Billy Graham _ Keeping the Faith, Dropping the Politics

c. 2005 Religion News Service NEW YORK _ Early on, when he was an up-and-coming preacher wearing hand-painted ties, and later, when he was America’s leading Christian evangelist in the heart of the Cold War, everyone knew where Billy Graham stood on politics. He railed against communism and anti-war demonstrators. He helped presidential candidates and […]

c. 2005 Religion News Service

NEW YORK _ Early on, when he was an up-and-coming preacher wearing hand-painted ties, and later, when he was America’s leading Christian evangelist in the heart of the Cold War, everyone knew where Billy Graham stood on politics.

He railed against communism and anti-war demonstrators. He helped presidential candidates and gave them advice once they made it to the White House.


Over the years, he preached in person to an estimated 83 million people around the world. His success, religious historians say, was a precursor to the political rise of evangelicals and set the stage for today’s faith-based public discourse on abortion, gay marriage and other issues.

But as conservative religious figures like the Revs. Jerry Falwell and Pat Robertson and others have gained sway in the political arena, Graham, now 86, has deliberately withdrawn from it.

His focus will be on the Gospel, not politics, when he visits Flushing Meadows Corona Park in New York this weekend for what is widely expected to be his last crusade, No. 417.

“If I get up and talk about some political issue, it divides the audience,” Graham said this week at a press conference. “What I want is a united audience to hear only the Gospel. Many times (in the past) … I went too far in (dividing people on) such issues, and I think this time I want to stick only to the Gospel.”

These days, Graham moves very slowly, with a walker. He suffers from Parkinson’s disease and hydrocephalus, takes medicine for prostate cancer, and talks openly about his own death.

But the substance of Graham’s crusades has changed little, aside from the addition of Christian rock and hip-hop music, said William Martin, author of “A Prophet With Honor,” a biography of Graham.

They still involve singing by Beverly Shea, who has been part of Graham’s inner circle since the 1940s, and end with Graham speaking for 20 to 30 minutes and asking people to respond to his “invitation” to convert.


This will be Graham’s eighth crusade in the New York metropolitan area.

Why New York for what may be his last crusade? Graham, a North Carolina native, said the choice stems from a post-9/11 visit to the city by his son, the evangelist Franklin Graham, who later told his father that church leaders wanted him to return.

Franklin Graham, who now heads his father’s evangelistic association and is expected to speak briefly at this weekend’s crusade, has spoken publicly against Islam in recent years, garnering the type of publicity his father has studiously avoided since the 1970s after his association with President Richard Nixon hurt his reputation.

Since then, as evangelicals have increasingly linked themselves to the Republican Party, Graham has cautioned religious leaders not to align too closely with any political program.

“Billy Graham … has been unwilling to draw lines that would alienate other people or rule them out of his circle,” Martin said. “Many of the other conservative Christians who are involved in politics are not only willing to do that; they seem bent on doing that.”

Graham gained White House access in his 30s and advised Presidents Eisenhower, Johnson and Nixon on politics.

After his stature grew in the 1940s and 1950s with well-publicized crusades in Los Angeles, Washington, New York and Britain, presidents found it in their interest to meet and be seen with him. Graham used the access to offer political advice that belied a professed desire to avoid taking sides, Martin wrote in his book.


While Graham rarely endorsed candidates, from the 1950s to the 1970s “he was more partisan than he let out,” said Mark Noll, a professor of Christian Thought at Wheaton College, Graham’s alma mater.

“He did keep politics out of his public messages, but he wanted to take a part in public life, and the engines of publicity were there for somebody who was charismatic and could keep out of scandal like Graham.”

Graham had a close association with Nixon, and the president’s downfall shocked Graham in many ways, not the least of which was the profanity that Oval Office tapes showed Nixon freely used, according to Martin.

The release of other tapes almost 30 years later dealt an embarrassing blow because they showed Graham speaking with Nixon negatively about Jewish news media figures in ways many Jews found offensive.

Graham has apologized repeatedly for the comments about Jews and for becoming too close to power. His humility earned praise for his character, said Leo Sandon, professor emeritus of religion and American studies at the University of Chicago Divinity School.

“At times when Billy Graham, I thought, was showing the worst judgment, which in my opinion would be … with Nixon, even then, no one ever doubted his integrity, his honesty,” Sandon said. “His greatest problem was a lot of celebrity and publicity. He loved to be in that White House.”


It helped Graham’s recovery, Martin said, that he has since led conferences around the world to bring Christians of various denominations together and help ministers preach.

Observers say another secret to his continued success, and what has distinguished him from other evangelists, is the extent to which the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association works with local churches _ mainline, nondenominational, Orthodox, even Catholic, despite occasional tensions through the years _ to include people who respond to Graham’s “invitation.”

“He’s not just brought the crowds to the Gospel, he’s helped assimilate those people to be a part of local church communities,” said Laceye Warner, an associate professor of evangelism and Methodist studies at Duke University.

Graham’s willingness to associate with liberal mainline Protestants led to a break with Christian fundamentalists dating back to the 1950s. Through the years, his views have become less conservative on many issues social conservatives care about most.

According to “A Prophet With Honor,” Graham remains generally conservative but believes administration of the death penalty is biased against poor people. He regards homosexuality as sinful “but no more so than adultery,” and said, “There are worse sins.”

He has said he does not profess to know that good people who deny Christ will go to hell. He has invited women ministers to lead prayers at crusades. He opposes abortion but said exceptions may be warranted in cases of rape, incest or if the mother’s life is endangered.


At a time when many conservative Christian leaders try to focus public concern on secularism and gay marriage, Graham is more likely to stress poverty as the most pressing social issue.

If he were still actively publicizing his views, it is easy to imagine him being lambasted on talk shows by more conservative religious leaders, Martin said.

“I’ve been asked many times, Do I fear death?” Graham said at this week’s press conference. “No, I look forward to death with great anticipation. … I’m looking forward to seeing God. I’m looking forward to seeing God face to face, and that could happen any day.”

MO/RB/JL END DIAMANT

(Jeff Diamant is a staff writer for The Star-Ledger of Newark, N.J.)

Editors: Search the RNS photo Web site at https://religionnews.com for photos of Graham at his Tuesday (June 21) news conference in New York. Search the site for several historic shots of the 1957 New York crusade that launched his evangelistic career.

Donate to Support Independent Journalism!

Donate Now!