>>Go for it, Allen.<<
GS -
OK. Here you go. From truthorfiction.com.
THE TRANSCRIPT
Here are their comments in context:
Pat Robertson began the interview asking Falwell what his response has been to the terrorist attacks. Falwell said there had been a massive prayer gathering of members of his congregation along with students from Liberty University. He told the TV audience that they had humbled themselves before God, prayed for President Bush and his advisers and for the victims of the attacks.
Falwell then likened the attacks to Pearl Harbor and that at that time, Hitler wanted to destroy the Jews and conquer the world. Now, "Islamic fundamentalists, radical terrorists, Middle-Eastern monsters" want to destroy Israel and conquer the world.
The two men then talked about religious revival and whether the events of September 11 might spark spiritual renewal in America.
Then Falwell said, "What we saw on Tuesday, as terrible as it is, could be miniscule if, in fact, God continues to lift the curtain and allow the enemies of America to give us probably what we deserve."
Robertson replied, "Well, Jerry, that's my feeling. I think we've just seen the antechamber to terror, we haven't begun to see what they can do to the major population."
Falwell said, "The ACLU has got to take a lot of blame for this. And I know I'll hear from them for this, but throwing God...successfully with the help of the federal court system...throwing God out of the public square, out of the schools, 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...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 who try to secularize America...I point the thing in their face and say you helped this happen."
Robertson said, "I totally concur, and the problem is we've adopted that agenda at the highest levels of our government, and so we're responsible as a free society for what the top people do, and the top people, of course, is the court system."
Falwell added, "Pat, did you notice yesterday that the ACLU and all the Christ-haters, the People for the American Way, NOW, etc., were totally disregarded by the Democrats and the Republicans in both houses of Congress, as they went out on the steps and and called out to God in prayer and sang 'God bless America' and said, let the ACLU be hanged. In other words, when the nation is on its knees, the only normal and natural and spiritual thing to do is what we ought to be doing all the time, calling on God."
End of transcript.
Later, Falwell said, in a phone call to CNN, that only the the hijackers and terrorist were responsible for the deadly attacks. Falwell told CNN, "I would never blame any human being except the terrorists, and if I left that impression with gays or lexbians or anyone else, I apologize."
So he did apologize, certainly, although his statement that he "would never blame any human being except the terrorists" seems to be contradicted by his earlier use of the words "I point my finger in their face and say 'you helped this happen.'"
Pat Robertson, as the controversy over this incident developed, said that he had not understood what Falwell was saying, and that he didn't agree with the statements.
- Allen |
