Jerry Falwell Biography Quotes 33 Report mistakes

Early Life and Calling
Jerry Lamon Falwell was born on August 11, 1933, in Lynchburg, Virginia, and became one of the most visible American clergymen of the late twentieth century. Raised in central Virginia, he experienced an early conversion to Christian faith and sensed a call to ministry while still a young man. He studied for the pastorate at Baptist Bible College in Springfield, Missouri, shaping a theology rooted in conservative Baptist fundamentalism and evangelism. In 1958 he married Macel Pate, whose steady presence, administrative skill, and musical gifts were central to his ministry. They raised three children, Jerry Falwell Jr., Jonathan Falwell, and their daughter Jeannie, each of whom would remain closely connected to the family institutions he built.

Thomas Road Baptist Church and The Old Time Gospel Hour
In 1956, at age twenty-two, Falwell founded Thomas Road Baptist Church in Lynchburg with a small group of charter members. The congregation grew rapidly into a megachurch, reflecting his ability to organize volunteers, preach simply and forcefully, and deploy media to extend his reach. He launched The Old Time Gospel Hour, first on radio and then on television, which brought his sermons and music from the church choir into homes nationwide. The broadcast also became a major fundraising vehicle, enabling him to expand local ministries and invest in ambitious educational projects.

Building Educational Institutions
Believing that Christian education should span from childhood through college, Falwell helped create a K-12 school later known as Liberty Christian Academy and, in 1971, co-founded Lynchburg Baptist College with educator Elmer Towns. The college soon became Liberty University, a flagship for evangelical higher education combining liberal arts, professional programs, and Christian discipleship. Growth was uneven and at times precarious; the university struggled with debt in the late 1980s and early 1990s. Falwell traveled constantly, preached, and appealed to donors to stabilize finances. Over time Liberty expanded, added graduate programs, and built a national profile. Within his church, he trained pastors and missionaries, while at the university he worked closely with administrators and faculty to align academic life with the school's Christian mission.

Political Rise and the Moral Majority
In 1979 Falwell helped catalyze the modern religious right by founding the Moral Majority, a political organization that mobilized conservative evangelicals and allied Catholics on issues such as abortion, school prayer, and what he often called traditional family values. He worked alongside strategists and activists including Paul Weyrich, Richard Viguerie, and Tim LaHaye to register voters, train organizers, and support candidates who reflected their priorities. The organization became a potent force in the 1980 election cycle and fostered ties with national leaders, notably Ronald Reagan, who welcomed the movement's grassroots energy. Though the Moral Majority disbanded in 1989, Falwell remained politically engaged, later launching initiatives such as the Moral Majority Coalition and Faith and Values Coalition to encourage continued activism among religious conservatives.

Controversy, Debate, and a Landmark Supreme Court Case
Falwell's prominence brought constant controversy. In public debates he frequently jousted with cultural critics and other clergy, including contemporaries such as Pat Robertson, with whom he sometimes cooperated and sometimes differed. He maintained cordial respect for Billy Graham while choosing a more overtly political course than Graham preferred. Falwell faced intense criticism for earlier statements about civil rights-era activism and later said he regretted some of his rhetoric. He also drew headlines for cultural skirmishes in the 1990s and his remarks after the attacks of September 11, 2001, for which he issued an apology.

A defining legal moment came with Hustler Magazine v. Falwell (1988), a case arising from a parody that he said caused emotional distress. The U.S. Supreme Court, siding with publisher Larry Flynt, ruled that public figures cannot recover damages for emotional distress over parodies that no reasonable person would believe to be factual. Although Falwell lost the case, it became a major precedent for free speech and satire in American law, and his debate with Flynt came to symbolize the cultural clashes of the era.

Later Years, Health, and Death
By the 2000s Falwell divided his time between Thomas Road Baptist Church and Liberty University, mentoring younger pastors and students while continuing national speaking and media appearances. He experienced heart-related health issues and was hospitalized in 2005. On May 15, 2007, he died in Lynchburg at age 73 after being found unresponsive in his office. Leadership passed to those closest to him: Jonathan Falwell became senior pastor of Thomas Road Baptist Church, and Jerry Falwell Jr. stepped forward in the university's administration as Liberty moved into a new phase of expansion. Throughout, Macel Falwell remained a respected figure in the community, remembered for her steadying influence.

Legacy
Falwell's legacy is inseparable from the institutional footprint he left in Lynchburg and from the national political realignment he helped galvanize. Through Thomas Road Baptist Church and The Old Time Gospel Hour he modeled a media-savvy local church. Through Liberty University he helped build a pipeline of educators, pastors, lawyers, business people, and policymakers shaped by evangelical convictions. Through the Moral Majority and its successors he demonstrated how direct mail, broadcast platforms, and voter registration could translate religious concerns into political influence, a strategy advanced by allies such as Richard Viguerie and Paul Weyrich and celebrated by politicians like Ronald Reagan.

To admirers, Falwell was a courageous pastor who championed the unborn, the family, and religious liberty while building institutions that outlived him. To critics, he blurred pastoral calling and partisan politics and contributed to polarization in public life. Both views acknowledge his organizational genius and the scale of his impact. The conversation he helped start about faith, culture, and democratic engagement continues among leaders, students, and citizens formed in the orbit of Thomas Road, Liberty University, and the movement he led.

Our collection contains 33 quotes who is written by Jerry, under the main topics: Ethics & Morality - Justice - Work Ethic - Faith - Health.

Other people realated to Jerry: Jim Bakker (Celebrity), John Shelby Spong (Clergyman), Cal Thomas (Journalist)