. Speaking about a meeting he attended of the “American Congress of Christian Citizens,” Fournier stated:

“In our meeting room were major evangelical leaders I’ve admired for years—Dr. Charles Stanley, Dr. Jerry Falwell, Dr. D. James Kennedy, Pat Robertson, and many others [Gee! These can all hold hands and sing "ring around the fire" when in Hell! Except they will be engulfed in it!]. I found not only a tremendous openness to my presence, but also a growing respect for my church and a thawing in what had been hard ice in the past. Perhaps the comments by Dr. Falwell were most illustrative. He told the whole group not even to consider trying to affect public policy with only a narrow evangelical Protestant church coalition. He said that from its inception any such effort must include Catholics and consultation with great churchmen such as Cardinal Law and Cardinal O’Connor. Clearly not backing off one bit from his self-described ‘narrowness of doctrine,’ Dr. Falwell showed a refreshing openness” (Evangelical Catholics, p. 172).

The root of societal ills is religious or spiritual in nature [I agree! Religion, it is said, seeks to have you wear glasses! The word of God seeks for you to learn the truth! You need belong to no religion to follow the word of God!]. The root problem of America’s social ills is the apostasy, compromise, and cowardice in the pulpits and the churches [and 501c3 rules, to which the Roman Catholic Church is not subject for it is viewed as a government!]. Roman Catholicism, because of its apostasy from the Word of God and its corruption of the New Testament faith, is at the heart of American’s problem (as is theological modernism and every other anti-scriptural ism). It is foolish in the extreme to think that Romanism could somehow be part of the solution. How can Roman Catholicism, which has never produced true biblical morality even in its own priests, be an effective accomplice in a coalition to bring back morality to America? Wherever Roman Catholicism holds sway over men’s lives (visit Italy or Mexico or Ireland, for example), you will find rampant immorality (adultery, fornication, pornography, child molestation) [just read "The dark side of the papacy," by Peter de Rosa, to see all this take place right in the Vatican!], divorce, annulments, gambling, lascivious dancing, immodest dress, alcoholism, juvenile delinquency, idolatry, occultism, superstition, hypocrisy, agnosticism, and outright atheism. It is with no sense of joy that I say these things, but this is a fact that I have observed with my own eyes. I realize that not every Catholic priest is a moral reprobate, but huge numbers of them are; and I realize that not every Catholic man or woman practices the things I have listed, but large numbers of them do. Roman Catholicism simply does not have the spiritual life and power to produce genuine righteousness [Yet, indeed, there are those who are lost within its own system for the very reason they don't agree with all its wrongs! They need help in learning the truth which we are to provide them through tracts, etc., and promoting the reading of the New Testament! Ezequiel 33:6 We MUST sound the trumpet!]. The Devil is the author of false religions like Roman Catholicism (2 Corinthians 11; 1 Timothy 4), and it is a strange sight to see men like Jerry Falwell clamor for unity with false religions for the purpose of defeating the Devil’s works!

And it is a strange sight to see men like Paul Chappell praise him as a hero of the faith.

Falwell endorsed Chuck Colson’s 1992 book, The Body, which urged evangelicals to join forces with Catholics and Charismatics and which looked upon the Catholic Church as a part of the “body of Christ.” Colson said, “...the body of Christ, in all its diversity, is created with Baptist feet, charismatic hands, and Catholic ears--all with their eyes on Jesus” (World, Nov. 14, 1992).

It was reported in 2000 that the coach of Liberty University’s football team was a Roman Catholic (Frontline, May-June 2000, p. 6).

In September 2004 Falwell yoked together with Rick Warren for a second “Super Conference.” Speakers included Ed Young, a former president of the Southern Baptist Convention, Elmer Towns, charismatic Jim Cymbala, and others. It was held at Falwell’s Liberty University. Warren, senior pastor of Saddleback Community Church in southern California, holds the unscriptural “judge not” New Evangelical philosophy and uses “Christian” rock to draw big crowds. In his book The Purpose Driven Life [actually, THE PURPOSE DRIVEN LIE!], Warren says, “God warns us over and over not to criticize, compare, or judge each other.” [LIES!! Verse after verse tells us to DISCERN!] In fact, while God’s Word warns against judging hypocritically or judging by our fallible human traditions it plainly instructs us to judge “all things” by God’s Word, especially doctrine and church practice (Acts 17:11; Ephesians 5:11; 1 Thessalonians 5:21). Warren uncritically quotes Catholic universalists such as John of the Cross and Henri Nouwen and Thomas Merton. Jim Cymbala, pastor of the Brooklyn Tabernacle, is a charismatic and is radically ecumenical. The Brooklyn Tabernacle’s statement of faith says, “We believe the baptism of the Holy Spirit is for all believers as a definite endowment of power for service and is subsequent to, and separate from, conversion.” They also say that all “the gifts of the Spirit” are for today.

In November 2004 Falwell announced that he was launching a new version of the Moral Majority called The Faith and Values Coalition (TFVC). The three-fold goal was to lobby for pro-life judges, to seek a federal amendment barring same-sex marriage, and to elect another conservative president in 2008. Falwell’s son Jonathan was executive director and Mathew Staver, founder of the Liberty Counsel, was vice-chairman. Tim LaHaye was the board chairman. That this new venture was set on the same ecumenical platform that characterized the Moral Majority was evident in a fundraising letter that Falwell published in Nov. 16, 2004. He called radical ecumenists and charismatics “courageous and brilliant evangelical mega-leaders.” He listed 18 of these, including Franklin Graham, Pat Robertson, and Rod Parsley. Franklin Graham has said that his father’s ecumenical alliance with the Catholic Church and all other denominations “was one of the smartest things his father ever did” [LIKE FATHER, LIKE SON!] (“Keeping it simple, safe keeps Graham on high,” The Indianapolis Star, Thurs., June 3, 1999, p. H2). Pat Robertson, founder of the 700 Club and Regent University, is an ardent ecumenicist who has long worked and fellowshipped with Romanists and exemplifies the deep compromise and disobedience that is rampant in evangelical-charismatic circles today. In 1985, Robertson revealed that during 25 years of broadcasting, he has “worked for harmony and reconciliation between Protestants and Catholics’ and ‘refrained from airing major theological differences” [Matthew 10:34 "Think not that I am come to send peace on earth: I came not to send peace, but a sword."] (Christian News, July 22, 1985). Rod Parsley, television preacher and pastor of World Harvest church in Columbus, Ohio, is a dangerous false teacher who preaches the unscriptural Word-Faith message. He teaches that believers can have whatsoever they desire by faith and confession with their mouths, promises healing as a part of salvation, etc.

In December 2004 Falwell said he believed America was on the verge of a spiritual awakening (Religion Today, Dec. 1). He wanted to build on this alleged awakening with the newly formed political action group The Faith and Values Coalition. Falwell believed “the church of Jesus Christ is now standing tall” and “if we will press the battle now--in the next four, eight, or twelve years, we can bring this nation back to the faith of our fathers.” He said America has been undergoing “a quiet spiritual awakening” during the past two decades, and points to the popularity of the Left Behind books, the rise of CCM, and the increase of those who describe themselves as evangelicals.

From where I sit, the only awakening discernible in America is one built upon spiritual compromise, heresy, and idolatry. CCM is not spiritual revival; it is worldliness. The growth of “evangelicalism” is of no consequence because the definition of evangelical has become meaningless. Today, the term “evangelical” describes a Roman Catholic praying to Mary or a Fuller Seminary president denying verbal inspiration or Wheaton College inviting a cultic Mormon professor to talk about heretical C.S. Lewis or Cornerstone College hosting a rock & roll dance party or someone falling on the floor and calling it a miracle or muttering nonsense and calling it tongues, or even a movie about Jesus based on the visions of a Catholic mystic. Seeing that this type of thing is not on the periphery of evangelicalism but at its very heart, on what biblical authority do we describe today’s evangelicalism as spiritual revival?

Jerry Falwell was the blind leading the blind.
  
Falwell’s compromise is evident in the changes that have occurred in Liberty University. It was originally established as Liberty Baptist College with the emphasis of training Christian workers, but in the quest to achieve certification and respectability and approval by the Southern Baptist Convention it has changed dramatically. To obtain certification from the Virginia State Board of Education, creationism was moved from the science department to the philosophy department. Don Jasmin observed, “Remember, the science department is where you supposedly deal with facts; the philosophy department is where you deal with fiction! Creationism is not just a philosophical concept, it is a Biblical and historical fact” (Why Do Fundamental Schools Go Apostate, p. 185).

Today the student application at Liberty University does not require a testimony of the new birth. There is no compulsory church attendance. There is no doctrinal statement that teachers must sign. Intramural sports is promoted as fervently as at secular institutions.

The following warning was given many years ago by former Baptist Bible Fellowship International (BBFI) president Victor Sears:

“Dr. Falwell is not basically a fundamental Baptist. . . . [but] is a New Evangelical in the same compromising vein as Dr. Billy Graham. If we keep following the road paved by Falwellism, we of the (BBF) will lose our identity completely as old-fashioned, Bible-believing separatists” (Calvary Contender, June 15, 1987).

Sadly, most Baptist Bible Fellowship churches have followed the road paved by Falwell and have adopted the soft, non-separatist, contemporary approach and are well down the “emerging” path of error.

We agree with what Jerry Huffman of the Calvary Contender wrote in September 2003:

“Spurgeon preached separation from error and compromise. He said: ‘That I might not stultify my testimony I have cut myself clear of those who err from the faith, and even from those who associate with them.’ [AMEN!] We do great harm to the cause of Christ by appearing to condone the disobedience of those unequally yoked with unbelievers.”

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THE TIP OF THE ICEBERG TESTIMONY OF JACKIE ALNOR

THE TIP OF THE ICEBERG TESTIMONY

OF JACKIE ALNOR

You know the saying, "Once a Catholic, always a Catholic." Well, for a majority of Catholics. that’s true. It’s harder to get out of the grotto, than out of the ghetto. (For you non-Catholics, a grotto is a shrine to the Virgin Mary many Catholics have in their yards.)


In fact, if it weren’t for the merciful ever-loving God intervening in my life, I might still be living under the fear of Purgatory or a worse fiery judgment. But, Jesus brought me to peace with my heavenly Father and I no longer have to be afraid of losing my eternal salvation. I have something I could never attain as a Roman Catholic – ASSURANCE!


I can look back on my life and see the hand of the Lord’s protection on me even though I didn’t know it at the time. As a child growing up in a large Catholic family (7 girls and 2 boys), religion was a big part of my routine. But to me religion was something sort of spooky and superstitious. It was something we could never hope to understand but blindly submit to, heeding the instructions of a hierarchy that held the mysteries of the unknown.

I remember attending mass as a youngster and being trained to whisper and show utmost respect for the mysterious presence of the Lord in the tabernacle. I would get goosebumps and reverential awe at the high mass when the incense would fill the church. The priest was closer to God than we in the pews in my estimation.

My dad converted to Catholicism in order to marry my mom. He had been raised as a nominal Christian in a little country church in his home state of Oklahoma. His grandmother, a Dutch immigrant, was a disciple of Mary Baker Eddy, the founder of Christian Science. His biblical knowledge was poor but I believe he made a true confession of faith during a bout with spinal meningitis during World War II while stationed in India. He saw his fiancé’s insistence on converting to Rome as God’s guidance when he made it home alive in spite of dire predictions by medical experts. He studied Catholic teachings religiously and became a strong devotee to the Virgin Mary.

My mother’s Catholic roots were very deep. Her mother was a native of Mexico and her father a political refugee from Yugoslavia. Both her parents had inborn allegiance to the Vatican. My mother’s Catholicism has always been very superstitious, probably due to her Mexican Indian heritage where Rome’s converts were encouraged to adapt Catholic teachings to their own spiritualism of their pagan tribes.

CATHOLIC SUPERSTITION

While growing up, my mom would read me my daily horoscope and buy me Ouija boards as Christmas presents. After I got saved as an adult, she would remind me of what the spirits contacted on the board had predicted 30 years earlier regarding my life. At my baby shower for our first child, mom reminded me that the spirit had said I would have three boys. Well, they were both wrong. I responded, "Mom, those were demons and my life is no longer any of their business." At that same shower, her sister said to me, "Jackie, your baby’s going to be a Capricorn," and I retorted, "Sorry, but I don’t follow demonic astrology now that I’m a child of God."

My upbringing in "Mother Church" consisted of a regimen of weekly Mass, daily rosary, indoctrination in the lives of the "saints" and a study of the Catholic catechism. I was seen as an ongoing project to be worked on. My parents’ success as good Catholics hinged on the outcome of their nine children’s allegiance to Rome continuing into adulthood.

Stories of the ghostly apparitions of Mary had a real hold on me. I would listen to the stories of the three children at Fatima and pray and pray that Mary would honor me with a visit. I would stare at the sun, as the pilgrims to Fatima do, and only hurt my eyes. I would wear my brown scapular as one of the apparitions said we should so that she could get us out of Purgatory on the first Saturday after our demise. My dad read to us from the Fatima letters, warning about atomic war hitting planet earth if we did not pray for the conversion of Russia.

CHILDHOOD QUESTIONS

I remember my first experience with someone questioning my belief system happened when I was but 7 years old. Walking home from school with my sisters, wearing my uniform, some kids from the public elementary school began teasing us for being Catholics. I approached one and asked, "Why don’t you like us? What have we done?" The little boy responded, "You worship statues and light candles to them and one of the 10 commandments says not to make any molten images."

I was flabbergasted. I ran the rest of the way home and went straight to my mom and asked her if that was true. She said that we don’t worship the statues, but only what they represent. I asked about the commandment, and she explained to me that they didn’t list it as a commandment because it is the same as the first commandment to love the Lord God… I was somewhat relieved, but I still felt something was not quite right.

One consoling practice in the Catholic Church was the stations of the cross. This is a ceremony held every Friday during Lent where more scripture verses are read than in any other Catholic ritual. We would follow the "passion" of Christ, showing how He was brutally scourged and mocked and nailed to the cross. My heart would be touched so deeply while reading the Gospel accounts that I would walk away from there with a real sense of remorse that He had to suffer for my sins.

I never got much out of daily mass especially since I learned the liturgy in Latin. I could say every response, yet I hadn’t the slightest idea of what I was saying. But I took pride in myself that I could say those mysterious words so well. I felt I was doing something religious when I would have to fast for three hours before communion and when I would abstain from eating meat on Fridays. But, then of course, it was a sin not to and I didn’t want to have any black stains on my soul.

But at the age of 12 during the time I was being prepped for receiving my Confirmation, the Vatican II changes began to take effect at our church. I was told it was no longer necessary to fast before communion and I could now eat meat on Fridays except during Lent.. And the mass was now said in English instead of Latin and it seemed so alien to me.

When the day of my Confirmation came and I was to have hands lain on me by the bishop, my doubts were nagging at me. I did not want to go through with the ceremony, but I didn’t have any choice in the matter. The bishop also wanted my Confirmation class to take an oath never to drink alcohol and we were told to stand up and swear not to ever drink. I stayed seated as did a few others, because though I wasn’t interested in drinking booze, I knew my dad did and the priests drank wine at mass and I didn’t want to promise something I might not be able to keep.

Vatican II, in essence, said to me that the Catholic Church authorities were admitting they were wrong about something and that their claims of infallibility were a big cosmic joke. I knew that truth doesn’t change even though I never heard the scripture verse: "Jesus, the same yesterday, today, and forever." I no longer had any confidence in their teachings since I knew the teachings could change with the next church council.

MONSIGNOR MONSTER

And about this time, I had a horrible episode with the pastor of our church. Monsignor McGuiness was a mean old European immigrant with a strong accent and a strict disciplinarian. He would give out the report cards in our classroom and if anyone had an ‘F’ he would turn them over his knee and spank them in front of the entire class. It was as humiliating as it was painful, though fortunately for me, I never failed a class.

One day after school my friend, Christine, and I were walking from school to her house when some guys from our class began chasing us and throwing eggs. We ran into the church thinking that they would never follow us in there. But one boy, Howard, waited outside, hiding in the bushes to ambush us after we came out.

We were hiding in the girls bathroom inside the church when we heard Mgr. McGuiness’ loud, booming voice yell at someone outside the bathroom window. We looked outside as the pastor grabbed Howard by the collar and began smacking him in the face over and over again. The egg he held in his hand broke all over the priest’s black robe. We ran out the church in the opposite direction. The violence that was perpetrated against that 12-year-old kid is something I never can forget. Howard grew up with a drug problem that took his life at a young age.

THE DARK AGES

By the time I was in high school, I wanted nothing to do with church whatsoever. My parents insisted that I go to Mass as long as I lived under their roof, so I would walk into the church, grab a bulletin, and then leave and show them the bulletin when they asked me if I went to Mass. I told them I got nothing out of going, but they didn’t care, I must go.

I rebelled against authority as a teen and I hated being told what to do. I had no confidence at all in my parents or the Catholic Church and I’m sure those attitudes contributed to my rebellious nature. I left home at the age of 17 and left my home in a Los Angeles suburb to join my hippie friends in northern California. I wanted nothing at all to do with religion, although I still had an interest in my Ouija board, astrology, and was advancing into other occult practices, such as Tarot cards and palm reading.

It didn’t take long for me to fall into great trouble and despair. I became pregnant by my hippie boyfriend who was already trying to distance himself from me when the rabbit died. He wanted nothing to do with me or our unborn baby.

My first impulse was to run to "Mother Church" since I was 500 miles from home, alone, and scared. I ran to a Catholic church in San Jose, California, where confessions were being done. I confessed my sins and told the priest what peril I was in, being 17, pregnant, and without a job or money or a high school diploma. I was astounded that the priest did not want to discuss my problem but dismissed me with a penance of 10 Hail Mary’s and 5 Our Fathers.

I never did the penance. I was devastated! I went home to southern California where I was sent to the Catholic home for unwed mothers in LA and given a pregnant nun as a roommate who had taken some sort of vow of silence, so she wasn’t much company. I gave birth to a beautiful baby girl and was forced to give her up for adoption because nobody would take us in. (We found each other when she was 26 years old and are now friends and she is born-again, Praise the Lord!)

FATHER LOVER-BOY

I continued to believe in the Lord Jesus Christ but I felt let down by his church. I would go to mass on Easter and midnight mass every Christmas for the next 10 years. I had some sort of strange connection to "Mother Church," but my many questions about the truth of their teachings prevented me from any further involvement; but it was all the religion I knew.

At the age of 21 I saw an opportunity to have some of my objections to Catholic teachings answered. I was living with my older sister, recently estranged from her husband, who was having an affair with a young priest who was stationed at our parish church. He would come over to spend some intimate moments with her and I confronted him one night on my way out of the house which was the arrangement my sister made so that I would give them some privacy for the night.

I didn’t confront him about breaking his celibacy vows, but I confronted him about church teachings that I saw as contradictory or unnecessary. He would not answer a single question and told me something to the effect that he was not currently on duty and did not want to discuss business.

So I went out partying with my friends and came home at about 5 a.m. He was still there and was making phone calls with a desperate look on his face. I asked my sister what was going on and she said, "Peter can’t reach the priest who usually hears his confession on Saturday nights. He’s got to find a priest in another parish close by so he can run and do a confession in order to be able to say mass this morning." I thought the whole thing was laughable at the time, now I see it as downright pathetic! While he was sleeping with their daughter, he would hear my parents’ confession and serve them communion.

My sister gave Father Peter the slip after finding out that he had another lover at the other parish where he would say mass. He found that girl in the same way he found my sister, confessing the right sort of sins in the confessional, and assisting them in obtaining marriage annulments.

SEEDS OF THE TRUTH

About this same time, I came upon a book that taught me something I had never heard of before – Jesus was coming back to planet earth to set up His earthly kingdom. The book was called, "666," and it was a novel written by Salem Kirban. I didn’t even know that Jesus was coming again and the book quoted so many Bible verses and I knew in my spirit there was something to this.

I remember reading it on my breaks while working for the County of Los Angeles’s Venereal Disease Control where I was a clerk-typist. My fellow workers were also curious about the book and I began taking names as to who was next in line to read it. By the time I got it back, it had to be held together by rubber-band, all the pages were falling out of it.

Only one girl had known about the Second Coming at VD Control; that was my best friend Karen. She was raised a Mormon but had been going to tent meetings at a place called, Calvary Chapel. She was no longer going because she was living with her boyfriend and knew that Pastor Chuck Smith would not approve of that, so she chose her boyfriend over her church. We who read the "666" book would absolutely drill Karen for answers, we were so curious.

I later put the book aside but stored its knowledge in my heart for a later date. I didn’t like Christians or Jesus Freaks as we called them and had no desire to go to Calvary Chapel. Another friend of mine I had known since we were babies had become a Jesus Freak and went to Calvary. She told me about people speaking in unknown tongues and I thought she had gone crazy. I didn’t want anything to do with that. It just wasn’t hep.

HORROR STORIES

I spent most of my twenties bouncing from relationship to relationship, never making contact with what I could consider a soul-mate. I was unlucky in love. I found that I couldn’t have fun on a Friday or Saturday night without the aid of a gram or two of cocaine. My brother-in-law introduced me to the mood-altering drug, and my mood needed major altering. He gave me a leather-bound gold-plated coke paraphernalia kit for Christmas one year. It contained a gold snorting straw, gold plated mirror, gold razor-blade and a vial with a lid to hold the cocaine.

I was proud of the fancy kit and would bring it out and share my stash with close associates at parties and nightclubs. For a while I just pushed my religious questions out of my mind and coke helped to alleviate my emptiness.

I was an avid reader and belonged to the "Book of the Month Club." I looked forward to reading anything I could get my hands on if it was exciting and spooky. Stephen King was my favorite author.

But one day I got a book in the mail called, "Michelle Remembers." It was a "true" story a girl gave while under hypnosis, recalling hidden memories of a childhood of satanic ritualistic abuse. As she gave the gruesome details of watching human sacrifices and mutilations while in a trance state, she would manifest ugly welts on her skin in the shape of the devil’s tail. The book included photographs of this phenomena.

This book really scared me. I had just finished reading a book called "The Entity," which was another "true" story of a Los Angeles woman being sexually assaulted by unseen demons and between the two books I was convinced of the existence of the devil. I said to myself, "if the devil is real, and I believe he is, then there must be a God."

FROM FUTILITY TO FAITH

I ran out to the local Catholic book store and bought a Catholic Bible. I began reading the Old Testament, I thought I knew the New Testament already, but I was only slightly familiar with the four gospels. The Bible began to be a source of encouragement to me and I was becoming convinced that it was truly God’s word to man. I felt comforted knowing that God was real too and that the devil was not stronger than God.

But my life didn’t change much just because I was again open to matters of faith. I was going through a difficult time in a bad relationship (which is another story, too involved to get into here) and I was facing another Christmas alone. At 27 years old I felt like an old maid. Most of my sisters were married and divorced already and I was always a bridesmaid. Christmas was particularly hard because everyone would gather at my parents house with their spouses and children and I would be alone in their midst.

So for the first Christmas in my life I attended a "Protestant" church instead of Mass for Christmas. I went to the only church I knew of that taught the Bible, and that was Calvary Chapel of Costa Mesa. The pastor, Chuck Smith, taught on the pagan roots of Christmas that originated from the winter’s solstice of Saturnalia.

I was very much amused by it and bore witness to what he was saying. I was impressed. The people didn’t look at all like the Jesus Freaks I had envisioned. I held on to the bulletin and put it in my nightstand drawer and forgot about it.

I continued to read the Bible off and on and during a crisis with my louse of a boyfriend. I came under intense conviction of my sin while reading the Gospel of John. I cried out to God to save me and I was determined under the convicting power of the Holy Spirit to forsake my way of life and turn the reins over to Jesus Christ. But I didn’t know how to pray. It was three in the morning and I felt disgusted with myself and didn’t know how to present my petitions to the Lord.

I opened my nightstand drawer and pulled out the Calvary Chapel bulletin. Here it was the Fourth of July, and I had held onto it since the previous Christmas. It had the phone number of a 24-hour prayer hotline and I dialed the number expectantly. The first words out of my mouth when the guy answered was, "Help me! I want to pray and I don’t know how. I’ve been a Catholic all my life and we always recited Hail Mary’s and other prayers, but that won’t do for me now. I want to know how to pray in the right way."

I was choked up and found it hard to speak. There was silence for what seemed like an eternal minute on the other end of the line. Maybe the guy didn’t know if I was for real. But he led me to the 6^th chapter of Matthew and said, "When Jesus gave the Lord’s prayer it wasn’t meant to be recited by rote." He read me the verses and I followed along with him in my Bible and I was struck with awesome wonder. I understood, just by his reading, what the Bible was teaching as if blinders had been removed from my eyes. He prayed with me and I wept with the most cleansing tears ever shed in my life.

From that moment on I began to read the Bible voraciously with new understanding. Every verse I read revealed more and more about God and His Son Jesus and I couldn’t get enough of it. I threw away my cocaine kit, including the half gram of coke it contained.

FAMILY REACTION

The first person I called to share the excitement was my mom. She listened to my testimony and my words brought her to tears. I found out later that she had assumed that I was going to come back to "Mother Church" now that I was taking the Lord seriously.

But I had no inclination at all to ever darken the doorway of a Catholic church again. I had not found the truth in that system. Even as I read my Catholic Bible, I refrained from reading the footnotes of the Catholic interpretations it contained. I wanted to hear directly from God, not from man’s opinion of God. I wanted truth – the truth – God’s truth.

I knew the reality of deception, since I had been deceived already. And I did not want to end up in any religious cult or under any man’s control. I had to know the mind of Christ and I could only do that by reading His word.

As I studied the Bible, so many scripture verses would condemn ideas I had been taught growing up. I discovered Bible verses that would outright condemn such Catholic ideas as Purgatory, Transubstantiation, indulgences, prayers to saints, Mary worship and the like. But what frightened me the most was when I read the 17^th chapter of the book of Revelation. I could not deny the familiarity of the description of the Mother Harlot: "arrayed in purple and scarlet, and adorned with gold and precious stones and pearls, having in her hand a golden cup full of abominations and the filthiness of her fornication….(vs. 4).

I felt such a sense of betrayal by Rome. I mourned over her for a long time, but I had to put her out of my life – she was an imposter! I tried not to let my disgust with Rome affect my love for my parents and other Catholic relatives. But, whenever the subject of religion would come up, I earnestly contended for the faith to the point of verbal violence. Until I could learn some self-control, I could not visit my parents without fireworks going off.

My mom would not argue "religion" with me but would make comments to my siblings, that "Jackie is only going through a fad. This won’t last, nothing does with her." Now, some 21 years later she doesn’t make that statement any more.

My dad, on the other hand, would get into debates with me almost every time we got together for the first few years of my born-again new life. We’ve had some intense arguments over doctrine. I remember one time he showed total exasperation when he could not tell me why the Catholic Church has a tabernacle with a veil, when the veil in the Temple was ripped down after Jesus died on the cross. He couldn’t justify it to me or to himself either, apparently.

My dad died on New Year’s Eve, 1989, and at his "rosary" the priest leading the ceremony said, "Jack, during the final years of his life, would come to me with questions about church teachings that I could not answer to his satisfaction. He was having many doubts, but now his doubts are relieved." When he said this, my born-again sisters and I all looked at each other with relief and a big "Praise the Lord!" But the Catholics in our family for some reason claim that never got said. I guess they didn’t hear it like we did.

In the limousine on the way to Dad’s final resting place, I said to my Catholic mom and sister, "Well, how do you feel with Dad burning in Purgatory? I’m so glad to know that he is in the presence of Jesus and is in eternal glory with all the saints!" They were both indignant and said, "Dad suffered enough while he was here so he doesn’t need to go to Purgatory." "Oh really, how much suffering is enough?" I responded. I guess they weren’t convinced, though, because they bought their share of Mass cards and made contributions to have Masses offered up for Dad’s purgatorial release. I just wouldn’t let them get away with it unchallenged.

THE LORD IS MY SHEPHERD!

So as I reflect on my life, I see the Lord’s hand on me from the beginning. He directed my steps even when I wasn’t aware of His presence. My salvation is based on His finished work on the cross of Calvary. I can add NOTHING to that great atonement. Sure my life is lived in a more pure manner as a Christian than it ever was as a Catholic, but none of my selfless works add to my worthiness before my perfect Savior. He has given me a free gift – one I did not earn.

I love my Savior so much because, like the woman with the alabaster box, those who have been forgiven much love much (Luke 7:36-50). There are several verses of scripture I have held onto since I first got saved. These passages helped to establish me in the faith once and for all delivered to the saints. Psalm 37 is one that I have returned to again and again since my born-again experience that dark Independence Day 21 years ago. I leave you with its wisdom:

"The salvation of the righteous is from the Lord; He is their strength in time of trouble. And the Lord helps them, and delivers them; He delivers them from the wicked, and saves them, because they take refuge in Him" (vss. 39-40).

To read past articles by Jackie Alnor go to the Christian Sentinel site:

http://www.apostasyalert.org/

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