Jerry Falwell the Elder was a good man who loved America. He fought the good fight against fearsome odds:
For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places. — Ephesians 6:12
I’m thinking Luke 12:48 is in play here. Falwell Jr. besmirched his family name and in doing so, a lot of things his dad, built, accomplished and stood for.