Late last year, then-Liberty University president Jerry Falwell, Jr. and political commentator Charlie Kirk founded the Falkirk Center, a “think tank” at Liberty University meant to wage culture war against non-conservatives. Along the way, the Falkirk Center waged war against decency, respect, and Christian charity, all while misrepresenting Liberty students and the Christian church. We are calling for Liberty University to shut down the Falkirk Center and focus instead on its stated goal: training champions for Christ.

The "Why Falkirk" page on their website says, "Bemoaning the rise of leftism is no longer enough. Although we do, as Jesus taught, turn the other cheek in our personal relationships, we cannot abdicate our responsibilities on the cultural battlefield." We believe this is wrong and dangerous. The student body at Liberty believes that the church — the “Bride of Christ” — is to turn the other cheek not only in our personal relationships, but in every aspect of life. The mission for the Church is not to wage war on the "cultural battlefield", but to make disciples and to build one another up. We feel that the Falkirk Center's statements present Liberty University as a school that is raising champions for culture, not champions for Christ.

We are also concerned that the Falkirk Center has become a gateway for many wolves in sheep’s clothing -- people who claim Christ’s name because it is convenient for their personal or political gain. These people are known as "fellows" for the Falkirk Center and have their quotes and messages shared by Falkirk's social media. Here is a sampling of what they have said:

“People I know and trust well have heard from God that Trump will have a second term.” -Falkirk fellow Eric Metaxas

"I've never seen someone become more liberal politically while becoming more solid theologically" - Falkirk fellow Allie Beth Stuckey

“[Democrats] want to take your pickup truck, they want to rebuild your home, they want to take away your hamburgers. This is what Stalin dreamt about but never achieved.” - Falkirk fellow Sebastian Gorka

“I could spend a full-time job just responding to the ridiculously illogical, inconsistent, and blatantly stupid arguments supporting Trump.” - Falkirk fellow Jenna Ellis, March 2016

"This is an elite strike force team on behalf of the president and the campaign to make sure that our constitution is protected." - Falkirk fellow Jenna Ellis, November 2020

The Falkirk Center constantly preaches the message that the church needs to defend Donald Trump at all costs and rescue western civilization. Falkirk is wrong. Associating any politician or political movement with Christianity bastardizes the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

Students at Liberty are tired of having our witness tarnished by association with a center that is trying to undo Liberty’s mission. We want to be known as people who were given an education to not only enter our desired fields, but also to live as people chosen by the Father, united to the Son and regenerated by the power of the Holy Spirit -- not as people who were educated to become champions for Trump and Western Civilization in the "cultural battlefield".

We at Liberty believe that Christians have a higher calling than politics. We believe that our goal is to make disciples and to encourage each other, building each other up. We feel that this is the exact opposite of what the Falkirk Center believes and is trying to accomplish. Because of that, this petition has been created to show those outside Liberty that we will not be silent about the damage being done to our school's reputation by several un-Christlike people.

We believe that the church is “built on the foundation of the apostles and the prophets” (Eph. 2:20), not on western civilization. Everything people need to know for salvation has been given to us from the apostles and prophets, not from contemporary political issues that the Falkirk Center promotes. Thus, we would argue that the Falkirk Center is not necessary in continuing Liberty’s mission to train champions for Christ.

This petition should be signed by current and recently-graduated Liberty University students. We are not signing this out of a desire to spite the Falkirk Center, but out of a desire to regain what the Falkirk Center has tarnished: the integrity of Liberty University. While Ryan Helfenbein, Charlie Kirk, Eric Metaxas, and the other Falkirk fellows champion their politics and their golden calf, we want the world to know how many students do not support them. We don’t want to be soldiers in a culture war; we want only to be champions for Christ.