Dr. Jerry Falwell speaks at Highland Park Baptist Church. Click to enlarge.
- photo by John Graeber

Dr. Jerry Falwell, during an appearance in Chattanooga on Wednesday night, said he backs Harriet Miers for the U.S. Supreme Court.

Speaking to a gathering of Baptist ministers at the annual Southwide Baptist Fellowship at Highland Park Baptist Church, he said he stood behind President George W. Bush in supporting his second nominee to the Supreme Court.

Breaking with many of his conservative allies, he called Ms. Miers a "woman of great character, and a lover of Christ."

He said he spoke with the President about the nomination and was reassured that she will be a reliably conservative justice. Mr. Falwell also stated he trusts President Bush's judgment and will work for Miers' nomination against what he sees as the hard-line Democratic opposition in the Senate, consisting mainly of Sens. Hillary Clinton, Edward Kennedy, Chuck Schumer and Richard Durban, who "would vote no on Jesus."

Dr. Falwell had guarded praise to offer for some Democratic senators, saying that their votes for the confirmation of John Roberts speak well of them.
He was introduced to the conference as a "prophet of our age, who has stood for Jesus in our country." Looking down on a sea of receptive faces, Falwell laid out his vision for the future of what he sees as God's work in the country.

He called on conservative Christians to not back down in the face of opposition from unbelievers and invoked the Old Testament examples of Joshua and Caleb, who took a stand of faith against the rest of the nation of Isreal.

Dr. Falwell, a nationally recognized leader of the political religious right and fundamentalist Christians, spoke out against the culture of death that he sees in the United States today. In a press conference held before his speech, he affirmed his commitment to pro-life politics, which he sees as standing against everything from abortion, to stem cell research, to euthanisia.

Dr. Falwell stated, "We live in a culture of death, created by abortion, that has devalued our sense of life. Either you defend all of life, or eventually you will defend none of it."

He spoke fondly, if briefly, about newly appointed Chief Justice John Roberts, calling him a brilliant legal mind who will be around for a long time.

Dr. Falwell also addressed Reverend Franklin Graham's recent reference to New Orleans as a city of sin that practiced "devil worship." The comments were made at Liberty University, a school founded by Falwell. He said Rev. Graham's comments were taken out of context by the media and that he had merely been trying to emphasize the opportunity for spiritual rebirth that he sees for the city of New Orleans. He had words of support for Rev. Graham, praising him for his ministry, Samaritan's Purse, that is doing relief work in Mississippi and Louisiana, and he said that people will be surprised by Rev. Graham's willingness to be controversial, something Dr. Falwell says his father, Reverend Billy Graham purposely tried to avoid.