Remembering the Faith Figures Who Died in 2007

Benazir Bhutto

1953-2007

Assassinated on Dec. 27, the former Pakistani prime minister Benazir Bhutto was the first woman to lead an Islamic country. The daughter of a prime minister who was himself executed, the Western-educated Bhutto positioned herself as a bridge between the Western and Muslim worlds. Though her two terms as prime minister were marred by corruption scandals, she returned to Pakistan from exile just weeks before her death to run in upcoming elections.

An advocate for democracy, equality, and pluralism, she spoke out against religious extremism and terrorism, provoking the anger of Pakistan's jihadists. Saying that Islam supports--even requires--democratic government, Bhutto once noted: "Our holy book makes it clear that the principal operations of the democratic process--consultation between the elected officials and the people, accountability of leaders to the people they serve--are fundamental to Islam."

Text by Michael Kress and Ansley Roan

The Rev. Jerry Falwell

1933-2007

When Jerry Falwell founded the Moral Majority in 1979, he harnessed the political power of conservative Christians around the issues of abortion, gay rights, and school prayer. In doing so, he changed the political landscape. Falwell also launched Thomas Road Baptist Church in Lynchburg, Virginia, one of the nation's first megachurches, and Liberty University, a conservative Christian college with more than 21,000 students. Falwell was outspoken and often controversial, provoking anger with comments blaming the Sept. 11 attacks on America's moral decline and stating that Islam teaches hate, to cite just two examples. Still, Falwell remained undeniably influential until the end of his life.

Text by Michael Kress and Ansley Roan

Madeleine L'Engle

1918-2007

Best known as the author of the award-winning children's classic, "A Wrinkle in Time," Madeleine L'Engle wrote more than 60 books, many of which remain beloved and well read today. Her work spanned genres, including poetry, plays, autobiography, and spiritual reflections about her Christian faith. A graduate of Smith College and longtime librarian at New York City's St. John the Divine, she once explained why people tell stories: "It does indeed have something to do with faith, faith that the universe has meaning, that our little human lives are not irrelevant, that what we choose or say or do matters, matters cosmically."

Text by Michael Kress and Ansley Roan

Teddy Kollek

1911-2007

Called "the greatest builder of Jerusalem since Herod," Teddy Kollek served as mayor of Jerusalem for 28 years, from 1965 to 1993. His presided over the unification of the city under Israeli rule following the Six-Day War of 1967. Kollek was dedicated to bringing the city's diverse and often-hostile communities together, reaching out to Jerusalem's Arabs and its ultra-Orthodox Jews alike, while maintaining the city's officially secular nature and expanding its cultural institutions, parklands, and neighborhoods. More than anyone, Kollek is responsible for the face of today's Jerusalem and its growth into a modern city. "I think Jerusalem is the one essential element in Jewish history," he once said. "A body can live without an arm or a leg, not without the heart. This is the heart and soul of it."

Text by Michael Kress and Ansley Roan

Alice Coltrane

1937-2007

Widow of jazz great John Coltrane, Alice Coltrane was an accomplished musician and composer in her own right. But after her husband died, she decided to focus on her spiritual growth, taking a vow of celibacy and traveling to India to study with Hindu masters such as Sri Swami Satchidananda, and Sri Satya Sai Baba. She retired in 1978 from producing secular music, though she continued releasing albums of sacred chants. Taking the Hindu name Turiyasangitananda, she founded the Sai Anantam Ashram in the Santa Monica, Calif., where she taught meditation. "I felt I could serve in any way that God wished," she said of her conversion to Hinduism. "If he wants you to do charity work or humanitarian work or however he wishes to utilize you, maybe just talking or giving musical concerts is fine."

Text by Michael Kress and Ansley Roan

Tammy Faye Messner

1942-2007

Tammy Faye Messner was best known for her mascara and her marriage to TV evangelist Jim Bakker, with whom she hosted the "Jim and Tammy Show" on the Praise the Lord (PTL) network. After their TV empire collapsed in a sex and money scandal, she and Bakker divorced. Tammy Faye later remarried and took the last name of her new husband, Roe Messner. She became a camp favorite in the gay community, appeared at gay pride events, and starred on the reality show "The Surreal Life." Through it all, she relied on her faith. In a note to fans after her cancer diagnosis, she wrote, "I keep praising God..." She appeared emaciated but in good spirits on "Larry King Live," her last public appearance just days before her death.

Text by Michael Kress and Ansley Roan

Bishop Gilbert Earl Patterson

1939-2007

The son of a pastor, G.E. Patterson followed in his father's footsteps and was ordained in 1958. He eventually rose to the position of presiding bishop of the Church of God in Christ, the largest African-American Pentecostal denomination. As its leader, he is credited with increasing membership and founding COGIC Charities to raise money for disaster relief and other causes. Earlier in his career, Patterson had served as co-pastor with his father at the Holy Temple Church of God in Christ in Memphis, and founded his own church, Temple of Deliverance, in 1975. He also started Bountiful Blessings Ministries, a television ministry broadcast on the BET and TBN networks.

Text by Michael Kress and Ansley Roan

Cardinal Jean-Marie Lustiger

1926-2007

Born in Paris to a Jewish family, Jean-Marie Lustiger converted to Catholicism as a youth and rose to become an influential church leader and passionate advocate for interfaith dialogue. The young Lustiger, then named Aaron, was exposed to the Church when he was sent to live with a Catholic family after the Nazis occupied France in 1940. His mother later died in Auschwitz. Lustiger was ordained a priest in 1954, rising to become the archbishop of Paris and the leader of French Catholicism. He also was an important adviser to Pope John Paul II, especially on issues of Catholic-Jewish relations. Lustiger considered himself Jewish and Christian: "I was born Jewish, and so I remain, even if that is unacceptable for many. For me, the vocation of Israel is bringing light to the goyim [literally, 'the nations,' also used sometimes as a slur against non-Jews]. That is my hope, and I believe that Christianity is the means for achieving it."

Text by Michael Kress and Ansley Roan

Norman Mailer

1923-2007

One of the most influential writers of the past 50 years, Norman Mailer wrestled in his fiction and nonfiction with fundamental questions of God and the meaning of life. His last book, published just weeks before his death, was "On God: An Uncommon Conversation," which recorded an ongoing dialogue with his friend and literary executor, Michael Lennon. Mailer rejected both atheism and organized religion, believing instead in "an imperfect, existential God doing the best He (or She) could manage against all the odds of an existence that not even He, our Creator, entirely controlled." His God is a great artist, always experimenting and highly fallible. Mailer previously published "The Gospel According to the Son," written in the voice of Jesus, whom he portrays as a human riddled with doubts. Author of more than 30 books, Mailer once said, "The final purpose of art is to intensify, even, if necessary, to exacerbate, the moral consciousness of people."

Text by Michael Kress and Ansley Roan

Others We'll Remember

The Rev. Rex Humbard (1919-2007), televangelist, who created and hosted the popular "Cathedral of Tomorrow" show.
Maha Ghosananda (1929-2007), a Nobel Peace Prize-nominated monk who helped rebuild Buddhism in Cambodia after the fall of the Khmer Rouge.
Rabbi Avraham Shapira (1914-2007), former Chief Rabbi of Israel and outspoken opponent of Israeli territorial concessions to the Palestinians.
The Rev. Robert Drinan (1920-2007), a Jesuit priest who served 10 years as a Congressman from Massachusetts.
Anita Roddick (1942-2007), founder of The Body Shop, who mixed environmentalism and commerce.
Bruce Metzger (1914-2007), an influential Bible scholar who taught at Princeton Theological Seminary.
Yolanda King (1955-2007), daughter of Martin Luther King Jr., who carried on his work through drama and motivational speaking.

Text by Michael Kress and Ansley Roan