C’mon….we all know what he meant. But for the president of an evangelical university to make this sort of goof and leave it undeleted still surprises me for two big reasons.

“…by their tweets shall ye know them…”

Here’s what we’re talking about: The tweeters are aflutter about a statement by Jerry Falwell Jr. of Liberty University. Falwell blamed Attorney General Jeff Sessions for the recent legal hot-water of top former Trump aides.

Here at ILYBYGTH, we’re more interested in Falwell’s scripture goof. Of course, he didn’t mean anyone “sewed” the wind. He’s referring to Hosea 8:7, in which people “sowed” the wind.

On one hand, it’s easy to make a simply typing mistake, especially on Twitter. In this case, though, I’m really surprised Falwell has left it up, mostly because it’s not a simply misspelling. “Sewed” is a totally different word with a different meaning, implying that Falwell doesn’t understand what Hosea was talking about. In other words, it’s not only a misspelling, but a misquotation.

It would be different if Falwell had accidentally typed “sowd the wind” or “sowed teh wind,” but “sewed the wind” makes it seem like Falwell just doesn’t really know the Bible verse all that well.

And that makes me surprised to see it linger, for two big reasons.

First of all, among the conservative evangelical and fundamentalist public, nothing matters more in a university leader than deep knowledge of and reverence for scripture. This sort of uncorrected typo makes it look as if Falwell didn’t understand the gist of the chapter and verse. Or worse, he doesn’t care enough about fidelity to Scripture.

Second, Liberty University has always desperately wanted to win mainstream academic respectability. In recent years, they have spent bajillions of dollars to do so. For Falwell to leave this misquotation undeleted makes his school look even more like the anti-intellectual cloister it has often been accused of being.