[Congressional Record Volume 153, Number 84 (Tuesday, May 22, 2007)]
[Senate]
[Pages S6457-S6458]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                         REVEREND JERRY FALWELL

  Mr. HATCH. Mr. President, I want to say a few words about Reverend 
Jerry Falwell, who passed away last week. Reverend Falwell loved God, 
loved people, and loved his country. He not only spoke about what he 
believed, he acted on what he believed and worked to help people and to 
make this country better.
  Jerry Falwell led a remarkable and inspiring life. He was born in 
Lynchburg, VA, the son of a nonreligious bootlegger and the grandson of 
a staunch atheist. This family background makes all the more real, some 
might say dramatic, his conversion to Christianity and his lifelong 
unwavering commitment to Christ.
  In 1956, he founded Thomas Road Baptist Church. Just 35 people 
attended its first meeting in the local elementary school. Although 
Reverend Falwell became known to most for his national political 
efforts, he was in his heart a local church pastor and he led that 
congregation for more than 50 years, seeing it grow to more than 24,000 
members.
  Reverend Falwell knew that faith cannot be segregated from life and 
that Christ calls us to be doers, rather than simply hearers, of the 
Word. Reverend Falwell founded the Elim Home in 1959 as a residential 
program providing spiritual restoration and help for those battling 
alcohol and drug addiction. The home still operates today, just north 
of Lynchburg.
  Proverbs 22:6 says to train up a child in the way he should go and 
so, in 1967, Reverend Falwell founded Lynchburg Christian Academy for 
children from kindergarten through high school. Four years later, he 
founded Lynchburg Bible College with just 154 students and 4 full-time 
faculty. Today, Liberty University is the largest evangelical college 
in the world, fully accredited with more than 20,000 students from 
around the world. In recent years, Reverend Falwell returned to this 
mission of Christian education and he was at work in his office when he 
passed away. His vision there continues to unfold. Liberty University 
Law School, which achieved provisional ABA accreditation in just 18 
months, graduated its first class this year and a medical school is on 
the drawing board.
  When it came to issues such as the sanctity of human life, Reverend 
Falwell once again put action to his words. He founded the Liberty 
Godparent Foundation in 1982, opening a home for unwed mothers while 
other evangelicals were content simply to protest abortion. I certainly 
agree that abortion is wrong because of what abortion is and does, but 
Reverend Falwell demonstrated that there is more to being pro-life than 
simply being opposed to death. He set an inspiring example, and today 
there are more crisis pregnancy centers than abortion clinics in 
America.
  Reverend Falwell is perhaps best known for what launched him onto the 
national stage, founding the Moral Majority organization in 1979. This 
effort brought millions of Americans into the political process and 
made them more informed, more active citizens. In 1995, he launched a 
monthly magazine, the National Liberty Journal, which reaches hundreds 
of thousands of pastors and Christian citizens. The author of more than 
a dozen books over nearly 30 years, Reverend Falwell continued to write 
his own e-mail newsletter and columns distributed widely through the 
world.
  Reverend Falwell certainly gained his share of notoriety for 
positions on certain issues or particularly controversial statements. 
That happens to people who speak out, especially those

[[Page S6458]]

who speak against the drift of the prevailing culture. Reverend Falwell 
chose to adopt a national profile and received a good amount of 
criticism for taking public stances on difficult issues. But he 
accepted consequences and was not above admitting and apologizing for 
his mistakes or, after more thought and reflection, adjusting some 
views and adapting to change.
  Reverend Falwell was not nearly as easily labeled as some might 
think. For all the opposition he received from those on the left, some 
on the right criticized him for appearing to move away from the 
fundamentalist and toward the evangelical camp. Others attacked him for 
his friendship with leaders of the charismatic movement, speaking at 
conferences hosted by groups or leaders from different Christian 
traditions, or working closely with Roman Catholic leaders. His Liberty 
Baptist College has hosted speakers from Reverend Billy Graham to, yes, 
Senator Edward Kennedy. Through it all, Reverend Falwell stayed true to 
his own convictions while working with others on issues of common 
purpose to help people and to make our country better.
  One of the most telling tributes about Reverend Jerry Falwell comes 
from a most unexpected source. After losing a libel suit to Penthouse 
publisher Larry Flynt in the Supreme Court back in 1988, Reverend 
Falwell befriended Flynt and the two appeared together in numerous 
media venues, visited each other, and even exchanged Christmas cards. 
In a column published just a few days ago in the Los Angeles Times, 
Flynt declared that while he disagreed with everything Reverend Falwell 
preached, he found that they actually had a lot in common. He wrote: 
``The more I got to know Falwell, the more I began to see that his 
public portrayals were caricatures of himself.'' The ultimate result of 
their relationiship was, as Flynt put it, ``just as shocking a turn to 
me as was winning that famous Supreme Court case: We became friends.''
  Jerry Falwell leaves behind Macel, his wife of nearly 50 years, his 
three children and eight grandchildren. His son Jerry has taken up the 
mantle as Chancellor of Liberty University and his son Jonathan had 
already been named Executive Pastor of Thomas Road Baptist Church. 
Reverend Falwell's example, his legacy, is so much more than the 
controversial remarks, views, or positions that some want to emphasize. 
Reverend Jerry Falwell lived what he believed, he put action to his 
faith, he inspired and educated, he led and equipped. He was a pastor, 
a teacher, and a leader. He helped change countless lives and helped 
make our country better. For all those reasons and so many more, he 
will be missed.

                          ____________________