While Mr. Falwell has had some unpopular views on some things, he has most often stood up for his beliefs and put his money and heart where his mouth was. And when some of his statements went too far, he was man enough to reconsider and apologize (such as was the case with a statement about 9/11).
While there are things, thus, to criticize, I would like to remember today a man who put his faith into action. He built a fully accredited, 10,000-student university (Liberty University --
www.liberty.edu ) from the ground up. (They have several top-notch programs, including for example a nursing program that consistently has top grades in recent years among Virginia nursing students.)
As a youth director in a local church in the Richmond area, I have had several occasions to attend youth events hosted by Liberty (about 2 hours away); and I can say that the students and program leaders were always considerate and encouraging of diversity -- though preaching a solid faith.
I have a personal story about Mr. Falwell that comes from one of those conferences a few years back. It was Winterfest, a big teen New Year's thing held in the Vines Center (basketball arena), with about 7,000 teens and chaperones. At the time, there were some missionaries who had been captured in Africa who had made the news. A full day into the event, no one had mentioned the missionaries. At one break, Mr. Falwell had taken the stage to welcome everyone and talk about Liberty (no preaching, just a few comments). As he concluded, I walked down to the stage and asked to speak to him. They told him, and he came over to talk to me. I told him that I liked the event, but that I found it bothersome that with all the encouragement from the stage for following Christ and its personal cost, no one had mentioned the missionaries who were captured -- especially for prayer. Well, he was surprised to hear that, and said that he agreed; after some other talk, he said thank you and walked backstage. The very next person on the stage said that we had made a mistake that weekend not to discuss and pray for the missionaries who had been captured. We stopped the program and had a prayer right then and there.
I don't always agree with Mr. Falwell, but I don't always agree with anyone. I respect and admire the fact that he stood for what he believed in. And sometimes even had the courage to change his mind when he found himself to be wrong. Other times he stuck with his guns, no matter how unpopular his opinion.
And along the way, created a school and a legacy. And he never lived lavishly, either (something you can't say about most of his televangelist brethren).
RIP
Paul