Was Billy Graham a homophobic, Christ denying, antisemitic and bigoted failed evangelist on the wrong side of history?

Feb 26, 2018 by Jill

by David Robertson, Christian Today:

Have you ever noticed how anyone who dies is always a saint, especially when they are one of the idols of our society? They may have lived an immoral, selfish life but when they die they are everyone’s friend and hero, The angels in heaven are rejoicing at the sheer privilege of having such a wonderful person to make paradise even better.

Unless, that is, you are the most successful Christian evangelist in the history of the world.

Although there were many fine tributes to the life and testimony of Billy Graham, what struck me were the number of people and organisations who couldn’t even wait until his body was cold before they stuck the boot in. These reactions tell us a great deal about our culture and churches.

The Guardian pronounced that Billy Graham was ‘on the wrong side of history’ – a statement which is breathtaking in its arrogance. The liberal metro-elites, the culture vultures of the zeitgeist, just ‘know’ what the right side of history is. They believe society is progressing and they are the greatest evidence of that progression. Anyone who disagrees with them on any of their shibboleth issues has to be on ‘the wrong side of history’. They alone know ‘the right side’ and they will disparage, despise and denigrate anyone who disagrees. Even when they have just died.

Not to be outdone, Douglas Robertson in The Independent weighed in. ‘Surely Graham, far from being “an exemplar to generation upon generation”, is an example of how religion is so often successfully leveraged as a means of making bigotry appear somehow acceptable, even something to aspire to,’ he said. Others wrote about how Graham spouted ‘incredible levels of hate in his time’, without offering any evidence for that. Despite being the most famous Christian in the world, whose every word was scrutinised, the only evidence they could come up with for this hyperbole is a conversation that he had with Nixon about the liberal Jews running New York – a comment of which he was ashamed and for which he apologised to Jewish leaders – and the fact that he was opposed to same-sex marriage. If after 99 years that was all that could be said about my stupid remarks, I would be very happy.

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