Jerry Falwell, a TV evangelist-turned conservative political leader, passed away Tuesday at 73. He was found unconscious in his office at Liberty University in Lynchburg, Virginia. LU is one of his lasting legacies. It is still unknown exactly what the cause of his passing was, but it is suspected that a heart condition is to blame. Falwell had a history of heart problems.
Falwell was reportedly opposed to Christian involvement in government early on in his ministry. All that changed with the U.S. Supreme Court's 1973 decision on Roe vs. Wade. Soon afterward, Falwell became a leading voice for morality in America, and became known for his stands against abortion, homosexuality, pornography, and the ACLU. He was the founder of the Moral Majority in 1979. Within months, he led the drive to register 15 million new voters, and lent a huge hand to Ronald Reagan's victory in the Presidential election of 1980. He continued to be a strong leader for conservative Christians and for American morality up until his passing Tuesday. He was influential in the 2004 re-election of George W. Bush to the Presidency. In 2004, he founded the Moral Majority Coalition. This group's goals were to help get pro-life judges selected to the Supreme Court and to influence the 2008 Presidential election. An important lasting legacy was his 1971 founding of Liberty University in Lynchburg. This private university is an important institution in training young, conservative, moral minds.
He took a lot of fire for many statements that he had made. Of course, most of the fire came from liberals, feminists, socialists, and the immoral. However, he had a mostly clean slate when it comes to cheating on his wife or stealing from the church, sins that have plagued many TV evangelists in recent decades.
Although he was, of course, not a perfect man, he was a crucial early leader of the modern conservative Christian influence in American Politics. Although I do not know of him to have been a strict party man, he was one of the forerunning builders of the Republican Party in recent decades. He has a great and lasting legacy in the crucially important involvement of Christian conservatives in the political process. On part of his efforts, America continues to stand, and is not weaker than she could have been.
God bless you and rest your soul Jerry Falwell.
"If a man stands by this book, vote for him. If he doesn't, don't." Falwell in 1979 regarding candidates and the Bible.
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