Born:
August 11, 1933 in Lynchburg, VA
Died:
May 15, 2007 in Lynchburg, VA
Family:
Jerry Falwell was born in Lynchburg, Virginia to Helen and Carey Hezekiah Falwell. In 1958 he married Macel Pate and they had two sons, Jerry and Jonathan, and a daughter, Jeannie.
Education:
The Rev. Falwell graduated form Baptist Bible College in 1956, and he holds 3 honorary degrees: a Doctor of Divinity from Tennessee Temple Theological Seminary, Doctor of Letters from California Graduate School of Theology, and Doctor or Laws from Central University.
Leadership:
Jerry Falwell is considered an American fundamentalist and evangelist. He was the founder and leader of the Thomas Road Baptist Church, which he founded in 1956. He began his broadcasting career by hosting the "Old Time Gospel Hour" on the radio and then on television. Over the next 20 years his congregation grew from 35 to over 16,000. The church now has over 24,000 members. He continued, until his death, to publish the National Liberty Journal in order to promote conservative Christian values.
Liberty University:
In 1971 Jerry Falwell founded the Lynchburg Baptist College, which was later renamed Liberty University.
Moral Majority:
In 1979 Jerry Falwell began the Moral Majority. The group was designed to take a religious and political stance against moral and political issues such as abortion, pornography, feminism, homosexuality, and more. The Moral Majority was a large factor in the 1980 presidential election of Ronald Reagan. However, by 1989 the Moral Majority was officially closed as he took over the PTL after the forced resignation of Jim Bakker.
Controversy:
The Rev. Jerry Falwell was a controversial figure in American and Christian history. His stance on topics like abortion, feminism, homosexuality, and even segregation were often controversial. After the 2001 attacks on the World Trade Center Twin Towers, Falwell came under criticism for pointing the finger at pagans, abortionists, feminists, gays, lesbians, the ACLU, and People for the American Way - blaming them for the attacks. Later he amended his statements saying that he "created an environment which possibly has caused God to lift the veil of protection which has hallowed no one to attack America on our soil since 1812," and ""never blame any human being except the terrorists, and if I left that impression with gays or lesbians or anyone else, I apologize." Still, Jerry Falwell did bring a lot of Christian issues to the forefront of American moral discussions.
