Moderators: jcmanson, Sly Fox, BuryYourDuke
FALWELL CONFIDENTIAL
Insider weekly newsletter to The Moral Majority Coalition and
The Liberty Alliance http://www.moralmajority.com
From: Jerry Falwell
Date: March 9, 2007
Why I Asked Newt Gingrich to Speak at Liberty’s Graduation
This morning we are seeing reports of former House Speaker Newt Gingrich admitting to having an affair at the same time that President Bill Clinton’s sexual dalliance with an intern was dominating the national headlines.
Mr. Gingrich admitted to the affair in a two-part interview with Dr. James Dobson, during a “Focus on the Family” broadcast.
I was pleased to hear Mr. Gingrich state: “I’ve gotten on my knees and sought God’s forgiveness.”
He has admitted his moral shortcomings to me, as well, in private conversations. And he has also told me that he has, in recent years, come to grips with his personal failures and sought God’s forgiveness.
I have been very impressed with the spiritual maturity of this man and am convinced that he has been honest and forthright in clarifying his past failings and his quest, as a Christian, for God’s forgiveness.
Mr. Gingrich, now 63 and a grandfather, openly discussed his two divorces with Dr. Dobson, including the affair that took place during the Clinton impeachment proceedings. It is a “very painful topic and I confess that to you directly,” he stated.
As a pastor with more than a half-century of experience of working with fallible people, I have ministered to a few men who have experienced moral collapse. I have usually been able to tell which of these men was genuinely seeking forgiveness for their actions. My sense tells me that Mr. Gingrich is such a man. He is today happily married to wife Callista, and committed to be the husband he should be.
I well remember the challenge we evangelicals faced in 1980 when our candidate, Ronald Reagan, was the first presidential candidate who had gone through a divorce. We wisely made allowance for God’s forgiveness and America was the beneficiary of this historic champion.
Consequently, I decided earlier this week to invite Mr. Gingrich to come to Liberty University on May 19 as our graduation speaker. This will be his second commencement speech at Liberty, previously addressing graduates in 1991.
In recent years, Mr. Gingrich has dedicated much of his time to calling America back to our Christian heritage.
His most recent book, “Rediscovering God in America,” is a brilliant essay that highlights the unique and obvious Christian influence that inspired our nation’s dawning. The book takes readers on a tour of Washington, D.C., inspecting many documents, memorials, friezes and writings of presidents and national leaders who clearly put allegiance to Almighty God at the forefront of the nation’s development.
There has been a war on God in our nation in recent years and the effort to rekindle our national commitment to God is urgently needed.
Mr. Gingrich is certainly one of the brightest men I know in public life today, and he is becoming one of our great ambassadors for reawakening the spirit of our Founders.
In fact, his topic during the May 19 graduation will be, “Rediscovering God in America.” I am already anxious to hear it and am pleased that our young people will hear this modern American statesman.
I’m proud to call Mr. Gingrich my friend and I will continue to pray for him and his family as he contemplates a run for the presidency and as he deals with the coming media scrutiny of his past, present and future.
Note: As I stated last year when Sen. John McCain was our Commencement speaker, I repeat this year: this is an invitation for Mr. Gingrich, not an endorsement.
Reverend Jerry Falwell Praises Newt Gingrich's Admission About Affair
FoxNews.com
Friday, March 09, 2007
LYNCHBURG, Va. — Newt Gingrich's admission of an extramarital affair as he pursued President Clinton's impeachment in the Monica Lewinsky scandal has won praise from another conservative Christian leader: the Rev. Jerry Falwell.
It's also helped to gain Gingrich an invitation to deliver the commencement address at Falwell's Liberty University. Gingrich is considered a possible Republican presidential contender, although he has not announced any intention to run.
In an interview with Focus on the Family founder James Dobson that aired Friday, Gingrich admitted to the affair in 1998. In 2000, he divorced his second wife, Marianne, after his attorneys acknowledged his relationship with Callista Bisek, a former congressional aide now his wife.
"He has admitted his moral shortcomings to me, as well, in private conversations," Falwell wrote in a weekly newsletter sent Friday to members of the Moral Majority Coalition and The Liberty Alliance. "And he has also told me that he has, in recent years, come to grips with his personal failures and sought God's forgiveness."
Gingrich, 63, a former Georgia congressman who served as Republican speaker of the House after leading the party to its first House majority in 40 years, has been married three times. He has supported a family-values agenda as a candidate, and his two divorces have sparked reports of extramarital affairs as well as charges of hypocrisy from critics.
Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich Acknowledges Having Affair During Clinton Impeachment
He abruptly resigned from Congress in 1998 after Republicans faired poorly in midterm elections. He also was reprimanded by the House ethics panel in connection with using tax-exempt funding to advance his political goals.
Clinton's impeachment by the House was driven by charges of perjury and obstruction of justice stemming from sworn statements about an affair with Lewinsky while she was a White House intern. In the Dobson interview, Gingrich argued that he should not be seen as a hypocrite and suggested he had an obligation to pursue the charges against Clinton.
Falwell, in his newsletter, said he has usually been able to tell when a man who has experienced "moral collapse" was genuinely seeking forgiveness. "My sense tells me that Mr. Gingrich is such a man," he wrote.
"I well remember the challenge we evangelicals faced in 1980 when our candidate, Ronald Reagan, was the first presidential candidate who had gone through a divorce. We wisely made allowance for God's forgiveness and America was the beneficiary of this historic champion," Falwell added.
The invitation to speak at commencement is not an endorsement of Gingrich, Falwell said.
Another potential GOP contender, Sen. John McCain of Arizona, spoke at Liberty's commencement last year. McCain's appearance followed a reconciliation with Falwell, who had been at odds with McCain during the 2000 campaign for the Republican nomination.
Full Story
Gingrich tapped to speak to grads
Newt Gingrich to be spring commencement speaker at UMW
By JEFF BRANSCOME
Date published: 3/17/2007
Former U.S. House of Representatives Speaker Newt Gingrich will give the spring commencement address at the University of Mary Washington.
President William Frawley said the board of visitors, senior UMW officials and others collectively decided to invite Gingrich to the May 12 ceremony.
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