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Ted Kennedy Meets Jerry Falwell

by Brian McLaren 09-03-2009 | 1:30pm
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Fans (and critics) of either man should read this speech -- from the late Sen. Kennedy, delivered back in 1983 at the late Jerry Falwell's (now) Liberty University. It addresses the role of faith in public life -- as vital an issue 26 years later as it was then. In this long, hot summer of overheated rhetoric, both the tone and content of the speech offer much to readers today, especially these comments on how we debate moral (and, I would add, theological) issues ...

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... we must respect the motives of those who exercise their right to disagree. We sorely test our ability to live together if we too readily question each other's integrity. It may be harder to restrain our feelings when moral issues are at stake -- for they go to the deepest wellsprings of our being. But the more our feelings diverge, the more deeply held they are, the greater is our obligation to grant the sincerity and basic moral decency of our fellow citizens on the other side.

You can download the speech to read in its entirety here. Here's a short clip from the beginning of the speech. (Thanks to Gary Stone for the links.) A truly gracious moment in American religious-political history:

Brian McLarenBrian McLaren (brianmclaren.net) is a speaker and author, most recently of Everything Must Change and Finding Our Way Again.

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by: curiosity1964

09-03-2009 @ 8:02pm

"There can never be reconciliation, let alone dialogue, unless that kind of thing stops."

I'm glad God didn't and doesn't share your view of reconciliation, otherwise Christ wouldn't have died for us "while we were yet sinners."

by: BlueDeacon

09-03-2009 @ 5:48pm

It's one thing to say "judge lest you be judged" but, as the saying goes, actions speak louder than words. If you continually distort your opponents' views and misrepresent their words for the sake of victory you deserve to have your integrity questioned. And there can never be reconciliation, let alone dialogue, unless that kind of thing stops.

by: BlueDeacon

09-03-2009 @ 10:27pm

He actually does, for one reason only: Only He has the ability to convict people of sin. (See Isaiah 1.) And you cannot appreciate the Good News of Christ without understanding the bad news of sin, corporate as well as personal; if you limit your understanding of sin as something that the other guy does -- which drives much of the political discourse in this country -- you won't get it.

by: cpd

09-03-2009 @ 6:30pm

Excellent points, BlueDeacon.

by: Shariys

09-03-2009 @ 6:39pm

Amen ... and there is SO much of it going on in the political arena today (witness all the deliberate lies being concocted and spread about healthcare reform; an egregious example but certainly not the only example). Doing this sort of thing in God's name leads me to wonder what ever happened to that commandment about not bearing false witness or something like that - not to mention "love your enemies".

by: curiosity1964

09-03-2009 @ 8:02pm

"There can never be reconciliation, let alone dialogue, unless that kind of thing stops."

I'm glad God didn't and doesn't share your view of reconciliation, otherwise Christ wouldn't have died for us "while we were yet sinners."

by: BlueDeacon

09-03-2009 @ 10:27pm

He actually does, for one reason only: Only He has the ability to convict people of sin. (See Isaiah 1.) And you cannot appreciate the Good News of Christ without understanding the bad news of sin, corporate as well as personal; if you limit your understanding of sin as something that the other guy does -- which drives much of the political discourse in this country -- you won't get it.

by: BlueDeacon

09-04-2009 @ 12:27am

He actually does, for one reason only: Only He has the ability to convict people of sin. (See Isaiah 1.) And you cannot appreciate the Good News of Christ without understanding the bad news of sin, corporate as well as personal; if you limit your understanding of sin as something that the other guy does -- which drives much of the political discourse in this country -- you won't get it.

by: BlueDeacon

09-04-2009 @ 12:27am

He actually does, for one reason only: Only He has the ability to convict people of sin. (See Isaiah 1.) And you cannot appreciate the Good News of Christ without understanding the bad news of sin, corporate as well as personal; if you limit your understanding of sin as something that the other guy does -- which drives much of the political discourse in this country -- you won't get it.

by: BlueDeacon

09-03-2009 @ 5:48pm

It's one thing to say "judge lest you be judged" but, as the saying goes, actions speak louder than words. If you continually distort your opponents' views and misrepresent their words for the sake of victory you deserve to have your integrity questioned. And there can never be reconciliation, let alone dialogue, unless that kind of thing stops.

by: cpd

09-03-2009 @ 6:30pm

Excellent points, BlueDeacon.

by: Shariys

09-03-2009 @ 6:39pm

Amen ... and there is SO much of it going on in the political arena today (witness all the deliberate lies being concocted and spread about healthcare reform; an egregious example but certainly not the only example). Doing this sort of thing in God's name leads me to wonder what ever happened to that commandment about not bearing false witness or something like that - not to mention "love your enemies".

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by: BlueDeacon

09-03-2009 @ 5:48pm

It's one thing to say "judge lest you be judged" but, as the saying goes, actions speak louder than words. If you continually distort your opponents' views and misrepresent their words for the sake of victory you deserve to have your integrity questioned. And there can never be reconciliation, let alone dialogue, unless that kind of thing stops.

by: BlueDeacon

09-03-2009 @ 5:48pm

It's one thing to say "judge lest you be judged" but, as the saying goes, actions speak louder than words. If you continually distort your opponents' views and misrepresent their words for the sake of victory you deserve to have your integrity questioned. And there can never be reconciliation, let alone dialogue, unless that kind of thing stops.

by: cpd

09-03-2009 @ 6:30pm

Excellent points, BlueDeacon.

by: cpd

09-03-2009 @ 6:30pm

Excellent points, BlueDeacon.

by: Shariys

09-03-2009 @ 6:39pm

Amen ... and there is SO much of it going on in the political arena today (witness all the deliberate lies being concocted and spread about healthcare reform; an egregious example but certainly not the only example). Doing this sort of thing in God's name leads me to wonder what ever happened to that commandment about not bearing false witness or something like that - not to mention "love your enemies".

by: Shariys

09-03-2009 @ 6:39pm

Amen ... and there is SO much of it going on in the political arena today (witness all the deliberate lies being concocted and spread about healthcare reform; an egregious example but certainly not the only example). Doing this sort of thing in God's name leads me to wonder what ever happened to that commandment about not bearing false witness or something like that - not to mention "love your enemies".

by: curiosity1964

09-03-2009 @ 8:02pm

"There can never be reconciliation, let alone dialogue, unless that kind of thing stops."

I'm glad God didn't and doesn't share your view of reconciliation, otherwise Christ wouldn't have died for us "while we were yet sinners."

by: curiosity1964

09-03-2009 @ 8:02pm

"There can never be reconciliation, let alone dialogue, unless that kind of thing stops."

I'm glad God didn't and doesn't share your view of reconciliation, otherwise Christ wouldn't have died for us "while we were yet sinners."

by: BlueDeacon

09-03-2009 @ 10:27pm

He actually does, for one reason only: Only He has the ability to convict people of sin. (See Isaiah 1.) And you cannot appreciate the Good News of Christ without understanding the bad news of sin, corporate as well as personal; if you limit your understanding of sin as something that the other guy does -- which drives much of the political discourse in this country -- you won't get it.

by: BlueDeacon

09-03-2009 @ 10:27pm

He actually does, for one reason only: Only He has the ability to convict people of sin. (See Isaiah 1.) And you cannot appreciate the Good News of Christ without understanding the bad news of sin, corporate as well as personal; if you limit your understanding of sin as something that the other guy does -- which drives much of the political discourse in this country -- you won't get it.

by: BlueDeacon

09-04-2009 @ 12:27am

He actually does, for one reason only: Only He has the ability to convict people of sin. (See Isaiah 1.) And you cannot appreciate the Good News of Christ without understanding the bad news of sin, corporate as well as personal; if you limit your understanding of sin as something that the other guy does -- which drives much of the political discourse in this country -- you won't get it.

by: BlueDeacon

09-04-2009 @ 12:27am

He actually does, for one reason only: Only He has the ability to convict people of sin. (See Isaiah 1.) And you cannot appreciate the Good News of Christ without understanding the bad news of sin, corporate as well as personal; if you limit your understanding of sin as something that the other guy does -- which drives much of the political discourse in this country -- you won't get it.