Funeral of Jerry Falwell

Thousands attended the funeral of Jerry Falwell who be remembered as a champion of conservative Christian values. He fearlessly galvanized the religious right into a powerful force in American politics. He started as a young preacher in l956 at the Thomas Road Baptist church with ust 35 in attendance at that time. It was an old abandoned soda bottling plant. There were more than 10,000 people attending the funeral, and many were forced into overflow seating.Pat Robertson said Jerry was a champion of the fundamental values that we hold dear. Falwell was outspoken in his condemnation of homosexuality and pornography, and his opposition to abortion led him to get involved in politics. Rev. Franklin Graham, son of evangelist Bill Graham said he had been asked whether he agreed with Falwell. He drew applause when he responded with "Every time he opened the Bible, I agreed with Jerry Falwell". More than 33,000 people had viewed Falwell's body over four days as it lay in repose.