The Rev. Franklin Graham: An American Scold
Bill Berkowitz printable version print page     Bookmark and Share
Thu Feb 26, 2015 at 10:38:38 AM EST
Make no mistake about it, the Rev. Franklin Graham, the son of the Rev. Billy Graham, is trying to brand himself as a gutsy let-it-all-hang-out twenty-first century religious leader. Whether asked or not, he's more than willing to inject himself into any conversation; be it over the use of a chapel at Duke University by Muslims, transgendered bathrooms in Charlotte, North Carolina, the so-called persecution of U.S. Christians by secularists, or the persistent failures of President Barack Obama. Despite Graham's public persona of being a humorless man lacking any trace of wit, he nevertheless has positioned himself as a man with access to multiple platforms, from which he can pop off about whatever, whenever, and to whoever will listen.

No shrinking violet, Graham, president of Samaritans' Purse and the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association, has blazing gums, will travel.

America's Scold is Garrulous, Grumpy, and Glomming the Spotlight

In the February edition of Decision magazine, Graham revisited the sexual revolution of the 1960s, and claimed that it "severely weakened" the U.S. from within. "A stable family unit committed to the truth and precepts of the Bible was once the foundation and backbone of our nation. That model is now the exception, not the rule," he argued.

"The plague of immorality has so swept across the American landscape that there is virtually no place where its corrosive influence is not felt," continued Graham. "The pervasive, immoral reach of popular media, which actively promotes every type of sexual misconduct imaginable, constantly agitates against the biblical norms of upright, godly behavior."

At a recent Oklahoma State Evangelism Conference, Graham told attendees that both communism and secularism are "godless" and "anti-Christ": "We live in a secular society led by people that call themselves progressives. Secularists ... have taken control of our country. And we have just sat back and it's happened. And we haven't even realized it's happened."

He urged audience members to become politically involved: "We've got to take a stand. We cannot back up. We cannot run. We cannot retreat."

Earlier this year, he roared about a proposal to allow the call to prayer from the chapel on the campus of Duke University. He wrote, "As Christianity is being excluded from the public square and followers of Islam are raping, butchering and beheading Christians, Jews, and anyone who doesn't submit to their Sharia Islamic law, Duke is promoting this in the name of religious pluralism. I call on the donors and alumni to withhold their support from Duke until this policy is reversed." A cowering Duke University leadership quickly reversed its decision.

More recently he weighed in on a proposed ordinance in Charlotte, North Carolina, which would allow transgender men and women into any restroom. Graham argued that the ordinance is "not only ridiculous, it's unsafe": "It violates every sense of privacy and decency for people of both sexes, adults and children."

"Common sense tells us that this would open the door, literally, to all sorts of serious concerns including giving sexual predators access to children. It violates every sense of privacy and decency for people of both sexes, adults and children."

He has also turned his attention to the murders of Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri and Eric Garner in New York City, glibly pointing out that "both of these young men are dead because they refused to obey the police. And that`s sad but we are becoming so lawless in many of our communities. What happened to both of `em is a shame. It shouldn`t have never happened."

While comments on the Duke University proposal and the Charlotte ordinance serves to keep Graham in the news, over the past few years his attacks on President Barack Obama, Muslims and Islam have become his bread and butter.

In a recent appearance on the Fox News Channel's "On the Record with Greta Van Susteren," Graham was asked by Van Susteren why the White House's refuses to use the term "radical Islam" in describing the terrorists in the Islamic State (ISIS), al-Qaida and other groups.

Graham responded: "His mother was married to a Muslim, his father was a Muslim. Then she married a man from Indonesia. He was raised in Indonesia. Went to Islamic schools. I assume she was a Muslim." So his whole life, his experiences have been surrounded by Islam. He only knows Islam. And he has given a pass to Islam. He is refusing to understand the evil that is in front of him."

According to Charisma News' Jennifer LeClaire, Graham is speaking out so "boldly" because other religious leaders won't and he can: "Because he sees an Islamic storm coming against America. Although he's not a Pentecostal spiritual warrior who prays in tongues and binds devils, he has strong discernment and enough boldness to go toe-to-toe with the principalities and powers that have targeted Christians for destruction."

In other words, LeClaire wrote recently, "Franklin Graham is saying what most politicians, pastors, news pundits and others refuse to say: Islam is not a religion of peace."




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