Journal: Journal of Ministry and Theology
Volume: JMAT 25:1 (Spring 2021)
Article: Dispensationalism’s Evolving Theory Of Political Action: How "Roe V. Wade" And Jerry Falwell Brought Dispensationalism From Rejecting Political Action To Embracing It
Author: Bruce A. Baker

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Dispensationalism’s Evolving Theory Of Political Action: How Roe V. Wade And Jerry Falwell Brought Dispensationalism From Rejecting Political Action To Embracing It

Bruce A. Baker

Key Words: Jerry Falwell, Roe vs. Wade, Moral Majority, political ethics, kingdom ethics

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Since the 1960s, when Carl McIntire2 railed against theological and political liberalism,3 few well-known

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American evangelicals have been as overtly political as Jerry Falwell Jr. As president of Liberty University, Jerry Falwell Jr. has been an unabashed supporter of President Trump, praising Mr. Trump’s conservative credentials at the Republican National Convention in 2016. In 2018 Liberty sent 300 students to Washington to support the nomination of Supreme Court Justice Brent Kavanaugh in order to “counter what the Yale students are doing.”4 In 2017 President Trump delivered the commencement address at Liberty.5 In 2019 it was Vice President Pence,6 and this year it was Secretary of State Mike Pompeo.7

In an interview with the Washington Post, Rev. Falwell added a religious imperative to his political endorsement of President Trump by stating that “it may be immoral for [Christian conservatives] not to support him.”8 In justification of this statement, Falwell cited economic advances in the African-American and Hispanic communities.9 When asked whether or

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not it was hypocritical for evangelical leaders to support someone “who has committed adultery and lies often,” Falwell responded with an argument that sounds similar, at least superficially, to Augustine’s understanding of the heavenly city and the earthly city:10

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There’s two kingdoms. There’s the earthly kingdom and the heavenly kingdom. In the heavenly kingdom the responsibility is to treat others as you’d like to be treated. In the earthly kingdom, the responsibility is to choose leaders who will do what’s best for your country. Think about it. Why have Americans been able to do more to help people in n...