n r
monctey, October 26, 1981
lincoln, nebraska vol. 107 no. 44
Copyright Daily Nebraskan 1981
O
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HOT)
Falwell faces
By Charles Flowerday
During rain and sleet, the Rev. Jerry
Falwell led a "freedom of religion" rally in
Louisville, Neb., Saturday to protest the
closing of the town's Faith Baptist Church
school. He said no government has the
right to padlock a chuch or synagogue.
Falwell hammered home fundamentalist
rallying cries such as "freedom is every
body's business," and "it's not the state's
business what those teachers teach the
children - nor who teaches them."
He also orchestrated the taping of a
Thanksgiving special to be aired on his
"Old Time Gospel Hour" television show
Nov. 22.
Falwell, leader of the Moral Majority,
said earlier he was coming to Louisville at
the request of fundamentalist pastors
across the nation, not as a representative of
his conservative religious group.
Telling a crowd estimated at 1 ,000 that .
the issue is not breaking the law, but obey
ing the law of God, Falwell said he planned
the rally to dramatize the harassment of
religious schools across the country.
"I'm saying this to Jewish, Mormon and
Catholic schools," he said. "Who will stand
by you when they padlock your school?
We'll stand together or fall together."
The rally was punctuated by hymns and
folk songs such as "My Country Tis of
Thee" and "This Land is Your Land," sung
by the "Look Up America" Singers, a
gospel group from Liberty Baptist College
in Lynchburg, Va.
Technical difficulties with the taping
caused four delays while Falwell waited for
the cameras to capture him reading from
the First Amendment to open the Thanks
giving special
Chains closing the church door, remov
earlier by the county sheriff after an agree
ment with church officials were placed
back on the door for Falwell's show.
"Their (the congregation) crime is they
have a little church school and the state
Immoral Minority lights up to reveal foolishness
0 V
Daily Nebraskan photo
Immoral Minority leader Scott Persscn adds more fuel to the fire in Oak Lake Park
Saturday, which he said was meant to show the stupidity of other fundamentalist
religious burnings.
rain, TV cameras at church rally
Department of Education has decided no
church has the right to operate a school
without certified teachers," Falwell said.
"We believe in freedom - that's what
America is all about. Freedom is every
body's business," Falwell said.
While members of the crowd shouted,
"Amen," or "Praise God," Falwell reiterat
ed the central theme of his press confer
ence two weeks ago announcing the rally.
"The issue is not quality of education,
but control of education.
'They (the state) want to decide who
teaches children. Who owns children? What
the secular humanists say is that the state
owns children. The bureaucrats say, 'We
own children.'
"I am a supporter of public education. I
also support the right of Christian people
to have an alternative school. Religious
people - Christians, Jews - believe God
has entrusted children to their parents,"
Falwell said.
He said one of the main issues was the
constitutional problem of licensing a
church school. The other issues, he said,
was that school officials want no advice
from the state on how to run their school
because they receive no state funds for its
operation.
"If the state has a right to license a
Monday through Friday school, how long
till they license Sunday schools?" he said.
Introducing the Rev. Everett Sileven,
pastor of Faith Baptist church, Falwell
said, "Pastor Sileven has been crucified as
an arrogant troublemaker, but he's just the
pastor of a small rural chruch school."
On a stage backed by fifteen American
flags, Falwell asked Sileven if, at any time
during the 4-year controversy, he had re
fused to submit to standardized academic
testing to verify the academic progress of
his students, Sileven answered no.
When asked about the results of those
tests, Sileven explained that his students
scored substantially ahead of those from
public schools, 200 percent ahead of the
I' 's'
9 WLM
V)
4
Photo by Mark Billingsley
The Rev. Jerry Falwell, leader of the Moral Majority, prepares to address a Louisville,
Neb., audience Saturday afternoon in front of the Faith Baptist Church there. Fal
well came to Louisville to speak against the closing of the church's school because it
isnt accredited with the Nebraska Department of Education.
average for Omaha public schools.
Falwell then asked him if he had ever
refused to submit the school's attendance
records to authorities, or if he had refused
to have his school examined for health,
hygiene or fire safety standards.
Sileven said he had sent a notarized
affidavit certifying attendance to the state
Board of Education. He had not refused
any inspection guaranteeing the physical
safety of his students, he said.
"We'd just love to be left alone,"
Sileven said. "We just want our children to
serve the Lord, to love the Lord. We don't
think that's too much to ask."
Falwell urged those in attendance to
write Gov. Charles Thone to express their
support of his statement favoring a differ
By Casey McCabe
A group of UNL students calling them
selves the Immoral Minority burned Christ
ian pamphlets in a small outdoor grill in
Oak Lake Park Saturday night. They said
they hope their actions will offset recent
buntings by fundamentalists and the
Nebraska appearance earlier that day of
Moral Majority leader Jerry Falwell.
Less than a dozen people attended the
burning, some trying to avoid the spot
lights of television cameras covering the
event.
Although lacking the numbers of Fal
well's Louisville, Neb., rally, organizer
Scott Persson said the media attention re
ceived will give the Immoral Minority a
chance to get its point across.
"We're not trying to compete (with Fal
well)," Persson said. "And I agree that
what we're doing here is foolish . . . two
wrongs don't make a right, but we've got
to make a point.
"It's a small minority of fundamenta
lists we're targeting," he said. "Hopefully,
they can look at us using their tactics and
see that it's wrong."
Persson attributed the sparse turnout to
the celebration of Nebraska's football win
over Missouri, the brisk weather and the
fear people may have about being seen at
such an event.
"I think we have a lot of supporters,"
Persson said. We just believe in it the
strongest. The rest apparently don't have
the energy to come out."
Persson said the Immoral Minority is a
very loose organization, emphasizing that
the burning was a "one-shot deal" and that
they have no plans for any other activity in
the future.
The group was organized in response to
a recent rock album burning in Grand
Island by a fundamentalist Christian group
and the publicity the bonfire received.
y 1
ent system of certification for religious
schools.
Lester Roloff, a fundamentalist pastor
from Corpus Christi, Texas, whose church
school has been the subject of similar con
troversy for eight years, said Christian
schools are needed because the public edu
cation system has failed.
"Communists are waiting for us to close
the church schools," Roloff said. "The
Church doesn't need meddling humanistic
standards. Let the state run the state, and
the church run the church."
Falwell said, 'There's a war going on be
tween the secular humanists, the abortion
ists, the liberals and the pornographers and
the God-fearing people of this country."
"Most of us are Christians too. We're
not trying to offend anyone," said Vicki
Lansman. "It's just that they (fundamenta
lists) feel our forms of entertainment are
wicked, and we think their tactics are just
as harmful."
Most of the literature burned was from
local campus ministries. There was no
material from fundamentalist organizations
observed. One couple brought a record by
a religious group, "The Crusaders," and a
book that had been left at their door by
Seventh Day Adventists.
Persson said media representatives,
who outnumbered participants at the
burning have been good in covering the
Immoral Minority indifferently, although
press attention may be giving the recent
bonfires more credibility than they
deserve.
Persson said press releases were sent out
for the event so the media could pick up
their side of the story and spread it to
those they otherwise couldn't reach.
"If anyone else from the other burnings
gets the message, we've accomplished our
goal," he said. 'The ultimate response
would be if we didn't have to see anymore
burnings of any kind in the future."
o
moncaay
Gun Control: The Daily Nebraskan editor
ial addresses the issue of gun con
trol Page 4
Mizzou Madness: Nebraska scored with
only 23 seconds left Saturday to pull
out a 6-0 win against the Missouri
Tigers Page 8
Fab Four: Beatlemania recreated not only
the Beatles but the spirit of the 60s
with a multi-media presentation at
Pershing Auditorium ........ Page 10
