Changes

Jump to: navigation, search

Jerry Falwell

68,073 bytes added, 21:51, 2 November 2018
m
Reverted edits by Sjdh_hsiedicuehw (talk) (HG) (3.4.4)
{{about|Jerry Falwell Sr|his son|Jerry Falwell Jr.}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=September 2018}}

{{Infobox officeholder
| name = Jerry Falwell
| image = Jerry Falwell portrait.jpg
|office = 1st President of [[Liberty University]]
|term_start = January 1, 1971
|term_end = May 15, 2007
|predecessor = ''position established''
|successor = [[Jerry Falwell Jr.]]
| spouse = {{marriage|Macel Pate|1958|2007}}
| birth_name = Jerry Lamon Falwell
| birth_date = {{Birth date|mf=yes|1933|8|11}}
| birth_place = [[Lynchburg, Virginia]], U.S.
| death_date = {{death date and age|mf=yes|2007|5|15|1933|8|11}}
| death_place = Lynchburg, Virginia, U.S.
| resting_place = [[Liberty University]] Campus<br>Lynchburg, Virginia, U.S.
| occupation = Pastor, educator, evangelist, activist
| party = [[Republican Party (United States)|Republican]]
| children =3, including [[Jerry Falwell Jr.]] and [[Jonathan Falwell]]
| website =
}}

'''Jerry Lamon Falwell Sr.''' ({{IPAc-en|ˈ|f|ɔː|l|w|ɛ|l}}; August 11, 1933&nbsp;– May 15, 2007)<ref name="times">{{cite news | url = http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,272718,00.html | publisher = Associated Press via Fox News | date = May 16, 2007 | accessdate = August 25, 2007 | title = Jerry Falwell Told Followers He Was at Peace With Death | deadurl = no | archiveurl = https://web.archive.org/web/20070818020252/http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,272718,00.html | archivedate = August 18, 2007 | df = }}</ref> was an American [[Southern Baptist]] pastor, [[televangelism|televangelist]], and [[Conservatism in the United States|conservative]] activist.<ref name=soulforce/> He was the founding pastor of the [[Thomas Road Baptist Church]], a [[megachurch]] in [[Lynchburg, Virginia]]. He founded Lynchburg Christian Academy (now [[Liberty Christian Academy]]) in 1967 and [[Liberty University]] in 1971 and co-founded the [[Moral Majority]] in 1979.

On May 15, 2007, Jerry Falwell died suddenly of [[cardiac arrhythmia]] in his office at Liberty University at the age of 73. He was buried in the grounds of the university he founded.

==Early life and education==
{{Southern Baptists}}
Falwell and his twin brother Gene were born in the Fairview Heights area of [[Lynchburg, Virginia]], the sons of Helen Virginia (Beasley) and Carey Hezekiah Falwell.<ref name=NYT051507/><ref>{{cite web|url=http://encyclopediavirginia.org/Falwell_Jerry_1933-2007|title=Falwell, Jerry (1933–2007)|publisher=|accessdate=January 21, 2017|deadurl=no|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20161102053303/http://www.encyclopediavirginia.org/Falwell_Jerry_1933-2007|archivedate=November 2, 2016|df=}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:XRFD-YBG |publisher=FamilySearch.org |title=Personal Details for C. A. Beasley|accessdate=November 16, 2017}}</ref> His father was an entrepreneur and one-time [[Rum-runner|bootlegger]] who was agnostic.<ref name=NYT051507/> His grandfather was a staunch [[atheism|atheist]].<ref name=NYT051507/> Jerry Falwell married the former Macel Pate on April 12, 1958. The couple had sons [[Jerry Falwell Jr.|Jerry Jr.]] (a lawyer and current chancellor of Liberty University) and [[Jonathan Falwell|Jonathan]] (senior pastor at Thomas Road Baptist Church)
and a daughter Jeannie (a surgeon).

Falwell and his wife were known for their devotions to each other, and she supported him throughout his career. The Falwells often appeared together in public, and they did not shy away from showing physical affection. Reflecting on his marriage, Falwell jokingly commented that "Macel and I have never considered divorce. Murder maybe, but never divorce." Macel appreciated her husband's non-combative, affable nature, writing in her book that he "hated confrontation and didn't want strife in our home ... he did everything in his power to make me happy." The Falwells were married nearly fifty years until his death.<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books/about/Jerry_Falwell.html?id=qfol90KWAY0C&printsec=frontcover&source=kp_read_button#v=onepage&q=divorce&f=false|title=Jerry Falwell: His Life and Legacy|last=Falwell|first=Macel|last2=Hemry|first2=Melanie|date=2008-05-13|publisher=Simon and Schuster|isbn=9781416580287|language=en}}</ref>

He graduated from [[Brookville High School (Virginia)|Brookville High School]] in Lynchburg, and from the then-unaccredited<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.ncahlc.org/index.php?option=com_directory&Action=ShowBasic&instid=2797 |title=Higher Learning Commission:Baptist Bible College |accessdate=January 6, 2009 |date=April 1, 2008 |publisher=Higher Learning Commission |deadurl=no |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20070929131801/http://www.ncahlc.org/index.php?option=com_directory&Action=ShowBasic&instid=2797 |archivedate=September 29, 2007 |df= }}{{Primary source inline|date=November 2015}}</ref> [[Baptist Bible College (Springfield, Missouri)|Baptist Bible College]] in [[Springfield, Missouri]] in 1956. Falwell was later awarded three honorary doctoral degrees: [[Doctor of Divinity]] from [[Tennessee Baptist Seminary|Tennessee Temple Theological Seminary]], [[Doctor of Letters]] from [[California Graduate School of Theology]], and [[Doctor of Laws]] from Central University in [[Seoul]], South Korea.<ref name="official biography">{{cite web |url=http://www.liberty.edu/index.cfm?PID=6921 |title=Executive Biographies:Dr. Jerry Falwell |accessdate=January 6, 2009 |publisher=Liberty University |deadurl=no |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20081210134809/http://www.liberty.edu/index.cfm?PID=6921 |archivedate=December 10, 2008 |df= }}</ref>

==Associated organizations==
===Thomas Road Baptist Church===
{{Main|Thomas Road Baptist Church}}
In 1956, at age 22, Falwell founded the [[Thomas Road Baptist Church]], originally located at 701 Thomas Road in Lynchburg, Virginia, with 35 members. The church went on to become a [[megachurch]]. Also in 1956, he began the ''Old Time Gospel Hour'', a nationally syndicated radio and television ministry. When Falwell died, his son [[Jonathan Falwell|Jonathan]] became heir to his father's ministry, and took over as the senior pastor of the church.<ref>{{cite web|title=Sons Walking in Own Shoes, Albeit Footsteps of Famous Dads|url=http://www.theledger.com/article/LK/20071125/News/608123555/LL/|website=theledger.com|deadurl=no|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20170217223416/http://www.theledger.com/article/LK/20071125/News/608123555/LL/|archivedate=2017-02-17|df=}}</ref> At this time, the weekly program's name was changed to ''Thomas Road Live''.<ref>{{cite web|title=Founder|url=http://www.liberty.edu/aboutliberty/?PID=6921|publisher=Liberty University|deadurl=no|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20150714091138/http://www.liberty.edu/aboutliberty/?PID=6921|archivedate=2015-07-14|df=}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=Old Time Gospel Hour|url=http://flickout.com/series/6504645-old-time-gospel-hour|website=Flick Out}}{{dead link|date=November 2017 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref>

===Liberty Christian Academy===
{{Main|Liberty Christian Academy}}
During the 1950s and 1960s, Falwell spoke and campaigned against the [[Civil and political rights|U.S. civil rights]] activist [[Martin Luther King Jr.]] and the [[racial desegregation]] of public school systems by the U.S. federal government. Liberty Christian Academy (LCA, founded as Lynchburg Christian Academy) is a Christian school in Lynchburg which was described in 1966 by the ''Lynchburg News'' as "a private school for white students."

The Lynchburg Christian Academy later opened in 1967 by Falwell as a [[segregation academy]] and as a ministry of Thomas Road Baptist Church.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.lcabulldogs.com/index.cfm?PID=19523|title=Liberty Christian Academy - About LCA - History|publisher=|accessdate=January 21, 2017|deadurl=no|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20170228061727/http://www.lcabulldogs.com/index.cfm?PID=19523|archivedate=February 28, 2017|df=}}</ref><ref name="Dowland2007">{{cite book|first=Seth|last=Dowland|title=Defending Manhood: Gender, Social Order and the Rise of the Christian Right in the South, 1965-1995|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=u3aJmNF9AKQC&pg=PA23|accessdate=September 6, 2012|year=2007|publisher=ProQuest|isbn=978-0-549-71783-6|page=23}}</ref><ref>http://www.thenation.com/article/agent-intolerance# {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140322180900/http://www.thenation.com/article/agent-intolerance |date=2014-03-22 }} "Agent of Intolerance". The Nation.</ref>

The Liberty Christian Academy is today recognized as an educational facility by the [[Commonwealth of Virginia]] through the Virginia State Board of Education,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://77241.inspyred.com/images/2012-11-14%20State%20Recognized.pdf |title=Archived copy |accessdate=2013-03-03 |deadurl=yes |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20131020114757/http://77241.inspyred.com/images/2012-11-14%20State%20Recognized.pdf |archivedate=2013-10-20 |df= }}</ref> [[Southern Association of Colleges and Schools]],<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.advanc-ed.org/oasis2/u/par/accreditation/summary?institutionId=33686|title=AdvancED - Institution Summary|publisher=|accessdate=January 21, 2017|deadurl=no|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20170327040621/http://www.advanc-ed.org/oasis2/u/par/accreditation/summary?institutionId=33686|archivedate=March 27, 2017|df=}}</ref> and the [[Association of Christian Schools International]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.acsiglobal.org/member-search |title=Archived copy |accessdate=2014-04-02 |deadurl=yes |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20140327031712/http://www.acsiglobal.org/member-search |archivedate=2014-03-27 |df= }}</ref>

===Liberty University===
{{Main|Liberty University}}
In 1971, Jerry Falwell founded Liberty University. Liberty University offers over 350 accredited programs of study, with approximately 13,000 residential students and 90,000 online.<ref>{{cite web |title= Liberty University |url= http://www.liberty.edu/index.cfm?PID=14588 |deadurl= no |archiveurl= https://web.archive.org/web/20140419053903/http://www.liberty.edu/index.cfm?PID=14588 |archivedate= 2014-04-19 |df= }}</ref>

===Moral Majority===
{{Main|Moral Majority}}

By 1974, the Internal Revenue Service moved to revoke the tax-exempt status of Bob Jones University, which forbade interracial dating (blacks had been denied entry until 1971). The decisions infuriated Falwell. "In some states it's easier to open a massage parlor than to open a Christian school", Falwell complained.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=5502785|last=Wertheimer|first=Linda|title=Evangelical: Religious Right Has Distorted the Faith, (Book Review)|date=June 23, 2006|accessdate=November 16, 2006|deadurl=no|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20070202210127/http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=5502785|archivedate=February 2, 2007|df=}}</ref>

What brought Falwell and other white evangelicals into common cause with political conservatives was a ruling issued in 1978 by the IRS. This ruling stripped tax-exempt status from all-white private schools formed in the South in reaction to the Brown v. Board of Education mandate to desegregate public schools. Falwell had founded one of these schools in Lynchburg, though he and other white evangelicals insisted that their schools were Christian academies, not segregation academies. "In one fell swoop," writes political scientist Corey Robin, "the heirs of slaveholders became the descendants of persecuted Baptists, and Jim Crow a heresy the First Amendment was meant to protect." In this controversy, the Religious Right found its voice and its power. It also found common cause with political conservatives.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.cnn.com/2016/01/16/opinions/prothero-trump-liberty/index.html|title=Donald Trump goes to Liberty U.|first=Stephen|last=Prothero|publisher=|accessdate=January 21, 2017|deadurl=no|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20170202011408/http://www.cnn.com/2016/01/16/opinions/prothero-trump-liberty/index.html|archivedate=February 2, 2017|df=}}</ref>

[[The Heritage Foundation]] co-founder [[Paul Weyrich]] stated that Falwell launched the [[Moral Majority]] political action committee during 1979 to aid the [[Catholic]] public protest against legal abortion in the United States in response to U.S. President [[Jimmy Carter]]'s "intervention against Christian schools" [the IRS intervention began during the Ford Administration] by "...trying to deny them tax-exempt status on the basis of so-called ''de facto'' segregation".<ref>''Republican Gomorrah: Inside The Movement That Shattered The Party''. p. 25. Nation Books, 2009.</ref>

The Moral Majority became one of the largest political lobby groups for evangelical Christians in the United States during the 1980s.<ref name=MSNBC>{{cite news |title=Moral Majority founder Jerry Falwell dies |url=http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/18679412/M |publisher=MSNBC |date=May 15, 2007 |accessdate=January 6, 2009 |deadurl=no |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20090415012618/http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/18679412/M |archivedate=April 15, 2009 |df= }}</ref> The Moral Majority was promoted as being "pro-life", "pro-traditional family", "pro-moral" and "pro-American"<ref>Falwell: An Autobiography, The Inside Story, Liberty House Publishers, Lynchburg, 1997 Pg. 388</ref> and was credited with delivering two thirds of the white, evangelical Christian vote to [[Ronald Reagan]] during the [[United States presidential election, 1980|1980 presidential election]].<ref name="worldscollide">{{cite news|first=Randall E.|last=King|title=When worlds collide: politics, religion, and media at the 1970 East Tennessee Billy Graham Crusade. (appearance by President Richard M. Nixon)|url=http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-19592304.html|publisher=Journal of Church and State|date=March 22, 1997|accessdate=August 28, 2007|deadurl=no|archiveurl=http://archive.wikiwix.com/cache/20070820102924/http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-19592304.html|archivedate=August 20, 2007|df=}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last=Williams |first=Daniel K. |authorlink=Daniel K. Williams |title=Jerry Falwell's Sunbelt Politics: The Regional Origins of the Moral Majority |journal=[[Journal of Policy History]] |volume=22|pages=125–147|issue=2|date=April 2010|publisher=[[Cambridge University Press]]|doi=10.1017/S0898030610000011 |url=http://journals.cambridge.org/abstract_S0898030610000011 |format=Fee|accessdate=2010-09-17}} One month before [[U.S. presidential election, 1980|Election Day in 1980]], [[Republican Party (United States)|Republican]] presidential candidate [[Ronald Reagan]] traveled to [[Lynchburg, Virginia]], to speak at Jerry Falwell's [[Liberty Baptist College]], where he advocated the restoration of classroom [[prayer in public schools]]. While it was not the first time that ...</ref> According to [[Jimmy Carter]], "that autumn [1980] a group headed by Jerry Falwell purchased $10 million in commercials on southern radio and TV to brand me as a traitor to the South and no longer a Christian."<ref>{{Cite book | page = 469 | last = Carter | first = Jimmy | title = White House Diary | year = 2010 | publisher = Farrar, Straus and Giroux | location = New York, N.Y }}</ref> During his time as head of the Moral Majority, Falwell consistently pushed for Republican candidates and for conservative politics. This led [[Billy Graham]] to criticize him for "sermonizing" about political issues that lacked a moral element, before adding, "We did not always agree on everything, but I knew him to be a man of God. His accomplishments went beyond most clergy of his generation."<ref name=MSNBC/>

==Social and political views==
[[File:Reagan with Jerry Falwell C13442-5A-1.jpg|thumb|right|Falwell with [[President of the United States|President]] [[Ronald Reagan]] in 1983]]
[[File:Bush Contact Sheet P19932 (cropped).jpg|thumb|right|Falwell with [[President of the United States|President]] [[George H. W. Bush]] in 1991]]
===Families===
Falwell strongly advocated beliefs and practices he believed were taught by the Bible.<ref>{{cite book |title=The Fundamentalist Phenomenon |last=Falwell |first=Jerry |year=1986 |publisher=Baker Publishing Group |author2=Hindson, Edward E. |isbn=0-8010-2958-9}}</ref> The church, Falwell asserted, was the cornerstone of a successful family. Not only was it a place for spiritual learning and guidance, but also a gathering place for fellowship and socializing with like-minded individuals. Often he built conversations he had with parishioners after the worship service into focused speeches or organized goals he would then present to a larger audience via his various media outlets.{{Citation needed|date=October 2011}}

===Vietnam War===
Falwell found the [[Vietnam war]] problematic because he felt it was being fought with "limited political objectives", when it should have been an all out war against the North.<ref>Falwell, ''Listen, America!'', 85.</ref> In general, Falwell held that the president "as a minister of God" has the right to use arms to "bring wrath upon those who would do evil."<ref>Falwell, ''Listen, America!'', 98.</ref>

===Civil rights===
On his evangelist program ''[[The Old-Time Gospel Hour]]'' in the mid 1960s, Falwell regularly featured [[racial segregation|segregation]]ist politicians like [[Lester Maddox]] and [[George Wallace]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.splcenter.org/intel/intelreport/article.jsp?aid=522 |title=Holy War |publisher=SPLCenter.org |date=2003-06-26 |accessdate=2010-11-07 |deadurl=yes |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20100203151501/http://www.splcenter.org/intel/intelreport/article.jsp?aid=522 |archivedate=2010-02-03 |df= }}</ref> About [[Martin Luther King Jr.|Martin Luther King]] he said: "I do question the sincerity and nonviolent intentions of some civil rights leaders such as Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., Mr. James Farmer, and others, who are known to have left-wing associations."<ref>{{cite book | last = Washington | first = James M. | title = A Testament of Hope: the essential writings of Martin Luther King | publisher = Harper Collins | location = San Francisco | year = 1990 | isbn = 0-06-064691-8 }}</ref>

In speaking of the ''[[Brown vs. Board of Education]]'' ruling, he said, in 1958:

{{Quote|If Chief Justice Warren and his associates had known God's word and had desired to do the Lord's will, I am quite confident that the 1954 decision would never had been made. The facilities should be separate. When God has drawn a line of distinction, we should not attempt to cross that line.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.thenation.com/article/agent-intolerance/|title=Age of Intolerance|last=Blumenthall|first=Max|date=May 28, 2007|publisher=The Nation|accessdate=2010-11-07|deadurl=no|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20100808164956/http://www.thenation.com/article/agent-intolerance|archivedate=August 8, 2010|df=}}</ref>}}

In 1977, Falwell supported [[Anita Bryant]]'s campaign, which was called by its proponents "[[Save Our Children]]", to overturn an ordinance in [[Miami-Dade County, Florida|Dade County, Florida]] prohibiting discrimination on the basis of [[sexual orientation]], and he supported a similar movement in California.<ref name = NYT051507/>

Twenty-eight years later, during a 2005 [[MSNBC]] television appearance, Falwell said he was not troubled by reports that the nominee for Chief Justice of the United States Supreme Court, [[John G. Roberts]] (whose appointment was confirmed by the U.S. Senate) had done volunteer legal work for homosexual rights activists on the case of ''[[Romer v. Evans]]''. Falwell told MSNBC's [[Tucker Carlson]] that if he were a lawyer, he too would argue for civil rights for LGBT people. "I may not agree with the lifestyle, but that has nothing to do with the civil rights of that part of our constituency," Falwell said. When Carlson countered that conservatives "are always arguing against 'special rights' for gays," Falwell said that equal access to housing and employment are basic rights, not special rights. "Civil rights for all Americans, black, white, red, yellow, the rich, poor, young, old, gay, straight, et cetera, is not a liberal or conservative value. It's an American value that I would think that we pretty much all agree on."<ref name=soulforce>{{cite web|url=http://www.archives.soulforce.org/2005/08/|last=Melzer|first=Eartha Jane|title=Falwell Speaks in Favour of Gay Civil Rights|publisher=Soulfource.org|date=August 26, 2005|accessdate=November 16, 2017|deadurl=no|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20170714120644/http://www.archives.soulforce.org/2005/08/|archivedate=July 14, 2017|df=}}</ref>

===Israel and Jews===
Falwell's staunch pro-[[Israel]] stand, sometimes referred to as "[[Christian Zionism]]", drew the strong support of the [[Anti-Defamation League]] and its leader [[Abraham Foxman]].<ref>{{cite news |first=Mary Jayne |last=McKay |title=Zion's Christian Soldiers |curly= |url=http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2002/10/03/60minutes/main524268.shtml |publisher=CBS News |date=June 8, 2003 |accessdate=January 13, 2009 |deadurl=no |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20090210195101/http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2002/10/03/60minutes/main524268.shtml |archivedate=February 10, 2009 |df= }}</ref> However, they condemned what they perceived as intolerance towards Muslims in Falwell's public statements.{{citation needed|date=April 2016}} They also criticized him for remarking that "Jews can make more money accidentally than you can on purpose."<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.adl.org/PresRele/DiRaB_41/4168_41.htm |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20031217060602/http://www.adl.org/PresRele/DiRaB_41/4168_41.htm |dead-url=yes |archive-date=2003-12-17 |title=ADL Condemns Falwell's Anti-Muslim Remarks; Urges Him to Apologize |publisher=Adl.org |accessdate=2010-11-07 }}</ref><ref name="jews">{{cite web|url=http://maxblumenthal.com/2009/09/irving-kristols-alliance-with-anti-semites/|title=Irving Kristol's Rebel Alliance With Anti-Semites|accessdate=December 24, 2009|deadurl=no|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20100104125733/http://maxblumenthal.com/2009/09/irving-kristols-alliance-with-anti-semites/|archivedate=January 4, 2010|df=}}</ref> In his book ''Listen, America!'' Falwell referred to the Jewish people as "spiritually blind and desperately in need of their Messiah and Savior."<ref name=listenamerica>{{cite book|last=Falwell|first=Jerry|title=Listen, America!|year=1980|publisher=Doubleday and Company, Inc.|location=New York|isbn=0-385-15897-1|page=113}}</ref>

===Education===
Falwell repeatedly denounced certain teachings in [[Public school (government funded)|public school]]s and [[secular education]] in general, calling them breeding grounds for [[atheism]], [[secularism]], and [[humanism]], which he claimed to be in contradiction with Christian [[morality]]. He advocated that the United States change its public education system by implementing a [[school voucher]] system which would allow parents to send their children to either public or private schools. In his book ''America Can Be Saved'' he wrote that "I hope I live to see the day when, as in the early days of our country, we won't have any public schools. The churches will have taken them over again and Christians will be running them."<ref>{{cite web |url=http://atheism.about.com/library/glossary/western/bldef_falwelljerry.htm |title=Biography: Falwell, Jerry |publisher=Atheism.about.com |date=1982-11-21 |accessdate=2010-11-07 |deadurl=no |archiveurl=http://archive.wikiwix.com/cache/20110708030224/http://atheism.about.com/library/glossary/western/bldef_falwelljerry.htm |archivedate=2011-07-08 |df= }}</ref>

Falwell supported President [[George W. Bush]]'s [[White House Office of Faith-Based and Community Initiatives|Faith Based Initiative]], but had strong reservations concerning where the funding would go and the restrictions placed on churches. "My problem is where it might go under his successors.... I would not want to put any of the Jerry Falwell Ministries in a position where we might be subservient to a future Bill Clinton, God forbid.... It also concerns me that once the [[pork barrel]] is filled, suddenly the Church of Scientology, the Jehovah Witnesses ''{{sic}}'', the various and many denominations and religious groups—and I don't say those words in a pejorative way—begin applying for money—and I don't see how any can be turned down because of their radical and unpopular views. I don't know where that would take us."<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.beliefnet.com/story/70/story_7040_1.html |title=Beliefnet interviews Rev. Jerry Falwell&nbsp;– |publisher=Beliefnet.com |accessdate=2010-11-07 |deadurl=no |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20081010092416/http://www.beliefnet.com/story/70/story_7040_1.html |archivedate=2008-10-10 |df= }}</ref>

===Apartheid===
In the 1980s Falwell said that sanctions against the [[apartheid]] regime of South Africa would result in what, he felt, would be a worse situation, such as a Soviet-backed revolution. He drew the ire of many when he called [[Nobel Peace Prize]] winner and [[Anglican]] Archbishop [[Desmond Tutu]] a phony "as far as representing the black people of South Africa".<ref>{{cite news | url=http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,959695,00.html | work=Time | title=Religion: An Unholy Uproar | date=September 2, 1985 | accessdate=May 6, 2010 | deadurl=no | archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20101029184801/http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,959695,00.html | archivedate=October 29, 2010 | df= }}</ref> He later apologized for that remark and claimed that he had misspoken.<ref>{{cite news |author=Pear, Robert |url=https://select.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=F30A15FB3D5F0C728EDDA10894DD484D81&n=Top%2fReference%2fTimes%20Topics%2fPeople%2fF%2fFalwell%2c%20Jerry |title=Falwell Denounces Tutu As A 'Phony' |location=South Africa, Republic Of |newspaper=[[The New York Times]] |date=1985-08-21 |accessdate=2010-11-07 |deadurl=yes |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20080609013718/http://select.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=F30A15FB3D5F0C728EDDA10894DD484D81&n=Top%2FReference%2FTimes%20Topics%2FPeople%2FF%2FFalwell%2C%20Jerry |archivedate=2008-06-09 |df= }}</ref> He also urged his followers to buy up gold [[Krugerrand]]s and push U.S. "reinvestment" in South Africa.<ref>{{cite news |first=RICHARD N. |last=OSTLING |authorlink=Richard Ostling |title=Jerry Falwell's Crusade |url=http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,959697,00.html |work= |publisher=Time Magazine |date=September 2, 1985 |accessdate=May 17, 2007 |deadurl=no |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20071015121702/http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,959697,00.html |archivedate=October 15, 2007 |df= }}</ref>

===''Clinton Chronicles''===
{{Main|The Clinton Chronicles}}
In 1994, Falwell promoted and distributed the video documentary ''The Clinton Chronicles: An Investigation into the Alleged Criminal Activities of Bill Clinton''. The video purported to connect [[Bill Clinton]] to a murder conspiracy involving [[Vince Foster]], [[Jim McDougal|James McDougall]], [[Ron Brown (U.S. politician)|Ron Brown]], and a [[cocaine]]-[[smuggling]] operation. The theory was discredited, but nonetheless sold more than 150,000 copies.<ref name="falwell">[http://www.salon.com/1998/03/11/cov_11news/ The Falwell connection] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140714161034/http://www.salon.com/1998/03/11/cov_11news/ |date=2014-07-14 }} by [[Murray Waas]] Salon.com</ref>

Funding for the film was provided by "Citizens for Honest Government", to which Falwell paid $200,000 in 1994 and 1995.<ref name="falwell"/> In 1995 Citizens for Honest Government interviewed [[Arkansas State Police|Arkansas state troopers]] Roger Perry and [[Larry Patterson]] regarding the murder conspiracy about Vincent Foster. Perry and Patterson also gave information regarding the allegations in the [[Paula Jones]] [[Troopergate (Bill Clinton)|affair]].<ref name="falwell"/>

The [[infomercial]] for the 80-minute tape included footage of Falwell interviewing a silhouetted journalist who claimed to be afraid for his life. The journalist accused Clinton of orchestrating the deaths of several reporters and personal confidants who had gotten too close to his illegalities. The silhouetted journalist was subsequently revealed to be Patrick Matrisciana, the producer of the video and president of Citizens for Honest Government.<ref name="falwell"/> "Obviously, I'm not an investigative reporter", Matrisciana admitted to investigative journalist [[Murray Waas]].<ref name="falwell"/> Later, Falwell seemed to back away from personally trusting the video. In an interview for the 2005 documentary ''[[The Hunting of the President]]'', Falwell admitted, "to this day I do not know the accuracy of the claims made in ''The Clinton Chronicles''."<ref>''[[The Hunting of the President]]'' (DVD) 2005</ref>

===Views on homosexuality===
Falwell condemned homosexuality as forbidden by the Bible. Gay rights groups called Falwell an "agent of intolerance" and "the founder of the anti-gay industry" for statements he had made and for campaigning against [[LGBT social movements]].<ref name=NYT051507/><ref name="intolerance">{{cite web|url=http://www.thenation.com/doc/20070528/blumenthal|title=Agent of Intolerance|last=Blumenthal|first=Max|accessdate=May 18, 2007}}</ref> Falwell supported [[Anita Bryant]]'s 1977 "Save Our Children" campaign to overturn a Florida ordinance prohibiting discrimination on the basis of [[sexual orientation]] and a similar movement in California.<ref name=NYT051507>Applebome, Peter (May 15, 2007). [https://www.nytimes.com/2007/05/15/obituaries/15cnd-falwell.html?hp "Jerry Falwell, Leading Religious Conservative, Dies at 73"] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170630165807/http://www.nytimes.com/2007/05/15/obituaries/15cnd-falwell.html?hp |date=2017-06-30 }}. ''The New York Times''.</ref> In urging the repeal of the ordinance, Falwell told one crowd, "Gay folks would just as soon kill you as look at you."<ref name=homosexuals>{{cite news |author1=Johnson, Hans |author2=Eskridge, William |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/05/18/AR2007051801392.html |title=The Legacy of Falwell's Bully Pulpit |accessdate=May 18, 2007 |work=The Washington Post |date=May 19, 2007 |deadurl=no |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20121111163004/http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/05/18/AR2007051801392.html |archivedate=November 11, 2012 |df= }}</ref> When the LGBT-friendly [[Metropolitan Community Church]] was almost accepted into the [[World Council of Churches]], Falwell called them "brute beasts" and stated, "this vile and satanic system will one day be utterly annihilated and there'll be a celebration in heaven."<ref name=vile/> He later denied this.<ref name=intersex/> Falwell also regularly linked the AIDS pandemic to LGBT issues and stated, "AIDS is not just God's punishment for homosexuals, it is God's punishment for the society that tolerates homosexuals."<ref name=AIDS>{{cite web |url=http://www.milforddailynews.com/opinion/x1987843539 |title=Press: The Sad Legacy of Jerry Falwell |author=Press, Bill|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20070928110421/http://www.milforddailynews.com/opinion/x1987843539|accessdate=February 15, 2015|archivedate=September 28, 2007|deadurl=yes}}</ref> Amongst many remarks over the years he is probably most known for statements attributed to him about a [[Teletubbies|Teletubby]] being a homosexual role model for [[homosexual recruitment]] and stating that LGBT organizations angered God, thereby in part causing God to let the [[September 11, 2001 attacks|September 11 attacks]] happen.<ref name=Tinky/><ref name="falwell apology"/><ref name="sheild of protection">{{cite web|url=http://www.ny1.com/ny1/content/index.jsp?stid=1&aid=69715 |title=Top Stories |publisher=NY1 |accessdate=2010-11-07 |deadurl=yes |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20080323050047/http://www.ny1.com/ny1/content/index.jsp?stid=1&aid=69715 |archivedate=2008-03-23 |df= }}</ref>

After comedian and actress [[Ellen DeGeneres]] came out as a lesbian, Falwell referred to her in a sermon as "Ellen DeGenerate". DeGeneres mocked him, saying, "Really, he called me that? Ellen DeGenerate? I've been getting that since the fourth grade. I guess I'm happy I could give him work."<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,986189,00.html |title=HE CALLED ME ELLEN DEGENERATE? |accessdate=November 25, 2008 |last=Handy |first=Bruce |work=Time |date=April 14, 1997 |deadurl=no |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20081123083654/http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,986189,00.html |archivedate=November 23, 2008 |df= }}</ref>

Falwell's legacy regarding homosexuality is complicated by his support for LGBT civil rights (see "civil rights" section above), as well as his attempts to reconcile with the LGBT community in later years. In October 1999 Falwell hosted a meeting of 200 evangelicals with 200 homosexuals at Thomas Road Baptist Church for an "Anti-Violence Forum", during which he acknowledged that some American evangelicals' comments about homosexuality entered the realm of hate speech that could incite violence.<ref>Niebuhr, Gustav (October 23, 1999). [https://www.nytimes.com/1999/10/23/us/religion-journal-falwell-finds-an-accord-with-gay-rights-backer.html "Religion Journal; Falwell Finds an Accord With Gay Rights Backer"] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170630154512/http://www.nytimes.com/1999/10/23/us/religion-journal-falwell-finds-an-accord-with-gay-rights-backer.html |date=2017-06-30 }}. ''The New York Times''.</ref> At the forum, Falwell told homosexuals in attendance, "I don't agree with your lifestyle, I will never agree with your lifestyle, but I love you" and added, "Anything that leaves the impression that we hate the sinner, we want to change that."<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.salon.com/news/feature/1999/10/25/falwell/index.html |title=The odd couple&nbsp;— Gays and Lesbians |publisher=Salon.com |date=1999-10-25 |accessdate=2010-11-07 |deadurl=yes |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20110129201711/http://www.salon.com/news/feature/1999/10/25/falwell/index.html |archivedate=2011-01-29 |df= }}</ref> He later commented to ''New York Times'' columnist [[Frank Rich]] that "admittedly, evangelicals have not exhibited an ability to build a bond of friendship to the gay and lesbian community. We've said 'go somewhere else, we don't need you here [at] our churches.'"<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1999/11/06/opinion/journal-has-jerry-falwell-seen-the-light.html?scp=2&sq=jerry%20falwell%20AND%20homosexual&st=nyt&pagewanted=1 |title=Has Jerry Falwell Seen the Light? NY Times, November 6, 1999 |publisher=Nytimes.com |date=1999-11-06 |accessdate=2010-11-07 |first=Frank |last=Rich |deadurl=no |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20130522005442/http://www.nytimes.com/1999/11/06/opinion/journal-has-jerry-falwell-seen-the-light.html?scp=2&sq=jerry%20falwell%20AND%20homosexual&st=nyt&pagewanted=1 |archivedate=May 22, 2013 |df= }}</ref>

===''Teletubbies''===
In February 1999, an unsigned article that media outlets attributed to Falwell was published in the ''National Liberty Journal''&nbsp;– a promotional publication of the university he founded&nbsp;– claimed that the purple [[Teletubbies|Teletubby]] named Tinky Winky was intended as a gay [[role model]]. An article published in 1998 by [[Salon.com]] had noted Tinky Winky's status as a gay icon.<ref name=Tubbythump>{{cite web | url=http://www.salon.com/media/1998/04/03media.html | title='Tubbythumping ' | last=Millman | first=Joyce |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20110613062013/http://www.salon.com/media/1998/04/03media.html|archivedate=June 13, 2011|accessdate=February 16, 2015|deadurl=yes}}</ref><ref>[http://www.liberty.edu/libertyjournal/index.cfm?PID=15758&artid=97 Arizona supporter funds largest-ever gift annuity to LU] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110526012026/http://www.liberty.edu/libertyjournal/index.cfm?PID=15758 |date=2011-05-26 }} (February 27, 2008) By Mitzi Bible&nbsp;– Liberty Journal</ref> In response, Steve Rice, spokesperson for Itsy Bitsy Entertainment, which licenses the ''Teletubbies'' in the United States, said, "I really find it absurd and kind of offensive."<ref name=Tinky>{{cite news | url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/276677.stm | title='Gay Tinky Winky bad for children' | accessdate=May 18, 2007 | work=BBC News | date=February 15, 1999 | deadurl=no | archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20070714040014/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/276677.stm | archivedate=July 14, 2007 | df= }}</ref><ref name=Winky>{{cite news | url=https://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601103&sid=auX3.SI9QH2M | title=Jerry Falwell, Evangelist, Political Activist, Dies | accessdate=May 18, 2007 | last=Burke | first=Heather | work=Bloomberg | date=May 15, 2007 | deadurl=no | archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20070930075811/http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601103&sid=auX3.SI9QH2M | archivedate=September 30, 2007 | df= }}</ref> The immensely popular UK show was aimed at pre-school children, but the article stated "he is purple&nbsp;– the [[gay pride]] color; and his antenna is shaped like a [[triangle]]&nbsp;– the gay-pride symbol". Apart from those characteristics Tinky Winky also carries a magic bag which the ''NLJ'' and ''Salon'' articles said was a purse. Falwell added that "role modeling the gay lifestyle is damaging to the moral lives of children".

===September 11 attacks===
After the [[September 11 attacks]] in 2001, Falwell said on [[Pat Robertson]]'s ''[[The 700 Club]]'', "I really believe that the pagans, and the abortionists, and the feminists, and the gays and the lesbians who are actively trying to make that an alternative lifestyle, the [[ACLU]], [[People For the American Way]], all of them who have tried to secularize America. I point the finger in their face and say 'you helped this happen.'"<ref name="falwell 9/11">[https://home.comcast.net/~joe.grabko/falwell.mp3 Falwell speaks about WTC disaster, Christian Broadcasting Network<!-- Bot generated title -->] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121019023622/https://home.comcast.net/~joe.grabko/falwell.mp3 |date=2012-10-19 }}</ref> Falwell further stated that the attacks were "probably deserved", a statement which [[Christopher Hitchens]] described as treason.<ref>[http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,273295,00.html "Christopher Hitchens and Ralph Reed Square Off over Late Leader's Influence; the Christian Right."] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080511165011/http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,273295,00.html |date=2008-05-11 }} ''[[Hannity & Colmes]]''. May 17, 2007. [[FOX News]]. Retrieved June 23, 2009.</ref> After heavy criticism, Falwell said that no one but the terrorists were to blame, and stated, "If I left that impression with gays or lesbians or anyone else, I apologize."<ref name="falwell apology">{{cite news| url=http://archives.cnn.com/2001/US/09/14/Falwell.apology/ | work=CNN | title=Falwell apologizes to gays, feminists, lesbians | date=September 14, 2001 |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20130401182609/http://archives.cnn.com/2001/US/09/14/Falwell.apology/|archivedate=April 1, 2013|accessdate=February 16, 2015|deadurl=yes}}</ref>

===Labor unions===
Falwell has also said, "Labor unions should study and read the Bible instead of asking for more money. When people get right with God, they are better workers."<ref>Ricco, Joanne{{cite web|url=http://www.wisaflcio.org/political_action/rightwing.htm |title="The Right Wing Attack on the American Labor Movement" |accessdate=2006-07-03 |deadurl=bot: unknown |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20090512001518/http://www.wisaflcio.org/political_action/rightwing.htm |archivedate=2009-05-12 |df= }} ''Wisconsin State AFL-CIO'' Accessed May 24, 2011.</ref>

===Relationship to American Fundamentalism===
{{refimprove section|date=July 2016}}
Falwell set out in his Christian ministry as a Fundamentalist, having attended a conservative Bible college and following strict standards of [[Ecclesiastical separatism|ecclesiastical]] and [[Doctrine of separation|personal separatism]]; he was thus known and respected in [[Independent Baptist|IFB]] circles, being praised in Christian fundamentalist publications such as ''[[The Sword of the Lord]]''. Though he never officially stated his rejection of this movement, the evidence of his life from the late 1970s onwards indicates he moved toward a conservative Evangelical standpoint to the right of [[mainline Protestant]]ism or "open" Evangelicalism but to the left of traditional, separatist Fundamentalism. It was reported that he had refused to attend parties at which alcohol was served early in his life, but relaxed this stricture as he was increasingly invited to major events through the contacts he developed in conservative politics and religion.

His foray into national politics appears to be a catalyst for this change; when he established the Moral Majority which joined "Bible Christians" (Independent and conservative Southern Baptists) in a political alliance with [[Charismatic Movement|Charismatics]], Roman Catholics, Jews, Mormons and others he rejected the level of separation preached by most movement Fundamentalists. [[Bob Jones University]] declared the Moral Majority organization "Satanic", holding that it was a step toward the apostate one-world church and government body as it would cross the line from a political alliance to a religious one between true Christians and the non-born-again, as forbidden by their interpretation of the Bible. David Cloud's Way of Life Literature also criticizes Falwell for associations with Catholics, Pentecostals and liberal Christians, tracing his alleged "apostasy" back to his role in the political Religious Right.

Though he never wavered in his belief in the inerrancy of the Bible (except for moderating its alleged view of racial differences, significance of baptism, and other concepts relative to his theology) and the doctrines conservative Christians widely see as essential to salvation, his rhetoric became generally more mellow, less militant and comparatively more inclusive from the 1980s onward. Cultural anthropologist Susan Friend Harding, in her extensive ethnographic study of Falwell, noted that he adapted his preaching to win a broader, less extremist audience as he grew famous. This manifested in several ways: among them were no longer condemning "worldly" lifestyle choices such as dancing, drinking wine, and attending movie theaters; softening rhetoric of apocalypse and God's vengeful wrath; and shifting from outright [[Biblical patriarchy]] to a [[Complementarianism|complementarian]] view of appropriate gender roles. He further mainstreamed himself by aiming his strongest criticism at [[Secular humanism|"secular humanists"]], pagans or various liberals in place of the racist, anti-Semitic or anti-Catholic rhetoric common among Southern Fundamentalist preachers but increasingly condemned as [[hate speech]] by the consensus of American society.<ref>Susan Harding (2001). ''The book of Jerry Falwell: fundamentalist language and politics.'' Princeton University Press, ''passim''.</ref>

===Islam===
Jerry Falwell opposed [[Islam]]. According to ''[[Asharq Al-Awsat]]'', a pan-Arab newspaper, Falwell called Islam "satanic".<ref>[http://www.arabwestreport.info/?q=node/10900 A case that is forgotten...another group of takfir] from ''[[Arab-West Report]]''</ref> In a televised interview with ''[[60 Minutes]]'', Falwell called [[Muhammad]] a "terrorist", to which he added: "I concluded from reading Muslim and non-Muslim writers that Muhammad was a violent man, a man of war." Falwell later apologized to Muslims for what he said about Muhammad and affirmed that he did not necessarily intend to offend "honest and peace-loving" Muslims. However, as he refused to remove his comments about Islam from his website, the sincerity of his apology was doubted.<ref>[http://www.arabwestreport.info/?q=node/16194 Rev. Jerry Falwell: I think Muhammad was a terrorist] from ''[[Arab-West Report]]''</ref><ref>[http://www.arabwestreport.info/?q=node/7337 Recent developments] from ''[[Arab-West Report]]''</ref> [[Egyptian Christian]] intellectuals, in response, signed a statement in which they condemned and rejected what Falwell had said about Muhammad being a terrorist.<ref>[http://www.arabwestreport.info/?q=node/15419 Christian leaders in Egypt condemn Jerry Falwell's statement about the Prophet being a terrorist] from ''[[Arab-West Report]]''</ref>

==Legal issues==
From the 1970s on, Falwell was involved in legal matters which occupied much of his time and propelled his name recognition.

===SEC and bonds===
In 1972, the [[U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission]] (SEC) launched an investigation of [[bond (finance)|bonds]] issued by Falwell's organizations. The SEC charged Falwell's church with "fraud and [[deceit]]" in the issuance of $6.5 million in unsecured church bonds.<ref name="npr-potent">{{cite web|url=https://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=5522064|title=Religion, Politics a Potent Mix for Jerry Falwell|publisher=NPR|accessdate=2010-11-07|deadurl=no|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20110204052741/http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=5522064|archivedate=2011-02-04|df=}}</ref> The church won a 1973 federal court case prosecuted at the behest of the SEC, in which the Court exonerated the church and ruled that while technical violations of law did occur, there was no proof the Church intended any wrongdoing.

===Falwell versus ''Penthouse''===
Falwell filed a $10 million lawsuit against ''[[Penthouse (magazine)|Penthouse]]'' for publishing an article based upon interviews he gave to [[Freelancer|freelance]] reporters, after failing to convince a federal court to place an injunction upon the publication of that article. The suit was dismissed in Federal district court in 1981 on the grounds that the article was not [[defame|defamatory]] or an invasion of Falwell's [[privacy]] (the Virginia courts had not recognized this privacy tort, which is recognized in other states).<ref>"Falwell Says He Will Press $10 Million Penthouse Suit." ''The New York Times''. February 5, 1981.</ref><ref>"Penthouse Wins in Court Against Falwell Suit." ''The New York Times''. August 7, 1981.</ref><ref>"Falwell Won't Pursue Suit". ''The New York Times''. September 10, 1981.</ref>

===''Hustler Magazine v. Falwell''===
{{Main|Hustler Magazine v. Falwell}}
<!-- Image with inadequate rationale removed: [[File:Falwellhustler.jpg|thumb|right|''Hustler's'' parody ad of Falwell]] -->In 1983, [[Larry Flynt]]'s [[Pornography|pornographic]] magazine ''[[Hustler]]'' carried a [[parody advertisement|parody]] of a [[Campari]] ad, featuring a mock "interview" with Falwell in which he admits that his "first time" was incest with his mother in an [[outhouse]] while drunk. Falwell sued for $45 million, alleging invasion of privacy, libel, and [[intentional infliction of emotional distress]].{{citation needed|date=July 2013}} A jury rejected the invasion of privacy and libel claims, holding that the parody could not have reasonably been taken to describe true events, but ruled in favor of Falwell on the emotional distress claim and awarded damages of $200,000. This was upheld on appeal. Flynt then appealed to the [[U.S. Supreme Court]], which unanimously held that the [[First Amendment to the United States Constitution|First Amendment]] prevents public figures from recovering damages for emotional distress caused by parodies.

After Falwell's death, Larry Flynt released a comment regarding his friendship over the years with Falwell.
<blockquote>My mother always told me that no matter how much you dislike a person, when you meet them face to face you will find characteristics about them that you like. Jerry Falwell was a perfect example of that. I hated everything he stood for, but after meeting him in person, years after the trial, Jerry Falwell and I became good friends. He would visit me in California and we would debate together on college campuses. I always appreciated his sincerity even though I knew what he was selling and he knew what I was selling.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://articles.latimes.com/2007/may/20/opinion/op-flynt20|title=The porn king and the preacher|last=Flynt|first=Larry|publisher=Los Angeles Times|date=2007-05-20|deadurl=no|archiveurl=http://archive.wikiwix.com/cache/20110709001420/http://articles.latimes.com/2007/may/20/opinion/op-flynt20|archivedate=2011-07-09|df=}}</ref></blockquote>

===Falwell versus Jerry Sloan===
[[File:Jerry Falwell, 1984.jpg|300px|thumb|right|Jerry Falwell in Tallahassee, Florida]]
In 1984, Falwell was ordered to pay [[gay rights]] activist and former Baptist Bible College classmate Jerry Sloan $5,000 after losing a court battle. In July 1984 during a TV debate in [[Sacramento, California]], Falwell denied calling the homosexual-friendly [[Metropolitan Community Church]]es "brute beasts" and "a vile and [[Satanism|Satanic]] system" that will "one day be utterly annihilated and there will be a celebration in heaven".<ref name=vile>{{cite web |last=Burns |first=Katy |url=http://www.cmonitor.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070517/REPOSITORY/705170342/1028/OPINION02 |title=Jerry Falwell's greatest hates |accessdate=May 18, 2007 |deadurl=yes |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20070927214159/http://www.cmonitor.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=%2F20070517%2FREPOSITORY%2F705170342%2F1028%2FOPINION02 |archivedate=September 27, 2007 |df= }}</ref>

When Sloan insisted he had a tape, Falwell promised $5,000 if he could produce it. Sloan did, Falwell refused to pay, and Sloan successfully sued. The money was donated to build Sacramento's first homosexual community center, the Lambda Community Center, serving "lesbian, gay, [[bisexual]], [[transgender]], and [[intersex]]" communities.<ref name="intersex">{{cite web|url=http://www.saccenter.org/about.php |title=about Lambda Community Fund |accessdate=April 9, 2009 |deadurl=yes |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20080125043503/http://www.saccenter.org/about.php |archivedate=January 25, 2008 }}</ref> Falwell appealed the decision with his attorney charging that the Jewish judge in the case was prejudiced. He lost again and was made to pay an additional $2,875 in sanctions and court fees.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=unQdAAAAIBAJ&sjid=u2IEAAAAIBAJ&pg=5828,4267772&dq=sloan%20vs%20falwell&hl=en|title=The Pittsburgh Press - Google News Archive Search|publisher=|accessdate=January 21, 2017}}</ref>

===Falwell versus Christopher Lamparello===
{{main|Lamparello v. Falwell}}
In ''Lamparello v. Falwell'', a dispute over the ownership of the Internet domain ''fallwell.com'', the [[United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit]] reversed an earlier District Court decision, arguing that Christopher Lamparello, who owned the domain, "clearly created his Web site intending only to provide a forum to criticize ideas, not to steal customers."<ref name="websitelawsuit">[http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/12356113/ Supreme Court declines Falwell Web appeal] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060619053838/http://msnbc.msn.com/id/12356113/ |date=2006-06-19 }} Associated Press. April 17, 2006</ref> Lamparello's website describes itself as not being connected to Jerry Falwell and is critical of Falwell's views on homosexuality.<ref name="websitelawsuit" /> On April 17, 2006, the [[Supreme Court of the United States|Supreme Court]] declined to [[Certiorari|hear]] an appeal of the Court of Appeals ruling that Lamparello's usage of the domain was legal.

Previous to this, a different man had turned over ''[[Lamparello v. Falwell#Related case: jerryfalwell.com|jerryfalwell.com]]'' and ''jerryfallwell.com'' after Falwell threatened to sue for [[trademark infringement]].<ref name="websitelawsuit" /> Lawyers for [[Public Citizen Litigation Group]]'s Internet Free Speech project represented the domain name owners in both cases.

==Apocalyptic beliefs==
On July 31, 2006, [[Cable News Network]]'s (CNN) ''[[Paula Zahn Now]]'' program featured a segment on "whether the crisis in the Middle East is actually a prelude to the end of the world". In an interview Falwell claimed, "I believe in the premillennial, pre-tribulational coming of Christ for all of his church, and to summarize that, your first poll, do you believe Jesus' coming the second time will be in the future, I would vote yes with the 59 percent and with Billy Graham and most evangelicals."<ref>''Paula Zahn Now'', CNN: [http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0607/31/pzn.01.html Transcript.] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130116035057/http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0607/31/pzn.01.html |date=2013-01-16 }} July 31, 2006.</ref>

Based on this and other statements, Falwell has been identified as a [[Dispensationalism|Dispensationalist]].<ref>Jerry L. Walls (ed.), ''The Oxford Handbook of Eschatology'' (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2008), 269.</ref>

In 1999, Falwell declared the [[Antichrist]] would probably arrive within a decade and "of course he'll be Jewish".<ref name=Antichrist>{{cite web |last=Cohen |first=Debra Nussbaum |url=http://www.jweekly.com/includes/print/9993/article/falwell-antichrist-remark-sparks-anti-semitism-charges/ |title=Falwell Antichrist remark sparks anti-Semitism charges |accessdate=May 18, 2007 |deadurl=no |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20120202053422/http://www.jweekly.com/includes/print/9993/article/falwell-antichrist-remark-sparks-anti-semitism-charges/ |archivedate=February 2, 2012 |df= }}</ref> After accusations of anti-Semitism Falwell apologized and explained that he was simply expressing the theological tenet that the Antichrist and Christ share many attributes.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=6160167|title=NPR: Cultural Impact of the Book of Revelation|accessdate=January 6, 2009|date=September 28, 2006|publisher=National Public Radio|deadurl=no|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20081222183749/http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=6160167|archivedate=December 22, 2008|df=}}</ref>

==Failing health and death==
In early 2005, Falwell was hospitalized for two weeks with a [[viral infection]], discharged, and then rehospitalized on May 30, 2005, in [[respiratory arrest]].<ref>{{cite news|title=Falwell: The church won the 2004 elections|url=http://www.wsfa.com/Global/story.asp?S=3500772&nav=0RdEbGkt|newspaper=WSFA 12|date=June 21, 2005|deadurl=no|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20110719023126/http://www.wsfa.com/Global/story.asp?S=3500772&nav=0RdEbGkt|archivedate=July 19, 2011|df=}}</ref><ref name="condition">[https://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2005-03-30-falwell_x.htm Falwell is taken off ventilator, upgraded to stable condition] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090415025139/http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2005-03-30-falwell_x.htm |date=2009-04-15 }}. ''[[USA Today]]''. May 30, 2005</ref> President [[George W. Bush]] contacted Falwell to "wish him well".<ref name="condition"/> He was subsequently released from the hospital and returned to his duties. Later in 2005, a [[stent]] was implanted to treat a 70 percent blockage in his [[coronary artery|coronary arteries]].<ref>{{cite news|title=Rev. Jerry Falwell Dies at 73 after collapsing|url=http://www.saukvalley.com/articles/2007/05/15/news/national/doc464a00ac1becb782807977.txt|newspaper=Sauk Valley Newspapers|date=May 15, 2007|deadurl=no|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20110719015911/http://www.saukvalley.com/articles/2007/05/15/news/national/doc464a00ac1becb782807977.txt|archivedate=July 19, 2011|df=}}</ref>

<!-- Deleted image removed: [[File:Macel Pate Falwell of VA.png|150px|left|thumb|Falwell's widow, the former Macel Pate, died in 2015 shortly after her 82nd birthday.]] -->
On May 15, 2007, Falwell was found without pulse and unconscious in his office at about 10:45&nbsp;a.m., after he missed a morning appointment, and was taken to Lynchburg General Hospital.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.usatoday.com/news/religion/2007-05-15-falwell-hospital_N.htm?csp=34|title=Evangelist Jerry Falwell dies at 73|date=May 15, 2007|accessdate=May 15, 2007|publisher=[[USA Today]]/[[Associated Press]]|first1=Susan|last1=Page|deadurl=no|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20070517033223/http://www.usatoday.com/news/religion/2007-05-15-falwell-hospital_N.htm?csp=34|archivedate=May 17, 2007|df=}}</ref> "I had breakfast with him, and he was fine at breakfast...He went to his office, I went to mine and they found him unresponsive," said Ron Godwin, the executive vice president of Falwell's [[Liberty University]]. His condition was initially reported as "gravely serious"; [[CPR]] was administered unsuccessfully. As of 2:10&nbsp;p.m., during a live press conference, a doctor for the hospital confirmed that Falwell had died of "[[cardiac arrhythmia]], or [[sudden cardiac death]]".<ref name="Transcript">[http://edition.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0705/15/cnr.05.html Transcript] CNN.com, May 15, 2007</ref> A statement issued by the hospital reported he was pronounced dead at Lynchburg General Hospital at 12:40&nbsp;p.m., EST. He was 73 years old. Falwell's family, including his wife, the former Macel Pate (1933-2015),<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.legacy.com/obituaries/cknj/obituary.aspx?n=macel-falwell&pid=176130644|title=Macel Falwell|publisher=''Central Kentucky News-Journal''|location=[[Campbellsville, Kentucky]]|accessdate=October 17, 2015|deadurl=no|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304065754/http://www.legacy.com/obituaries/cknj/obituary.aspx?n=macel-falwell&pid=176130644|archivedate=March 4, 2016|df=}}</ref> and sons, [[Jerry Falwell Jr.]] and [[Jonathan Falwell]], were at the hospital at the time of the pronouncement.

Falwell's funeral took place on May 22, 2007, at Thomas Road Baptist Church after he lay in repose at both the church and Liberty University. Falwell's burial service was private. He is interred at a spot on the Liberty University campus near the [[Montview|Carter Glass Mansion]] and Falwell's office. Buried nearby is his mentor, [[B. R. Lakin]].

After his death, his sons succeeded him at his two positions; Jerry Falwell Jr. took over as president of Liberty University while Jonathan Falwell became the senior pastor of Thomas Road Baptist Church. His daughter, Jeannie F. Savas, is a surgeon.

The last televised interview with Jerry Falwell was conducted by [[Christiane Amanpour]] for the [[CNN]] original series ''[[God's Warriors|CNN Presents: God's Warriors]].''<ref>[http://www.hvc-inc.com/clients/cnn/warriors/for.html#pr CNN&nbsp;– God's Warriors] from [[CNN]] {{dead link|date=June 2016|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}}</ref> He had been interviewed on May 8, one week before his death; in the interview he revealed that he had asked God for at least 20 more years in order to accomplish his vision for the university he founded.<ref name="Transcript"/><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.cnn.com/video/#/video/world/2007/08/16/gods.warriors.fallwell.cnn|title=Video News|publisher=|accessdate=January 21, 2017|deadurl=no|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20090204210432/http://www.cnn.com/video/#/video/world/2007/08/16/gods.warriors.fallwell.cnn|archivedate=February 4, 2009|df=}}</ref> Falwell's last televised sermon was his May 13, 2007, message on [[Mother's Day (United States)|Mother's Day]].

==Legacy and criticisms==
Falwell's legacy is strongly mixed and often a source of heated controversy. Supporters praise his advancement of his [[social conservative|socially conservative]] message. They also tout his evangelist ministries, and his stress on church planting and growth. Many of his detractors have accused him of [[hate speech]] and identified him as an "agent of intolerance".<ref name="intolerance"/>

He was described by social commentator and [[Antitheism|antitheist]] [[Christopher Hitchens]] in terms as "Chaucerian fraud" and a "faith-based fraud." Hitchens took special umbrage with Falwell's alignment with "the most thuggish and demented Israeli settlers", and his declaration that [[September 11 attacks|9/11]] represented God's judgment on America's sinful behaviour; deeming it "extraordinary that not even such a scandalous career is enough to shake our dumb addiction to the 'faith-based.'" Hitchens also mentioned that, despite his support for Israel, Falwell "kept saying to his own crowd, yes, you have got to like the Jews, because they can make more money in 10 minutes than you can make in a lifetime".<ref>[[Christopher Hitchens|Hitchens, Christopher]]. "[http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/fighting_words/2007/05/faithbased_fraud.html Jerry Falwell, faith-based fraud] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130816031106/http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/fighting_words/2007/05/faithbased_fraud.html |date=2013-08-16 }}." ''[[Slate (magazine)|Slate]]''. May 16, [[2007 in literature|2007]]. Retrieved September 3, 2013.</ref> Appearing on [[CNN]] a day after Falwell's death, Hitchens said, "The empty life of this ugly little charlatan proves only one thing: that you can get away with the most extraordinary offenses to morality and to truth in this country if you will just get yourself called 'reverend'."<ref>{{cite web|url=http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0705/15/acd.01.html|title=Jerry Falwell's Legacy|publisher=CNN|accessdate=2014-04-17|deadurl=no|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20140819170349/http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0705/15/acd.01.html|archivedate=2014-08-19|df=}}</ref> On [[C-SPAN]], Hitchens made the comment that "if he had been given an [[enema]], he could have been buried in a matchbox".<ref>Interview on C-SPAN's Q&A with Brian Lamb on Sunday, April 26, 2009.</ref>

Falwell was an enemy of the revenge humorist "[[George Hayduke (author)|George Hayduke]]", who called Falwell a "fund-grubbing electronic Bible-banger" and "pious pride-in-the-pulpit". In his book ''Screw Unto Others'', Hayduke mentions the story of Edward Johnson, who, in the mid-1980s, programmed his [[Atari]] home computer to make thousands of repeat phone calls to Falwell's 1–800 phone number, since Johnson claimed Falwell had swindled large amounts of money from his followers, especially Johnson's own mother. [[Southern Bell]] forced Johnson to stop after he had run up Falwell's telephone bill an estimated $500,000. At one point, prank callers, especially gay activists, constituted an estimated 25% of Falwell's total calls, until the ministry disconnected the toll-free number in 1986.<ref>Hayduke, George. "Prey TV", ''Screw Unto Others: Revenge Tactics for all Occasions''. pg. 166</ref><ref name=belltoll>{{cite news|url=http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,961073,00.html|title=Evangelism: The Bell Tolls for Falwell|date=April 14, 1986|accessdate=Nov 23, 2010|work=Time|deadurl=no|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20101124053353/http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,961073,00.html|archivedate=2010-11-24|df=}}</ref>

==Publications==
* {{cite book |last=Falwell |first=Jerry |title=Achieving Your Dreams |publisher=Thomas Nelson |date=January 30, 2006 |isbn=0-529-12246-4}}
* {{cite book |last=Falwell |first=Jerry |title=Building Dynamic Faith |publisher=Thomas Nelson |date=October 17, 2005 |isbn=0-529-12133-6}}
* {{cite book |last=Falwell |first=Jerry |title=Capturing a Town for Christ |publisher=REVELL |year=1973 |isbn=0-8007-0606-4}}
* ''Champions for God''. Victor Books, 1985.
* ''Church Aflame''. (co-author [[Elmer Towns]]) Impact, 1971.
* ''Dynamic Faith Journal''. [[Thomas Nelson (publisher)|Thomas Nelson]] (64 pages) (January 30, 2006) {{ISBN|0-529-12245-6}}
* ''Falwell: An Autobiography''. Liberty House, 1996. ([[ghost writer|Ghost written]] by [[Mel White]]<ref name="npr-potent" />) {{ISBN|1-888684-04-6}}
* ''Fasting Can Change Your Life''. Regal, 1998.
* ''Finding Inner Peace and Strength''. Doubleday, 1982.
* ''If I Should Die Before I Wake''. [[Thomas Nelson (publisher)|Thomas Nelson]], 1986. (ghost-written by [[Mel White]])
* ''Jerry Falwell: Aflame for God''. [[Thomas Nelson (publisher)|Thomas Nelson]], 1979. (co-authors Gerald Strober and Ruth Tomczak)
* ''Liberty Bible Commentary on the New Testament''. [[Thomas Nelson (publisher)|Thomas Nelson]]/[[Liberty University]], 1978.
* ''Liberty Bible Commentary''. [[Thomas Nelson (publisher)|Thomas Nelson]], 1982.
* ''Listen, America!'' [[Bantam Books]] (July 1981) {{ISBN|0-553-14998-9}}
* ''Stepping Out on Faith''. [[Tyndale House]], 1984.
* ''Strength for the Journey''. [[Simon & Schuster]], 1987. (ghost-written by [[Mel White]])
* ''The Fundamentalist Phenomenon''. Doubleday, 1981.
* ''The Fundamentalist Phenomenon/The Resurgence of Conservative Christianity''. [[Baker Book House]], 1986.
* ''The New American Family''. Word, 1992.
* ''When It Hurts Too Much to Cry''. [[Tyndale House]], 1984. {{ISBN|0-8423-7993-2}}
* ''Wisdom for Living''. Victor Books, 1984.

==See also==
* [[Christian fundamentalism]]
* [[Faith and Values Coalition]]
* [[Heritage USA]]
* [[Jerry Johnston]]
* [[List of fatwas]]
* [[List of Southern Baptist Convention affiliated people]]
* [[National Christian Network]]
* ''[[The PTL Club]]''
* [[Southern Baptist Convention]]
* [[Televangelism]]

==References==
{{Reflist|30em}}

==External links==
{{sisterlinks|d=Q313896|n=Category:Jerry_Falwell|b=no|v=no|voy=no|m=no|mw=no|s=no|wikt=no}}
* [http://www.Falwell.com/ Jerry Falwell Ministries]
* [http://www.time.com/time/photogallery/0,29307,1621229,00.html Jerry Falwell Photo Gallery (1933–2007)] from Time.com
* [http://www.liberty.edu/ Liberty University]
* {{IMDb name|id=0266566|name=Jerry Falwell}}
* {{C-SPAN|Jerry Falwell}}

{{American Social Conservatism}}
{{PTL scandal}}
{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Falwell, Jerry}}
[[Category:1933 births]]
[[Category:2007 deaths]]
[[Category:20th-century American non-fiction writers]]
[[Category:20th-century Baptist ministers]]
[[Category:20th-century Christian clergy]]
[[Category:21st-century American non-fiction writers]]
[[Category:21st-century Baptist ministers]]
[[Category:21st-century Christian clergy]]
[[Category:American Christian writers]]
[[Category:American Christian Zionists]]
[[Category:American conspiracy theorists]]
[[Category:American evangelicals]]
[[Category:American male non-fiction writers]]
[[Category:American pro-life activists]]
[[Category:American television evangelists]]
[[Category:American university and college presidents]]
[[Category:Anti-pornography activists]]
[[Category:Apocalypticists]]
[[Category:Baptist Bible College (Missouri) alumni]]
[[Category:Baptist writers]]
[[Category:Baptists from Virginia]]
[[Category:Burials in Virginia]]
[[Category:Christian conspiracy theorists]]
[[Category:Christian creationists]]
[[Category:Christian fundamentalists]]
[[Category:Conservatism in the United States]]
[[Category:Critics of Islam]]
[[Category:Opposition to Islam in the United States]]
[[Category:Liberty University]]
[[Category:Male critics of feminism]]
[[Category:New Right (United States)]]
[[Category:People from Lynchburg, Virginia]]
[[Category:Southern Baptists]]
[[Category:Writers from Lynchburg, Virginia]]
[[Category:Southern Baptist ministers]]
[[Category:University and college founders]]
[[Category:Virginia Republicans]]
Anonymous user
Retrieved from "https://wiki.agency/Special:MobileDiff/10421"

Navigation menu