Graham's Crusade Saved America

Weekly Standard: Former President Underscores Importance Of Evangelical Leader's Role

(Weekly Standard)  This column was written by Mark D. Tooley.

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The most poignant moment of the May 31 dedication of the Billy Graham Library was the tribute to the 88-year-old evangelist by 82-year-old former President George H.W. Bush.

Three former presidents were present at the dedication in Charlotte, N.C. Jimmy Carter praised Graham's early opposition to racial segregation. Bill Clinton recalled, with suspect sincerity, that the "best date he ever had" was taking his soon-to-be-wife Hillary to a Graham crusade 35 years ago.

But an emotional George H. W. Bush was unique in describing Graham's influence as both spiritual and geopolitical.

"The moral awakening that Billy helped to ignite starting here in America — which then spread like a wildfire across the country, and ultimately around the world — was also the same spark that ignited hope and kept its embers burning in far away places, behind an Iron Curtain," Bush recalled. "And just as there was a coalition of free nations that stood together in the face of this geopolitical threat, so, too, was there a brotherhood of great spiritual leaders — including our honoree and Pope John Paul II — whose unaffected charisma and purity of purpose played a decisive role in resolving the moral crises of our times."

Bush concluded: "No question, these men, together with other messengers who carried forth The Word, helped tip the balance in the Cold War in freedom's favor."

Graham has been America's chief religious celebrity for almost 60 years, a spiritual statesman who has been acquainted with every president since Harry Truman. Bush justifiably called him "America's pastor." So it is easy to forget where American evangelicals were when Graham's ministry began in the late 1940s.

The liberal mainline Protestant denominations firmly controlled America's religious public square when Graham first appeared on the stage. Evangelicals were commonly derided as fundamentalists, a group long since discredited by academia and the respectable denominations. The nascent evangelical subculture was just beginning to challenge the hegemony of liberal theology in America's Protestant churches.

Graham's early evangelistic crusades were famously "puffed" by the Hearst press, at the direction of William Randolph Hearst himself. But Graham's quick fame relied more on his own charisma and organizational skills than Hearst's puffing. Graham's style was revivalistic, but not chauvinistic. It recalled the better moments of America's 19th century revivalist history, while appealing to country's burgeoning new suburban demographic.

From the start, Graham was interested not just in crusading soul-saving, but in the intellectual reformation of American religious thought. He helped found Christianity Today magazine to articulate mainstream evangelical thought and challenge liberal Protestant journals such as Christian Century. Symbolic of a larger transformation in America's religious demographic, Christianity Today now has nearly four times as many subscribers as the liberal flagship Christian Century.

Although liberal Protestantism stood atop American religion in Graham's early years, it was ripe for a fall. Its denominations began their long decline in the 1960s, soon followed by falling enrollment at its seminaries. America's ten largest Protestant seminaries are now all evangelical, whereas 50 years ago they were all liberal Protestant.

America's mainline churches followed the direction of European Christianity both in their theological liberalism and their demographic implosion. Without Graham's evangelical revival, America's religious culture could well have followed Europe's spiritual route. Graham re-injected evangelical Protestantism back into the front portals of American culture, building a firewall against aggressive, European-style secularism. Importantly, he modernized evangelical culture, purging its previous hostilities towards Catholics, its accommodations towards segregation, and its suspicions of higher education.

Graham's friendships with nearly all the last 11 presidents and his prominent role in state worship events symbolize evangelical culture's ascendancy in America. Graham, the Southern Baptist preacher, stands where Episcopal bishops, now nearly inconsequential, once stood in national prominence.

Indeed, President George H. W. Bush was far more influenced by Graham than any cleric of his own denomination. "As an Episcopalian . . . I have always viewed my faith as an intensely personal matter," Bush said at the library dedication. "There is nothing self-conscious, however, about my relationship with Jesus Christ; and thanks to Billy, I have come to understand this all-important relationship in deeper and more meaningful ways."

Bush recalled that Graham had stayed at the White House while Desert Storm was launched and had guided his children, including the current president, through their own spiritual journeys: "The family love we Bushes feel towards you and Ruth extends all the way into the Oval Office."

His own life roughly paralleling Graham's years, Bush remembered that "at the time of Billy's rise . . . the clouds of fascism had gathered in Europe . . . and the storm they unleashed would threaten the existence of free and open societies. And after a great coalition of free peoples poured forth the blood of their sons to defeat this machinery of death, we faced another threat — a rising tide of tyranny in the Soviet Union."

In both World War II and the Cold War, Bush said, "Freedom's victory was far from foreordained. It would require vigilance in the face of laxity; courage in the face of appeasement; moral clarity in the face of relativism; and above all else, hope in the face of despair." These matters of state were never separate from the spiritual issues to which Graham had dedicated himself, Bush observed. Graham's central role in restoring America's religious spirit contributed directly to democracy's survival internationally.

[wogerwabbit]

What a bunch of BS. Graham didn't save America... he just got rich.

[grumpas]

If he produced a 'moral awakening' then why is this country in such a mess from Christian's running it????? If he is such a great influence then why do we have one of the most corrupt goverments on the planet????? Every day it's some new scandal that is uncovered. These charlatan's (Graham included) just get rich off of people's ignorance.

[brianbwb-2009]

Saved is only known at the end of your history.

Mr. Graham is only one of many who used the trappings of religion to enrich himself.
You can believe Jesus saves, but do you believe that Graham is Jesus?

Just more pimping of religion, this time Bush takes refuge behind Mr. Graham, and by not condemning publicly the illegal slaughter and other crimes against humanity, and violations of the commandments of the God of Abraham by Mr. Bush's administration, Mr. Graham shows everyone that politics is more important to him than God.

[ubrew12]

Weakly Standard: "Without Graham's evangelical revival, America's religious culture could well have followed Europe's spiritual route."

And on too many issues, Europe's spirituality has recently proven far superior to Americas:
1. Handing your kids a $10 trillion debt to pay for your good times is unEuropean.
2. Invading countries like Iraq when peaceful solutions to their WMD exist is unEuropean.
3. Ignoring Global Warming as if faith alone would make it go away is unEuropean.
4. Buying Chinese instead of American to such a degree that your currency devalues and your own laborers fall to Third World status is unEuropean.
5. Eviscerating the judicial branch of government, who alone represent the codified morality of your past, is unEuropean.
6. Torture is unEuropean.

Yeah, Graham's legacy in bringing religion back to America is secure. Too bad religion and morality are two different things. For morality, we could do worse than take a clue from those secular humanists across the Atlantic.

[jimfinster]

News reports indicate that the library cost $ 27 million dollars. It is essentially a monument to Billy Graham, no way around it.

How does this fit into Biblical teachings, ie being humble and helping the poor? This seems hypocritical to me...

Chairisma is not faith, but it can stimulate faith. The presidential pastorate of Graham has been a fixture of my lifetime. While it has buttered no parsnips [the notion that it contributed to the fall of the Soviet Union is, to be charitable, exaggerated], it has broken no bones.

Graham himself has always been careful not to slip into the excesses of knowledge bashing which disfigure the more farouche of Evangelicals. And the decline of liberal Christianity is unquestionably real.

The real question, at least for the non-Christian like myself, is what do Christians have to contribute to the political dialog besides the assertion that everybody else should either be Christian, or act like it.

The jury is still out on that one.

[cnmbarfoot]

If Europe is so superior, there are flights leaving daily. Billy Graham did more for humanity in any given 5 minutes than any of us will ever do in a lifetime. (The usernames I see do not exactly inspire confidence of academic achievement)

[cnmbarfoot]

P.S.-some of the usernames, not all-and yes, mine isn't all that great

[sf_bay1]

Graham is a statesperson of unquestioned integrity. Whereas many other self-styled tele-vangelists were at least hypocritical or improperly enriched by "God's Money", Graham lived relatively humbly and encouraged his own accountability to a Board of Directors and public disclosure.

What many of his critics may not like is his message. But at least it is based on love and transformation, not bitterness and divisiveness (except to the extent that Christianity makes claims to objective truth and the need for personal redemption by Divine forgiveness!

Here's to Graham--a non-partisan person who called attention to the Divine than to himself!

[archangelric]

Why is it I read this story and keep hearing in the background "Sieg Heil! Sieg Heil!"

Maybe it's because if you replace Billy Graham with Adolf Hitler, change the dates, change the location, and the story (from the perspective of the star character) is the same. Hitler "saved christianity:" in Europe at the time in the same way with an "evangelical revival" that also called for the killing of Jews, gypsies, homosexuals,and Jehovah's Witnesses; and more added later.

At what point does the writer wake up and understand that many of the things supported and done by Billy Graham weren't exactly very christian; from support of the Vietnam war, and on.

Fighting for Christ is like *** for virginity; you kind of lose what you are fighting for just by getting involved.

[sparks224]

Graham's Crusade Saved America?

It didn't save America from the neo-cons.

The magazine should be called The Weekly Substandard.

[roger3815]

That is the biggest load of obsequious *** I've read since Jerry Falwell died. I'd like the 5 minutes of my life back that I just wasted reading it.

[jimfinster]

singinrick

This is a $27 million temple to Billy Graham. How does that demonstrate christian values?

How many ill and starving children could that have helped? How many orphanages would that have built? How does this demonstrate a humble man?

[cs4466]

As long as mankind, as a species, is enslaved to religion of any kind, the basic problems that come with it will persist.
Belief in an unseen, inevident, unproven (and, of course, unprovable) and inevitably intangible God or Gods is an artifice of Man. It has but one true purpose: manipulation. The manipulation of social standards, the manipulation of power and manipulation of the most basic fear of all - the fear of the unknown.
Until we all learn to respect one another as individuals of inherent value, to be admired for who and what we are and finally drop all this nonsense (Islam, Christianity, Judaism, Mormonism or whatever the flavor of the month is now) and resolve ourselves to the simple truth that we DO NOT know what happens to our consciousness when we die and we DO NOT know why we are here and finally accept the fact that we simply ARE, we will be burdened by this dark aspect of human nature which is to manipulate and dominate others through power. In this case, the power of faith.
Heaven. Hell. Wrong. Right. These absolutes do not exist in our universe. We have created them ourselves. Is your adherence to your morals simply based on the mythological threat of divine retribution and justice, or does it come from within? Strive to achieve a purity of respect for yourself and others. That isn't faith, it is the evolution of our species.

[elz523]

It is too bad. I had always thought better of Rev. Graham. I didn't know he was responsible for the idiocracy of the religous right.


Imagine that. Another piece of trash from the Weekly Standard. Check you brain at the door.

[jimfinster]

singinrick:

Nice try, but it is not about me. It is about Billy. I don't claim to be a christian, he does.

So I ask you again, how does building a $27 million dollar temple to yourself follow the biblical teachings of christ???

[brianbwb-2009]

Still some of you don't get it do you, the man claims to be a religious leader, while chumming up with the first Hitler of the twenty first century.

Anyone claiming to believe in the God that sent the ten commandments, among which are,

don't lie (WMD, Al Qaeda, etc)
don't steal (tax money funneled to friends)
don't kill (uncounted Iraqis, 3500+ Americans to date)
don't covet (oil)
no idols (crosses)
Observe a holy day (who can afford to?)

while supporting and seeking alliance with a head of state guilty of breaking almost all of them, is clearly not what he presumes himself to be.

[neoconrcrazy]

We're back to old discussion; God and politics.

For me they're mutually exclusive.

Keep god out of Congress, and Congress out of the church (or temple, or whatever).

Bringing religion into the politial sphere has done alot of damage to this country.

Some years ago nobody would dare ask another: Do you believe in Jesus Christ the Saviour?

Everyone had their "religious freedom", in private, in their families, their communities.

Now you have to take out full page color ads professing your "moral judeo-christian values"
otherwise you'll be degraded, de-humanized, discriminated.

So, if you don't mind, Jesus and I have a private relationship - so get your moralistic noses kindly out of my face. Thank you.

[naturaltwo]

I like how these Pharisees of Evanginazism think only they know Jesus and God. I believe Cain thought the same way and then stabbed his brother in the back.

I believe it was Jesus who said "Let he who is without sin cast the first stone." I don't remember Jesus saying homosexuality was a sin.

But these eveangelistas of evanginazism do. They have the same notion of God that Cain did.

I believe in God, accept Jesus, and know these charlatans of evangelism know neither.

[luvny-2009]

So I ask you again, how does building a $27 million dollar temple to yourself follow the biblical teachings of christ???

Can you say Franklin, he's all about the money!

[jjp735i]

ROFLMAO He saved America. He fleeced his flock for the cash he could get.

[rushlimpdrug]

A Billy Graham Library in Charlotte, N.C ?

Guess Jesus came in 2nd.

I'm still waiting for the Swaggart Library - yeah baby! !

[grumpas]

SO again I say, it's not about "religion", it's about Jesus Christ.

He loves you, He paid the price for you, and He offers you a free gift of eternal life simply for believing in Him.

It's really that simple.

It has NOTHING to do with religion at all.
Posted by singinrick

Isn't that what your 'Lord Jesus Christ' is all about is religion???????? If he isn't religion what is he???? Jesus Christ is only mentioned in the Bible which is the Christian religion! No where else in history do you find the name! He is exclusive to the Bible! And you missed your calling singinrick! You should have been Baptist evangelist sweaty brow, bible waving and all! That's all that comes out of your mouth are the same old religious rhetoric your head has been filled with! You are about as nauseating as most of them.

[ubrew12]

"Bringing religion into the politial sphere has done alot of damage to this country."Posted by neoconRcrazy at 06:16 AM : Jun 11, 2007

I so agree! The advantage of religion is 'never having to say you're sorry'. Its an attempt to banish shame when engaging in predatory behavior. Here are some things that I think are shameful about modern American society that undoubting 'true believers' have helped create:
1. Handing your kids a $10 trillion debt to pay for your administrations.
2. Invading countries like Iraq when peaceful solutions to their WMD exist.
3. Ignoring Global Warming as if faith alone would make it go away.
4. Buying Chinese instead of American to such a degree that your currency devalues and your own laborers fall to Third World status.
5. Eviscerating the judicial branch of government, who alone represent the codified morality of your past.
6. Torture.

Just being human causes us to recoil from committing such predatory behavior. But if you're a true believer, it's OK. It's a win-win. The only loser is 750,000 Iraqi's whom you'll never have to face thanks to a news block-out.

[andor3]

Of course the Weekly Standard and politicians love ol' Billy--he was key in perverting christianity so it could fit into the capitalist-political-religious money machine that has destroyed much of America's true values. They're all in the same club, eating at the same table, exploiting the same system.

True Christians were homeless and lived on handouts and made fun of people who worried about money and possessions. Those Christians weren't very useful to capitalists!

[marcodele]

Organized religion is one of the most dangerous aspects of our society. It has become a corporate entity completely detached from moral values and for sale to the highest bidder.

[ioweign]

The American Taliban!!

[ammianus]

%u201CFascism may be defined as a form of political behavior marked by obsessive preoccupation with community decline, humiliation or victim-hood and by compensatory cults of unity, energy, and purity, in which a mass-based party of committed nationalist militants, working in uneasy but effective collaboration with traditional elites, abandons democratic liberties and pursues with redemptive violence and without ethical or legal restraints goals of internal cleansing and external expansion.%u201D

R. O. Paxton, The Anatomy of Fascism, Vintage Books, 2005, p.218.

[tejasdemo]

Wow

[estuardo40]

I believe Billy Graham would be embarrassed by how this and other articles 'puff' up his life. He is truly one of the most humblest men left on this earth (President Carter, a close second).

As far as being rich, that's not true either.
This library was built from private donations from those who wanted to honor him.

Billy is truly a servant of God. Of all the people of our time who deserve honor, he should be at the top of the list.

God Bless you, Billy!

[jimfinster]

estuardo40:

So what if it was private donations?

Why did Graham not say "take that $27 million and help the poor!!!!" Can you say ego?

[estuardo40]

Why did Graham not say "take that $27 million and help the poor!!!!" Can you say ego?


Posted by jimfinster at 11:38 AM : Jun 11, 2007

BTW, if you watch the accompanying video from Byron Pitts, you would find out that this wasn't built to honor him (my mistake), but for others to see and hear the message of the Gospel. If someone sees this as a tribute to him, instead of Jesus, then that's their fault, not his.

As far as the money goes, If one soul is saved from 'this library', then 27 million dollars was well spent!!

[gangesdak]

The moment religious leaders speak of the flesh they are not spiritualist, no matter how popular they could be in the eyes of the population in terms of patriotism and common family values. Common family values do not need a religious leader; the inner compass guides everyone on the right path. Message of the spirit is to be untainted with money, temptation, power. Billy graham is no spiritualist, neither was Jerry Falwel. Billy Graham was a small man- a fake- who fell for money, greed,power. A common person shows more (Christian or otherwise) values in their life.

[content2-2009]

Let us remember..To God be the Glory-not any man in any way.

[donnie900]

Billy Graham was the only guy who never really managed to embarrass me about religion. Has a knack of appearing honest. All those other guys seem to be acting when they're spazing out and acting all crazy. I'd hang my head in shame and change the channel.

[jankebenz]

Jesus told us to love another as we love ourselves, then all will go well. Seems to me that has a very profound truth to it and i believe that was echoed by Billy Graham. I would confess that is very hard to do as we tend to love our selves more than others, which causes most if not all our problems.

[grazinggoat]

This guy has hijacked the USA population to put them under slavery for a structure that keeps brainwashing them, from the liberal innerside of HUMAN. No 'criticizing' education is promoted by the church, any church! it's all thoughts submissive domintaion.

Remember PinkFloyd no thought control? well it was a call from the heart to liberation.

Humanity has jumped to its actual state of knowledge, partly because it has left the church behind. I'm not saying all the discoveries have been great for Humans (nukes), nonetheless all Human's health and affiliated aspects' discoveries have been made by humans who did not give a damm about religion. They were more prone to intellectual structurism, intellectual questioning and logics.

-Church has contributed to enslave and endoctrine the ordinary-levelled spirits by brainwashing them, in order to prepare them to accept the sacrifice of their souls by enrolling in the Armed Forces.

-If this is not what the church has done, then what did the church do? What else?

-If this is what Billy Graham has provided the Nation with? The Fighting Flesh, for crusade, well thanks Billy, you did a great Job for the Big profiteering Corporate America. You helped the Neocons into sacrificing the rednecks and the poor on the sands of Iraq, in order to fill up the profiteerings pockets. Great Job! The Creator will not save you from Hell's fire, Billy. Will HE?

[donnie900]

Well, I generally believe its wrong and cheap to put stuff like this on television all the time, and to stick it in politics. Like Hillary Clinton said, wearing their religion on their sleeves. They make blanket statements free of unintended consequence and complications. Siting God and other people in their religion as their constituencies. But I also believe its wrong to ban God from government. A man or a woman of religious can't separate his or her beliefs from who they are as representatives, and shouldn't have to, or be required to.

Theres a risk you take whenever you're overly vocal about anything, and not just a religion. And that risk is misrepresentation. And the making of the problem worse than it was before by looking cheap. We've never been able to properly convey faith in the political arena without justifying violating somebody else's rights to prove our points, and stepping on people. But that doesn't mean it isn't right to try, and not step on people or violate anybody's rights. The Separation of Church and State crowd were genuinely afraid of the religious right, and look what happened. And now the religious right crowd is genuinely afraid of their own things, and look whats happening.

People should be humble, I guess is what I'm trying to say. Absolutism is what Jefferson was after, not religion.

[donnie900]

The danger we face whenever we take on the devil, is that the devil will want to take us on in turn. And its a world of extremes, and no compromise. Nobody listening anymore. Nobody even trying to. And we're too big for that. It used to be that a war here? A war there? And it was no big deal. But not anymore. Now? The whole world watches. And you better do good before the eyes of the Lord. You better do good..

[jimfinster]

BTW, if you watch the accompanying video from Byron Pitts, you would find out that this wasn't built to honor him (my mistake), but for others to see and hear the message of the Gospel. If someone sees this as a tribute to him, instead of Jesus, then that's their fault, not his.
Posted by estuardo40 at 11:48 AM : Jun 11, 2007

Hmmm, his son Franklin said it was modeled after a Presidential Library. Ego and hubris. Based on the information I have seen, it clearly WAS built in his honor.

[donnie900]

If you can't do good? If you can't represent who you think you're representing? Best not even try. Because you'll do the thing a misjustice. You'll make it a thing of shame..

[jimfinster]

-Religion is not the answer. Jesus Christ is.
Posted by singinrick at 11:51 AM : Jun 11, 2007

Ummm, I think Christianity IS a religion :)

[clestes-2009]

God, what ***. Graham never saved America. All he did was rake in a bunch of money from a bunch of suseptable fools including Bush Sr.

Organized religion is all about money. It preys on people's fears and rakes in the cash, all tax free.

[jimfinster]

Organized religion is all about money. It preys on people's fears and rakes in the cash, all tax free.
Posted by clestes at 01:32 PM : Jun 11, 2007

It may be all about money for the high-rolling televangelists. But I don't knock religion in general, because it gives millions of people hope and peace of mind. That is worth something, even if it is a placebo :)

[donnie900]

.. or it will never end.

[estuardo40]

Hmmm, his son Franklin said it was modeled after a Presidential Library. Ego and hubris. Based on the information I have seen, it clearly WAS built in his honor.


Posted by jimfinster at 01:25 PM : Jun 11, 2007

It may be someone elses ego, (or guilt for that matter), but not Billy's. And if the intent was to honor him, who better than he?

He's a great man, (yes, just a man) but one who dedicated his life to serve God, by spreading the Good News of Jesus Christ. Billy is too humble a person to accept gratitude of this magnitude, and God doesn't resent the fact that Billy is getting praise. He spread the word of the Gospel to Billions!!, and his name will forever be remembered with those who helped champion the cause of reaching out to the lost.

[estuardo40]

Hmmm, his son Franklin said it was modeled after a Presidential Library. Ego and hubris. Based on the information I have seen, it clearly WAS built in his honor.


Posted by jimfinster at 01:25 PM : Jun 11, 2007

It may be someone elses ego, (or guilt for that matter), but not Billy's. And if the intent was to honor him, who better than he?

He's a great man, (yes, just a man) but one who dedicated his life to serve God, by spreading the Good News of Jesus Christ. Billy is too humble a person to accept gratitude of this magnitude, and God doesn't resent the fact that Billy is getting praise. He spread the word of the Gospel to Billions!!, and his name will forever be remembered with those who helped champion the cause of reaching out to the lost.

[jimfinster]

estuardo40:

According to news accounts, the idea came from his son Franklin.

By all accounts, Franklin Graham is a shrewd businessman. Makes sense from that standpoint, because Franklin needs to keep his empire rolling after old Billy departs from this world...

[donnie900]

You religious people? I want you to think about something. I want you to think about what you're becoming. About what you're dragging us all into. And not about the outcome! The outcome is over the horizon. But about the representation.

Does God want you to represent him? Does God need you to represent him?

[donnie900]

Or are you sick with the deceiver?