Even After His Death, Jerry Falwell Causes Trouble

Last week, I posted an interview with Kevin Roose, the author of The Unlikely Disciple. He was the student who spent a semester at Jerry Falwell‘s Liberty University.

His book has since been released… and after a bit of controversy, Liberty is actually selling the book in their campus bookstore.

But it comes with a long disclaimer (emphases mine):

Readers of the Unlikely Disciple should be aware that many factual inaccuracies were identified in this book by Liberty University faculty and staff reviewers. Some examples of the factual errors: the book quotes Dr. Falwell as saying the third world doesn’t need food and water, only the gospel. He never made such a statement and often preached that Christians should not expect the hungry and the homeless to accept the gospel until Christians had first met their needs to be fed and clothed.

The book also perpetuates the myth that Dr. Falwell accused Tinky Winky of being gay. In fact, Dr. Falwell had never heard of Tinky Winky when an AP reporter asked him about an editorial in his National Liberty Journal newspaper that cited reports from the Washington Post that Tinky Winky might have been meant to portray a “gay” character. The book is well written but contains quite a bit of fiction.

In the opinion of the reviewers, these inaccuracies raise questions about the credibility of the author and the accuracy of any unverifiable statements or quotes contained in the book. Readers should be skeptical about the veracity of any information contained in The Unlikely Disciple. Readers are also cautioned that The Unlikely Disciple contains offensive sexual references that Liberty University does not recommend for student readers.

They never mention what “factual errors” are in the book, but Kevin has responded to two particular charges:

In a convocation speech he gave during my Liberty semester, Dr. Falwell said, “What is it that world citizens need most today? As hungry as some are, it’s not food. It is not material things. It is not education. What this world needs most is the word of God.”

For the audio clip of this quote, click here.

…

Not only does the book not perpetuate the Tinky Winky myth, it actively dispels it. From page 193:

“At one point, we’re talking about my upcoming interview with Dr. Falwell, and Max tells me that I should ask him about the time he “outed the gay Teletubby.” I remember learning that Dr. Falwell’s comments about Tinky-Winky may not have been entirely his — they originated in an unsigned editorial in his National Liberty Journal newsletter.”

It’s amazing how school officials are alleging these things. They have clearly not even bothered to read the book.

Kevin adds:

In the face of a book that attempts to portray Liberty fairly and even-handedly, formulating a sloppy, ad hominem response like the one posted in the Liberty bookstore hardly seems like the reasonable — or the Christian — thing to do.

(via Kevin Roose)