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Franklin Graham, the president of the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association and the family’s international humanitarian organization Samaritan’s Purse, said that the IRS notified the organizations in September that it was conducting a “review” of their activities for tax year 2010. With the IRS admitting it gave extra scrutiny to conservative political organizations, Graham says he now believes that the review was part of an Obama administration effort of “targeting and attempting to intimidate us.” ~~snip~~ “While these audits not only wasted taxpayer money, they wasted money contributed by donors for ministry purposes as we had to spend precious resources servicing...

The IRS came after Billy Graham, too, his son charged Tuesday in a letter to President Barack Obama. Franklin Graham, the president of the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association and the family’s international humanitarian organization Samaritan’s Purse, said that the IRS notified the organizations in September that it was conducting a “review” of their activities for tax year 2010. With the IRS admitting it gave extra scrutiny to conservative political organizations, Graham says he now believes that the review was part of an Obama administration effort of “targeting and attempting to intimidate us.” The Billy Graham Evangelistic Association urging of voters...

America should tax movies and games that glorify guns as one way to fight gun violence, says the Rev. Franklin Graham. “How much violence as a nation are we willing to accept?” Graham asked Wednesday in York. “We tax cigarettes, we can tax violence.” Graham was at Bethelwoods Camp and Conference Center in York for Samaritan’s Purse disaster relief training. The six-day session is to help relief workers improve their response skills. The training is as realistic as possible, Graham said, with people screaming and hollering. “We bring as much distraction as you can get. You literally have guts in...

As the papal helicopter left the Vatican as Pope Benedict XVI’s tenure came to an end Thursday, the chattering heads on the news channels focused on the sex scandals as a challenge for the next pope. Sex sells, clearly, but chatterers are missing a huge (not sexy) story: The growth of Protestantism in South America.

This question has stirred much debate. Historically, Christians have voted for candidates of different faiths, including Mormons, based on how they live their lives and how deeply committed they are to upholding the U.S. Constitution. Remember, God ordained government, and we are not electing a pastor-in-chief, we are electing a commander-in-chief. George Washington was Episcopalian, Abraham Lincoln had no religious affiliation while he was president, John Kennedy was Catholic and Jimmy Carter and Bill Clinton were outspoken Southern Baptists. Over a period of 223 years, our nation’s cities and states have been governed by people of many different faiths, including...

Franklin Graham: Obama 'Shaking His Fist' at God CBNNews.com Friday, May 11, 2012 Franklin Graham, son of evangelist Billy Graham, believes President Barack Obama defied God by changing his stance on gay marriage. "President Obama has, in my view, shaken his fist at the same God who created and defined marriage," Franklin Graham said in a statement on the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association website. The president has proclaimed his Christian faith several times, and before taking office said he thought marriage should only be between one man and one woman. Over the years, Obama gradually changed his tone on the...

Evangelist Franklin Graham said President Barack Obama has “shaken his fist at God” by voicing support for gay marriage. In an interview Wednesday with ABC News, Obama said his opinions had evolved and he now believes same-sex couples should have the right to wed.

Franklin Graham said President Obama has “shaken his fist” at God by announcing his support for same-sex marriage. On Wednesday, Obama voiced his support for same-sex marriage, saying he was taking a personal position on the issue. "I have hesitated on gay marriage in part because I thought that civil unions would be sufficient," Obama said in the interview with ABC. He added, "I was sensitive to the fact that for a lot of people the word 'marriage' was something that evokes very powerful traditions, religious beliefs and so forth." Now, he said, "it is important for me personally to...

SNIP Franklin Graham, president and CEO of the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association, issued a statement Thursday about the president’s decision. It said, in part, “In changing his position from that of Senator/candidate Obama, President Obama has, in my view, shaken his fist at the same God who created and defined marriage. It grieves me that our president would now affirm same-sex marriage, though I believe it grieves God even more.” Graham also said: “While the move to pass amendments defining marriage is relatively new, the definition of marriage is 8,000 years old and was defined not by man, but by...

The Rev. Franklin Graham is supporting a proposed amendment to North Carolina's constitution that would provide that marriage between one man and one woman is the only domestic legal union that shall be valid in the state. The pro-amendment Vote FOR Marriage NC released an audio message late Friday in which Graham, the son of evangelist Billy Graham, is asking listeners to "take a stand on God's definition of marriage" between a man and a woman and vote for the amendment on the May 8 primary ballot, according to WXII-TV, Channel 12. Graham's sister Anne Graham Lotz is also backing...

The Rev. Franklin Graham, under pressure from faith groups, apologized for suggesting that President Obama is not a Christian: “I regret any comments I have ever made which may have cast any doubt on the personal faith of our president, Mr. Obama,” Graham said in a statement on Tuesday, according to the Religious News Service. “I apologize to him and to any I have offended for not better articulating my reason for not supporting him in this election — for his faith has nothing to do with my consideration of him as a candidate,” he added. Graham caused a stir...

Reverend Franklin Graham says President Obama has “given Islam a pass,” including ignoring atrocities against Christians in the Muslim world — so much so that the evangelist says he cannot “categorically” say Obama is not a Muslim. In a stunning interview with MSNBC’s “Morning Joe” on Tuesday, the renowned Christian leader and son of Billy Graham expressed shock that President Obama was doing little to protect Christians across the Muslim world against a wave of persecution. MSNBC’s liberal hosts were flummoxed by Graham’s strong rebuke of Obama, and queried if Graham believed the president to be a Christian.

On the heels of MSNBC dismissing conservative commentator and author Patrick J. Buchanan, Chris Matthews, the network's staunchest Obama supporter, called for news programs to stop inviting Rev. Franklin Graham on television to talk politics. "I think we should stop inviting this guy to talk about politics. He should stay out of the -- I mean, I love the bookings on "Morning Joe." I love the guests. In this case, I think this guy should not be in the public square talking politics," Matthews said on his "Hardball" program. "He's got his own little thing and he ain't his father's...

Franklin Graham, the son of prominent evangelist Billy Graham, questioned the Christianity of both President Obama and presidential candidate Mitt Romney on Tuesday. Asked in an interview with MSNBC's "Morning Joe" if he believed Mr. Obama was a Christian, Graham said he would "have to assume" he is because "he has said he's a Christian," but then added that he cannot answer the question himself. "You'll have to ask President Obama," Graham said, when asked directly what he believes about Mr. Obama's faith. "You can ask me 'Do I believe you're a Christian?' I think the best thing for a...

Franklin Graham, the evangelist and son of Billy Graham, gave sharply different answers Tuesday when asked whether he believed Rick Santorum and Barack Obama were Christians. Graham, the CEO and president of the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association, also declined to say on MSNBC’s “Morning Joe” whether he thought Mitt Romney was a Christian. He weighed in at length on the candidates and their faith: * ON OBAMA: “You have to ask him. I cannot answer that question for anybody. All I know is I’m a sinner, and God has forgiven me of my sins… You have to ask every person....

Rev. Franklin Graham, the son of evangelist Billy Graham and a prominent evangelical leader in his own right, waded into contentious waters Tuesday when asked for his views on the religious beliefs of President Obama and the GOP hopefuls. Graham, the CEO and president of the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association, told a Morning Joe panel he couldn't say for certain that Obama is a Christian. “You have to ask him. I cannot answer that question for anybody. All I know is I’m a sinner, and that God has forgiven me of my sins," Graham said. "You have to ask every...

The Rev. Franklin Graham says presidential candidate Mitt Romney is not a Christian. Appearing on MSNBC’s Morning Joe show, Graham was asked whether Romney is a Christian. Graham said he likes Romney, but added, “He’s a Mormon.” When one of the hosts suggested Romney still is part of the “Judeo-Christian faith,” Graham responded: “Most Christians would not recognize Mormons as part of the Christian faith.” “I’m just saying that most Christians would not recognize Mormonism. Of course they believe in Jesus Christ. They believe in a lot of other things, too, that we don't accept theologically.”(continued)

U.S. Republican presidential candidate and former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney speaks during a town hall meeting at the Missouri Valley Steel in Sioux City, Iowa December 16, 2011. Pastor Steven Andrew, president of USA Christian Ministries, is calling out Franklin Graham and telling him to repent after Graham said that it is acceptable for a Christian to vote for a Mormon. “Graham is misleading Christians to vote against Scripture for Mormon Mitt Romney,” Andrew said in a statement... In a recent interview with the Christian Broadcasting Network, Graham said that Mitt Romney's Mormon faith “doesn't bother me at all,” and...

Evangelical minster Franklin Graham said voters should look past a candidate’s personal religion when considering whom they should support for office. Graham offered his advice in a recent interview with The Christian Broadcasting Network when asked if Christians could vote for someone who is a Mormon. “Yes, the fact that Mitt Romney is a Mormon doesn’t bother me at all,” Graham told CBN. Two candidates seeking the GOP nomination for president who are Mormons are Romney and Jon Huntsman. They are members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Graham said voters should select a candidate who is...

The U.S. Air Force Academy has pulled out of a Christian-sponsored children’s toy drive after commanders were accused of religious intolerance. Mikey Weinstein, an academy graduate who runs the Military Religious Freedom Foundation, said the academy’s participation in Operation Christmas Child is inappropriate because of its evangelical Christian roots. Operation Christmas Child is sponsored by Samaritan’s Purse, headed by Franklin Graham — the son of evangelist Billy Graham. It packs toys and other items into shoe boxes and sends them to needy children around the world, along with a Christian message in each gift. “This is arrogance beyond measure,” Weinstein...