Falwell: Evangelicals 'Energized' for Bush
Jon E. Dougherty, NewsMax.com
Wednesday September 1, 2004
 

The Reverend Dr. Jerry Falwell has long been a best friend to the Republican Party, as well as a tireless champion of traditional and conservative causes.
In an exclusive interview with NewsMax, one of America's most influential evangelical leaders says the he expects this election to energize Christians as never before.

Dr. Falwell believes this election is critical for the future of America - and that George Bush ranks with Ronald Reagan as one of America's greatest presidents.

A minister as well as a conservative stalwart for more than 50 years, Dr. Falwell rose to national prominence in 1980 when Ronald Reagan embraced him and his Moral Majority as part of his conservative coalition.

But life for Dr. Falwell is much more than politics. He is also the founder of Liberty University, a Christian-based institute of higher education in Lynchburg, Va. Since its beginning in 1971, the school has grown to become the largest "distinctly Christian" university in the world.

Dr. Falwell took time during the week leading to the Republican National Convention in New York City, which he will attend "from the first gavel to the end," to talk with NewsMax about President Bush, the Republicans' agenda, conservatism, Liberty University, and even offering his thoughts on the Second Coming of Jesus Christ.

NM: There has been some angst, some difficulty, within Republican ranks concerning some of President Bush's policies. How strongly would you gauge your support for the president?

JF: I would gauge my support for George W. Bush right along side Ronald Reagan among one of the most endeared men among evangelical Christians in modern history.

In the last four years, he has taken a bold, unswerving stand for the unborn; he has initiated the Federal Marriage Amendment; he has waged what I believe to be a most successful war on terrorism; he has been a man of his word; he and his wife Laura are a great example to Christian young people everywhere.

I feel it is a must that he be re-elected.

NM: Are other Christians mustering as much support for the president?

JF: I don't believe there has ever been a more energized constituency of social conservatives than this time.

I remember 1984, President Reagan's second campaign, there was a high energy level among religious conservatives. I believe it's just as high, if not more so, right now, whereas four years ago, there was a laxity in our camp. We didn't have a turnout like we should have.

I think this November will be the largest percentage and head-count turnout of religious conservatives ever.

NM: Have you heard from religious conservatives? Is this what they're saying?

JF: I speak about 25 times a week and travel about 300,000 miles a year. I speak to more pastors across America, I suspect, than any other one person. I think I have my thumb on the pulse of evangelical community more closely than anyone I know. And this is what I sense to be the case, in every part of the nation.

NM: What are your thoughts on the so-called gay marriage amendment? Do you think the White House pushed strongly enough for its passage?

JF: The president initiated the Federal Marriage Amendment and the president came out strongly for it. We lost 48 to 50 in the [Senate]. In September we'll do a little better, but the issue will come up again in January, assuming the president's re-election.

I believe that during his second term we could get a two-thirds vote [for passage] in both Houses, and be on our way to 38 states ratifying. So, I think the president gave great leadership and will continue to do so.

NM: Do you think Mr. Bush is on the right side of the stem-cell research debate?

JF: I totally agree with the president's position on stem cell research. He has been reasonable, is allowing private research on certain existing stem-cell lines, but at the same time is not allowing the termination of embryonic lives. Most evangelicals and pro-life people I know feel very comfortable with the president's position.

NM: The United States has had a long and close relationship with the nation of Israel. Do you think the Bush administration has been friendly to Israel, despite recent criticism of the Jewish state's positions over settlements and so forth?

JF: The Israel issue is the stickiest one any president has to deal with. But I think if you were to ask the leaders of Israel today, they would tell you, 'George Bush is our friend.'

He has tried very hard to be fair with the Palestinians. He has found, as other presidents before him, that [Palestinian leader Yasser] Arafat is not a credible partner with whom to negotiate, because his word means nothing. So yes, I think the president has been fair to Israel. I'm a strong Christian-Zionist, and I feel very comfortable with the president's positions there.

NM: Would a Kerry administration be more or less dangerous, in terms of dealing with the Middle East, terrorism, and the like?

JF: I can only look at Mr. Kerry's voting record over the past 19 years, and he has been the most liberal senator in the Senate, and he's in the same Senate with [Sen.] Ted Kennedy [D-Mass.] and [Sen.] Hillary Clinton [D-N.Y.]. So that's making a strong statement.

He, I think, is probably the most untrustworthy member of the Senate, and with would make the same kind of president.

He is for and against every issue dealing with our safety, whether it's the war in Iraq, Afghanistan, or his dealings with terrorism. And now with the swift boat controversy - and that book becoming No. 1 bestseller on the New York Times' bestseller list - I think the American people's confidence is eroding as they look at putting this man in position of commander-in-chief, being responsible for the safety of our children.

NM: How confident are you about a second Bush term - do you think he will be more or less conservative?

JF: I think the president will be the president in a second term.

He will get probably anywhere from two to four appointments to the high court, simply on the basis of age and health. I think his appointees would be far more desirable than anything Mr. Kerry would put forth. And considering the fact that same-sex marriage is, I think, near the top of the agenda for the present court.

Following the Lawrence case, which grants constitutional protection for sodomy, and looking at what the Massachusetts supreme court has done [in legalizing gay marriages in that state], I think we definitely need a president who will load that court with people who are committed to the constitution and to faith and family.

NM: The United Nations had said something about monitoring our election so there isn't a repeat of the controversy of the 2000 election. How do you feel about that?

JF: Well, I'm just a Baptist preacher in Virginia, but if I were the president of the United States, I wouldn't issue a-one of them a [travel] visa.

NM: Things seem to be going well at Liberty University. Tell us about the school's progress over the past few years and plans for the future.

JF: Liberty University opened for its 34th year August 25. We have slightly more than 20,000 students in our resident and distance-learning programs from 50 states and 80 nations. Liberty has about half of those on campus.

We opened our school of law and a new school of government [at the beginning of the current semester], and we already train, as a liberal arts university, in almost every vocation and field.

We are a distinctively Christian university, with all of our professors being committed Christians who believe the Bible to be the infallible word of God. We are committed to free enterprise and capitalism, and we're as conservative as Harvard is liberal. We had 16,500 applicants for this year's freshman class, but only 4,000 openings, so the school is booming and our goal, in the next 15 years, is to have a university of 50,000 students - 25,000 in the resident campus program and 25,000 in distance learning.

We have a 4,400-acre campus, and about 2,000 faculty, staff and administrators, all of them committed Christians.

NM: We hear a lot these days that many Christians believe that, based on current events, perhaps Christ's second coming is near. What do you tell people who ask you about that?

JF: Well, Scripture is clear on that. No man knows the day or hour of His second coming.

It is my feeling, and has been for the 52 years I've been a Christian, that we're to live every day as though the Lord were returning today.but we're to plan and work as though we had another 100 years, with the next generation in mind.

The danger, if there is a danger in believing in the imminence of the Lord's return - and I do, is to become a fatalist, that certain things are going to happen regardless and there's nothing we can do about them. That isn't true. We're told to occupy until He comes. We're told to pray for the peace of Jerusalem. And we're given clear instructions about raising our children up in the nurture and admonition of Christ.