Apparently, it's Billy Graham's 95th Birthday, and Billy Graham Ministries is doing everything it can to exploit the occurrence in a new crusade.
I'm surprised to see so many Christians rallying around this event. After his clownish political partisanship during the 2012 election, I had dismissed Graham as unserious, and thus irrelevant as a credible 21st century religious leader or thinker. Unfortunately, excitement for this event on the Internet, and even in my own community made me rethink my assessment of Graham’s relevance in our culture.
Throughout his ministry prior to 2012, Billy Graham always tried to at least maintain a thin veneer of apoliticism. He focused on saving souls. Graham's friendship with all presidents, republican or democrat is often touted as symbolic of his feigned ambivalence to party. This political ecumenism made for good ministerial optics, and Graham used them to his benefit over the years as a demonstration of his credibility and sincerity.
But something happened in 2012, and Billy Graham decided to break with tradition. For some reason Billy Graham decided to join the right-wing culture warriors and endorse Mitt Romney for President. In so doing, Graham significantly tarnished his brand, and lost the respect of many sincere Christians around the world.
First, Billy Graham invited Mitt Romney to his home, and used the occasion as a coded endorsement of Mitt Romney for president:
"It was an honor to meet and host Gov. Romney in my home today, especially since I knew his late father former Michigan Gov. George Romney, whom I considered a friend. I have followed Mitt Romney's career in business, the Olympic Games, as governor of Massachusetts and, of course, as a candidate for president of the United States.”
At the meeting,
Graham promised: “I’ll do all I can to help you. And you can quote me on that,” Although the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association denied that this promise was an endorsement,
most people were able to see it for what it was. That didn’t stop BGEA from deceitfully
downplaying the endorsement to retain tax exempt status.
If Billy Graham was once respected for his civic neutrality, he was respected even more for the simple evangelical orthodoxy of his theology. Sure, he made some controversial statements about universalism that set some people off. And, he liked to badmouth Jews as “the synogogue of Satan” behind closed doors with Richard Nixon. But most evangelicals trusted Graham's gentlemanly demeanor, and simple theology to point sinners to the cross, and presumably new life in Christ.
However, Mitt Romney’s Mormonism complicated this endorsement for Rev. Graham. You see, before Mitt Romney ran for president, Billy Graham plainly described Momonism as a cult to be avoided. “It is very important that we recognize cults and avoid any involvement with them.” One would presume this admonition against involvement from Mormonism precludes inviting one of their High Priests into your home, and endorsing their candidacy for President of the United States.
Momonism is not just another denomination of Christianity, and has as much in common with evangelical Christianity as a tree has with a bench. From creation to apocalypse, and everywhere in between, Mormonism denies the the essential elements of orthodox Christianity. In order to accept Mormonism, Christian doctrine must not be simply relaxed, or diluted... it must be trivialized.
This dissonance did not go unnoticed by concerned Republicans, as evangelical leaders worried that Romney's Mormonism could suppress conservative turnout, In order to get Mitt Romney elected, Billy Graham would have to rebrand Mitt Romey as a Christian, and reprogram his evangelical followers to accept Mitt Romney’s Momonism as compatible with their very different faith.
And so, political expedience gave way to political desperation, as Billy Graham launched a major campaign of two different full-page ads in major American newspapers, that were clearly designed to misrepresent Mitt Romney as a Christian, and absolve evangelicals of the sin of voting for a Mormon candidate:
The legacy we leave behind for our children, grandchildren and this great nation is crucial. As I approach my 94th birthday, I realize this election could be my last. I believe it is vitally important that we cast our ballots for candidates who base their decisions on biblical principles and support the nation of Israel. I urge you to vote for those who protect the sanctity of life and support the biblical definition of marriage between a man and a woman. Vote for biblical values this November 6, and pray with me that America will remain one nation under God.
and
On November 6, the day before my 94th birthday, our nation will hold one of the most critical elections in my lifetime. We are at a crossroads and there are profound moral issues at stake. I strongly urge you to vote for candidates who support the biblical definition of marriage between a man and woman, protect the sanctity of life, and defend our religious freedoms. The Bible speaks clearly on these crucial issues. Please join me in praying for America, that we will turn our hearts back toward God.
Setting aside Graham’s peculiar obsession with his own birthday, this is an extremely strange set of “biblical principles” to emphasize as considerations when electing the leader of the free world. Billy Graham’s distillation of the Gospel into behavioral rules is fringe at best.
It was at this moment that the Reverend Billy Graham relinquished his title as "America’s Pastor," withdrawing to a smaller flock, presumably the remaining 28% of Americans who view the GOP favorably right now. In fact, the endorsement and ads were so out of character for Billy Graham, that people didn’t believe it, requiring Snopes to create a page verifying the partisanship as true.
In Billy Graham's anemic “biblical values,” the claims of Christ are secondary. In fact, Graham's primary focus isn’t really “values” at all. They’re simply narrow, derivative proscriptions addressing an extremely narrow range of human sexual behavior, zionism and one of the many ways our society institutionally kills children. It’s as if the President of Harvard stood before his freshman class and said, “Harvard is the finest university in the world. I urge you to embrace our rich educational principles: 1. no alcohol in the dorms, and 2. no cheating on exams.”
But I’m not nearly as concerned about Graham’s small view of biblical principles as I am about the values he chose to omit. Graham’s vision of biblical values lacks the optimism and imagination that accompany the grander gospel Jesus tirelessly lives out: forgiving sins, caring for (not about) the sick and poor, loving your enemy, renouncing worldly goods, and living life abundantly.
Graham’s sudden trivialization of the Gospel and acceptance of Mormons makes no sense in the context of sincere Christian ministry. But Graham’s omissions and apology make perfect sense when understood as an opportunistic political act in the context of the 2012 election. Mitt Romney and his disdain for the 47% could never believably fit the template for a gospel of love and compassion, and his Mormon faith threatened the near mandatory litmus test of “Christian” credentials required by right-wing evangelical voters. Since Mitt Romney could never conform to biblical values or theology, Billy Graham redefined the phrase “biblical values” and contorted his theology to conform to Mitt Romney.
The final evidence of Graham relinquishing any claim of the uniqueness of Christianity was when Billy Graham Evangelistic Association removed the offending web page calling Mormonism a cult. Franklin Graham announced mormonism would never be labeled a cult again.
But worst of all, was Billy Graham propulgating the fiction that any presidential candidate could meaningly reflect “biblical values”. As Greg Boyd masterfully demonstrated in Myth of a Christian Nation, politics is about the power of the sword… power over people. Faith is about the power of the cross, a power “under people”. To confuse the power of the sword with the power of the cross, is a grave error, that is either naive or deceitful. And it’s hugely demeaning to the intellects of Christians that know better. And it’s hugely manipulative of Christians who don’t.
Now, as if abandoning his civic neutrality and trivializing his theology were not enough, Billy Graham is leaping in to bed with end-timers like Elizabeth Clare Prophet, psychic Jean Dixon, engineer-turned-numerologist Harold Camping, and ironically, Joseph Smith:
“There’s a great deal to say in the Bible about the signs we’re to watch for and when these signs all converge at one place we can be sure that we’re close to the end of the age,” Graham wrote. “And those signs, in my judgment, are converging now for the first time since Jesus made those predictions.” ...
“God keeps his promises, and this is why we can be sure that the return of Christ is near,” Graham said. “Scripture tells us that there will be signs pointing toward the return of the Lord. I believe all these signs are evident today.”
Of course, this prediction of the end is accompanied with pleas for financial support. Yes, Billy Graham is asking for donations claiming that the signs of the end of the world are here. How is this not fraud?
Preaching the unique conditions of end-times is heresy, and represents a complete lack of spiritual discernment. Even worse, it’s hugely irresponsible when you’re in a position of leadership. End times predictions do terrible damage to people. Like this man who spent $140,000 of his own money promoting Harold Camping’s end times predictions. Besides, even if the apocalypse were imminent, what does Reverend Graham suggest I should do differently now that the end is near? Bring a sweater?
Most distressingly, (and conveniently), Graham's fanatical chicken little hysteria ignores the three most real apocalyptic threats to humanity: economic inequality, nuclear proliferation and climate change, all conditions that Mitt Romney and Republicans actively exacerbate.
Finally, I reserve the biggest shame in this debacle for the pastors of churches who are squandering their parishioner’s time, spirits, tithes and offerings to promote this charade of trivialized faith, engineered and executed by the Billy Graham and the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association. It might be time for Christians of conscience to reconsider their giving to faith institutions that promote this helium.
In 2012, Billy Graham made a Faustian bargain with the devil and lost. He exchanged a lifetime of dignified ministry for a one-time electoral edge for a partisan political candidate. Frank Schaeffer (who just released an extemely relevant novel "And God Said, Billy!") says that “The Tea Party buried the life work of Billy Graham.” Sadly, I fear the good Reverend did the burying himself.
Perhaps the most generous explanation for Graham’s mania is elder abuse. It’s not impossible that this debacle is simply Franklin Graham exploiting his father.
Billy Graham has nearly completed his pathetic decline from beloved minister, to partisan hack, and finally, a deranged prophet, counting earthquakes, and confusing the complexity of Middle Eastern geopolitics as a sign from God. So, happy birthday, Billy Graham, but I won't be celebrating with you. I suggest you celebrate with those who share your values: Mitt Romney, Mormons, Zionists and Republicans.
Follow me on twitter: @johnholland
3:53 PM PT: I wanted to be clear that I don't have a problem with a Mormon President, or a President of any faith (or lack of faith). The important thing is that it's not internally consistent with Graham's evangelical narrative.
Also, regardless of the worth of Billy Graham's legacy (however you see it) there's no reason for Christians, or non-Christians to take this 95th birthday celebration, or future BGEA efforts seriously.
Sat Nov 02, 2013 at 8:37 AM PT: LOL, as if almost on cue after I published this article, Sarah Palin and Donald Trump announced they'd be attending Billy Graham's birthday. I guess he took my suggestion to celebrate with people who share his values to heart!