Falwell urges political activism

AUSTIN (AP) -- The Rev. Jerry Falwell, taking a break from his tour of battleground states, urged members of a Central Texas congregation to get active in politics.
The Rev. Mr. Falwell, whose ministry is based in Lynchburg, Va., said that only Christian leaders will protect the United States from terrorism, abortion and gay marriage.
"There's a revival sweeping our land," the evangelist told several hundred people at Bannockburn Baptist Church last Sunday. "Our people are getting saved. ... They're getting registered to vote, and they're voting Christian."
Mr. Falwell declared this summer in his weekly newsletter that the only candidate for "conservative people of faith" is President Bush.
The minister's political advocacy has prompted complaints from the Campaign Legal Center and Americans United for Separation of Church and State that he improperly engaged in partisan politics.