(Franklin) Graham: ‘True Followers of Jesus...Cannot Endorse Same-Sex Marriage'

Franklin Graham: ‘At Every Turn, the Gay and Lesbian Agenda is Being Pushed by This Administration’ Rev. Franklin Graham, president of the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association. (AP)

(CNSNews.com) – Rev. Franklin Graham, son of world-renowned evangelist Billy Graham, said that “true followers” of Jesus “cannot endorse same-sex marriage” regardless of what President Barack Obama, the Congress, the Supreme Court, or the media say about the issue, adding that marriage was “settled by God Himself” and cannot be modified by man.

“True followers of Jesus Christ, whose salvation is based entirely upon God’s Word, cannot endorse same-sex marriage, regardless of what our President, the Congress, the Supreme Court, the media or the latest Gallup poll says about the matter,” said Rev. Graham in his May 2014 column for Decision magazine.

“This moral issue has been settled by God Himself and is not subject to man-made revisions or modifications,” he said. “In the end, I would rather be on the wrong side of public opinion than on the wrong side of Almighty God who established the standard of living for the world He created. Marriage is a biblically moral issue, not a political or theological one.”

Rev. Graham made those remarks after first discussing how “pressure from the LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender) community” on the A&E cable channel had tried to force Duck Dynasty off the air last year because its patriarch, Phil Robertson, had expressed his “biblically based convictions.”

Graham also noted how the restaurant and country store chain Cracker Barrel had initially given in to LGBT pressure and pulled all its Duck Dynasty products from its shelves, only to reverse itself after an uproar by millions of Americans who support the show.

“In both cases, the LGBT lost,” said Rev. Graham. “While many in the liberal and progressive media have deceived the public into thinking that this group makes up a large portion of our nation’s population, surveys support the fact that this small but boisterous movement consists of less than 2 percent of society.”

Rev. Graham went on to discuss how the international Christian aid group, World Vision, had also apparently given in to pressure in March, announcing that it would hire people in same-sex marriages. That decision also caused an uproar from donors and other evangelical groups, and World Vision subsequently reversed its decision within two days.

At the time, Rev. Graham, who is head of the international Christian aid group Samaritan’s Purse, said, “In our country today, there is tremendous pressure on Christians, churches, and Christian organizations to lower our moral standards. God is clear in His Word, and His standards never change. I’m thankful that Christians across the country urged World Vision to reverse their decision, and prayed fervently that they would do so. Three cheers.”

Rev. Graham: ‘True Followers of Jesus … Cannot Endorse Same-Sex Marriage’ Regardless What the President, Media, Supreme Court Say

After commenting on Duck Dynasty and the World Vision scandal, Rev. Graham said he was grateful about how things concluded but hoped the fundamental issue would “cause a depth of soul-searching” because, as he understands it, there is no compromise on marriage.

“This debate is ultimately about something much more important than the question of same-sex marriage,” said Rev. Graham. “It is about the great compromise, calling into question the authority of Scripture. If Christians do not agree concerning the authority of Scripture, we will eventually disagree about all sorts of things.”

He continued, “The church is on dangerous ground when it departs from the teaching of Christ and attempts to redefine His commands and compromise His truth. There are many things in Scripture that Christians disagree on, but the Bible is crystal clear about the sanctity of life and marriage. It is also clear that homosexuality is spelled out as sin—there are no ifs, ands or buts.”

Rev. Graham ended his commentary by telling those in “the LGBT community” that God “loves you and will forgive you,” and that God “is eager to forgive all sinners,” including Graham himself.

Franklin Graham, 61, is married, has five children, and lives in Boone, N.C. He is the president and CEO of the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association and the Samaritan’s Purse.

RR, I have tried to see what point of contention you may have had with xzins judging by the conversation here, but can't quite figure out what it is.

This now delving into xzins own walk in way of judgment though --- please stop.

You may not "have his number" as well as you may think.

But setting this inspection/detection and ~~weighing~~ speculation in judgment aspect aside, just what was the underlying disagreement about?

Is it -- that "gay marriage", as wrong as that sort of thing is to even think of, is not the real problem since it is as much symptom (of serious sin) rather than a core issue which produces sins of that nature...or something...?

I'm having to guess here at what you may have been driving at. Let me know how well or how bad I just did with it.

Just what were you trying to say, anyway -- that is in any real opposition to what xzins says?

Once it can be seen there is little to none (afaikt) other than perhaps delving into the forensics of "sin" (if that was what you may have been alluding to) I see no real difference.

Franklin Graham goes on public record saying "gay marriage" cannot be endorsed by "followers" of Christ.

Notice that differs from "gay marriage must be opposed by throwing a hissy fit at every opportunity" or something.

What is the problem with Graham saying that such sins as homosexual "marriage" should not be endorsed? What is the problem with agreeing with the man about it? I don't quite get what the problem is...

We could point out that heterosexual "shacking up" as it used to be called, and has now devolved into more openly casual "hooking up" culture is damaging to individuals and culture too, in ways possible as grievous as homosexuality can or is --- for sin will bear it's own fruits --- which are death.

Is the problem that not enough inclusion of other "not endorsing" other forms of immorality has been talked about enough?

I don't know that you have mentioned it, but many minds turn towards that also.

Yet -- those things are not narrowly the issue, when it comes to this last stage -- which is the tearing down of "marriage" between one man and one women from the place such has been generally enshrined in Western culture (along with most cultures) to being now hijacked and turned into simply another sort of thing where the homo's get to claim all this "love" stuff which should be part of marriage, beyond the "civil union" contracts which in a few States well enough equals "marriage" in the eyes of the law (and in regards to "spousal" benefits too) that there is little discernible difference.

Even there I have my own opposition to "civil union" arrangements, in that spousal benefits generally were received by women for reasons of motherhood and the time and care that can entail, while there is not a single homosexual couple on earth who can produce children through the union of their same-sex bodies. It JUST AIN'T NATURAL.

And now...these same sinners are going after the "word" marriage itself -- seemingly to not only be able to accrue financial benefits, but to force everyone to "accept" their sinful ways as being beyond criticism.

If Franklin Graham keeps making pronouncements like this , I’ll have to start sending money to his organization

Please consider doing that, because over the past several months Franklin Graham has taken the gloves OFF against not only the homosexual aggression that plagues us but also even criticizing Obama.

You can check out the monthly Billy Graham Association Decision Magazine. Excellent stuff.

You can see most of past issues in the Past Issues link and an electronic subscription is $9 per year. (The magazine itself has bible study, additional articles on their worldwide Crusades etc.) Hope you'll check it out the entire website is very good.

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