Friday Five: Jarrid Wilson, Jerry Falwell Jr., Wedgwood Baptist anniversary, Ostling on Godbeat

Welcome to the published-later-in-the-day-than-usual edition of Friday Five.

I’m on a reporting trip to Tennessee with my regular job, and GetReligion Editor Terry Mattingly graciously gave me extra time to write this.

After that brief intro, let’s dive right into the Friday Five:

1. Religion story of the week: This is the story that I just can’t get out of my mind: the death of pastor, author and mental health advocate Jarrid Wilson by suicide.

In a post Thursday, tmatt delved into Religion News Service’s initial coverage of the tragedy. Look for much more discussion in a post Saturday related to GR’s weekly podcast.

2. Most popular GetReligion post: My post declaring that “Sorry, but Politico's long exposé on Jerry Falwell Jr. lacks adequate named sources to be taken seriously” was our No. 1 analysis of the week.

Even Falwell and Liberty University shared it on social media, although I’m not entirely certain that they read it all.

In a new development, Liberty criticized the Washington Post’s Sarah Pulliam Bailey (a former GetReligion contributor) for a story she didn’t actually write.

Meanwhile, I haven’t checked Snopes, but I’m pretty certain this Babylon Bee report is satire.

3. Guilt folder fodder (and more): The Fort Worth Star-Telegram has an excellent story on the 20th anniversary of the Wedgwood Baptist Church shooting.

Check it out.

4. Shameless plug: “How do today's woes on the mainstream religion beat compare with 1983 and 1994?”

That’s the question that GetReligion’s Richard Ostling asks in his latest post.

If you missed it earlier today, give it a click now. That 1983 number in the headline? That goes all the way back to tmatt’s cover story in The Quill that started years of debates on this topic.

5. Final thought: Well, alrighty. What did Marianne Williamson say into a microphone that she did know was turned out? Yes, this has to do with politics and religion, sort of.

Happy Friday, everybody! Enjoy the weekend!


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