We have a post box for our mail, so sometimes we receive mail sent to previous holders of that box number. Today we received the October issue of “Decision” magazine, published by the Billy Graham Evangelical Association.
The editor-in-chief, Franklin Graham, wrote the lead article in this issue, titled “We Can Still Turn Back.” Franklin Graham says, in part:
“On Nov. 8, tens of millions of voters will head to polls across America in the most crucial midterm elections in recent history. To say that much is at stake is a gross understatement. It isn’t just control of Congress; it may be our last chance to stop the immoral and ungodly policies that have brought our national to the moral brink of disaster.”
What are the “immoral and ungodly policies” to which he refers? About what you’d expect: same sex marriage, abortion rights, and “transgenderism.”
In his article, Franklin Graham concludes, “That’s why it is so critical that you go to the polls on Nov. 8 and vote from the candidates who best align with godly, Biblical principles.”
But which Biblical principles? Franklin Graham’s net worth is estimated to be on the order of $10 million, and he has an annual income on the order of $600,000. Yet in Matthew 19:16-21, we hear this story:
“Then someone came to [Jesus] and said, ‘Teacher, what good deed must I do to have eternal life?’ And he said to him, ‘Why do you ask me about what is good? There is only one who is good. If you wish to enter into life, keep the commandments.’ He said to him, ‘Which ones?’ And Jesus said, ‘You shall not murder; You shall not commit adultery; You shall not steal; You shall not bear false witness; Honor your father and mother; also, You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ The young man said to him, ‘I have kept all these; what do I still lack?’ Jesus said to him, ‘If you wish to be perfect, go, sell your possessions, and give the money to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; then come, follow me.’…” [NRSV; emphasis added]
Franklin Graham contributes to good in the world through the global charity he heads, Samaritan’s Purse. But I do not see Franklin Graham actually following this teaching of Jesus in Matthew 19:16-21, to go and sell all his possessions and give the money to the poor. Sadly, this makes it look like he picks Bible passages that confirm his biases while passing over Bible passages that cause him discomfort.
Which makes him appear hypocritical.
No wonder young people are leaving organized religion in droves.
OK, it’s 3 years later but I stumbled across this and I guess I’ll leave something (because I’m intrigued – – and not immune from partisan bickering, which I think is mostly all this will amount to, and already is) …
I was looking for a sketch of Franklin Graham (for a cartoon I’m adapting – about preachers today accomodating the basic gospel in order to fit a culture that’s been, as you point out, moving away from church, God, and the Bible).
You’re a very good artist, btw.
You’re not really *bashing* Franklin Graham so terribly – you did acknowledge there’s some good (at least) in the work of Samaritan’s Purse, e.g.
… but I do get the distinct feeling that this post is mostly just partisan line-drawing, if you will.
You looked up his salary (which I suppose is public knowledge) and you defined (for him) whatever it was he meant when he said, “immoral and ungodly policies”.
He makes a TON of money, evidently, and you then assume he is greedy and has not given enough in terms of the Rich Young Ruler …
My wife and I make less than $60,000 a year but I don’t begrudge Franklin Graham. He’s in a different league than we are, as far as being in the public eye and “the son of – -“, etc. etc.
… My point being that I could not begin to criticize because I do not know what it’s like at that echalon of society (or whatever we might call the realm our more famous counterparts inhabit).
~ Nor do I know what kind of personal sacrifices he may have made in the course of his life.
Perhaps we should not be TOO quick to judge someone because of how much they make (?)
[Nor to assume too much about factors we simply don’t know anything about.]
A more honest approach may have been, “This guy bugs me. He’s one of them ‘Evangelicals’ – the worst perhaps, because of who his father is … Let’s find SOME way in which we can find fault and deplore HIS kind …”
“… Him and his CONSERVATIVE politics – so laden with HATE.”
But, I don’t get it.
If you’re a Universalist, don’t you believe everyone is “going to heaven”?
Isn’t that what Universalism teaches?
Why let Evangelicals bug you?
We’ll all end up in glory and the past – with all its indiscretions – will be forgotten.
People like Franklin Graham seem to think “much is at stake” but who cares if we’re all heading to the same end, ultimately?
Let the guy blow off some steam, right?
Ah, but why exactly IS it that he bugs you so much??
Hmmmmmm …
(Maybe there’s something else going on there …)
Hi Jay, nope not partisan. I’m proudly registered as Independent, belonging to no political party whatsoever. The main thing that influences my vote would be the teachings of Jesus of Nazareth: help the poor and suffering, help the widows and children, turn the other cheek, and the implied teaching that war is immoral. It has been very hard for me to find candidates I can vote for in good conscience. A couple of examples of my votes: my first vote for president, way back in 1980, was for third-party candidate John B. Anderson; and in 2016 I couldn’t bring myself to vote for either presidential candidate, because I felt neither one was fit for office (an opinion I still hold). I keep hoping for more political parties, beyond the Democrats and Republicans, parties that could promote ethical and moral positions I’m comfortable with — since both major political parties right now seem more concerned with clinging to power, than with governing ethically and humanely. Unfortunately, because the Democrats and Republicans cling so hard to power, they are not going to let any other parties come into existence. If anything, rather than being partisan, I’m anti-partisan.
So yes, there is something more going on here. Instead of following the teachings of Jesus, our politicians cling to power. Similarly, Franklin Graham tries to do good, but like the man in the story, he too must cling to his powe. Clinging to power is what keep us all from truly living up to Jesus’s teachings.