Museum Artifact: 1996-1997 Liberty University Admissions Application Package

Troy Davis writes:

When it comes to sheer disdain, the two religionists I love to hate are Bill Bright of Campus Crusade for Christ (read about my beef with him and his zombified followers here) and Jerry Falwell. There's a special kind of contempt I have for Falwell. Right after losing his lawsuit against Larry Flynt for intentional infliction of emotional distress (IIED) over a satirical ad that portrayed the Lynchberg preacher as an incestuous drunkard, Falwell started hawking $40 videotapes claiming Bill and Hillary Clinton were murderous drug kingpins. Falwell included infomercials for the tapes on his Old Time Gospel Hour broadcasts. One of the infomercials included an interview with an alleged journalist who was silhouetted, Falwell solemnly told us, because he was in fear of his life from the Clinton gang. Several years later, actual investigative reporter Murray Waas looked into this and found that the reporter was not a reporter but was the producer of the tapes, Patrick Matrisciana of Jeremiah Films (The Museum has many of Jeremiah Films' videos and all of them are aimed at the stupid and ignorant). The millions that flowed into Falwell's coffers, along with some "loans" from Failed Messiah Sun Myung Moon, allowed him to save the financially-distressed Liberty University. When the elder Falwell became part of The Big Con In The Sky in 2007, his son took over Liberty U and further monetized substandard education. As a result, each year $800 million in federal financial aid goes to Lynchberg, Virginia to teach college students that Moses fled Egypt on a Brontosaurus (see Richard Dawkins' priceless putdown of Liberty U here). I'm in the process of creating a Chick tract parody of Falwell. 

Anyhow, back in 1996, I wrote Liberty U for an application, I received this admissions package consisting of a 20-page brochure, a letter from Chancellor Falwell (not his real signature--just like for his Old Time Gospel Hour fundraising letters), a financial aid factsheet, an application for admission, and a return letter.

The Museum of Weird and Demented Religious Tracts is a project of Les Zazous Postmodern Art Galley of Bellaire, Ohio. Read the Welcome Statement of The Museum here.

For more on the gallery, check out the web site here and the gallery's Twitter handle is @ZazousLes.  The Twitter handle for the museum is @WeirdTracts

The index of tracts for the museum's website is here. 

Contributions of weird tracts to the museum can be made by mail: send your weird tracts to Les Zazous Postmodern Art Gallery 3475 Guernsey Street, Bellaire, Ohio 43906.

Bonus: Bill Maher on Liberty University