Posted on 02/27/2018 7:22:39 AM PST by Kaslin
In 1946, Billy Graham had a friendly rival for the title of the most up and coming evangelist in the world. The friendly rival was, in fact, Billy Graham’s best friend Charles Templeton.
Charles Templeton was from Canada and was co-founder of the organization Youth for Christ, which hired Billy Graham as its first full time evangelist. Templeton and Graham led rallies together in America and in Europe. Many thought that Templeton was the more talented preacher of the two. However, what followed was a truly sad story.
By the late 1940’s Templeton began to doubt the Genesis account of creation. Further, he had doubts about the concept of hell and why a loving God would allow suffering in the world. Finally, he had trouble accepting the deity of Jesus. After attending the liberal Princeton Theological Seminary, Templeton left the ministry and Christianity. He was divorced a couple of times and entered politics, almost becoming the leader of the Ontario Liberal Party, and journalism. In 1996, he published a book entitled Farewell to God. It was around this time Templeton was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease.
After the publication of Farewell to God Lee Strobel, a former atheist and attorney turned Christian author, interviewed Templeton for his book The Case for Faith. Strobel asked Templeton about his objections to Christianity. During most of the interview, Templeton was adamant and forceful despite his creeping illness. Yet Strobel wrote that when he asked Templeton his thoughts about Jesus:
“Templeton’s body language softened. It was as if he suddenly felt relaxed and comfortable in talking about an old and dear friend. His voice, which at times had displayed such a sharp and insistent edge, now took on a melancholy and reflective tone. His guard seemingly down, he spoke in an unhurried pace, almost nostalgically, carefully choosing his words as he talked about Jesus.
“He was,” Templeton began, “the greatest human being who has ever lived. He was a moral genius. His ethical sense was unique. He was the intrinsically wisest person that I’ve ever encountered in my life or in my readings. His commitment was total and led to his own death, much to the detriment of the world. What could one say about him except that this was a form of greatness?”
I was taken aback. “You sound like you really care about him,” I said.
“Well, yes, he is the most important thing in my life,” came his reply. “I . . . I . . . I . . . ,” he stuttered, searching for the right word, ‘I know it may sound strange, but I have to say . . . I adore him! . . . Everything good I know, everything decent I know, everything pure I know, I learned from Jesus.
“And tough! Just look at Jesus. He castigated people. He was angry. People don’t think of him that way, but they don’t read the Bible. He had a righteous anger. He cared for the oppressed and exploited. There’s no question that he had the highest moral standard, the least duplicity, the greatest compassion, of any human being in history.
“In my view,” he declared, “he is the most important human being who has ever existed. And if I may put it this way,” he said as his voice began to crack, ‘I . . . miss . . . him!”
With that tears flooded his eyes. He turned his head and looked downward, raising his left hand to shield his face from me. His shoulders bobbed as he wept. . . .
Templeton fought to compose himself. I could tell it wasn’t like him to lose control in front of a stranger. He sighed deeply and wiped away a tear. After a few more awkward moments, he waved his hand dismissively. Finally, quietly but adamantly, he insisted: “Enough of that.”
As a person Templeton was very likeable, had a great intellectual curiosity and searched for truth. He said he could not be a liar and preach something he did not believe. That is respectable. After reading The Case for Faith it was apparent that Strobel liked Templeton very much too. The Strobel interview appeared to be the end of Templeton’s encounters with Jesus. But he may have had one more encounter with God shortly before his death.
Beverly Ivany of the Salvation Army had read Farewell to God and was, ironically, strengthened in her faith after reading Templeton’s book and became friends with him before his death in 2001. Ivany wrote that Templeton’s last words, as reported by Templeton’s wife Madeleine, were “Madeleine, do you see them? Do you hear them? The angels! They’re calling my name. I’m going home!”
Only the Lord knows what happened to Charles Templeton. Maybe, just maybe, Billy’s best friend repented and returned to his Jesus after all and, in doing so, was able to greet his friend Billy as he entered Heaven to meet the Jesus they loved and adored.
We are all saved by YHWH’s Grace if He wants to save us. Jesus told Peter not to worry about what happened to John. That seems to be good advice, generally.
Of all the things about God that are difficult for us to understand, his grace and faithfulness are awe inspiring.
All ye that thirst may drink of the water
I will never leave nor forsake you
Jesus came into His own and His own received Him not, BUT AS MANY AS RECEIVED HIM, TO THEM GAVE HE POWER TO BECOME SONS OF GOD.
YHWH has already chosen every single ONE of us, but WE are the ones that refuse HIM.
I thought it was going to say George Beverly Shea. I remember I was absolutely shocked when I learned that he died.
IMHO, Billy Graham’s best friend went to heaven almost two thousand years ago.
Charles Templeton (1915-2001) first professed faith in 1936 and became an evangelist that same year. In 1945 he met Billy Graham and the two became friends, rooming and ministering together during a 1946 YFC evangelistic tour in Europe.
But by 1948 Templeton’s life and worldview were beginning to go in a different direction than Graham’s. Doubts about the Christian faith were solidifying as he planned to enter Princeton Theological Seminary. Less than a decade later (1957), he would publicly declare that he had become an agnostic.
In his 1996 memoir, Farewell to God: My Reasons for Rejecting the Christian Faith, Templeton recounted a conversation with Graham in Montreat prior to entering seminary:
All our differences came to a head in a discussion which, better than anything I know, “explains” Billy Graham and his phenomenal success as an evangelist.
In the course of our conversation I said, “But, Billy, it’s simply not possible any longer to believe, for instance, the biblical account of creation. The world was not created over a period of days a few thousand years ago; it has evolved over millions of years. It’s not a matter of speculation; it’s a demonstrable fact.”
“I don’t accept that,” Billy said. “And there are reputable scholars who don’t.”
“Who are these scholars?’ I said. “Men in conservative Christian colleges?”
“Most of them, yes,” he said. “But that is not the point. I believe the Genesis account of creation because it’s in the Bible. I’ve discovered something in my ministry: When I take the Bible literally, when I proclaim it as the word of God, my preaching has power. When I stand on the platform and say, ‘God says,’ or ‘The Bible says,’ the Holy Spirit uses me. There are results. Wiser men than you or I have been arguing questions like this for centuries. I don’t have the time or the intellect to examine all sides of the theological dispute, so I’ve decided once for all to stop questioning and accept the Bible as God’s word.”
“But Billy,” I protested, “You cannot do that. You don’t dare stop thinking about the most important question in life. Do it and you begin to die. It’s intellectual suicide.”
“I don’t know about anybody else,” he said, “but I’ve decided that that’s the path for me.”
Their trajectories had been chosen.
An image from Brad Templeton's Photo Site.
Fifty years later, Lee Strobel had an opportunity to interview Templeton, who had just a couple of more years to live. He was in his 80s and suffering from Alzheimer’s, but still a clear conversation parter. In A Case for Faith, Strobel recounts the ending of their wide-ranging conversation.
“And how do you assess this Jesus?” It seemed like the next logical question—but I wasn’t ready for the response it would evoke.
Templeton’s body language softened. It was as if he suddenly felt relaxed and comfortable in talking about an old and dear friend. His voice, which at times had displayed such a sharp and insistent edge, now took on a melancholy and reflective tone. His guard seemingly down, he spoke in an unhurried pace, almost nostalgically, carefully choosing his words as he talked about Jesus.
“He was,” Templeton began, “the greatest human being who has ever lived. He was a moral genius. His ethical sense was unique. He was the intrinsically wisest person that I’ve ever encountered in my life or in my readings. His commitment was total and led to his own death, much to the detriment of the world. What could one say about him except that this was a form of greatness?”
I was taken aback. “You sound like you really care about him,” I said.
“Well, yes, he is the most important thing in my life,” came his reply. “I . . . I . . . I . . . ,” he stuttered, searching for the right word, ‘I know it may sound strange, but I have to say . . . I adore him!” . . .
” . . . Everything good I know, everything decent I know, everything pure I know, I learned from Jesus. Yes . . . yes. And tough! Just look at Jesus. He castigated people. He was angry. People don’t think of him that way, but they don’t read the Bible. He had a righteous anger. He cared for the oppressed and exploited. There’s no question that he had the highest moral standard, the least duplicity, the greatest compassion, of any human being in history. There have been many other wonderful people, but Jesus is Jesus….’
“Uh . . . but . . . no,’ he said slowly, ‘he’s the most . . .” He stopped, then started again. “In my view,” he declared, “he is the most important human being who has ever existed.”
That’s when Templeton uttered the words I never expected to hear from him. “And if I may put it this way,” he said as his voice began to crack, ‘I . . . miss . . . him!”
With that tears flooded his eyes. He turned his head and looked downward, raising his left hand to shield his face from me. His shoulders bobbed as he wept. . . .
Templeton fought to compose himself. I could tell it wasn’t like him to lose control in front of a stranger. He sighed deeply and wiped away a tear. After a few more awkward moments, he waved his hand dismissively. Finally, quietly but adamantly, he insisted: “Enough of that.”
RE: I thought it was going to say George Beverly Shea. I remember I was absolutely shocked when I learned that he died.
He lived to be 104, more years than Rev. Graham himself.
I admire the fact that Templeton dropped out of religion after losing his faith (or realizing he never had faith). How many religious leaders keep hanging around trying to corrupt others with their disbelief? At least he had the good grace to move on.
Bttt
There is that “but monkey”, again. ;-) You seem to think that you are so powerful, that you could thwart the Will of YHWH if you wanted to. Just stop with: “YHWH has already chosen every single ONE of us,”
At least he had the good grace to move on.
____________________________________________________
Not so much. He wrote a book professing the Gospel as not true. I hope the book took no one away from their faith.
On faith, as so many people have stated that it is faith that makes you eligible for Grace.
This is a tough subject but the concepts are rather simple. Grace is something that because The Lord loves all, His Grace is offered to all. While His love is unconditional His Grace IS conditional. Many say just believe on His name and you will receive His Grace. I say not so. Yes of course you must believe on His name to receive His Grace but the Devil, even Satan or Lucifer if you prefer believes on His name. The Devil is not eligible for The Lords Grace.
Many believe they can simply say Lord save me and they will be saved, perhaps, but I do not believe that. If you are evil your whole life and fear at the last moment and call on Jesus to save you He will tell you the same thing as he told those who cast out devils in His name but were not followers of Him, they were cast out after His saying He never knew them. What is it to “know” Him? That is the $64000 question really isn’t it. If you know Him when you call on Him He will answer. If you have had faith enough for instance to help the widow, orphans, homeless, penniless then perhaps you do know him. So as James says, “show me your works and I will show you your faith”. It is faith that saves for sure but again as James says, “faith without works is dead.”
A person can have tons of good works but not know The Lord. Perhaps those that were casting out devils in Jesus’ name were doing something good it just wasn’t of Christ.
We need to follow Christ, not just say His name.
While it is not for us to judge, it is likely that someone who acts like they don’t know The Lord, probably doesn’t even though they may say His name.
Thank you very much for posting this from Templeton about his missing Jesus!
I get that. But by that time, he was on the other team. I would rather have such a person in the enemy camp than as a fifth columnist in my camp.
I don't quite agree with everything you assert, as I look at grace from a Calvinist perspective. But I do agree that it takes more than a phony profession of faith to be saved. A person who is evil until his dying day is not likely to have an actual conversion at the eleventh hour. Many people seem to think they can fool God by uttering a secret phrase at the moment of death. I think that is nonsense.
No.
Christ hasn't returned yet and the Dead in Christ are still in their graves.
...and Him only; too...
bump
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