Billy Graham

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This article is about a U.S. evangelist, for persons with the same or similar name, see Bill Graham (disambiguation)

The Rev. Dr. William Franklin Graham, Jr. KBE (born November 7, 1918 in Charlotte, North Carolina), commonly known as Billy Graham, is an American Protestant Christian evangelist. He has often advised U.S. presidents and was number 7 on Gallup's list of admired people for the 20th century.

Contents

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Biography

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Ministry

Image:Richard-Nixon-and-Billy-Graham.gif Raised as a Presbyterian, Billy Graham switched denominations to Southern Baptist in 1934 during a Christian revival meeting conducted by Mordecai Ham. Graham was ordained a Southern Baptist minister in 1939.

After graduating from Sharon High School in May 1936, Graham attended Bob Jones College (now Bob Jones University) but found it to be extremely fundamentalist and, considering this disobliging, he transferred to the Florida Bible Institute, now Trinity College of Florida, in 1937 and graduated from Wheaton College in 1943. It was during his time at Wheaton that Graham decided to take the Bible as the infallible word of God. Henrietta Mears [1] of the First Presbyterian Church of Hollywood was instrumental in helping Graham wrestle with the issue, which was settled at Forest Home Christian camp (now called Forest Home Ministries) southeast of the Big Bear area in Southern California. A simple memorial there still marks the site of Graham's decision. He also married Ruth Bell, whose parents were Christian missionary doctors in China. He and his wife have three daughters, two sons (including Franklin Graham, who now administers his organization), 20 grandchildren and 25 great grandchildren.

Graham joined Youth for Christ after graduating from Wheaton. He traveled throughout the United States and Europe as an evangelist. Graham scheduled a series of missions in Los Angeles in 1949. The missions went on for 8 weeks after being originally schedule for only 3 weeks. This happened on many other of his early missions. He had missions in London which lasted 12 weeks, and a New York City mission in Madison Square Garden in 1957 which ran nightly for 16 weeks.

He also led a very successful crusade (the first of several) in Australia in 1959. Counselors in training to talk with people coming forward for conversion were provided with kits which included peppermint and musk lifesavers, to ensure that their breath would not be offensive to the people being counseled. This crusade was regarded as being the most effective preaching of the gospel in Australian history and its effects led to the church growing consistently over the next 15 years and numerous new churches being founded. Many home Bible groups that were formed lasted 35 years or more.

According to Ben Bagdikian's The Media Monopoly, Graham was catapulted out of obscurity by news moguls William Randolph Hearst and Henry Luce who thought that Graham would be helpful in promoting their conservative anti-communist views. Hearst sent a telegram to his editors reading "Puff Graham", while Luce put him on the cover of TIME in 1954.

Dr. Graham served as the President of Northwestern College in Minnesota from 1948 to 1952. He founded the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association in 1950, headquartered in Minneapolis. The Association later relocated to Charlotte, N.C. BGEA Ministries have included:

  • Hour of Decision, a weekly radio program broadcast around the world for over 50 years
  • Mission television specials which are regularly broadcast in prime time in almost every market in the U.S. and Canada
  • A newspaper column, My Answer, carried by newspapers across the United States
  • Decision magazine, the official publication of the Association
  • passageway.org, the teen website of the BGEA
  • World Wide Pictures, which has produced and distributed over 130 productions

On June 24, 2005, Billy Graham began what he has said will be his last North American Crusade, at Flushing Meadows Park in New York City. But, on the weekend of March 11–12 Billy Graham held the "Festival of Hope", together with his son, Franklin Graham. The festival was held in New Orleans, which was recently hit by Katrina. Over 1,360 made decisions for Christ during the weekend event, supported by 215 churches across the New Orleans metro area.

Graham said that this was due to his failing health. He has suffered from Parkinsons disease for about 15 years, has had fluid on the brain, pneumonia, broken hips, and recently revealed that he is suffering from prostate cancer.

In August 2005, a frail Graham appeared at the groundbreaking for his library in Charlotte, North Carolina. Then 86, the Rev. Graham was forced to use a walker to get around during the ceremony.

Billy Graham has preached to more people in live audiences than any one else in history. He has spoken to live audiences of over 210 million people in more than 185 countries and territories through various meetings including Mission World and Global Mission. He has also reached hundreds of millions more through television, video, film, and webcasts.

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Politics

Declassified "Richard Nixon tapes" revealed controversial anti-semitic remarks made by Graham (to Nixon). Rev. Billy Graham openly voiced his belief that Jews control the American media, calling it a "stranglehold" during a 1972 conversation with President Richard Nixon. "This stranglehold has got to be broken or the country's going down the drain," said Graham, agreeing with Nixon's comments about Jews and their influence in American life. Later, Graham mentions that he has friends in the media who are Jewish, saying they "swarm around me and are friendly to me." But, he confides to Nixon, "They don't know how I really feel about what they're doing to this country." Graham, upon release, apologized for the remarks, stating that "[a]lthough I have no memory of the occasion, I deeply regret comments I apparently made...They do not reflect my views, and I sincerely apologize for any offense caused by the remarks."

Politically, Graham has been a lifelong supporter of the Democratic Party, although more recently he has adopted a flexible position, choosing to cast his vote with either party, depending on which he considers most appropriate at the time. He has had close relationships with Lyndon B. Johnson and Bill Clinton, but he is still very close to the Bush family. Just two days before the 2000 presidential election, Graham spoke at a prayer breakfast in Florida with George W. Bush in attendance and stopped short of formally endorsing him. His messages have been apolitical.

The Billy Graham Evangelistic Association offers the following statement with regard to his politics:

It is true that many, many years ago Mr. Graham registered as a Democrat. However, throughout the years he has voted for the candidate he believes will do the best job. In other words, he has not voted a straight party ticket. Mr. Graham takes his responsibility to vote for the leaders of our country with the same prayerful seriousness that he takes other significant decisions.
Mr. Graham has always maintained an optimistic attitude toward people. He seeks the good and emphasizes what is positive, even if he does not agree with them on many points, including moral or political issues. Mr. Graham's comments sometimes are not presented in the complete context in which they were made; while at other times, he himself would perhaps wish he might have phrased things a bit differently. However, he does not presently and never has condoned or defended immoral conduct.
Mr. Graham's lifelong calling has been to proclaim the Gospel of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ throughout the world. As you are aware, he has been faithful to this mission. He has not compromised his message.
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Books

Billy Graham has written 24 books, many of which have been translated into over 30 languages, including:

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Awards and honors

Billy Graham has received the Congressional Gold Medal; the Templeton Foundation Prize for Progress in Religion; and the Ronald Reagan Presidential Foundation Freedom Award for contributions to the cause of faith and freedom.

He has received the Big Brother of the Year Award for his work on behalf of the welfare of children. He has been cited by the George Washington Carver Memorial Institute for his contributions to race relations. He has also been recognized by the Anti-Defamation League of the B'nai B'rith and the National Conference of Christians and Jews for his efforts to foster a better understanding among all faiths.

For providing a platform during his events for many Christian musical artists—many new to singing and songwriting and others not so new—Billy Graham was inducted into the Gospel Music Hall of Fame in 1999 by the Gospel Music Association.

On September 14, 2001 in the aftermath of the September 11, 2001 attacks, Dr. Graham led a prayer and remembrance service at Washington National Cathedral attended by President George W. Bush and past and present leaders.

In December 2001 he was presented with an honorary knighthood, Honorary Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire (KBE), for his international contributions to civic and religious life over 60 years.

Graham has been the minister to several presidents, including speaking at one presidential funeral and one presidential burial. Graham presided over the graveside services for former president Lyndon Johnson in 1973 and took part in eulogizing the former president with former Texas Democratic governor John Connally, an LBJ protege and fellow Texan who was wounded in the assassination that made LBJ president. Ironically Graham spoke at Connally's funeral and the funeral of former first lady Pat Nixon within one week of each other in June of 1993. He also spoke at the funeral of former president Richard Nixon in 1994. Graham was unable to officiate the state funeral of Ronald Reagan on June 11, 2004 due to recent double hip replacement surgery, which former President George H.W. Bush acknowledged during his own eulogy. Graham had been Reagan's first choice. Because Graham was hospitalized, Rev. John Danforth, Missouri Republican senator in Reagan's day, officiated the funeral.

Graham is the seventh most admired person in the 20th century, according to Gallup.

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Quotes

  • "My one purpose in life is to help people find a personal relationship with God, which, I believe, comes through knowing Christ."
  • "If you find a perfect church don't join it: You'd spoil it."
  • "After watching 'The Passion of the Christ', I feel as if I have actually been there. I was moved to tears. I doubt if there has ever been a more graphic and moving presentation of Jesus' death and resurrection."
  • "Your mind cannot possibly understand God. Your heart already knows."
  • "I have one message: Jesus Christ came; He died on a cross; He rose again. He asks us to repent of our sins and receive Him by faith as Lord and Savior. And if we do, we have forgiveness of all our sins."
  • (Whilst being covertly recorded in conversation with Richard Nixon) "A lot of Jews are great friends of mine. They swarm around me and are friendly to me, because they know that I am friendly to Israel and so forth, but they don't know how I really feel about what they're doing to this country, and I have no power and no way to handle them."
  • (On being shown the content of the covert recording of his conversation with Richard Nixon) "They do not reflect my views and I sincerely apologize for any offense caused by the remarks," he said. "I cannot imagine what caused me to make those comments . …I was wrong for not disagreeing with the President. My remarks did not reflect my love for the Jewish people. I humbly ask the Jewish community to reflect on my actions on behalf of Jews over the years that contradict my words in the Oval Office that day."
  • "I urge everyone to examine themselves and renew their own hearts before God," he said. "Of greater import or concern than any tapes made in the White House, each of us must face the fact that God has 'tapes' that record not only our actions but also our thoughts and our intent."
  • "I believe God has always had a special relationship with the Jewish people, as St. Paul suggests in the book of Romans. In my evangelistic efforts I have never felt called to single out the Jews as Jews nor to single out any other particular groups, cultural, ethnic, or religious."
  • About Christianity and Judaism: "We have grown. The two don’t see the vast differences and hold the prejudices they did. People have friends across all kinds of lines."
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Controversy

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  • Graham has been criticized for years by many Christian Fundamentalists for his inclusive message and his close relationship with the Catholic Church (especially for his friendship with the late Pope John Paul II). Christian fundamentalism emphasizes doctrinal purity, scriptural baptism, and separatism, while Graham has taken a more evangelical position of cooperation wherever possible with other groups that claim to be Christians. Evangelicals believe in salvation by faith in Christ alone while the Catholic Church teaches salvation by faith in and adherence to the sacraments of the Catholic church.
  • Graham has been accused of a lack of tolerance for other religons, as well as anti-Semitism on the basis of covert recordings of conversations with President Richard Nixon.
  • Before initiating the Gulf War, President Bush and his wife Barbara, fearing that the war will result in deaths of many civilians, including children, invited Billy Graham to the White House to obtain his advice on this matter. Reverend Graham based his spiritual counsel on the church doctrine of the just war. After the pictures of the civilian casualties caused by the Gulf War became known, especially the pictures from the Amiriyah shelter destroyed by the U.S. smart bombs and resulting in death of over four hundred women and children, questions were raised about the morality and wisdom of the Reverend Graham's counsel.
  • Some people have said that Graham has received excessive financial compensation from his ministry. Most biographers, however, state that Graham was always careful to receive reasonable compensation far below what other television evangelists would later receive.
  • Though Graham claims to be a Southern Baptist, his children were all baptized as infants, a major violation of Southern Baptist Doctrine. While Billy Graham was a Baptist, his wife and children were members of the Montreat Presbyterian Church in Montreat, North Carolina. Southern Baptists believe that baptism is for believers only and that infants are not proper candidates for baptism. Lifeway Christian Resources of the Southern Baptist convention plans on placing a memorial for Billy Graham at their Tennesee headquarters, however some Southern Baptist pastors oppose such a memorial because of Graham's position on baptism.
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External links

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