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Lamenting the Scandal of Jerry Falwell Jr.

September 1st, 2020 | 2 min read

By Caleb Wait

Matt, Derek, and Alastair discuss the recent scandal of Jerry Falwell Jr.— former President of Liberty University—and what biblical and theological resources Christians have to view scandals in the church more broadly. Listen in to hear about the corporate implications of our sin, the difficulty and necessity to expose scandals, and how sin can take us from being Nathans one day to Davids the next.

Timestamps:

The tragedy of Jerry Falwell Jr.’s scandal [0:00 - 4:41]

Biblical resources for thinking about scandal [4:41 - 9:02]

The corporate implications of our sin [13:50 - 18:04]

The cost of time for performing remedial justice [18:04 - 20:19]

The difficulty and necessity to speak up and expose scandals [20:19 - 25:10]

Scandal as it relates to God and as a means of taking his name in vain [25:10 - 28:30]

The weight of rebuking your brother [28:30 - 32:10]

One day Nathan; the next, David [32:10 - 34:00]

The necessity of fraternal correction [34:00 - 41:34]

The nature of power, mercy, and justice [41:34 - 45:49]

Resources mentioned:

The Merchant of Venice, Act IV, Scene I [The quality of mercy is not strained]

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Finally, as always, follow DerekAndrew, and Alastair for more tweet-sized brilliance. Thanks to Timothy Motte for his sound editing work. And thanks to The Joy Eternal for lending us their music, which everybody should download out of gratitude for their kindness.

Caleb Wait

Caleb Wait (MATS, Westminster Seminary California) is a writer and the producer of Mere Fidelity. He and his wife Kristin have two children and live in Northern California. You can follow him on Twitter @calebwait and he invites you to email him at ciwait93@gmail.com.