Falwell Jr. Attacks Liberty U AND His Dad

Well, it looks like Evangelicals are about to have themselves a real circus. Featuring howler monkey flinging turds at each other in a WWF style steel cage match. Just in time for Christmas too! (Not to mention the upcoming election year and how all this will affect the movement’s involvement in things) So what’s happened? You probably remember a few years ago when Jerry Falwell, Jr. was unceremoniously dismissed from Liberty University. The most prominent and to be honest successful of “Christian” institutions of  higher education. Sure, you’ve got the places like Bob Jones or Regent Universities but compared to Liberty everyone else is small time.

Under Jerry Falwell Sr. Liberty had developed into a major school with national prominence and more importantly for this discussion political influence. In an article by Vanity Fair published a couple of  years ago that chronicles Falwell Jr.’s spectacular rise and more spectacular fall it mentions that Franklin Graham Jr. had dreams of a “Billy Graham University” but could never get it off the ground. However, with Falwell Jr.’s banishment from Liberty guess who has gotten involved in leadership at Liberty? The Vanity Fair article is a long read but I have a feeling a lot of the details in it are going to matter in the months ahead as Evangelicals duke things out.

Here’s why. I started writing this because Raw Story published a new piece  that describes what one might considered Jerry Falwell Jr. launching firebombs and not just at Liberty, but even at his father. How inflammatory? Raw Story’s article includes this:

Axios reports that journalist Tim Alberta is coming out with a new book in which Falwell Jr. candidly admits that his late father, Jerry Falwell, Sr., founded the university solely to be an institutional arm of the Republican Party and not to be a Christian university aimed at spreading the gospel of Jesus Christ.

Wow! The article goes on to say Jerry is attacking his brother Jonathan who is now in the role he once held for working to run it “like a legitimate Christian educational institution rather than a front for training hardcore culture warriors.” And that’s not all folks. Jerry Jr. says his brother is “blowing it” by surrounding himself with honest people! (Honest isn’t a word I’d apply to these Evangelical hypocrites but you get the point))

It’s worth pointing out just how Jerry Jr. became so involved with Liberty in the first place. As the linked Vanity Fair article describes it after law school and moving back near Lynchburg, buying his farm & getting into real estate and starting his family Jr. was stunned when his dad summoned him to his office and revealed an awful truth. Despite all the growth and success of Liberty the place was in dire straights financially. Sr. had done too much expansion too fast (and in some cases on things that  had nothing to do with “Christian” education – like a new football stadium and basketball arena) and the entire thing was about to implode.

As a result, Jr. wound up in an office down the hall from  his dad for what he thought would be a temporary situation, using his real world knowledge to find a way out of the financial mess and get Liberty on sound footing. Unfortunately (at least to me) he was quite successful and that’s how he wound up running the place when Falwell Sr. died. But he wasn’t the seemingly devout super-Christian his dad was. Or at least was perceived to be. That’s a big story itself and will get it’s share of attention soon. But Jerry Jr. says back in the day his dad didn’t have the money to hire people who were both honest and competent – and had to choose between those two traits. Those it seems were the folks there when Liberty became prosperous. Falwell Sr. who it seems wasn’t the super-duper “Christiany” dude he took such pains to make folks think he was was fine with people who were about the money and image. Because his vision for Liberty had always been to produce culture warriors that would affect public policy. Jerry Jr. it seems is upset that his brother Jonathan is determined to choose the other path, to have a “Christian” university and not get into the training conservative activists.

I have a feeling we’ll need a special set of popcorn for the battles that are about to be fought in “Evangelical World.” And yes, given the quite stunning letter 2k Liberty U students signed protesting when the place endorsed Trump it’s going to get attention during the primaries. So keep an eye out because I predict this will indeed become a thing because two Evangelical icons, Liberty University and Jerry Falwell SENIOR are, thanks to now black-sheep Jerry Falwell Jr. about to get dragged through the mud:

In an interview with Axios, Alberta said that Fallwell Jr.’s criticisms “will rock the Liberty community to its core — not just because he’s antagonizing his brother, but because he’s speaking difficult truths about Jerry Sr. and America’s leading Christian university that have long been strategically concealed.”

Stay tuned. This could get good. Very good.