Liberty U Students Break With Falwell Jr: ‘We Want Nothing To Do With’ Trump

[DonViejo]

Source: Talking Points Memo

Students at the evangelical Liberty University are breaking with school president Jerry Falwell Jr. over his support of Donald Trump, issuing a statement Wednesday night saying “we want nothing to do with him.”

Claiming that Trump is “actively promoting the very things that we as Christians ought to oppose,” the statement from Liberty United Against Trump, which was obtained by The Washington Post, criticizes Falwell Jr. for tying the university’s name to a man who bragged about and is accused of sexually assaulting women.

“Any faculty or staff member at Liberty would be terminated for such comments, and yet when Donald Trump makes them, President Falwell rushes eagerly to his defense – taking the name ‘Liberty University” with him,” the statement reads.

“It is not enough to criticize these kinds of comments,” the students continued. “We must make clear to the world that while everyone is a sinner and everyone can be forgiven, a man who constantly and proudly speaks evil does not deserve our support for the nation’s highest office.”

-snip-

Read more: http://talkingpointsmemo.com/livewire/liberty-university-students-break-with-jerry-falwell-over-trump-support

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Read the students’ full statement below:

In the months since Jerry Falwell Jr. endorsed him, Donald Trump has been inexorably associated with Liberty University. We are Liberty students who are disappointed with President Falwell’s endorsement and are tired of being associated with one of the worst presidential candidates in American history. Donald Trump does not represent our values and we want nothing to do with him.

A majority of Liberty students, faculty, and staff feel as we do. Donald Trump received a pitiful 90 votes from Liberty students in Virginia’s primary election, a colossal rejection of his campaign. Nevertheless, President Falwell eagerly uses his national platform to advocate for Donald Trump. While he occasionally clarifies that supporting Trump is not the official position of Liberty University, he knows it is his title of president of the largest Christian university in the world that gives him political credentials.

Associating any politician with Christianity is damaging to the Gospel of Jesus Christ. But Donald Trump is not just any politician. He has made his name by maligning others and bragging about his sins. Not only is Donald Trump a bad candidate for president, he is actively promoting the very things that we as Christians ought to oppose.

A recently uncovered tape revealed his comments bragging about sexually assaulting women. Any faculty or staff member at Liberty would be terminated for such comments, and yet when Donald Trump makes them, President Falwell rushes eagerly to his defense – taking the name “Liberty University” with him. “We’re all sinners,” Falwell told the media, as if sexual assault is a shoulder-shrugging issue rather than an atrocity which plagues college campuses across America, including our own.

It is not enough to criticize these kinds of comments. We must make clear to the world that while everyone is a sinner and everyone can be forgiven, a man who constantly and proudly speaks evil does not deserve our support for the nation’s highest office.

Jesus tells a story in the Bible about a man who tries to remove a speck of dust from his brother’s eye, while he has a log stuck in his own. “You hypocrite,” Jesus says, “first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your brother’s eye.”

We Liberty students are often told to support Donald Trump because the other leading candidate is a bad option. Perhaps this is true. But the only candidate who is directly associated with Liberty University is Donald Trump.

Because our president has led the world to believe that Liberty University supports Donald Trump, we students must take it upon ourselves to make clear that Donald Trump is absolutely opposed to what we believe, and does not have our support.

We are not proclaiming our opposition to Donald Trump out of bitterness, but out of a desire to regain the integrity of our school. While our president Jerry Falwell Jr. tours the country championing the log in his eye, we want the world to know how many students oppose him. We don’t want to champion Donald Trump; we want only to be champions for Christ.

[CurtEastPoint]

1. Wanna bet they all get expelled?

[sofa king]

20. Not a chance.

Most of those kids represent a lifetime of high-dollar church donations from families, in addition to half a million dollars in tuition and on-campus expenditure, each.

The Falwells' God is a dollar sign, and the students are the sheep who bring the Falwells closer to God. Their dissent will bring forth a new circular of donation calls to their parents, to keep them in good standing with the Lord.

[Paladin]

3. Outstanding!

Hey, Falwell Jr.: What part of "And a child shall lead them" don't you understand? Just because your old man was a major-league fuckstick, doesn't mean you have to be likewise.....

[Achilleaze]

4. Thank God these kids are acting like Christians

...while their so-called teachers are acting like evil-hearted anti-American morons.

[stopbush]

12. Yeah, some of us believe that there's nothing positive about

"acting like a Christian."

[Achilleaze]

18. Love your neighbor as yourself

Some of us know that if people actually do that there's a lot that's positive.

[stopbush]

19. The Golden Rule existed centuries before the Gospel writer

put those words into the mouth of the fictional Christ. That they also appear in the NT is a testament to broken clock syndrome more than anything else. The idea of doing unto others would have existed had the Jesus myth not sprouted roots.

No, the words that bother me are the misogynistic, bigotted and megalomaniacal sayings of this loathsome creature.

[DinahMoeHum]

6. Looks like Bernie Sanders' visit there wasn't a waste after all.

n/t

[Wilms]

10. Could not help but recall that.

[truthisfreedom]

7. Hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaaaaaaaaaaaaa

aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!

[eShirl]

8. Good for them!

[mahatmakanejeeves]

9. To be cast into the lake of fire in 5 ... 4 ... 3 ....

Revelation 20:11-15 King James Version (KJV)

11 And I saw a great white throne, and him that sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away; and there was found no place for them.

12 And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books were opened: and another book was opened, which is the book of life: and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works.

13 And the sea gave up the dead which were in it; and death and hell delivered up the dead which were in them: and they were judged every man according to their works.

14 And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death.

15 And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire.

[stopbush]

11. I guess they don't have a course on Xian hypocrisy at Liberty.

One would think it would be a required first-year course.

[rivegauche]

13. Well, good for them but that sentence

"We Liberty students are often told to support Donald Trump because the other leading candidate is a bad option."

That is disturbing. Does that mean they're told BY THE SCHOOL to vote against HRC? Who is telling them that?

[niyad]

15. that is an excellent catch

[LiberalLovinLug]

16. Good for them

This kind of letter should have been written by every evangelical leader across the US months ago, if they had the balls to stand up for the stated principles in their own damn religion!

[TonyPDX]

17. Maybe they realize a degree from LU is worthless as it is, much lesss after being tied to Trump.

[keithbvadu2]

21. Political Christians vs Christians of faith

Political Christians vs Christians of faith

[okaawhatever]

22. Who's teaching who? Reminds me of the Police lyrice:

Courtesy of The Police-

I will turn your face to alabaster
When you'll find your servant is your master