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In an article named: Bush's Defining Moment - The President,
facing a grief-stricken nation under attack, finds his voice
and his mission, we want to focus on the meat of the article
as it relates to our theme which addresses the statement Franklin
Graham made recently about the Moslim religion being evil.
Relative to President Bush, the writer Tony Carnes states:
President Bush, from the day of the attacks on the World Trade
Center, has led the nation with a deft spiritual presence that
radiates solidarity with people of all faiths. "Bush's
stature as a leader rose right before your very eyes," says
Richard Cizik, vice president of the National Association of
Evangelicals..
As revealing as those public moments were, the President has
been more open about his Christian convictions in private. Christianity
Today interviewed several religious leaders who have visited
with Bush since September 11.
A few hours before his address to Congress on September 20,
President Bush met at the White House with a broad spectrum of
religion leaders... Twenty-seven leaders, including 13 evangelicals,
attended. The group included evangelists Luis Palau and Franklin
Graham, pastors Max Lucado, Bill Hybels, T.D. Jakes, and Charles
Blake, and Edward Cardinal Egan of New York. Buddhist, Hindu,
Sikh, and Mormon leaders also attended the meeting.
These leaders were scattered across the nation at the time
of the terrorist attacks... Palau, based in Portland, Oregon,
was conducting an evangelistic festival in Santa Cruz, California.
He took the first flight to Washington on a nearly empty Boeing
757. Arriving at his hotel, he noticed that "the only people
roaming around were the military," he recalls. "The
security people all had gas masks." The contrast of
the beaches of Santa Cruz and the armed camp that
was Washington couldn't have been starker for him.
Bush crossed his legs, putting himself at ease. "I am
not Pollyannaish, imagining things are great," the President
declared. "I feel at peace, but a lot of that is due to
the prayers of the American people. This is a major wake-up call
for America…. Now, I need your help as spiritual leaders
to be truthful with the American people without creating panic."
Bush then outlined what his speech to Congress and the nation
would cover. He told the group that only religious leaders could
give the comfort and handle the spiritual questions.
Palau, who took notes at the meeting, said Bush drew a comparison
between himself and the country. Bush told the gathering, "I
was a sinner in a need of redemption and I found it." The
President was referring to the difficult time earlier in life
when he was a heavy drinker and lacked a sense of purpose. But
the gospel became clear to him through a conversation with evangelist
Billy Graham.
Bush told the group that the nation was staggering and needed
to get back on its feet. He said the devastation in New York
challenged the nation to look deep into its heart. "I think
this is part of a spiritual awakening in America," the President
said. Others who have talked with Bush recently and asked not
to be named said Bush's disciplines of Bible reading and prayer
sustain him...
One purpose of the September 20 meeting was to "get Christian
leaders around non-Christian ones so that [non-Christians] would
feel welcomed," says Pastor Tim Keller of Redeemer Presbyterian
Church in New York City. The embrace was welcomed. Bush managed
to be true to his personal evangelical testimony, while also
creating a tolerant and inclusive meeting.
Gerald Kieschnick, president of the Lutheran Church-Missouri
Synod, said Bush has a divine calling in this crisis, and he
read aloud from Romans 13. (Scripture about charity)
"Mr. President, I have just come from the World Trade
Center site in lower Manhattan. I stood where you stood. I saw
what you saw. I smelled what you smelled," Kieschnick said.
"You not only have a civil calling, but a divine calling….
You are not just a civil servant; you are a servant of God
called for such a time like this."..
[The President's inner circle] Franklin Graham and four
other religious leaders were invited into the Oval Office to
pray with the President. Bush pointed out a portrait of Abraham
Lincoln and said it was a reminder of his own calling to extend
freedom and bring the nation together.
The fusion of personal piety and civic responsibility comes
from Bush's deep sense of vocation. Bush says he sensed a higher
call during his second inauguration as governor of Texas. He
called a friend in Fort Worth, telling him, "I believe
God wants me to run for President." The President now
tells friends he understands God's call with greater clarity.
By meeting with top religious leaders and addressing Congress
in the span of a few hours on September 20, Bush sharply focused
the nation's attention against global terrorism as the country's
greatest threat. "In our grief and anger," the President
told the nation, "we have found our mission and our moment."..
'God is Back'..
But for many American Christians, pulling faith and politics
together poses grave risks. If one political perspective
is identified as divinely guided, opposition may be branded as
godless and immoral. Some fear that the fusion of the Stars
and Stripes and the cross may again make civil religion a threat
to biblical Christianity. American civil religion
usually has downplayed denominational differences in order to
exploit citizens' patriotism, essentially putting faith in the
service of the nation. That, critics say, is idolatry.
Berger added, "I think Bush has been remarkable in
promoting pluralism, especially when you compare this
to what happened after Pearl Harbor with Japanese Americans.
It went from the President on down. They all said that it is
absolutely unacceptable to hold all Arabs or Muslims accountable."
The U.S. response in Afghanistan is not immoral, Berger said.
"Unless you are a complete pacifist, the U.S. is responding
to an attack of horrendous dimensions and that fits any category
of just war."..
Since September 11, Bush's speeches have married his informal,
choppy syntax with his newly forceful vision for the country.
Presidential historian Wayne Fields points out that Michael Gerson,
Bush's chief speechwriter and a graduate of Wheaton
College, shares similar religious convictions with Bush...
Bush used the power of the presidential bully pulpit when
the nation's mood of grief and unity was disrupted by Jerry Falwell.
Speaking as a guest on Pat Robertson's 700 Club, the religious
broadcaster and chancellor of Liberty University said the terrorist
attack was the fault of the aclu, abortionists, feminists, homosexuals,
and others, who provoked God's wrath. A Bush representative
immediately contacted Falwell and Robertson to express his displeasure,
and both withdrew their remarks... [Christianity Today, November
12, 2001 By Tony Carnes - excerpt full article at http://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2001/014/1.38.html
]
We wrote about the Cathredal Service where a Moslim worshiped
Allah, before Dr. Billy Graham said his piece. It reminded us
of the World Council of Churches meetings with all denominations
represented. The Memorial Service in New York and its follow-up
when Franklin Graham was interviewed by Tom Brockaw, who provoked
an ecumenical response from Franklin Graham. Franklin seemed
unprepared to have to make such a statement but went with it.
He embraced Moslims.
Like President Bush, Franklin made a 180 degree turn by saying
now that the Moslim religion is evil. What are we to believe?
We cannot believe both. Researchers are withholding judgment
including us. If Franklin presents himself as a fundamental Christian,
he will certainly lose his spot in the limelight. Jesus "hath
not where to lay his head." Fundamental Christianity is
considered to be extremist. Since the President had no comment
about Franklin's position which is contrary to the President's,
we wonder what Franklin will be representing in the Christian
Right landscape.
On the website Christianity Today, we caught another piece
of literature that complained that the New York Times did not
apologize to Franklin for statements made in their paper about
his ministry. "Bad Ideas Have Consequences. The Times should
have run a correction. Instead, it might change government policy."
Christianity Today made the New York Times responsible for a
possible policy change toward better bookkeeping in Christian
ministries.
Christianity Today stated that "Sometimes it doesn't
matter how many T's you cross and I's you dot, or how careful
you are to color inside the lines; someone is going to accuse
you of breaking the rules. That's what Samaritan's Purse found
out March 5 when an article in The New York Times began, "An
American evangelical relief group that is using private donations
and United States government money to help victims of two earthquakes
has blurred the line between church and state as its volunteers
preach, pray, and seek converts among people desperate for help."
The article continued along this not-so-objective vein, supplementing
the canard with quotes from anonymous sources who "privately
complain that members of Congress have put pressure on them to
finance the group's work, even though they have serious reservations
about its proselytizing." Proselytizing is against
the rules when taxpayer's money is used to pay for services
to the poor in other countries such as Europe, Africa, Middle
East, Asia and South America.
Samaritan's Purse, headed by Franklin Graham, (http://www.samaritanspurse.org/)
countered with a convincing press release. The organization noted
that federal funds accounted for less than 3 percent of its budget
last year, that "they are used strictly and exclusively
to fund the purchase of…. relief supplies, and are never
used to fund any of our direct Christian ministry," and
that such federal grants are strictly monitored and audited.
In 1999 Samaritan's Purse took in $109.7 million in 1999 and
the assets are a mere $50 million. The ministry is involved in
international services to do with public safety, disaster preparedness
and relief.
Christianity Today went on: "One might have expected
The New York Times to offer an apology, a correction, or at least
a clarification. Instead, a follow-up story reported USAID's
reaction to the paper's "discovery": it gave Samaritan's
Purse a stern warning. The agency called the organization "fully
competent," and said it had broken no rules. Still, Samaritan's
Purse was warned to "maintain adequate and sufficient separation
between its prayer sessions and its USAID -funded activities,"
and to avoid the appearance that government funds were supporting
religious purposes.
On Thanksgiving weekend the media gave a presentation of Franklin's
life. He was called the prodigal son who was living the wild
life and finally returned home to get in the groove set by his
family. Franklin has been doing crusades along with the Samaritan's
Purse to get ready for his dad's job. Depending on the city,
his gross has been as much as a million dollars. They are set
up as separate corporations like his dad's.
The day has arrived were Franklin Graham is to take over the
ministry for Rev. Billy Graham was published by the Associated
Press on November 23, 2001. "The clearest sign of the trend
came last week. Franklin Graham spoke at a luncheon of civic
leaders in Charlotte, N.C., and announced that the Graham organization
will move its headquarters to that city from Minneapolis, its
base since 1950.
It was the first major decision since Franklin, 49, officially
took charge of the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association a year
ago from his 83-year-old father. The elder Graham hasn't quite
retired, but the relocation signals that Franklin is now directing
strategy for the association.
In short, the Billy Graham era is ending and the Franklin
Graham era has already begun..
"Franklin is less concerned to have everybody pleased
at what he says than his father was," Martin of Rice University
said, and "his theology is more conservative." Those
traits became obvious the day after the Charlotte announcement,
when NBC News broadcast an interview in which Franklin spoke
about the war on terrorism.
"We're not attacking Islam but Islam has attacked us,"
he said. "The God of Islam is not the same God. He's not
the son of God of the Christian or Judeo-Christian faith. It's
a different God, and I believe it is a very evil and wicked religion."
[ Franklin became what is called "unpatriotic" and
not a word this time from the President.]
Muslim organizations expressed outrage, and Franklin's words
undercut President Bush's effort to depict Islam as a peaceful
faith that terrorist factions have distorted. Franklin issued
a statement Sunday that said it wasn't his calling to analyze
Islam but he was concerned about the faith's treatment of women
and its attitude toward the killing of non-Muslims.
Franklin has a second major responsibility as president of
Samaritan's Purse, a world relief charity that plans to build
a hospital in Afghanistan.
Franklin has built up Samaritan's Purse until its revenues
last year slightly surpassed the Graham association's $125.8
million. But few interdenominational Protestant agencies can
match the gilt-edged supporters on the Graham mailing list, or
the group's $286.9 million in assets.
Franklin said the Charlotte facility will be "state-of-the-art,
not luxurious, but wired for the Internet, radio and TV."
The third point in the empire's emerging North Carolina triangle
is The Cove, a conference center near Montreat. All the Graham
training programs will be based there.
Since 1989, Franklin has led evangelistic "festivals"
in 61 U.S. cities, typically smaller than his father's venues,
and 30 locations internationally. Next year he visits Gainesville,
Fla.; College Station, Texas; Spokane, Wash.; El Salvador; and
Argentina. And as usual, he'll be in Cincinnati as backup in
case his ailing father is unable to preach.
The meetings will continue "as long as churches invite
us and the people come," said Franklin, who rebelled into
skepticism and hard liquor before making his own decision for
Jesus at age 22. |