The Rev. Dr. Jerry Falwell wrote the following about the Equality Ride visit to Liberty University in his “Falwell Confidential” which is sent to the members of the Moral Majority.
Soulforce comes to town
by Dr. Jerry Falwell
This week on the campus of Liberty University, a homosexual organization known as Soul Force arrived to protest the university’s policy of prohibiting sexual immorality, specifically homosexuality.
Soul Force is a group led by Mel White, one-time husband, Christian author and Fuller Seminary professor. But somewhere along the way, Mel determined that he was a homosexual; he subsequently abandoned his wife and children and his career, turning to homosexual activism in the name of Christianity. He has also written a book that suggests that the Bible contains no condemnation against homosexuality. (I wonder if he actually becomes blind when he gets to the passages that plainly and unmistakably prohibit homosexuality.)
Mel has persistently urged me to renounce the biblical design for the family. He wants me to follow the path of many modern-day clerics who have abandoned biblical principles, instead embracing societal whims that suggest that homosexuality is acceptable in the eyes of God.
To do so, I would have to rip pages out of my Bible. Marriage is a solemn covenant between a man and woman, exclusively designed by God, and it would be fraudulent for me to suggest otherwise.
Mel may not realize it, but sin remains sin, no matter who says otherwise.
A few years ago, I agreed to call on the evangelical community to denounce violence against homosexuals. I believe that all Americans have the right to live without threat to their way of life. But that’s where my relationship with Mel ended. So he continues to call me a bully and suggests that my message is creating a dangerous environment for homosexuals.
His claims are empty. And he continually takes my words out of context to suggest that I have an anti-gay agenda. This is patently untrue. My ministry has a history of reaching out to homosexuals; thus, we have seen several former gays renounce their lifestyle after they have committed their lives to Jesus Christ.
Sadly, Mel has lost his ability to understand that the Christian’s relationship with Christ is damaged when he/she chooses to walk in darkness. A homosexual who is truly a Christian will abandon his/her lifestyle and will seek to walk in the Spirit of God. That is the message of the Bible, and it holds true for everyone.
Mel recently stated that there are 300-400 homosexual students enrolled at Liberty. I don’t know how he came up with such a wild number, but when pressed to identify these students, he acknowledged he had no such list of names. I wonder if he ever tires of being so outrageously wrong. Liberty does have a handful of students who struggle with same-sex temptations, and many of these kids are involved in campus counseling programs that are designed to help them live in the fullness of Christ.
Once again, we can see the fraudulence of Mel’s “ministry.” Yet he continues to suggest that Liberty is brimming with students who feel persecuted because they are gay. Because Liberty is a Christian school, we do not allow the use of alcohol or drugs, nor do we allow the practice of sexual sin – heterosexual or homosexual. It is true that students who openly break our biblically based rules of conduct get in trouble. But they know our rules when they enroll.
Mel White knows what the Bible teaches and yet he has decided to ignore God and do his own thing. I can think of no greater tragedy.
Liberty allowed the Soul Force “demonstration” this time because we hoped the demonstrators would see and hear Christ in our students. I believe this happened. While Mel makes a living stirring up controversy. We can only attempt to show the love of Christ to those who hate our message.
The Liberty demonstration was another attempt to tell his financial supporters he is still “fighting the good fight.” Again, for Mel, it is all about money and notoriety. He is in Lynchburg only so he can get the media’s attention because he is in “Jerry Falwell’s town.”
But Mel’s message is getting tired. One day he’ll look around and no cameras will be there. I wonder what he’ll do then. In the meantime, I will continue to direct Liberty University as we train thousands of young people to be bold and compassionate (and morally pure) representatives of Christ in a lost world.