Dr. Jerry Falwell passed away May 15th, 2007 at the age of 73 and with that I was left wondering with all that was being said about him what was it that makes a man great? Falwell was born in Lynchburg VA and prior to founding the Thomas Road Baptist Church he was a stunning athlete with potentially a strong opportunity to go on to being a professional ball player but early in his life he found a growing passion for his faith and later graduated from the Baptist Bible College in Springfield MO. Later on in his life he would earn three honorary doctorate degrees from Tennessee Baptist Seminary, California Graduate School of Theology & Central University Seoul Korea. As far as his public ministry life goes Falwell was the founding pastor of the Thomas Road Baptist Church, founder of Liberty University, took control in a “hostile takeover” of the PTL Club and Heritage USA after the scandal of Jim Bakker, and later on went on to be the co-founder of the Moral Majority in 1979 which played an important role in electing former President Reagan as well as the current President, George W. Bush.
All of this on paper seems impressive and shows a man with determination and direction but it was at what price that he achieved his glory that I sit here now pondering if this truly was a great man? Jerry Falwell sadly will be known more for how he lived his life and what little self control he seemed to have over what he said. He was a man deep in his convictions as seen in his early life being a strong supporter of racial segregation and went on to criticize the late Dr. King and the Civil Rights Movement calling it the “Civil Wrongs Movement.” Falwell repeatedly denounced some of what was taught in our public schools and wrote in his book America Can Be Saved 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.” He was also an outspoken supporter of the Apartheid regime in South Africa and later apologized for calling the Anglican Archbishop Desmond Tutu a phony.
It was well known that Falwell was a not a huge fan of former President Bill Clinton and in 94’ he created a video, “The Clinton Chronicles: An Investigation into the Alleged Criminal Activities of Bill Clinton.” This conspiracy was a theory that Clinton was involved in a cocaine-smuggling operation. This video was under much scrutiny and later was proven false; he never apologized and sold over 150,000 copies. The funding of this film was paid for by the Citizens for Honest Government which Falwell donated 200,000 paid over three years. The troopers used in the video made a false statements in there testimony and later on they were paid for their allegations in the Paula Jones claims. The tape used also included a journalist in a silhouette speaking out against Clinton stating he feared for his life. It was later discovered the journalist was the producer of the video and president of the Citizens for Honest Government. Falwell later confessed that he was not sure about the truth of his reporting but still no apology and no regret.
Throughout his ministry there have been many scandals that plagued his life. He had lawsuits with Penthouse and later with Hustler for a gross parody of his life that was truly tasteless and wrong. He was a very outspoken man in his dislike for gay individuals claiming in 84’ in a television debate that the gay –oriented Metropolitan Community Churches were “brute beasts” and “vile and Satanic system” and they will “one day be utterly annihilated and there will be a celebration in heaven.” He later on went to claim he never said this and offered to pay the gay activist Jerry Sloan $5000 if he could produce it. He did and Falwell would not pay. He was taken to court and lost paying an additional $2,875 in sanctions and court fees. But what outspoken beliefs I feel will be remembered are his apocalyptic beliefs. The evangelical preacher was a strong supporter that the crisis in the Middle East is a prelude to the end times and went on to say the antichrist “must be, of necessity, a Jewish male.” This statement was strongly refuted by many in the Christian community.
In the end what makes a man great to me is how they lived there lives with the accomplishments they achieved. Christ was not a man that was loved by the people of his time, reminding us constantly in his witness what it is we truly love. When you look at Christ it should be as if you are looking in a mirror. In this reflection can you see the actions of Christ? When you look at Falwell and measure up his life and his many accomplishments can we see the image of Christ? Can we see it in our lives? I’m not here to judge anyone because there is much to judge in my own actions but I am here to remind myself that to be a man has so much more to do with our heart and the actions we live by then it does by the sex we were created to be. A question I ask myself constantly is am I loving God with how I am living my life at this moment? That doesn’t mean I have to agree with everything a minister says but I also can’t dismiss everything either just because it is easier to ignore it then to challenge myself to be responsible for my actions. In the end we are only responsible for ourselves and what is it that I can do to live each moment to the fullest, to be the best version I was created to be.
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