LYNCHBURG, Va. – The Rev. Jerry Falwell was remembered by thousands Tuesday as a champion of conservative Christian values who galvanized the religious right into a powerful force in American politics.
Falwell, 73, died a week ago after collapsing in his office at the university. His physician said Falwell had a heart condition and presumably died of a heart rhythm abnormality.
The funeral returned Falwell to his roots – the Thomas Road Baptist Church, where he started as a young preacher in 1956 with just 35 parishioners in an old, abandoned soda bottling plant. More than 10,000 people attended the funeral, many forced into overflow seating.
“He was a champion of the fundamental values that we hold dear,” fellow Virginia evangelist Pat Robertson said as he entered the sanctuary. “He stepped on some toes.”
Speakers remembered Falwell the politician, who became a force in the Republican Party in the 1980s after starting the Moral Majority and organizing the conservative Christian vote to send Ronald Reagan to the White House in 1980.
“He said, ‘I believe God has called me to confront the culture,’ and did he ever confront it,” said the Rev. Jerry Vines, former president of the Southern Baptist Convention who gave a sermon that ranged from personal stories about Falwell to biblical references.
Falwell was outspoken in his condemnation of homosexuality and pornography, and his opposition to abortion led him to get involved in politics.
The Rev. Franklin Graham, son of evangelist Billy Graham, said he had been asked whether he agreed with Falwell. He drew applause with his response: “Every time he opened the Bible, I agreed with Jerry Falwell.”
Separately, a Liberty University student was arrested Monday night after telling a family member he had made bombs and planned to attend Falwell’s funeral, authorities said.
Mark David Uhl, 19, was arrested on charges of manufacturing an explosive device. A family member notified authorities.
“I do not believe it was their intent to disrupt the funeral service,” Campbell County Sheriff Terry Gaddy said. “We do not believe the Falwells were ever in any danger.”
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