Shortly after the attacks of September 11, Graham had commented, "I don't believe [Islam] is a wonderful, peaceful religion." Asked by NBC News on Friday to clarify his statement, he repeated his charge that Islam, as a whole, was evil.Posted on 11/21/2001 9:28:59 AM PST by truthandlife
In what is believed to be a first in American history, there were prayers to Allah last night at the White House where President Bush hosted a formal Ramadan celebration with dozens of Muslim leaders.
The Ramadan event was another effort by the Bush Administration to prove its war on terrorism is not a war against Islam. However, conservative voices like Gary Bauer have been sharply critical of that effort. He says he has heard from a number of people within the U.S. intelligence community who are shocked and demoralized that some of the Muslim leaders who have been spending time with the President have been known to speak out in favor of terrorism.
Bauer notes that while these people are getting the red carpet treatment at the White House, reports indicate the President is distancing himself from one of the country's best-known evangelicals. According to reports, Franklin Graham upset the Bush Administration when he recently referred to Islam as being "wicked, violent, and not of the same God."
Shortly after the attacks of September 11, Graham had commented, "I don't believe [Islam] is a wonderful, peaceful religion." Asked by NBC News on Friday to clarify his statement, he repeated his charge that Islam, as a whole, was evil.
"It wasn't Methodists flying into those buildings, it wasn't Lutherans," he told NBC News. "It was an attack on this country by people of the Islamic faith."
In a follow-up statement yesterday, Graham said he is deeply concerned with "the teachings of Islam regarding the treatment of women, and the killing of non-Muslims or infidels."
The son of Rev. Billy Graham and the designated successor of his father's extensive evangelical ministry, Graham delivered the benediction at Bush's inauguration in January. As NBC News observed, "A presidential friend and supporter now finds himself at odds with both the Muslim world and the message from the White House." But conservative columnist Chuck Baldwin calls Graham "a breath of fresh air" for standing firm and not apologizing for his statements.
Meanwhile, The New York Times reports a Muslim advocacy organization has sent a letter to Graham inviting him to meet with them to discuss his remarks. In the letter, Nihad Awad of the Council on America-Islamic Relations says, "Negative impressions of Islam are most often based on a lack of accurate and objective information."
Positive Outcome
As a national holiday approaches, President Bush says Americans of various faiths will be "joined in prayer" this Thanksgiving. "On this holiday, we give thanks for our many blessings and for life itself," Bush said. "Thanksgiving reminds us that the greatest gifts don't come from the hands of man, but from the Maker of heaven and earth. This week, American families will gather in that spirit."
Since the September terrorist attacks, church attendance has increased and there have been more prayer gatherings on Capitol Hill. Evangelist Pat Robertson believes people have been shocked into examining what their true values are.
"What we're seeing is that this awful attack, as horrific ... and as heart-rending [as it was], is bringing about one of the greatest spiritual revivals in the history of America," Robertson says. "[T]he churches are full ... people are turning to God, they're turning to their families, they're turning to the fundamental values, and they're getting away from all this fluff of the last decade."
Robertson made his comments today on CNN.
Yes, The Lord told us that few would find eternal life
"straight is the gate, and narrow is the road..."
Also many of the groups you mentioned are not christian other than by name.
The creator of Freerepublic says that this is not a board for discussion of deviant ideas, - Get used to it !!!
Thank you Thinkin' Gal. (thinking, as usual) - DITTO !!
Those who attempt to dismiss this as merely a political grace are fools - This act has prophetic fulfilment threaded throughout. - He who has an ear, let him hear.
I hope that you are upset with GWB as a fellow Christian and not as a President. He is using Islam as a political tool to gain favor with the islamic peoples.
Politicians use Christianity all of the time for political purposes. I don't care if he is Agnostic, Christian, Jewish, Buddhist or even worships the Moon-God. I do care that he does his best to end terrorism without creating a war between Christians and Muslims. Each group is convinced that they are correct and neither is going to yeild to the other's way of thinking! We need to find a way to get along. If it means hosting a prayer in the White House to Allah, then so be it.
That is one of the most ridicules and divisive arguements I have ever heard.
As I recall, Christ said "Let he who is without sin cast the first stone."
There must be a lot of sin free Christians here because I see a lot stones being cast..
Where is the benefit to that? All it does is feed their mindset that one day the West will need to become Islamic.
A prayer for an end to the conflict, a prayer for a peaceful harmony, these are "tolerant" and "peaceful" prayers.
Praying that one day we will be united under Islam is separatist (the only way we can live together is to become "them").
There is no lasting good that comes from this type of a meeting.
I always thought it was strange for people to pick out a few days out of the year to be good. Why is one day different that the next? Good is good. Bad is bad.
I think that all here are aware of that, but that is the problem.
The Lord commands us to avoid all appearance of evil. - The avenues available to him to accomplish said goal are prayer, and faith. - Had he used those tools rather than the un-holy photo-op, he would have fulfilment AND support.
Billy and Franklin Graham are both ordained Baptist ministers.
Bush is a Methodist, and the United Methodist Church is a spiritually dead denomination which denies the divinity of Jesus Christ and supports the collectivist World Council of (apostate) Churches. That might explain a lot about this pagan prayer service in our White House.
The correct translation of that is generally acknowledged to be:
"Let he who is without this sin cast the first stone."
The sin in this instance being whoremongering, of which all of the pharisees that were present were guilty.
The admonishon was against hypocrisy, not punishment.
What was the purpose of this meeting?
- To make Bush/America appear tolerant of the Islamic faith; stress the message that this is not a war on Islam (from a "Christian" nation).
- To acknowledge a muslim presence in this country. They vote (but will they rememeber this in 3 years?)
- To pray for the world's conversion to Islam (let them all glorify "allah"). This is Rammadan after all.
I can take issue with the goals of this meeting. I can take issue with actions that occcurred at this meeting.
I cannot pass judgement as to what will happen to anyone, anywhere in this world, when they die. Some have faiths, some don't. You choose your path. Maybe none of us our right but some of us here have our convictions. We have seen others who purport to share these convictions seemingly betray them.
Bush does not need to wait until a separate religious ceremony to offer his prayers of peace to his God publicly. This would lead to a truer peace settlement between Islam and the Judeo-Christian world. We have to allow each other to co-exist. Being silent when they express the hope that one day we will all be like them solves nothing. That "hope" will not be met.
If that is the best we can hope for a peaceful understanding, it will never come.
I even stated I agree with you on some points you made.
Perhaps, perhaps, Bush has invited these people into the White House to give example and testimony of the Christian faith---which is agape Love. I don't know. I don't know and neither do you at this moment know the motivations of his heart. Also, consider that we are not privy to all that took place with those people. We only heard a portion.
With all my heart I hope that I have not offended you here. This whole thing is confusing.
Christians can celebrate the gift of Jesus' birth everyday(signifying his time on Earth among men and the gift of God's only son).
Christians can also celebrate the redemption of the resurrection, Jesus died for our sins and we are saved.
The muslims speak of Jesus but not as God made man (denying the gift) and without the crucifiction (thus the redemption is lost).
Some Christians glorify in these 2 events every day that they contemplate them. God loves me.
We are sinners, we are imperfect. We do things inspite of what we should do. However, to step forward and make a profession of faith and celebrate the glory 1 minute and then violate 1 of the 10 commandments seems to indicate serious lack of self-control.
Bill Clinton had the signs of sexual addiction. He did not step forward to publicly try to work through this. He denied the activities altogether and blamed his enemies. Admitting your foibles is difficult but burying them inside your self-concious only lets them fester.
He is a Methodist..
methodist can't be Christians???? want to explain these 2 statements??
My concern is this is going overboard and it looks like we are making the muslims of America out to be the victims. Enough already!
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