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| Version 1 | Version 2 |
|---|---|
| US evangelist Jerry Falwell dies | US evangelist Jerry Falwell dies |
| (20 minutes later) | |
| Leading US conservative evangelist Rev Jerry Falwell has died in hospital in Virginia after being found unconscious in his office, his assistants said. | Leading US conservative evangelist Rev Jerry Falwell has died in hospital in Virginia after being found unconscious in his office, his assistants said. |
| Doctors gave Rev Falwell emergency treatment at Lynchburg General Hospital but could not revive him. | Doctors gave Rev Falwell emergency treatment at Lynchburg General Hospital but could not revive him. |
| Rev Falwell, 73, survived two serious health scares in 2005 but had a history of heart problems. | Rev Falwell, 73, survived two serious health scares in 2005 but had a history of heart problems. |
| He became a figurehead of the religious right in the 1980s, founded the Moral Majority and later Liberty University. | He became a figurehead of the religious right in the 1980s, founded the Moral Majority and later Liberty University. |
| Controversial | |
| Rev Falwell was regarded as the father of the political evangelical movement. | Rev Falwell was regarded as the father of the political evangelical movement. |
| Ron Godwin, executive vice president for Liberty University, said Rev Falwell was found unresponsive in his office at the university at about 1045 local time (1535 GMT) after missing an appointment. | Ron Godwin, executive vice president for Liberty University, said Rev Falwell was found unresponsive in his office at the university at about 1045 local time (1535 GMT) after missing an appointment. |
| Mr Godwin said: "Dr Falwell is a huge, huge leader here in this area and in the nation at large." | |
| Rev Falwell was a strong opponent of abortion, homosexuality and many other issues that conflicted with his fundamentalist Christian beliefs. | Rev Falwell was a strong opponent of abortion, homosexuality and many other issues that conflicted with his fundamentalist Christian beliefs. |
| His alliance with Republicans in the 1980s was a key help in the elections of Ronald Reagan as president. | |
| The Rev Al Sharpton said he was deeply saddened and was praying for the Falwell family. He said although he often disagreed with the reverend, they had a cordial relationship. | The Rev Al Sharpton said he was deeply saddened and was praying for the Falwell family. He said although he often disagreed with the reverend, they had a cordial relationship. |
| Many of Rev Falwell's controversial statements on feminism, abortion and race issues outraged liberals. | |
| In 2002, he sparked anger across the Muslim world by calling the Prophet Muhammad a "terrorist". He later apologised. | |
| Shortly after the 11 September 2001 attacks, he said that gays, atheists, civil-rights activists and legal abortions in the US had angered God and "helped this happen". | |
| In 1999, he denounced the BBC TV children's show The Teletubbies, because he believed one character, Tinky Winky, was homosexual. |