Appearing on a religious television program yesterday, Jerry Falwell blamed feminists, gays and others for the terrorist attacks in New York and Washington.
“The abortionists have got to bear some burden for this because God will not be mocked. And when we destroy 40 million little innocent babies, we make God mad,” Falwell said.
He added, “I really believe that the pagans, and the abortionists, and the feminists, and the gays and the lesbians who are actively trying to make that an alternative lifestyle, the ACLU, People for the American Way–all of them have tried to secularize America–I point the finger in their face and say, ‘You helped this happen.'”
Falwell told Pat Robertson on “The 700 Club” that the attacks were God’s judgment on America for having banished God from the public square and schools.
According to a CNN article, Falwell blamed the ACLU and other groups “which have attempted to secularize America, have removed our nation from its relationship with Christ on which it was founded.”
“I therefore believe that that created an environment which possibly has caused God to lift the veil of protection which has allowed no one to attack America on our soil since 1812,” he said.
“I totally concur,” Pat Robertson replied when Falwell finished his diatribe.
Once Falwell went off the air, Robertson turned to his fellow hosts and criticized the separation of church and state.
Falwell later told CNN, “I would never blame any human being except the terrorists, and if I left that impression with gays or lesbians or anyone else, I apologize.”
In an interview with the Washington Post, Falwell defended his remarks as “a theological statement.”
Pat Robertson was unavailable for comment.
“Falwell’s comments are another shameful example of the biblical truth that the tongue ‘is an unruly evil, full of deadly poison,'” said Robert Parham, BCE’s executive director, citing James 3:8.
