Jerry Falwell is Dead

The AP has just confirmed that the Rev. Jerry Falwell has passed away. I think we should pray for his family, and that God be merciful to a man who seemed (to me) to be stubborn in his near-idolatrous nationalism.

I was not (obviously) a fan of the man; I do wish for the salvation of all, including those who have inflicted wounds upon my brothers and sisters.

[UPDATE: From the AP...]

The Rev. Jerry Falwell, the television evangelist who founded the Moral Majority and used it to mold the religious right into a political force, died Tuesday shortly after being found unconscious in his office at Liberty University, a school executive said. He was 73.

Ron Godwin, the university's executive vice president, said Falwell, 73, was found unresponsive around 10:45 a.m. and taken to Lynchburg General Hospital. "CPR efforts were unsuccessful," he said.

Godwin said he was not sure what caused the collapse, but he said Falwell "has a history of heart challenges."