Jerry Falwells Legacy

1971 - Liberty University Opens

Like Oral Roberts in Oklahoma, Pat Robertson in Virginia, and Bob Jones in South Carolina, Jerry Falwell believed that reforming America required giving young people a Christian education. He founded Liberty University in Lynchburg to be a hallmark institution of higher learning, with students specializing in all the traditional disciplines of the arts and sciences, framed within a Christian worldview.

Today, Liberty has an undergraduate student body of nearly 10,000 students. The school's current donors include "Left Behind" co-author Tim LaHaye, who has given funds for a student center, a School of Prophecy, and the LaHaye Ice Center, which opened in January 2006.

1994 - Subsidizes Video: 'The Clinton Chronicles'

The Moral Majority officially closed its doors in 1987, but Falwell's political career, both in support of the Republican Party and in opposition of Democratic leaders, was ongoing.

In 1994, he financed, publicized, distributed, and appeared in a straight-to-video documentary called "The Clinton Chronicles: An Investigation into the Alleged Criminal Activities of Bill Clinton." The video had 300,000 copies in circulation, and accused Bill Clinton of a host of crimes, including the murder of Vincent Foster and the protection of those involved with a cocaine-smuggling operation in Arkansas.

In 2005, Falwell said in an interview, "To this day I do not know the accuracy of the claims made in 'The Clinton Chronicles.'"

2001 - Why 9/11 Happened

In the days following the terrorist attacks on the United States, Falwell appeared with Pat Robertson on the television program "The 700 Club." The two men agreed that the attacks occurred because God had decided not to protect America because He was angry at the country's moral failures. Falwell said that God allowed "the enemies of America to give us probably what we deserve," blaming "the pagans, and the abortionists, and the feminists, and the gays and the lesbians" and others who want to "secularize" America for the attacks.

Days later, he acknowledged that the terrorists were "legally" responsible and affirmed his view that God had been expelled from American culture.

2002 - Calls Islam's Prophet Muhammad a "Terrorist"

One year after September 11, Jerry Falwell cemented his negative image among Muslims with an interview on "60 Minutes" in which he likened the Prophet Muhammad to a terrorist: "Jesus set the example for love, as did Moses," Falwell said. "I think Muhammad set an opposite example."

Falwell later tempered his remarks by saying that the interviewer, Bob Simon, had directly asked him if the Prophet of Islam was a terrorist, and that Islam, like all religions, had a radical or fringe element though most Muslims desired peace. But many Muslims and others called for his removal from a meeting the next week in Washington alongside House Majority Whip Tom Delay and other political leaders. Internationally, a fatwa was issued calling for Falwell's death.

2007 - Falwell's Legacy

In a testament to Falwell's historical stature, leaders far and wide weighed in with reflections in the hours following his death.

Billy Graham, evangelist: "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."

Rick Warren, pastor, Saddleback Church: "I believe Jerry Falwell's primary legacy will not be his political leadership, but the church he pastored for 50 years; the university he founded that has produced two generations of leaders; the millions who heard him preach the Good News; the innovations in ministry he introduced; and the thousands of young pastors, like myself, whom he constantly encouraged, even when we did it differently."

Barry Lynn, executive director of Americans United for Separation of Church and state: "While I disagreed with just about everything Falwell stood for, he was a determined advocate for what he believed."

Abraham H. Foxman, national director of Anti-Defamation League: "Despite our many disagreements through the years, we were saddened to learn of the loss of the Rev. Jerry Falwell. He was a passionate leader of Christianity in America and a dear friend of Israel. Rev. Falwell will always be remembered as one of the most influential leaders on the American religious scene."

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