Wednesday, April 29, 2015

Falwell and Lenox Ave.

Blog Post #1
Lienne Harrington

This concrete pillar-esque artifact was spotted at 131st street and Lenox in front of the McDonalds (this in itself was a little ironic). I myself, am not particularly familiar with the Bible and its passages (as in I have only read the first 25-ish lines of Genesis (like everyone)).  But I was able to distinguish that the carvings in the concrete were indeed citations of biblical passages. On a whim I borrowed my friend’s phone (mine had died as usual) and took a quick picture of something that seemed cool. So this morning when I sat down to write my blog post about a street performance I got a little distracted and decided that it might be more interesting to look up the passages from the picture I had taken yesterday. I easily found both passages on biblegateway.com and was able to read through each (Matthew 24: 1-51 and Revelation 6:1-17). Both passages were designated as “SIGNS OF THE END” and this really spoke to me both on a personal level (my own religiosity or lack thereof) and on a scholastic level (sparking thoughts of Jerry Falwell).   

Reading the biblical passages was a surprisingly affecting experience and ultimately it proved to be extremely humanizing for some of the sentiments that Falwell puts forward. Specifically with the anxiety expressed within the syntax of “Listen, America!” Reading both of these biblical passages made me better understand this anxiety. Though I do not think I will ever be able to sympathize with his sentiments towards segregation, homosexuality, racial/gender issues, etc. reading these passages made me understand his urgent cause. His cause is epitomized by the statement in Matthew 24 1-51 (“The destruction of the temple and signs of the end of times” and “The day and the hour unknown”):
“Therefore keep watch, because you do not know on what day your Lord will come. 43 But understand this: If the owner of the house had known at what time of night the thief was coming, he would have kept watch and would not have let his house be broken into. 44 So you also must be ready, because the Son of Man will come at an hour when you do not expect him.
The notion that Christians (and as Falwell would insinuate, Americans) in current society will be the servants who are unprepared for the Lord is a frightening notion. Falwell’s along with other fundamentalists’ anxiety is not to be dismissed and these Biblical passages exemplify this nervousness.    

The second passage dictated by the pillar was Revelations 6:1-17, “The Seals.” In this passage the narrator recounts a parable of the lamb opening six seals and upon each opening releasing a horse of varying colors with varying riders that espouse different meaning. Each horse is meant to symbolize different negative aspects of the human world.
1.       “I looked, and there before me was a white horse! Its rider held a bow, and he was given a crown, and he rode out as a conqueror bent on conquest.”
2.       “Then another horse came out, a fiery red one. Its rider was given power to take peace from the earth and to make people kill each other. To him was given a large sword.”
3.       “I looked, and there before me was a black horse! Its rider was holding a pair of scales in his hand. 6 Then I heard what sounded like a voice among the four living creatures, saying, “Two pounds[a] of wheat for a day’s wages,[b] and six pounds[c] of barley for a day’s wages,[d] and do not damage the oil and the wine!””
4.       “I looked, and there before me was a pale horse! Its rider was named Death, and Hades was following close behind him. They were given power over a fourth of the earth to kill by sword, famine and plague, and by the wild beasts of the earth.”
5.       “When he opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of those who had been slain because of the word of God and the testimony they had maintained. 10 They called out in a loud voice, “How long, Sovereign Lord, holy and true, until you judge the inhabitants of the earth and avenge our blood?” 11 Then each of them was given a white robe, and they were told to wait a little longer, until the full number of their fellow servants, their brothers and sisters,[e] were killed just as they had been.”
6.       “I watched as he opened the sixth seal. There was a great earthquake. The sun turned black like sackcloth made of goat hair, the whole moon turned blood red, 13 and the stars in the sky fell to earth, as figs drop from a fig tree when shaken by a strong wind. 14 The heavens receded like a scroll being rolled up, and every mountain and island was removed from its place.”
What I took from this was the apt foresight that the bible has been able to see in many different aspects. Revelations predicts peace taken “from the earth and [allowing] people to kill each other.” In a lot of ways these “revelations” seem to be a realized reality in today’s world. This is something that I found a little uncanny and also perplexing. Falwell and other fundamentalists share a sense of urgency in preparing for the end which from reading these biblical passages makes complete sense, but how can they rationalize that their understanding of the good should encompass all of America. Should the believers be ready for the coming of the Lord but why is necessary to prepare everyone?


When I stumbled upon this pillar I didn't really think much of it at all. But after looking up these biblical passages I really began to think about the irony that this incident exuded. Just the other day I was extremely hostile to the statements and beliefs of Falwell and other fundamentalists, not completely dismissing them as bigots (only because that would be ignorant) but not understanding any source of their faith and beliefs. These passages made me see and more importantly understand Falwell’s deep seated fear of the end and judgement day.     

https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Matthew+24%3A1-51
https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Revelation%206:1-17

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