Theocratic Pastor D. James Kennedy has died

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D. James Kennedy, megachurch pastor, televangelist and leading theocrat, has died

Background by JewsOnFirst.org, September 5, 2007

September 5, 2007. D. James Kennedy, a proponent of imposing fundamentalist Christianity on all levels of government, died today. Although little known beyond the Christian right, Kennedy was a powerful advocate for "reclaiming America for Christ," and established an institution for that purpose at his Ft. Lauderdale megachurch. He was also a strong voice against LGBT rights and the teaching of evolution. According to Coral Ridge Ministries, which Kennedy founded, he was the world's most "listened-to" Presbyterian minister, wtih three million people in 200 countries tuning in to his "Coral Ridge Hour" television show.

Megachurch Leader D. James Kennedy Dies

By Matt Sedensky Associated Press, Forbes.com, September 5, 2007

MIAMI - The Rev. D. James Kennedy, a pioneering Christian broadcaster and megachurch pastor whose fiercely conservative worldview helped fuel the rise of the religious right in American politics, died Wednesday. He was 76.

Kennedy died at his home in Fort Lauderdale, said Kristin Cole, a spokeswoman for Kennedy's Coral Ridge Presbyterian Church. The cause of death has not been determined, but Kennedy had not been seen publicly he suffered cardiac arrest Dec. 28. His retirement was announced last month.

Kennedy's voice and face were known to millions through radio and television broadcasts, urging Christians to evangelize in their daily lives, while condemning homosexuality and abortion as assaults on the traditional family. His also preached on the major policy issues of the day, rejecting evolution and global warming. Continue.

James Kennedy, elder statesman of Religious Right, dead at 76

By Robert Marus, Associated Baptist Press, September 5, 2007

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. (ABP) -- Presbyterian minister James Kennedy died Sept. 5, little more than a week after he retired from the pulpit that helped him launch both evangelistic and political ministries.

Kennedy, who was 76, had served for nearly half a century as pastor of Coral Ridge Presbyterian Church in Fort Lauderdale, Fla. But he was also one of the pioneers of television ministry, a seminary founder and the head of an activist empire devoted to what he believed was the restoration of the United States as a “Christian nation.”

According to Coral Ridge Ministries, the umbrella group for his ministry efforts, the death was the result of complications from a heart attack he suffered late last year. He had stepped down from his day-to-day role as head of the church and ministry while undergoing rehabilitation, but worshipers at the church learned Aug. 26 that he would be unable to return to his duties.

Kennedy’s death comes just months after that of his better-known contemporary, Jerry Falwell, and at a time when some commentators have also pronounced the demise of the Religious Right movement they helped birth.

Nonetheless, his supporters praised Kennedy’s understated leadership in a movement where fierier orators often overshadowed the erudite and highly educated Presbyterian. Continue.

Rev. D. James Kennedy, Broadcaster, Dies at 76

Neela Banerjee, The New York Times, Septembrer 6, 2007

The Rev. D. James Kennedy, a Christian broadcaster and the pastor of a Florida megachurch who played a critical role in the rise of conservative Christianity, died yesterday at his home in Fort Lauderdale, Fla. He was 76.

The cause was not immediately known, said Kristin Cole, a church spokeswoman, but Mr. Kennedy suffered permanent damage from heart arrhythmia last December and had been undergoing rehabilitative therapy since then.

From the founding of Coral Ridge Presbyterian Church in Fort Lauderdale 48 years ago, Mr. Kennedy became an indefatigable and persuasive voice urging Christians to take on a broader culture that, in his view, had begun to decay. He argued that the decline was due to society’s increasing secularization and hostility to Christianity, said Frank Wright, a friend and the chief executive of the National Religious Broadcasters Association. Continue.

Powerful pastor D. James Kennedy dead at 76

Led Coral Ridge Presbyterian Church to national prominence

By James D. Davis, South Florida Sun-Sentinel, September 5, 2007

FORT LAUDERDALE -- - The Rev. D. James Kennedy, a champion of evangelical Christianity, a leader in conservative activism and longtime pastor at one of South Florida's largest churches, died Wednesday. Continue.

Truth Wins Out Issues Statement on the Passing of Televangelist D. James Kennedy

'Kennedy Caused A Great Deal Of Pain For Gay Americans,' Said Truth Wins Out's Executive Director Wayne Besen

News Release, Truth Wins Out, September 5, 2007

MIAMI BEACH, Fla., Sept. 5 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Televangelist Rev. D. James Kennedy of Coral Ridge Presbyterian Church passed away today, only months after he suffered a heart attack. Kennedy was a radical fundamentalist cleric who demonized gay Americans, pioneered fraudulent "ex-gay" ministries and fought to end the separation of church and state. Truth Wins Out's Executive Director Wayne Besen issued the following statement on Kennedy's passing:

"Truth Wins Out offers its condolences to the Kennedy family in this time of mourning. It is never easy to lose a loved one and those who took comfort in Kennedy's sermons will surely miss him.

"However, we must also recognize that Kennedy was a great source of pain for gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender Americans. Continue.

American Christendom, RIP

By Diana Butler Bass, God's Politics (blog of Jim Wallis), September 6, 2007

The Rev. Dr. D. James Kennedy, the Christian Right leader Rolling Stone magazine described as "the most influential evangelical you've never heard of," died yesterday in Florida of complications from a heart attack. His passing, only months after the death of Jerry Falwell, signals the generational shift of leadership now occurring in evangelical Christian circles.

Unlike most people, I had heard of D. James Kennedy. In the early 1970s, he created the popular program "Evangelism Explosion International" to encourage churchgoers to be more assertive in witnessing to their neighbors. My then-congregation in Scottsdale, Arizona, used the program to great success. Kennedy was a hero to us-helping us all to be grassroots Billy Grahams and to double the size of our small church. Continue.

D. James Kennedy dies

National Center for Science Education, September 5, 2007

D. James Kennedy, the megachurch pastor and religious broadcaster, died on September 5, 2007, at the age of 76 in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, according to the Washington Post's obituary (September 5, 2007). Born in 1930 in Augusta, Georgia, and reared mainly in Chicago, he was managing a dancing school in Tampa when he experienced a religious conversion, leading him to earn a divinity degree from Columbia Theological Seminary in Decatur, Georgia. (He later also earned a master's degree in theology from the Chicago Graduate School of Theology and a Ph.D. from New York University, with a 1979 dissertation on the history of Evangelism Explosion, a program which he himself developed for training laypeople to spread the gospel.) In 1959, Kennedy returned to Florida, where he founded Coral Ridge Presbyterian Church, now housed in a 2500-seat edifice in Fort Lauderdale. He expanded his efforts to the airwaves with the founding of Coral Ridge Ministries in 1974; it is presently claimed to reach three million people across the United States. He also was responsible for Knox Theological Seminary (founded in 1989), the Center for Reclaiming America for Christ (founded in 1996 and disbanded in 2007), which aimed to recruit conservative Christians for grassroots activism, and the D. James Kennedy Center for Christian Statesmanship (founded in 1995), which engages in outreach to public servants in Washington DC. A dedicated young-earth creationist, Kennedy often preached against evolution. Continue.

D. James Kennedy, Ph.D.

A.B., M.Div., M.Th., D.D., D.Sac.Lit., Ph.D., Litt.D., D.Sac.Theol., D.Humane Let.

Background from Coral Ridge Ministries, viewed September 5, 2007

Dr. D. James Kennedy is the most listened-to Presbyterian minister in the world today. His forthright and rational presentation of the Gospel is heard via television and radio throughout America and the world. Continue.

Dr. D. James Kennedy Passes Away

Christian Broadcasting Network News, September 5, 2007

CBNNews.com - Dr. D. James Kennedy, founder and pastor of Coral Ridge Presbyterian Church for 48 years, passed away in his sleep early Wednesday morning, a church spokesman announced. He was 76.

CBN's coverage includes a video report. Click here.

D. James Kennedy dead at 76

by Michael Foust, Baptist Press, September 5, 2007

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. (BP)--D. James Kennedy, the Presbyterian pastor whose Coral Ridge Ministry television and radio programs were broadcast worldwide and whose Evangelism Explosion lay-witnessing method led to the salvation of millions, died Sept. 5. He was 76.

Kennedy died following complications from a heart attack suffered Dec. 28. He had been in poor health since then and retired in August as pastor of Coral Ridge Presbyterian Church in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., a congregation he planted in 1959. He preached his last sermon at the church on Christmas Eve. Continue.

Tributes to Kennedy urge believers to engage culture, spread gospel

By Allie Martin, OneNewsNow.com, September 14, 2007

Given the opportunity to pay tribute during yesterday's memorial service in Fort Lauderdale, friends, family and co-workers of Dr. D. James Kennedy described the late pastor as a man of God and a man of his time.

More than 4,000 people turned out Thursday afternoon at Coral Ridge Presbyterian Church to celebrate the life and ministry of Dr. Kennedy, who passed away last week at the age of 76. More than 50 years ago, the pastor and author gave his life to Christ and eventually became a pioneer in religious broadcasting, education, activism, and evangelism.

Focus on the Family Founder Dr. James Dobson, the keynote speaker at the memorial service, said the future of the conservative Christian movement is in jeopardy, unless younger leaders answer the call and follow Dr. Kennedy's example. Continue.

Dr. D. James Kennedy, 76, Leaves Legacy of Faithfulness

by Jennifer Mesko, Liberty Lobby, September 5, 2007

Dr. Dobson calls him 'a giant in the battle to restore traditional values.'

Dr. D. James Kennedy, who led Coral Ridge Presbyterian Church for nearly half a century and reached 3.5 million people weekly by radio, went to be with the Lord early today. Kennedy, 76, had suffered a heart attack in December and announced his retirement less than two weeks ago.

“The Church has lost one of its truly significant figures, and American families have lost one of their most passionate, effective defenders," said Dr. James C. Dobson, founder and chairman of Focus on the Family. "For decades, Dr. Kennedy has been a passionate defender of biblical truth in a culture that increasingly forgot it. He was a giant in the battle to restore traditional values in our nation.

“Most importantly, I believe, Dr. Kennedy would want to be remembered as a man whose greatest desire was to preach the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Believers around the world are indebted to him for holding firm to that important calling.” Continue.

Earlier reports on Kennedy and his Coral Ridge Ministries

U.S. Senate Chaplain withdraws from Christian nationalist conference

by JewsOnFirst.org, February 4, 2007

The chaplain of the U.S. Senate, Rev. Barry Black, withdrew last week from participation in a training conference aimed at establishing a Christian theocracy. The website of the Reclaiming America for Christ conference, to be held next month in Fort Lauderdale, offers "power-packed training sessions taught by 'culture war' veterans" to "help you reclaim your community for Christ." Additional literature on the website, shown on this page, make it clear the reclaiming is about taking over the government, not alleviating poverty.

According to the Christian Science Monitor, televangelist. D. James Kennedy, founder and president of the host organization, the Center for Reclaiming America for Christ, wrote in literature distributed at the 2005 "Reclaiming" conference: "As the vice-regents of God, we are to bring His truth and His will to bear on every sphere of our world and our society. We are to exercise godly dominion and influence over our neighborhoods, our schools, our government ... our entertainment media, our news media, our scientific endeavors - in short, over every aspect and institution of human society."

February 13, 2007. We updated our report with comments from Rabbi Bruce Kahn, a retired Navy chaplain, who knows--and admires--Rev. Black. Kahn says Black thought he was being invited to speak at a church. Continue.

Center Closed to Make Way for Expanded Media Ministry

Email Letter from D. James Kennedy's Coral Ridge Ministries, Center for Reclaiming America for Christ, June 08, 2007

In this email, Coral Ridge Ministries announces that, over a month ago, it shut down its Center for Reclaiming America for Christ. The email says: "This unanimous action by the members of the Board of Coral Ridge Ministries -- each one a close friend or associate of Dr. D. James Kennedy, who continues to recover from a cardiac arrest suffered in December -- came after a lengthy period of review. It was taken as part of a larger ministry restructuring designed to redirect Coral Ridge Ministries back to its core mission -- doing media ministry." It goes on to assure that Coral Ridge Ministries will continue to host an annual Reclaiming America for Christ conference. Click here.

Churches struggle with transitions

Strong leader's loss brings grief, doubt.

By James D. Davis, The Sun-Sentinnel, February 3, 2007

On Dec. 28, the Rev. D. James Kennedy's heart stopped briefly. It was quickly revived, and he was rushed to nearby Holy Cross Hospital.

Ministers and staff at Coral Ridge Presbyterian Church swung into action, keeping things running and assuring the 10,000 congregants that Kennedy was on the mend.

What they didn't dwell on, understandably, was what if the top man was unable to return -- what would happen to the Fort Lauderdale megachurch, and to the broadcast ministry, and the school and other organizations he heads. Continue.

D. James Kennedy Remains Hospitalized

CBN News, January 25, 2007

CBNNews.com - FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. - Coral Ridge Ministries says its founder, the Reverend D. James Kennedy, remains hospitalized, recuperating after suffering a cardiac arrest nearly a month ago.

On the Coral Ridge Web site, the Executive Vice President of Coral Ridge, Brian Fisher, requests continued prayer for Dr. Kennedy as he continues to recover from the heart attack and his subsequent surgery on January 3, to implant a pacemaker/defibrillator.

The 75-year-old Kennedy is a leader of the conservative Presbyterian Church in America. Continue.

Fundie D. James Kennedy's 'special' on Darwin and Hitler

Pam's House Blend, August 23, 2006

More flaming piles of dung-infused propaganda from the flat earth society -- D. James Kennedy, the Talibangelist titan of Florida-based Coral Ridge Ministries (and the Center for "Christian" Statesmanship) will attempt to give evolution a 60-minute beat-down this week with his TV special, Darwin's Deadly Legacy. He's going to tie the evil perpetrated by Hitler to his belief in evolution, thus, of course, extending the evil to the theory of evolution itself. Continue

TV special links Darwinism with Hitler, other atrocities

By Michael Foust, Baptist Press, Aug 24, 2006

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (BP)--A new documentary by a prominent Christian ministry links Darwinian evolution with the Holocaust, Columbine and other horrific events, arguing that the removal of God from scientific thought has had devastating consequences.

"Darwin's Deadly Legacy" will air Aug. 26-27 nationwide on television during Coral Ridge Ministries' "Coral Ridge Hour," and thereafter will be available on DVD. Coral Ridge Ministries President D. James Kennedy is the host. Continue