A Devil of a Remark

Jerry Falwell has shot off his mouth again. Not only did he say something completely inappropriate and politically dumb, but theologically incorrect. Falwell said:

I certainly hope that Hillary is the candidate. She has $300 million so far. But I hope she’s the candidate. Because nothing will energize my [constituency] like Hillary Clinton. If Lucifer ran, he wouldn’t.

We have known that Falwell has been obsessed with Hillary for quite some time, but he seems to have taken it to a new level. Now he thinks she is scarier than the Devil. Not only is such a remark inappropriate, but it also shows an unbiblical worldview. Falwell should show a little more concern about the power of the Devil. He should also show much more respect for his sister in Christ.

A Falwell aide defended the remarks by saying they were “off the cuff” and that Falwell “had no intentions of demonizing her.” Both excuses seem to miss the point. Just because they were “off the cuff” does not mean Falwell should get a pass for them. Instead it means he should stick to the script. As for the demonizing, it seems harder to get more demonizing than comparing someone to the devil (maybe that is technically “devilizing,” but it was definitely intended to demonize Hillary).

To make matters worse, later at the same conference, James Dobson condemned Hugo Chavez for calling George W. Bush the Devil. Dobson said Chavez “attacked our president viciously” and Dobson criticized “members of Congress” for only giving “a few pantywaist comments” in defense of Bush. Yet, Dobson said nothing about Falwell’s comment. Why is it wrong to call Bush the devil but not wrong to call Hillary the devil? Can we spell hypocrisy?