Billy Graham and politics: Woe to us (Alas, this is not the Billy Graham my Grandma Knew)

Associated Baptist Press ^ | 10/20/2012 | Mark Wingfield

[SeekAndFind]

Why, three weeks prior to one of the most hotly contested presidential elections in modern history, does America’s Evangelist need to suddenly declare Mormonism no longer a cult? Has there been an unreported change in theology or practice?

My maternal grandmother thought Billy Graham was a saint above all others. You simply could not say anything negative about the evangelist in her presence. She held the same regard for Jimmy Carter, because she considered him a godly man and a faithful Sunday school teacher -- even if not an effective president. She also was convinced Henry Kissinger was the anti-Christ, but that’s another story.

I’m glad she didn’t live long enough to see Billy Graham and his family descend into the arena of secular politics. It would have broken her heart. And it should be sad for the rest of the Christian world as well.

The latest news came last week, when the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association made a slight change to the content of its website right after a visit from Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney.

Prior to Romney’s visit, the evangelist had defined Jehovah’s Witnesses, Mormons, the Unification Church, Unitarians, Spiritualists and Scientologists as “cults” and therefore not Christian. Several news outlets reported that after Romney’s visit to Graham, the page with that content was removed from the Graham website; then later, a Graham spokesman confirmed it.

Now before some of you, dear readers, start heating your branding irons to label me a partisan heretic, please keep reading. I’m not saying you should or shouldn’t vote for Mitt Romney or Barack Obama. What I do want to say is that you shouldn’t vote for either candidate just because you have been cleared to do so (or been encouraged to do so) by a preacher, pastor or evangelist. You should vote for one or the other because you are convinced in your own mind that person is the best for the job. God gave you a brain for a reason; use it.

Nor should you require Romney to be a Christian before you vote for him, just as you shouldn’t spread the lie that Obama is a closeted Muslim in order not to vote for him. There is no religious test for office in the United States.

So why, three weeks prior to one of the most hotly contested presidential elections in modern history, does America’s Evangelist need to suddenly declare Mormonism no longer a cult? Has there been an unreported change in theology or practice? What purpose could there be other than removing a barrier that might keep some evangelical Christians from voting for a Mormon? Especially when the evangelist, to the best of my knowledge, never has repudiated his own son’s statements from February, implying that Obama may not be a Christian but is likely a secret Muslim. Why is Billy Graham taking sides in a presidential election?

Some will say he has every right to take sides and should make his views known. Here’s why I think he shouldn’t and why his son, Franklin, is single-handedly undoing his father’s legacy: The gospel of Jesus Christ transcends political parties and labels. Jesus is neither Republican nor Democrat. And the moment we put God in a political box is when we alienate half the population from hearing the good news of redemption through Christ.

No person in our lifetime has done more to proclaim this message of salvation for all than Billy Graham. And he was heard because he appeared to care about all people without regard to race, creed or color. To make any other agenda -- abortion, gay marriage, economic policy or whatever -- more important than the universal call to redemptive faith is to lose sight of the cross of Christ. Ironically, it is Billy Graham who most clearly and consistently has called America to fix our eyes only upon Jesus. And now his own vision seems to be fading. Woe to us.

[RaceBannon]

If you are going to go so slanderously far as to accuse Billy Graham of "compromising the scripture", then please post a link or quote to material on his site that does so.

There have been numerous posts pointing you to just that

[Tamzee]

The nasty accusation was of Graham compromising scripture by changing his site. And yet I am still waiting for a link to any material on his site that does so.

If the links to unBiblical material on his website are so “numerous”, then please provide same.

[RaceBannon]

oh, I misunderstood your question, because I was posting links that explained his history of apostasy and his recorded statements of heresy with witnesses of his apostasy

you asked a different question, I will work on that.

[robowombat]

Yes, you are correct. Unfortunately the men who steered the SBC on its straight path of orthodoxy and marginalized the influence of the Louisville Theological Seminary versus New Orleans and Dallas have been mostly called to their reward or are in retirement. The weasels and termites have worked relentlessly to infiltrated and slowly try to twist the meaning of being a Southern baptist to being a ‘modern baptist’. The recent partial name change of the convention is just the most blatant aspect. The current chair of the convention is a mushy theological liberal who was elected because, like our President, of his skin color. this fellow isn't a Jeremiah Wright sort of hater but he has no real internal fortitude and lets the race card be played on him. Fortunately Baptist churches are self governing entities so the rot at the top in nashville has little real impact other than through the WMU types who are being constantly proselytized about ‘tolerance’ and ‘openness’. This is part of a general attempt by clerico=-neo-marxists to undermine evangelicalism by changing the way many women members ‘see the world’. Look to further to the last president Bush to see the effect of having a culturally mainstream but religiously liberal and ‘progressive’ wife on the husband's judgments. This is tough stuff. Men who are active evangelical Christians need to talk regularly with their wives about how their wives see questions of public policy or even foreign policy. These men need to have some strong arguments against the subtle poison the librats are constantly trying to inject into the evangelical community. Just saying ‘Support DOMA because I say so.’ will no longer cut it.

[ansel12]

That is right, you did not once mention anything about tithes and neither does any other member of any church that collects tithes,

All churches ACCEPT tithes and donations, but only Mormonism makes it MANDATORY and investigates you for compliance and issues you an ID card for it, and refuses you entrance to the Temple if you don't comply, and who's theology makes you second class, or even third class in the after life.

Not paying at least the required 10% means that you cannot become a God, in Mormonism.

[ravenwolf]

All churches ACCEPT tithes and donations, but only Mormonism makes it MANDATORY and investigates you for compliance and issues you an ID card for it, and refuses you entrance to the Temple if you don’t comply, and who’s theology makes you second class, or even third class in the after life.

Not paying at least the required 10% means that you cannot become a God, in Mormonism.

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There are actually some churches that will not except tithes but only alms.

I also see your point of view, if i decided to join a tithe collecting church i suppose i would pick the one that i thought was the lesser evil which would not be the Mormon church.

That also goes with picking a president, i would pick Romney over Obama even if i thought Romney was some what evil, but i have known many Mormons who i thought were great people.

[ravenwolf]

All churches ACCEPT tithes and donations, but only Mormonism makes it MANDATORY and investigates you for compliance and issues you an ID card for it, and refuses you entrance to the Temple if you don’t comply, and who’s theology makes you second class, or even third class in the after life.

Not paying at least the required 10% means that you cannot become a God, in Mormonism.

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There are actually some churches that will not except tithes but only alms.

I also see your point of view, if i decided to join a tithe collecting church i suppose i would pick the one that i thought was the lesser evil which would not be the Mormon church.

That also goes with picking a president, i would pick Romney over Obama even if i thought Romney was some what evil, but i have known many Mormons who i thought were great people.

[ansel12]

My point is that Mormonism is the only one that requires you to tithe, questions you on it, can require proof of it, issues you an ID verifying it, and denies you part of the afterlife if you do not pay, and denies you entrance into the Temple for failure to pay.

That is nice that you have met nice Mormons, my Mormon friends are nice also.

Mitt expects to become a God as our God is, and paying at least 10% of his income is required for that to happen.

[ravenwolf]

My point is that Mormonism is the only one that requires you to tithe, questions you on it,

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Yes, i can see your point very well and i admit that i did not know about it to that extent even though i have lived around Mormons all of my life and been to their Church a few times.

If i were voting for a religious leader to head me in the right direction in my spiritual life i would not vote for Romney.

However since religion is nothing more than politics with a halo around it i can not see that choosing a Mormon over a socialist would be anything but good.

We are not voting for a religious leader but for some one who will honor the constitution of the united states, and the fact that Romney honors his church even though we believe it to be a cult is a good sign that he is also apt to honor the nation that he heads.

[ansel12]

All churches ACCEPT tithes and donations, but only Mormonism makes it MANDATORY and investigates you for compliance and issues you an ID card for it, and refuses you entrance to the Temple if you don’t comply, and who’s theology makes you second class, or even third class in the after life.

Not paying at least the required 10% means that you cannot become a God, in Mormonism.

I’m glad that I could clear up just one of your misconceptions about Bishop Romney, a member of Mormon Royalty since his family first came to these shores to serve the cult 170 years ago, and the recipient of his cult leaders permission to run for president, permission that he sought in 2005, before he would undertake this mission.

[ravenwolf]

I’m glad that I could clear up just one of your misconceptions about Bishop Romney, a member of Mormon Royalty since his family first came to these shores to serve the cult 170 years ago, and the recipient of his cult leaders permission to run for president, permission that he sought in 2005, before he would undertake this mission.

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I only told you that i did not know some of the things you told me, i do not have any misconceptions concerning religion.