[+/-] Falwell continues his assault on the law

In yet another attempt to break down the walls between church and state that were established by America's founders, the Rev. Jerry Falwell has opened a law school in hopes of training a generation of attorneys who will fight for conservative causes. Classes began August 23 for the first-year class of 61 law students.

Graduates of the law school -- part of Falwell's Liberty University in Lynchburg, Virginia, which is affiliated with his Baptist ministry -- will tackle such issues as abortion rights and gay marriage, Falwell said.

Law school Dean Bruce Green, who was previously senior trial attorney for the rabidly anti-gay American Family Association, says that classroom lectures and discussions will fuse the teachings of the Bible with the US Constitution, stressing the connections between faith, law and morality.

The other faculty appear to have similarly neanderthal intellects. Contracts is taught by the author of A Biblical Model for Analysis of Issues of Law and Public Policy. The civil-procedure professor penned Christ’s Atonement As the Model for Civil Justice. Another professor has argued for using a "Christian morality test" as a legal standard for determining when to restrict religious activity.

Definitely a faculty that would be considered among the finest intellects of the thirteeth century!

Joe Conn, a spokesman for Americans United for Separation of Church and State, said the law school is part of a crusade by Falwell to get the government to carry out his religious agenda:

When Falwell talks about using the legal system to advance his personal religious beliefs, I get a whiff of the Taliban. This is a very diverse country with many different religious beliefs, and when you set up a law school to try to get the government and legal system to conform to only one of them, you're leaving everybody else out.

Ya' think the J.D. degrees awarded there will be called "Doctor of Jesusprudence?" ;)

Seriously, I shudder to think about the dangers posed by fundamentalists armed with the power to rewrite and control law.