Getting a religious ad “banned” by a company that doesn’t show religious advertisements is evidence not of religious persecution but of the idiocy of the Church of England’s press office.
We should be thanking God that religious (and political) ads are banned in cinemas.
We went to see Billy Graham the last time he came to Glasgow. The bank manager gave us tickets! It was my first time at Parkhead. Never had I seen so many Burberry raincoats. It was a hugely choreographed occasion. The intensity of the occasion passed me by, I had never been any where with so many people before. However his effect was clear, people were very moved. r
Kelvin, I take my hat off to you (or, as a dear, sadly departed Portuguese friend of mine used to say, “I take my head off to you”) for being able to sort out 1) your deep respect for Billy Graham the man, and 2) your wholly justified condemnation of some of his beliefs and their unfortunate consequences, and to come up with your conclusion (which I share) that he is awaking in glory–to some surprises!
I never heard of Billy Graham, until I became an Anglican. I was raised as a Catholic and when I was young, only who the Pope was, and perhaps saw Arch Bishop Fisher on TV and being told that he was a Non-Catholic and I shouldn’t watch him or read about him.
When I became an Anglican, I met some Evangelicals who t raced their history back to his Crusades and extolled his virtues. When I did research for Essays that I was writing for my training, I read about the darker side of his ministry, particularly those you ably describe. I revised my opinion of him, to one of someone who was given a Gift to proclaim the good news, but somewhere mixed it up with bad theology and missed the bit about us all being Children of God, who loves each and every one of us, not a select few.
I’ve seen the headlines and eulogies for him and have say, that with due respect that his ministry was misused and misdirected down a tangent that has had consequences for many who are victimized daily as a result.
Hi Kelvin,
I’m a producer on BBC Radio Scotland’s Good Morning Scotland programme on Saturday. We are planning to do an item about Billy Graham and were interested in what you said in your blog and wondered if you’re around to come on the programme. Could you give me a call on 0141 422 7711. Many thanks.
I think billy was a great preachr but he did not accept that god made gay people as well as straight & I couldn’t accept that
Billy Graham refused to conduct his meetings in stadiums that were segregated. He understood that we all stood equal before God. He sought crusade support across denominational lines. He ministered to our presidents, regardless of political ties or denominational ties. His sole text book was the Bible. He sole message was the salvation of the individual man through faith in Jesus Christ.
Well, Rebecca, I think Billy Graham’s life leaves a very complex legacy.
Here’s what Malcolm X thought of him: http://religiondispatches.org/billy-graham-and-the-gospel-of-american-nationalistic-christianity/
On the other hand, here’s what Mel White thought about him: https://www.melwhite.org/remembering-billy-graham/
Here’s a CNN piece which quotes Billy Graham criticising Martin Luther King’s “I have a dream” speech: https://edition.cnn.com/2018/02/22/us/billy-graham-mlk-civil-rights/index.html
“Only when Christ comes again will the little white children of Alabama walk hand in hand with little black children.”
I’m prepared to stand by my assessment that I benefited from Billy Graham’s ministry and also that there are some things about his ministry which have caused harm, to me and to others. Life really is as complex as that.
For me, Billy was exceptional. He lived a life to please no man but his creator
The world does seem to be sharply divided sometimes between people who enjoy change and people who are frightened by it. It is possible that things are not so black and white when you drill down into individual attitudes. Some of us may embrace change sometimes and be threatened by it at others. However, at…
Just in case anyone is interested in the technicalities of yesterday’s Blog Redesign… What you are looking at now is based on StudioPress’s Prose theme. What you were looking at before was based on a theme by Andreas Viklund (WP-Andreas01) to whom I am grateful for offering such a good, free, stylish theme which I’ve…
I’ve spent the morning of my day off doing a little refreshing of the blog design. I decided that it was time to say goodbye to the design that I’ve been using for ages and move to something a little more minimalist. (Did I ever tell you that I was a minimalist in my heart?)…
Today shall not pass on this blog without noting the change in the law that now allows gay people to service openly in the military in the USA. The so-called “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” rule that has now been consigned to history was an emblematic piece of hypocrisy. The idea was that it was OK…
Leave a Reply