Falwell and the Politico Whistleblowers

https://www.npr.org/2019/09/15/761046389/liberty-university-students-react-to-falwell-scandal

https://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2019/09/09/jerry-falwell-liberty-university-loans-227914

By now many are familiar with the Politico article about the whistleblowers at Liberty University who have sought to expose Jerry Falwell Jr. as a hypocrite and something of a tyrant.

The story wasn't a surprise to some of us. There had been rumblings for some time that there was a scandal in the works regarding inappropriate pictures of his wife and his less than stellar behaviour.

The Politico story broke and it received a great deal of attention for about a week. From what I saw most of the Christian news publications and the blogosphere while perhaps wincing a bit, nevertheless attempted to defend Falwell and attack the whistleblowers.

Is it possible that some of the whistleblowers had an agenda and were engaged in something of a vendetta? Certainly and it would seem this is the case. Was the author of the Politico piece a sodomite with an axe to grind? I don't doubt it.

Nevertheless, enough has been revealed that should settle any doubts about Falwell Jr.

For my part, I have long believed him to be a fraud and this became abundantly clear as news began to break about his rather dubious speaking invites to figures like Glenn Beck. Then came Donald Trump and Falwell's statements provided clear indication that Falwell had an even more degenerate and erroneous understanding of Christianity than his late father.

We don't know the full story and some of the allegations could be exaggerated but the articles reveal that Falwell Jr. is certainly not the Christian leader he purports to be. He has been corrupted by wealth. This is hardly surprising. He's been corrupted by power. The two always go together.

Over the years I've encountered people who live in or near Lynchburg VA and they unanimously speak about the power and influence of the institution. The economics alone testify to this when you think of the financial engine that is Liberty University for that region. There's some serious money involved in not just salaries and infrastructure but in terms of pure cash-flow as the 15,000 thousand students and 8000+ staff play no small part in making that city run. This would de facto give Falwell a lot of power.

Anyone who has lived in small towns from a few thousand to even tens of thousands of people will know how much weight a large business in the area is likely to have. Somehow the business seems to get what it wants. I've seen this firsthand and heard the testimonies of those involved. I'm speaking of zoning, building codes, contracts, elections and the like.

So the fact that some in Lynchburg would be afraid to speak, afraid to cross 'Liberty' is not too surprising. Does this imply that Falwell employs 'muscle', people involved in dastardly deeds? I don't know. I wouldn't be the least bit surprised. A lot of these phonies travel around with security details. I know Falwell Sr. did because I once encountered a guy (a bit of a clown really) that had been on his detail and was rather proud of it. I know Dobson also has security. I'm not sure who else does but I think it's not uncommon.

But you wouldn't actually need thugs if you own the police force and the local boards and councils. In our society of complex laws, almost everyone is breaking some law at any given moment and if there are people willing to 'enforce' such 'laws' then anyone, even the most quiet unassuming and nonconfrontational member of society can suddenly come to grief and become guilty of something.

Falwell is building an empire on top of the corrupt kingdom his father left him. I personally think he's a very evil man and enemy of Christ. Of course this is a hard thing as I pull into my church parking lot and I see Liberty University license plate frames and several of the young adults in the congregation graduated from that unfortunate school.

Its profile has risen over the past two decades as its graduates have found their way into the Executive branch of the US government and other top tier agencies. They are pushing the Dominionist agenda which Falwell Sr. so zealously embraced in the 1970's. Whatever moral principle once undergirded it, seems to be gone. Junior is in it for the money and I expect future scandals to be revealed as we will learn of his dissolute life.

Am I seer? No, I simply know what money and power does to people and it's clear he's thirsty for it. Will he fall like Ted Haggard? Probably not in such an obscene and spectacular fashion, but it seems clear he's already desperate to hide things and turning to dark forces to help him do so. It will catch up with him eventually. The question is will he go quietly or will his megalomaniacal ego drive him to wipe his mouth and say I've done nothing wrong. Will he be like Tchividjian and absurdly argue that his shameful sins make him more qualified to lead?

Finally, while thousands of Evangelicals are thrilled about what Liberty is doing and what it stands for and they're happy to give their money to it and its dubious leader, what of its testimony in the wider community? This is the sad thing. Undoubtedly there are many Evangelicals in the Virginia Piedmont and yet of the many people who aren't... they've come to embrace a special kind of loathing for Evangelical Christianity and Liberty has played no small part in that. This could be true of those living outside of the region but for those who live proximate to it, they all speak of its shadow. It reminds me of what people have said (and what I saw) of Utah and the influence of Mormonism. If you're part of it, then all is well, but if you're not, there's a bitterness and hostility that develops as a result.

Is this bitterness toward Liberty a result of the Gospel? Is this but the antithesis the lost world feels toward the Kingdom? Or is it something different?