Rhymes with "FOLLY"...
Christian TV pioneer Molly D'Andrea, 65
The religious network she founded is celebrating its 25th anniversary.
By CRAIG BASSE, Times Obituaries Editor
Published October 23, 2004
CLEARWATER - Molly
D'Andrea, a founder of the Christian Television Network and WCLF-Ch.
22, its local flagship station,
died
Thursday at her Seminole home.
Mrs. D'Andrea, who led religious crusades around the world and established an
orphanage in Nepal, had Lou Gehrig's disease, said her husband, Bob. She was 65.
Her death came as the CTN, an all-religious network, celebrated its 25th
anniversary with a telethon that began Monday.
"Her last crusade was probably a year ago in Africa," her husband said Friday.
"She went to Africa twice last year. She was in Nigeria. She was in Burkina
Faso. She also ministered in the Philippines. She went to close to about every
country of the world. She went to England about a year and a half ago. And to
France, for crusades."
The St. Petersburg native, the fourth generation of a line of women who
preached, "was full of energy," her husband said. "She loved people and loved to
minister."
He added: "She was just a model wife. I couldn't have asked for a better wife."
Ordained in the Church Without Walls International, Tampa, she headed the Molly
D'Andrea International Ministries, an outreach program for people who have been
sexually abused or addicted, according to the network's Web site.
About 10 years ago, she became the host of Set Free If
You Want to Be, a television show for people wanting "to come out of the
homosexual lifestyle and to those wanting to be set free from sexual
bondage."
It is aired 100 times a week on 82 TV stations in 26 states, in
198 countries and on 14 satellite networks, the Web site article said.
CTN features a mixture of nationally syndicated programs such as Pat Robertson's
700 Club as well as original local productions like It's Time for Herman and
Sharron. It also offers a 24-hour-a-day "Prayer Line," and programs about area
churches.
WCLF-TV, said to be one of the oldest Christian television stations in the
country, signed on the air Oct. 24, 1979, with several donated mobile homes
housing the equipment and offices.
Today, the network has stations in Palm Beach, Fort Myers, Tallahassee,
Pensacola, Macon, Ga., Knoxville, Tenn., Santa Barbara, Calif. and Cedar Rapids
and Dubuque, Iowa.
Survivors in addition to her husband include a daughter, Yolanda Morris, Denver;
a son, Robert, Largo; a sister, Barbara Cash, Old Town; two grandchildren,
Malaina D'Andrea and Isabella D'Andrea; and a stepgranddaughter, Stephanie
Swafford.
Sympathy
for M.D'Andrea: I don't usually write blurbs in defense of anyone whose actions have contributed to the hate & prejudice against same-gendered attracted people. However - because I saw MDA in 'action' on TV for several years, I have decided to add this remark-box so as to not seem completely unsympathetic. A former IRS agent who discovered colossal fraud within that agency & resigned a few years back made a remark: "It's easy to have a clear conscience when you're clueless.". Indeed; -and MDA - like many "Christians", are indeed CLUELESS when it comes to the issues of Same Gender Attractions. From what I can tell, -MDA wasn't able to separate the issue of LIFESTYLE from mere attractions -in her mind. She may have seen the "gay-bar" as part of "gay-life". However, as the g0ys men's movement points out: It's possible to love other guys & not live like a dung-beetle. However, - we accept that the attraction is an immovable object that ultimately doesn't need moving. Dealing with the "gay" community at large, you usually get the hint quite soon that "Gawd" is not a welcome member in most of it. Of course, for so long - churches like MDA's have preached the 'subtle' message that Same-Gender-Attraction equals ABOMINATION in God's eyes. Although the Scriptures don't even HINT of that ASSertion, if you take the word of these self-proclaimed ambassadors for Jeezuz; -- it becomes a matter of "God rejecting the gay community first"; - So what do people expect that community to live like? The misrepresentation of the gospel is something the Scripture itself says will cause pagans to blaspheme God about (darn serious).
Recently, a group of Jewish Rabbis has been discussing the same issue g0ys have been raising for several years! It's about time!
Ultimately - I'm not MDA's judge. Her life seemed full of 'good intentions'. She may have been instrumental in saving lives if some in the 'gay community' stopped living like dung-beetles because they got hold of God - Who never rejected them in the 1st place. However, g0ys understand all too well what the long-term effects are to people who play the ex-gay game: The end condition is often worse than the first. Why? God does not change sexual attractions. There is no need to. Love is not a sin. Hurting others is. Eventually they discover that they cannot please God in their sexuality because the 'God they're trying to please -in that regard- isn't the God of the Scriptures! MDA was an author & her books will continue to speak her message for some time to come. If she penned misrepresentations of the gospel - no matter how cluelessly done, - then g0ys.org holds her up as an example of someone who tried to do a good thing and committed grievous errors along the way. Well, assuming Romans 8:28 to be true - then we'll leave it to God to make the lemonade out of the lemons. MDA certainly wasn't a 'bigot' in the conventional sense of the term. However - her message had been shaped by them and her unwillingness to change her view after being put on notice is a warning about those who paint themselves into a corner. The very first part of the gospel message is to "repent" - to see things God's way. Ironically, she didn't seem intent on taking that advice near the end. |