Have you heard even one negative thing about Billy Graham (henceforth, BG) in the past day and a half? I highly doubt it. Everyone from libtards to conservatives, Jews to Catholics, and even squirrels and bluejays are singing the praises of Saint Graham …”America’s pastor”.
Trump tweeted; “The GREAT Billy Graham is dead. There was nobody like him! He will be missed by Christians and all religions. A very special man.”
Even our Mooslim ex-president got in on the act; — “Billy Graham was a humble servant who prayed for so many – and who, with wisdom and grace, gave hope and guidance to generations of Americans.”
Take this to the bank; usually, when there is unanimous agreement about some person … your bullshit detector ought to be sounding the alarm.
Q1: Have you ever listened (in full or, in part) to a BG sermon? If so, what were your impressions?
Q2: Did BG do more harm than good?
Me?
Q1: I have listened, in full, to many BG sermons.
Not sure why, though. If you listened to one, you heard them all. He was a One Trick Pony hammering home the exact same message time after time for decades; — “Believe in Jeebus, repent, or you’ll go to hell.”
He was not a theologian, nor intellectual, not even a lightweight scholar. You would never learn about the historical or cultural world in which Jesus lived, never understand original meanings of words (did BG even read/understand Hebrew or Greek?), never get full context of passages, and so on. You would only get an Americanized Jesus. BG sermons are like a McDonalds hamburger — lots of calories, but no nutrition. Why?
When BG was a teenager, he took a summer job as a salesman for the Fuller Brush Company. As it turns out, he was the most successful salesman in two states. BG later reflected on his early experience;
“Sincerity, is the biggest part of selling anything—including the Christian plan of salvation. …. I am selling the greatest product in the world; why shouldn’t it be promoted as well as soap?”
For BG, Jesus was just another product to be sold.
——– –
Q2: BG has done far more harm than good.
I’m not talking about his bringing many people to accept Jesus Christ as their personal Lord & Savior. I’m talking about what he did NOT do ….. holding Kings and Queens responsible for their sinful despicable ways. Instead, he sucked up to them. He neglected his chief role as a Prophet, as specified by God in Jeremiah 1:1
“See, I have this day set thee over the nations and over the kingdoms, to root out, and to pull down, and to destroy, and to throw down, to build, and to plant.”
God’s man of the hour, a Prophet, was tasked with much more than just foretelling the future. His primary role was to pull down, throw down, destroy, and only then, when the old structures have been annihilated, does building and planting commence. In other words … go kick some ass!! Read the OT prophets and you will see that in the presence of the King, often in his chambers, the Prophet would rebuke, criticize, and condemn the evil the King allowed. More often than not this would lead to their own death, but they didn’t give a damn about making friends … like BG did. Let me give you two quick examples.
During one of his crusades in NYC, 86 year old BG called Bill Clinton to the platform, and blowjob Billy said, “I love this man.”. BG used the opportunity to announce that he was a lifelong Democrat and then gave a veiled endorsement to Hillary Clinton in the audience. What a fool!! Surely BG knew that Blowjob Billy was the same President who vetoed bill that would have ended the butchery of partial birth abortions … vetoed five times! That very evening BG would one again peddle his sermon about eternal life … while not giving a rats ass about millions of lives snuffed out on the abortion table the previous 32 years. (I hope God shuts the Pearly Gates on BG.)
When Mitt Romney was running for the GOP presidential nomination, the BG foundation decided to run full-page ads in national newspapers like the Washington Post and USA Today to endorse Romney … follower of the Mormon cult!! Apparently, BG believes Mormonism, which believes the Trinity is composed of three separate gods (among other ridiculous beliefs) is actually Christian! — “I believe it is vitally important that we cast our ballots for candidates who base their decisions on biblical principles and support the nation of Israel.” The OT prophet Isaiah would have thrown down and destroyed that Mormon idol …. while BG builds it up.
As such, I agree with theologian Reinhold Niebuhr, who said Graham “neglected the social dimensions of the gospel”. I agree with George Will who labeled BG as “America’s most embarrassing export”. I agree with Bob Jones who once called BG “the leading threat to Christianity”.
Side Note: BG net worth is estimated to be $25 million. That’s not as much as Joel Olsteen ($40 million), or America’s richest religious huckster, Kenneth Copeland (a whopping $760 million), but still not too shabby.
Now, some smartass will come along and accuse me of jealousy or envy. Bullshit! Others will come along with various justifications that it’s ok to have such wealth … even for a man of God. Welcome to the club … even BG had his own justification; — “Money represents your time, your energy, your talents, your total personality converted into currency.”
Goody for him! But, I just can’t reconcile BG’s comment with that of the Saviour he supposedly represents, where Jesus himself said;
“Foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head.”
A rich pastor peddling his homeless Savior. What’s wrong with that picture? I hope Billy Graham is right now resting on a hot bed of coals!!
Just woke up here in Honolulu.. took 3 days to quit waking at 4am…. catching up on TBP with a strong cup of Maona Loa coffee…
BG was a sincere and good man. Sometimes our Nobel endeavors also generate income. Just my lagging brain’s first thought,…
Its just about 8 in the morning now… climbing Diamond Head crater today
God will make that decision . He is the final arbiter of whether he was a good and faithful servant or not .
No shit, Sherlock. All I’m asking for is an OPINION …. you know, things we do here hundreds of times every day.
Maybe we should compare Billy Graham, and all that he did and preached, to the Pope and all he is doing and preaching.
That might be an interesting discussion.
FWIW, I wonder if all we should acknowledge as legitimate preachers are the homeless street preachers? Or would we be finding a way to criticize them as well?
One learns to spot the NWO, I spotted him eons ago and read one of his books that backed up my opinion. BG was wearing $1200 suits when Stucky was in diapers. (early fifties)
It will be a really big day when the sheep figure out that these preachers of notoriety are most often working for the club. Yes, the club will use Jeebus for money making purposes and to further their causes.
Edit: I want to also say that I do still find the Pope/Vatican more evil than those such as BG. All still unholy, just sayin’…..
…Pope/Vatican is more evil.
Unless someone manages to dig up pedo dirt on BG, I would have to agree with you.
I was the quality manager at a Missouri aircraft repair facility when we were scheduled to do some maintenance on a corporate jet owned by Samaritan’s Purse which is an evangelical Christian charity run by Franklin Graham (BG’s son). The aircraft came in and the crew was given the tour and in the process pressured some of the mechanics to donate some money to this “deserving” charity which some did. However, the mood changed when one of the mechanics asked where they were flying to next and the reply was they were going to pick up the boss and fly to Alaska to do some serious hunting. In a company where deer season was on the work schedule here was a “charity” asking underpaid mechanics to fund a hunting trip they could only dream of. Still want to give?
All of these “charities” are nothing more than scams nowadays. There was a time, long ago, when a charity, especially a religious charity would be outraged if someone in their employ, or a leader in the organization even had the appearance of impropriety or greed. Those days are LONG gone. Today, the only purpose for a “charitable” organization is to give sheep the belief that they are doing “Gods work” (as the sell to compel payment) and to have a good tax dodge on someone else’s dime. Look at the Mormons with their “tithing”, would you not want 10% of everyone’s income continually, and all you have to do is say it is God’s way?
Whether it is BG or Tammy Faye baker, they are all nothing more than carnival barkers and con men with a mic and social media.
However, one has to ask, whom is more at fault – the hopeless fool that thinks they need to send in checks for God’s salvation, or the false prophet using that stupidity as a way to get fabulously wealthy. And, regarding politicians and other charlatans like the Clinton’s cozying up with these con men, all I can say is – bird’s of a feather. They are literally in the same business, and are just praising colleagues. The dumb sheep just don’t realize it.
I assume Billy would be considered a Biblical evangelist as opposed to a prophet, and the two have different roles. Evangelists are the converters, and thus speak simple messages.
Before castigating BG’s “estimated” net worth, I would do some research.
And before you throw Billy on a bed of coals, reconsider what the world would be like if more had his kind of integrity. I think he’s kind of refreshing in light of the scum that are daily paraded before us, many the very minions of hell.
“… reconsider what the world would be like if more had his kind of integrity.”
— you would have a world of not-very-smart people
— you would have a world where everyone professes to believe one thing, but then they do something different
— you wouldn’t have even ONE person who stands up to the evils that government does.
You would have a world of compliant sheep.
Ok. Billy was a dumb, boring hypocrite that misled people and was after their money. There.
Just another shadow on the cave wall.
It’s one thing to preach what you say is the truth to those you consider your flock, and another to know and tell in private.
That is two-faced…
dailystormer.name/a-requiem-for-americas-pastor/
steel,
i went onto the daily stormer site and listened to the conversation between pres nixon & rev graham–
what would you have had them do?
https://dailystormer.name/a-requiem-for-americas-pastor/
I’d take Billy Graham any day over the fake, fag pope who’s the purported leader of my church. I know that’s not saying much. The Grahams seem to believe what they preach and I don’t recall any stories of Graham molesting kids or anything. The main thing, though, is that if George Will is against him, I’m for him.
George Will also said that the 2d Amendment was an embarrassment, so I would take Billy Graham any day. BG also did not found a mega-church, or attempt to lure his audience away from their existing churches. BG himself attended a local church and sought advice from the Pastor, so he was a reasonably modest man.
I agree with that. I think he also believed we should pray for our leaders and not question them. (Can’t remember that Bible verse now..
Soooo, BG doesn’t fuck little boys.
That’s your standard for being OK???
I keep the standard low so I can meet it. I keep the boy-fucking to an absolute bare minimum.
Gayle-Where was BG and his son and his daughter who also preach in the last decades when it came to gay married couples sitting in the front row at church on Sunday morning? Where were they when movies became porn outlets and gay promoting? Can you even name a preacher of prominence that got on the airwaves and spoke out against the break down of our culture?
As this change has happened to this country, Jesus wept and BG’s family lined their pockets. I bet you would rake Jim and Tammy Baker over the coals, but BG & family are godly people….really?
BG was very vocal and staunch anti-gay and anti-hollywood. Easily verifiable.
both bg and franklin have also stated publicly that abortion is murder–
Talked.
Did nothing.
Get over your butthurt w/religion & god–
remember,don’t judge christ/christianity by the way christians act–
there are plenty of wolves among the sheep–
What the fuck.
Don’t judge the Democrat Party by the way the Democrats act…
Billy’s crusades were not about changing the culture, except for one heart at a time. Billy did speak out about such things, but how would you have heard unless you were a close follower? CBS?
Like the rest of us, BG was not perfect. Did he ever try to pass himself off as such? Self-righteousness was a stranger to the man. He experienced the same troubles that plague everybody, including wayward descendants, withering criticism, and a debilitating old age.
One thing that is interesting about the man is that conservative Evangelicals thought he was too liberal, and the more social-gospel types thought he was too conservative.
Q 1. Yes. I found him to be engaging and honest in his estimation of the world and genuine in offering his hope of salvation by believing in Jesus.
Q2. Yes, in the many lives of hopelessness and despair who were able to be turned around with the hope Rev. Graham presented through the gospel. Some of whom I have known personally.
To comment on your observations, it sounds like you are looking for a “SuperGodman,” able to do all thing for all people at all times and in all ways. But this is not how we were created; one planted, another watered, but it is God who causes the growth. Each of us has a function that we are called to do, in Rev. Graham’s case, it was to plant a seed of the kingdom within the hearers heart. In this he excelled.
Perhaps God has called you to:
“holding Kings and Queens responsible for their sinful despicable ways.“
If you find this to be your calling, I’ll support you 100% and I won’t expext you to preach, teach and expect you to solve all of life’s problems with your most excellent posts!
In 1956 I was an 8 year old when BG brought his tour to Puerto Rico’s Ramey Air Force Base. I sat on grass in a large outdoor venue. I listened to the man proclaimed to be a man of God. The sermon is not remembered but the feeling of spiritual connectedness is. A few years later Garner Ted Armstrong was another purveyor of Christian news on the WLAC’s radio, who at times, gave me inspiration. Sometimes the 50,000 watt radio sermons seemed directed expressively for me with my doubts. They both answered and raised questions for me.
Thanks Stucky for your article of instruction.
In 1969, Graham was Pastor to the President. He PERSONALLY wrote a letter to Nixon advocating Nixon bomb the dikes in N. Vietnam. It is estimated if Nixon had done as Graham asked, one million N. Vietnamese would have been killed. As I said yesterday, you cannot make this shit up.
Can you think of ANYTHING more despicable and disgusting than a “man of God”, especially a man of the religion of peace, advocating for bombing to death a million people? I have a lot of respect for the tenents of Christianity, but almost universally its pastors disappoint me. Graham is no exception.
He was a war-monger through and through. Hope he is answering for that shit now.
but how many south vietnamese and americans would have been saved?
Are you serious, or is that sarcasm? Want to save Americans, all you need to do is leave. And fact is, a man of peace would be advocating for, what is it again, PEACE. Graham was a warmonger.
apparently the north viets don’t see it the way you do since just a few months ago they allowed franklin graham to preach there–
War is hell and if bombing could have ended the world any sooner, I would have supported it to. Looking back now, it seems the war was in fact not intended to be won, but drawn out to fill the pockets of the MIC. Had Rev. Graham know this as we do today, he may have had a different thought. Anyway, a million is a large round number and I would question how factual it was.
FWIW, I have also heard that if God is holding judgement against those who did not support global warming, BG may have a lot of answering to do (I believe the Guardian news rag).
I also understand that in some off the cuff remarks with then President Nixon, that he also disparaged the Jews (this may put him in higher regard by some who post here), to whom he apologized profusely for his comments. Seems the man was prone to make mistakes like the rest of us.
Not making excuses for the mans sins, but just a reminder that one should not judge too harshly; for you will be judged by how you have judged others. Just sayin’.
In WW2 China, nothing could stop the Japanese advance, but China is a big country so conquering it all would take years. Generalissimo Chiang Kai Shek, the ruler of the Chinese Republic adopted a policy of land for time. He begged for all the US hardware he could get his hands on, but not to fight the Japanese but rather to hoard it until he could go after Mao. While he was unsuccessful in getting the Americans to directly invade the Chinese mainland, he correctly figured that before Japan could occupy all of China they would be defeated by the US. One of his delaying tactics was to blow up dikes, flooding many millions of acres of farmland and killing millions of peasants in the process (but very few Japanese).
Blowing up dikes in North Vietnam would have had the same effect on civilians but even less on the war since the US refused to invade the north. It would have been a pointless war crime and accomplished little besides driving up the price of rice in Hanoi.
Graham was a dick, imo.
The conflict in China was for me, a look into the choice of a people between communism and capitalism. It was a tough choice, but made easy when the Ghuo mhung ding (government forces) sided with the land owners to steal from the peasants, who ran to the communists for protection. And the rest is history.
I’m glad you brought that up. I was going to post that … but felt I already had too much political stuff.
People here question big gov, big pharma, pretty much big everything, and rightfully so. But, big time preachers? No way!!! I mean, Billy’s a good guy who doesn’t blow children, dontchya know?
If anyone should at least be under suspicion it should be him because the man could influence TENS OF MILLIONS at the drop of a pin. That’s enormous power. We all believe that power corrupts but, judging by most comments here — power corrupts everyone except Billy Graham.
There are many Christians out there that believe in “Just War.” The Bible teaches not to kill except in self defense. The Americans didn’t have to be in Vietnam. And, yes, the Bible teaches peace.
I never cared for him. If he was the only one out there to listen to I would for sure be going to hell. He bored me to tears.
So, I don’t know much about him. I would probably learn more from comments here than I ever knew before.
One thing I have heard and I don’t know if it’s true:
He would never allow himself to be alone with any other women and that is supposed to be the reason no one could ever accuse him of any kind of sexual misconduct. If true, there are a lot of men in high profile positions who could learn from that.
Mary Christine, I never really watched Billy Graham sermons. The only time I saw some of them was when I was at my grandmother’s house. She loved him and watched him every time he was on TV. He was a Southern Baptist and she was too.
http://www.nowtheendbegins.com/friend-roman-catholic-church-pastor-billy-graham-dies-home-age-99/
Not a single apostle was so loved by the world. They were executed for their faith. While this man is praised. This should make every Christian reflect on their’s.
Blessings:-}
careful where you get your guidance,ed–
Thanks:-) I am. That’s why I receive Paul’s admonition to be like the Bereans. I take everything before the word of God, the Bible, for confirmation. And Billy had some problems with the truth in his compromises with the rcc and others. He may have been a Christian, that’s between him and God. I’m not judging that. I’m judging his teaching.
Blessings:-}
So YOU’RE the “blessings” guy! Go get him, Stucky!
Yeah that’s the guy alright.
As Mark Twain said of The Book of Mormon: “chloroform in print…”
I used to be, until I got re-edumakated.
That is some damning article and video Ed.
I think it’s fair to say that there are many people that got through the pearly gates thanks to BG and his message. Wonder how many Stucky got through?
More than you know.
In fact, the Lawd revealed to me in a vision while on a horse (or maybe the horse was on me) that everyone who reads my religious articles, and likes them, …… is saved!
I’d better start liking them.
Billy knew he was born a sinner and saved from damnation only by the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, God’s Son…
I can only wish the same for you….
I repented, was baptized (in the Mediterranean, no less) and saved back in 1973.
Once saved, ALWAYS saved!
You and me in eternity. Won’t that be fun??!
“If we sin deliberately after receiving knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains sacrifice for sins but a fearful prospect of judgment and a flaming fire that is going to consume the adversaries.”
Hebrews 10:28-29. No wonder Luther wanted to get rid of Hebrews.
Nothing else matters now. The real Judge will make the final decision.
Stuck – overthecliff wants you to make a decision.
I always thought BG was rather good at what he did.He did preach the gospel to the Millions .Like the Apostle Paul said of himself ” God did not send him to baptism but to preach the gospel”.The thing that made me question BG was after 9/11 he said Islam was a religion of peace which I knew then was bullshit.I didn’t Think BG was trying to decive People but he should have known better . Anyway doesn’t matter now.
Those criticizing Graham, if you call yourself Christian what have you done to spread the Gospel and the word of salvation in Christ and the Baptism of all nations?
And if you do not call yourself Christian, I can understand your criticism since you are on the other side and detest that evangelism and the baptism of the world’s people in Christ.
No man is perfect, if any were they would have no need of Christ since they would have no sin to atone.
Anon – are you the idiot anon that posts regular idiocy?
The issue is hypocrisy. Please explain how a man of God, a religion of peace, can advocate for the bombing of, well, anyone? How is that possible?
Is it much to ask that men of God actually have the ability to see right from wrong, and the bombing and killing of untold masses is wrong, given they posed zero threat whatsoever to the US? And give the disproportionate extent of the act?
How many humans have to die due to religion, and the acts of the supposed righteous, before you idiots acknowledge that it is wrong, and all the proselytising and recruiting of people to God do not make up for the advocacy of death and destruction done by these men of God.
All men are sinners seems to be the way you absolve them of their despicable acts. What a load of crap.
“He was a One Trick Pony, hammering home the exact same message time after time for decades”.
That could be so, but here is the crux of that message you failed to grasp in his oft repeated soliloquy: You are a sinner in need of rescue. God provides the ‘rescue’ in the form of Jesus Christ. This simple message communicates all you need to know about your predicament. Which explains why the ‘simpletons’ will except it, but not the ‘big thinkers’, just as God predicted would happen.
Humble Pie or eternal damnation. None of us are in any position to negotiate other terms.
Billy Graham spoke absolute truth.
How do you know about my eternal destination? What do you know about me? Oh, from my postings??? Ok, maybe. But, god judges the heart. Have you seen inside my heart? If not, I think you should be less judgemental …. cuz that REALLY pisses God off.
I guess I hit a vein with my reply.
My diagnosis of you, Stucky: You suffer, in your spirit, from ‘shame’. Please give that a good think.
If you experience ‘shame’ in your spirit, it means you have a good heart that is still up-for-grabs in the spiritual realm. Keep the faith in Christ.
National Archives. Three decades after it was recorded, the North Carolina preacher’s famous drawl is tinny but unmistakable on the (Nixon) tape, denigrating Jews in terms far stronger than the diary accounts.
”They’re the ones putting out the pornographic stuff,” Mr. Graham said on the tape, after agreeing with Mr. Nixon that left-wing Jews dominate the news media. The Jewish ”stranglehold has got to be broken or the country’s going down the drain,” he continued, suggesting that if Mr. Nixon were re-elected, ”then we might be able to do something.”
Finally, Mr. Graham said that Jews did not know his true feelings about them.
he also made a distinction between different jews–
the conversation is posted above,go listen to it–
I’m outta here.
Soooo …. not 10 minutes after hitting the submit button on this article, I get a call from my mom.
Dad’s having a really hard time breathing. It’s been like that for a week, but was really bad today. Can I take him to the doctor? Sure.
Cutting to the chase. The doctor said she’s “very concerned”. Those are #FuckMeDead words from a doc, I don’t care who you are. His heartbeat is erratic and all over the place. She said he could stroke out just about anytime. On the way to the hospital now. Might not be back cuz dad asked me to sleep at their house, to take care of Mom.
I have one question for you all;. do you think God is punishing me because I trashed Billy Graham??
Really. Cuz if that’s the case I’ll sing BG’s praises all fucken day from here to kingdom come. TIA.
speaking for most of us here on tbp,hope your dad comes thru ok–
Me too, Stuck.
Good luck, Stuck. Sorry for your troubles.
Hoping for the best for your Pappy, but do you even for an instant really think that your BG thoughts had anything to do with it? Did you just cut 20 years off of your Dad’s life?…You are not that powerful..
here’s a good piece on bg by joe bob briggs at takimag–
“making my peace with billy graham”
We all struggle in the flesh until we are called home. But while we wait we can comfort and pray for each other through the storms we face. Hoping for the best for you and your family.
Sorry to hear of your dad’s medical emergency. Hope everything will be OK. Will pray for your dad and your family.
Thanks all.
The hospital ran a battery of tests, scans, etc. Bottom line: congestive heart failure, lots of fluid in lungs and legs, and “shadows” on his lung x-rays, but they don’t know if it’s cancerous.
They think they can get it under control. But, then the doc asks if Dad has a heart attack do we want to have him revived. WTF? You mean tonight?? Could happen says the doc, it’s a pretty bad case right now.
Well, we left without giving an answer. No one knows what to do, including dad. I suppose most would say that at 93 years of age that it’s time for him to let go and move to the great beyond. Easy to say when it’s not your dad. Well, I hope the answer comes to be in a dream tonight. Good night.
You are in one of life’s more challenging situations. The answer to your question will manifest itself. Love to you.
millions and millions of good kind right-living people died before Jesus, Mohammed, Buddha etc were even born, does this mean they are all now in hell? Personally I am opposed to “organized” religion having had bad experiences with “church” because people inside or outside of a church are still what they are (manipulative, lying, lustful, predatory, moneygrubbing) but still consider myself to be spiritual and like Tevye in Fiddler on the Roof, if I want to talk to God or Great Spirit or whatever, I don’t need to pay a third party intermediary to interpret things for me, I just talk to God (or whoever it is).
Here you go, Stucky, a bishop after your own heart:
http://www.breitbart.com/big-government/2018/02/23/illinois-bishop-bans-sen-dick-durbin-from-receiving-holy-communion-over-his-pro-abortion-stance/