Excuse Our Coups! by Mrs. Betty Bowers, America's Best Christian 22JAN21

christian sharia?      dominionist?     ted cruz backpfeifengesicht

Excuse Our Coups!

What I Wish My White Friends & Family Understood About Our Election Grief & Why Franklin Graham Had Better Hope That Progressive Christians Were Right About Hell 10NOV16

I hear a lot of people blaming Christianity for the election of drumpf/trump-pence. It was not Christianity, it was Christians who chose not to pay attention to the teachings of Jesus Christ when they voted. They are Christians who have embraced the gospel of greed that is all the rage in America, and once one accepts the perversion that Christianity endorses greed it is easy to also accept racism, misogyny, xenophobia, sexual assault, homophobia, and authoritarianism are basic tenants of the faith. Here are two articles from Patheos, both from +benjaminlcorey. I do disagree with Mr Corey about Hell. I do believe in it, don't want anyone to go there, and I can not share his condemnation of franklin graham to Hell. He is right about franklin graham deliberately lying to America and perverting the teachings of Christianity to the extent that his version, his vision of our faith holds more in common with daesh / isis than Jesus Christ. I will leave the judging to God.....

What I Wish My White Friends & Family Understood About Our Election Grief

November 10, 2016 by Dr. Benjamin L. Corey 

It’s day 2, and I’m still grieving and feeling physically sick over the election– especially as I read story after story of how the Trump win has already emboldened racist bullying, threats, intimidation, and sexual assaults— in just the first day.

As I process, I’m realizing there’s a lot of things I wish my white friends and family knew and understood about our post-election grieving.

I wish they understood that this isn’t an issue of Republican or Democrat, but that this is an issue of life and death.

I wish they understood that we’re not grieving because we didn’t get our own way, but are grieving because the nation instantly became less safe for so many– particularly for our kids.

I wish they knew what it was like to send my daughter to school after the election, wanting to vomit with fear over what hateful things might be said to her.

I wish they knew what she sounds like when she cries because kids at school told her that she doesn’t belong in this country and should go back to wherever she came from.

I wish they knew how tightly she clings to me over and over, asking “Daddy, are you sure Trump can’t send me back? How do you really know for sure?”

I wish they knew the agony of knowing that for at least the next four years, the world is a far more dangerous place for her, simply because she’s not white.

I wish they knew the twisted joy I experienced over realizing that her language disabilities might be an asset to her for these next few years, because maybe, just maybe, she won’t understand some of the words that people will say to her.

I wish they knew the panic of realizing she’ll be dating soon, and that this era of her life will exist under a president who has normalized sexual assault, and where Christian leaders she should be able to trust for guidance, dismissed and explained away this behavior in order to grasp political power.

I wish they knew the burn in my stomach that feels like I swallowed battery acid when I read white supremacists and KKK leaders say the election of Trump was the “greatest night of their life,” because that means the election of Trump was one of the worst nights of hers.

I wish they knew what it felt like to read the many horrific testimonies coming out of America in the past 24 hours. I wish they knew the feeling I get as I read each story of people of color being harassed and threatened while pumping gas, while walking down the street, or just minding their own business, and realize that these people– now emboldened by Trump– will now feel far more permission to harm my child.

 I wish they knew the stress and torment of knowing that I can only protect her so much, that my white privilege doesn’t extend to her, and that there will come a day when I’m not going to be there to protect her from the racism and xenophobia that was normalized and endorsed with a Trump vote. I’m just praying that when it does happen to her again, it will be with words and not physical violence.

I know that day is a matter of when, not if, and I wish they knew what it feels like to preemptively beg God to have mercy.

 I wish they knew the devastation of realizing that the very nation I sacrificed for and gave a decade of my life to, is not the nation I thought it was.

I wish they knew the disappointment, heartbreak, and feeling like you gave so much in order to make the country better, only to experience the betrayal of living in a country that’s not safe for my own child to live in.

I wish they knew the dilemma of having your child ask you which family members support Trump, because she wants to know exactly who is betraying her– because she wants to know which family members stood up for her, and which ones did not.

I wish they knew what it felt like to play dumb in that moment so she’d never know for sure.

And most of all, I wish they knew that if my daughter were white, my list of fears would be infinitely less– because the election of Donald Trump didn’t make the world a more dangerous place for white kids.

We have post-election grief, because the election of Donald Trump made our worlds less safe in a way that you will never understand or experience.

We are in the days of Trump’s America, and my white family and friends will probably never get it.

 I probably never would have gotten it either. But as I sit here and look at the world around me through the eyes of my wonderful child, I do.

 And I’m grieved in the deepest parts of my spirit that this has come to pass, and that so many around me contributed to it.

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Why Franklin Graham Had Better Hope That Progressive Christians Were Right About Hell

November 10, 2016 by Dr. Benjamin L. Corey 

Matt Johnson, Flickr Creative Commons

Is Franklin Graham headed to hell when he dies?

That’s a tricky question, but one he’d do well to wrestle with.

The answer to that is found in how one views the Bible– is it the inerrant, inspired Word of God? Is the Bible true? Is it authoritative?

If one were to answer yes to those questions, which Franklin Graham does, the Bible itself pronounces condemnation for him on multiple counts. Mainly, he stands condemned as an unrepentant liar and hypocrite– both offenses that his Bible declares as actions that exclude one from God’s Kingdom (Matthew 23:13-15, Rev 21:8).

While the examples of his lying and hypocrisy are endless, let’s take a few recent examples. This is what Graham said on Facebook today in response to the election of unregistered sex-offender, Donald Trump:

“Did God show up? In watching the news after the election, the secular media keep asking “How did this happen?” “What went wrong?” “How did we miss this?” Some are in shock. Political pundits are stunned. Many thought the Trump/Pence ticket didn’t have a chance. None of them understand the God-factor.

Hundreds of thousands of Christians from across the United States have been praying. This year they came out to every state capitol to pray for this election and for the futureof America. Prayer groups were started. Families prayed. Churches prayed. Then Christians went to the polls, and God showed up.

While the media scratches their heads and tries to understand how this happened, I believe that God’s hand intervened Tuesday night to stop the godless, atheistic progressive agenda from taking control of our country.

President-elect Donald J. Trump and Vice President-elect Mike Pence are going to need a lot of help and they will continue to need a lot of prayer. I pray that President-elect Trump will surround himself with godly men and women to help advise and counsel him as he leads the nation. My prayer is that God will bless America again!”

Graham is clearly rejoicing that his candidate won the election, even going as far as saying God did it! But here’s the thing: Graham has spent the last six months claiming he left the Republican party, that he wasn’t endorsing a candidate, and traveled to all 50 states asking Christians to pray and “vote their conscience.” He didn’t fool any of us, but he portrayed himself as a simple Christian standing in the gap with no dog in the fight, and we all know that was a blatant lie.

While Graham portrayed his 50 state rally effort as being a nonpartisan religious event, let’s call it like it was: Franklin Graham traveled to all 50 states to campaign for Donald Trump. He knew he was doing it, and we knew he was doing it– but he had to clothe it as something that it wasn’t in order to appear he was a non-biased Christian (and he also likely had to disguise his Trump rallies to steer clear of IRS regulations).

It was deceitful, and we all knew it.

Furthermore, during the campaign Graham criticized “media bias” as if he were clean and pure, all the while being guilty of the very thing he claimed he opposed (the very definition of a hypocrite). For example, after the Vice Presidential debates he praised Mike Pence for discussing his faith openly during the debate, but made no mention to the fact that Time Kane also discussed his faith openly, because he was a Christian, too.

It was dishonest and hypocritical, and we all knew it.

And then there’s the consistent trope he claimed again today— that progressivism is “atheistic” and “godless.” This claim is as blatantly dishonest as one can get, as most progressives are Christians, and both of the candidates who ran on the democratic ticket were Christians too. Of course, Graham knows this, because you’d have to be stupid not to. Which means once again, he’s lying in order to discredit and malign and entire group of people.

He’s done the same thing with the lies he tells about LGBTQ people, claiming they are godless and anti-Christian when in fact, half of them are Christians.

With today’s celebration, Franklin Graham is finally openly and honestly showing his true colors. While he was pretending to be someone fed up with politics who left the Republican party, he spent months traveling the country campaigning for Donald Trump on the tax-free donations given to the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association. He daily spewed bias and hate on social media, all while claiming it was everyone else behaving with bias. And now, he continues his lies of claiming that progressives hate God and are atheists, when that is absurdly untrue.

So, is Franklin Graham going to hell? Does he stand condemned?

I don’t believe in hell, and even if I did, I don’t believe we know who is in and who is out.

BUT…

The irony is that if he is right about the Bible being the authoritative, inerrant Word of God, if what Franklin Graham himself teaches is true, if it’s true that “all liars will have their place in the lake of fire,” and if it’s true that hypocrites are sons of hell who will be excluded from God’s Kingdom, Graham is on the list of people the Bible says will go there.

In fact, it seems clear that by Franklin’s own standards, he condemns himself.

Unless Graham repents and turns to Jesus, he’d better hope he’s wrong about the Bible– and that progressive Christians were right all along to dismiss the idea of hell.

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10 Ways The Ideology of ISIS And Franklin Graham Is Near-Identical 1SEP16

I have argued for years there is little to no difference between Christian extremist and Islamic extremist (or extremist of any other religion for that matter). In this presidential election year Benjamin L Corey writes a much needed piece on theocracy, authoritarianism, and the twisted ideologies of isis/daesh and franklin graham.....

10 Ways The Ideology of ISIS And Franklin Graham Is Near-Identical

September 1, 2016 by Benjamin L. Corey 

Matt Johnson, Flirk Creative Commons

There are two things I can expect to show up in my newsfeed each morning: Franklin Graham, and ISIS.

Franklin Graham has risen to prominence in the past few years, though in a far different way than his father. While Billy was an Evangelist, Franklin Graham has achieved notoriety as more of a commentator who espouses a religion where God and country, church and state, are paired off in a strange and unholy marriage. These days, Franklin is actually touring the country state by state– not to preach the Gospel like his father, but to rally a political force ahead of the November election (something his father, a Democrat, never did).

A key theme in the daily antics of Franklin Graham is overt Islamophobia. Not more than a day or two go by without him spreading fear about our Muslim neighbors, as if every Muslim is a card carrying member of ISIS.

His hyper fixation on Islam and ISIS led me to wonder: is there really much difference between what ISIS is trying to do, and what Franklin Graham is trying to do? I found a few commonalities, but I’ll let you be the judge:

10. They both believe that culture has become too liberal and turned away from God.

If you listen to Franklin or an Imam who is affiliated with ISIS, you’ll hear a very similar definition of the problem of our time: culture has grown too liberal and needs to return to the ways of God. In fact, if one were to look at their list of complaints about culture,  you’d find they agree in more areas than they don’t. Sure, Franklin and ISIS may hate each other, but they sure do hate a lot of the same things.

9. They both want their religious views enshrined into law.

Neither side is content with quietly living out their own religious beliefs and adhering to their own religious laws. Both sides want their own version of Sharia law– they just derive that law from different places. Franklin has his 50 state Decision America tour, and they have their quest for a caliphate– but both aim to accomplish the same thing: making their own religious views the law of the land.

8. They both want to punish those who refuse to follow their religious laws.

One cannot have laws if those laws are not enforced, and all laws are ultimately enforced by violence or the threat of violence. Whether it’s a public beheading or throwing someone in jail for 30 years, the principle is the same: punishing those who do not follow your own moral code.

7. They both do outrageous things on social media to draw more attention to themselves and their cause.

ISIS relies heavily on using social media to spread their ideology, and you know who else does? Franklin Graham, that’s who. They’re both playing the same game, and using the same tool.

6. They both want culture to reflect their own personal views on gender and gender roles.

Both ISIS and Franklin Graham seem obsessed with gender roles. One side polices who can go to school based on their gender, while the other wants to police who can pee depending on their gender, or which color toy they can play with. The obsession is the same, folks: both want dictate their own versions of gender-appropriate behavior.

5. They both want to push LGBTQ individuals into the shadows of society.

You’d think the issue of how to treat LGBTQ individuals would be an area where the two would come together and openly high-five each other. Franklin Graham believes that being LGBTQ is a horrible sin that God instituted the death penalty for, and says we must protect our kids from other LGBTQ children– not even allowing them in church. ISIS believes the same thing, and is more faithful to the OT than Franklin is in this case. Either way, both openly advocate that LGBTQ people be denied the right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.

4. They both want to keep Muslims out of America.

Now, here’s where the two sides really come together and work as a cohesive team. ISIS is trying to build a caliphate, and need all the people they can get. One of their main goals is to convince countries to refuse Muslim refugees so that these people have no place to turn but to the caliphate. Franklin Graham has played right into this goal of ISIS, and has openly advocated that the United States close its doors to Muslim immigrants. I’ll be surprised if he hasn’t received a thank you card yet.

3. They are both willing to use violence to destroy the other.

ISIS, of course, is waging war– but so is Franklin Graham. The only difference between the two is that ISIS is fighting directly, and Franklin is fighting by proxy. Franklin wants them dead just as much as they want people dead, but he is doing it by encouraging the government to do it on his behalf. Both wage war, both are okay with the collateral damage of war (innocent people dying), and both see violence as the ultimate solution.

Both are rooted in the same broken ideology– they just go about it slightly differently.

2. They are both desperate to recruit like-minded people to their cause.

Franklin Graham and ISIS are both involved in a heavy campaign to recruit larger numbers. ISIS does it by force and propaganda, while Franklin is a bit more cunning. Instead of by force, Franklin’s building his alliance via tours to all 50 states, and plenty of social media propaganda of his own– the force part will come later when they are strong enough to take over. But let us be clear: both sides are doing the same thing. They are both trying to amass a following large enough to take this show on the road.

1. They both want to spread their ideology across the globe.

I have no doubt that the end goal of ISIS and that of Franklin Graham is the same: they both want to spread their ideology across the globe. Since both sides are in a quest for power, it’s an easy call to predict that no amount of power will ever be enough for either one of them. Neither will be satisfied until everyone finds themselves under their religious laws.

And to all that I say, no thanks.

…

The question I’m wrestling with is, “What’s the difference between the ideology of Franklin Graham and that of ISIS?”

The best answer I can come up with is, “Not much.”

Benjamin L. Corey

Benjamin L. Corey is a scholar in the areas of theology and missiology. He is also author of Undiluted: Rediscovering The Radical Message of Jesus. [Read More …]

Sins of the son: Sad treatment for Billy Graham & Franklin Graham's New Obama-Muslim Conspiracy Theory (with video) 8NOV12 & 21MAR11

I believe Ms Quinn is correct, and that franklin graham not only used his father's good name to influence the election he is probably the one who ordered the change on the BGEA website reversing the description of mormonism as a cult. I do not believe Billy Graham would have done either, and I do wonder if he even knows either took place. I still have the highest regard and respect for Billy Graham, I believe he is a true man of God. Be sure to read more about franklin graham's support of right wing politics and conspiracy theories, and watch the video of his newsmax interview in the Mother Jones article following this from the Washington Post.....

By Sally Quinn

On Sunday, two days before the election, a full page advocacy ad in The Washington Post featured a huge picture of the Rev. Billy Graham, along with a signed statement by the world-famous evangelist advising readers to  ”VOTE BIBLICAL VALUES TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 6.”
Of all the sad things that have happened during this year’s seemingly endless, divisive and vitriolic campaign, this ad was the saddest.
It read: “The legacy we leave behind for our children, grandchildren, and this great nation is crucial. As I approach my 94^th birthday, [which was Nov. 7] 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 Nov. 6 and pray with me that America will remain one nation under God. “
Billy Graham has been admired as the pastor to presidents and has prided himself on never endorsing any one politician. He is a man of God and ministers  to everyone, becoming more and more accepting and pluralistic as he has has aged.
So how did it happen that he virtually endorsed Mitt Romney the weekend before the election?
On Oct. 11, Billy Graham and his son,  the Rev.Franklin Graham, who is head of the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association,  met with Romney. The photo op and the meeting were seen as a virtual endorsement of Romney at that time.
What was so surprising was that the Billy Graham Evangelical Association Web site at that time considered Mormonism  a “cult.” Graham had once described cult members as those who “reject what Christians have believed for 2,000 years, and substitute instead their own beliefs for the clear teachings of the Bible.”  Shortly after the meeting, that listing disappeared.  According to Ken Barun, the Association’s chief of staff, “we removed the (cult) information from the website because we do not wish to participate in a theological debate about something that has become politicized during this campaign.”
So calling Mormonism a cult is a “theological debate that has become politicized” while the debate over abortion and same sex marriage is not?
I ask this because just last spring the association bought 14 full-page ads in North Carolina newspapers from Billy Graham for North Carolina Amendment 1, recognizing  marriage between a man and a woman as the only legal domestic union. Franklin Graham has made his position on that issue very clear. “It grieves me, “ he said, “that our president would now affirm same sex marriage, though I believe it grieves God even more.”
Franklin  also said in Decision Magazine, “there is no place for compromise or straight forward moral issues such as abortion and same sex marriage.  God has given us clear biblical direction that we must follow and obey. “
Billy Graham has not escaped controversy. He had a very bad moment in 2002 when tapes of conversations from 1973 with Richard Nixon became public. In the tapes, Nixon railed against Jews and Graham responded  that Jews befriended him  but “they don’t know how I really feel about what they are doing to this country.” The rest of the conversation was decidedly anti-Semitic. When the tapes came to light, Graham said he didn’t remember the conversation but apologized profusely.
 Graham also was  rejected by some  fundamentalist Christians as a legitimate evangelical voice when he gave this interview in 1997. “I’ve met people in various parts of the world in tribal situations,” he said. They had never seen a Bible or heard about a Bible, had never heard of Jesus “but they’ve believed in their hearts that there is a God….” In fact , he was accused of being a heretic by many of these fundamentalists for suggesting that Jesus is not the only way to salvation and for his willingness to work with liberals and Catholics.
But Franklin Graham is no Billy Graham. Where Billy Graham has always been a voice for inclusion, even of religions other than his own, Franklin has not. In fact, in April 2010 the Pentagon rescinded an invitation for Franklin to attend their National Day of Prayer service because, after Sept. 11 he had referred to Islam as a “very evil and wicked religion” and said that Muslims are “enslaved” by their own religion.
Franklin has always leaned toward being more political than his father. He owns a house in Alaska and befriended Sarah Palin. He invited Palin to come visit his father in North Carolina. Shortly afterward, his father issued a statement saying that “Sarah and her family will always be welcome in the Graham family home.”
Today, at 94, Billy Graham is feeble, has hearing, vision and other health problems, and uses walkers and wheelchairs. He spends most of his day watching television. He has never been as active in the Association as has Franklin. He is a revered figure around the world, particularly because he has stayed above the fray, never using his religion for political purposes or personal gain. 
I do not believe that Billy Graham would have instigated the ad essentially endorsing Romney. I wouldn’t be surprised if Billy Graham didn’t even know about it.  I think that he is being exploited by his son to further Franklin’s political objectives. I also believe that it is a travesty because it is not the legacy he would have left behind, had it not been for Franklin using his father’s name and taking advantage of his father’s popularity.
Billy Graham was and is a great man. 
Franklin should stop this exploitation now.
On the outcome of the election, the Rev. Gary Hall, the new dean of the National Cathedral, had this to say: “This year’s election has proven to be as divisive as any in recent history, which is all the more reason that we must move through the challenge of political partisanship and come together as Americans.”
I believe that’s what the real Billy Graham would have said.
More on On Faith:
Anne Graham Lotz: Does God hear our cries?
Lisa Miller: A time to compromise    
Compassion in chief: Why Obama won
Figuring Faith: Examining the election results
What lies ahead for the Mormons?
http://www.washingtonpost.com/national/on-faith/sins-of-the-son-sad-treatment-for-billy-graham/2012/11/08/a31f5de2-29f4-11e2-96b6-8e6a7524553f_print.html 

Franklin Graham's New Obama-Muslim Conspiracy Theory

Billy Graham's son says the president has allowed the Muslim Brotherhood to infiltrate the US government.

—By David Corn

| Mon Mar. 21, 2011 11:01 PM PDT

Zuma/Robin Nelson

Yes, there's a new Obama-Muslim conspiracy theory on the right: The evangelical son of one of America's most famous evangelists says that President Barack Obama has allowed the Muslim Brotherhood to become part of the US government and influence administration decisions.
In an interview last week with Newsmax.com, a conservative website (that pushes the Obama-was-born-in-Kenya conspiracy theory), [see clarification at the end of the article] Franklin Graham, an evangelist like his father, Billy Graham, claimed that the fundamentalist Islamic political group has burrowed into the Obama administration and is shaping US foreign policy. Sounding a bit like Glenn Beck, Graham explained:

The Muslim Brotherhood is very strong and active in our country. It's infiltrated every level of our government. Right now we have many of these people that are advising the US military and State Department on how to respond in the Middle East, and it's like asking a fox, like a farmer asking a fox, "How do I protect my henhouse from foxes?" We've brought in Muslims to tell us how to make policy toward Muslim countries. And many of these people we've brought in, I'm afraid, are under the Muslim Brotherhood.

Infiltrated every level of our government—that's quite a claim. Yet Graham did not name a single Muslim Brotherhood infiltrator or cite a specific Obama administration decision that has been manipulated by these crafty behind-the-scenes Islamists. (The quotes in the Newsmax article reporting Graham's remarks differ slightly from what he actually said during his interview with Newsmax, according to the video of the interview, which is posted below.) CLICK to link to the Mother Jones article at the bottom of post to view the video.
Though Graham did not back up his charge that Obama has opened the US government to the Muslim Brotherhood, he did say that he believes the president is more concerned with helping Muslims than Christians—both in the United States and abroad. When the Newsmax interviewer asked Graham if Obama has been doing enough to support Christianity and Christians at home and overseas, Graham replied, "No...If anything, it's the opposite." He added, "The Muslims are protected more in this country than Christians."
Graham did not cite specifics on this point, either. A spokesman said Graham was unable to comment on his remarks to Newsmax since he was en route to Africa.

While Graham did not question Obama's Christian faith during this interview, his comments tracked with the extremist right-wing claim that the president is a secret Muslim. And Graham has raised the matter of an Obama Islamic connection in the past. Last August, he told CNN that because Obama's father had been a Muslim, Obama had a perception "problem." The president's father, who was not involved in Obama's rearing, was born a Muslim, but as an adult he was an atheist. Obama was not raised as a Muslim.
It's no surprise that Franklin Graham is worried about Muslims sneaking into the US government. He has declared Islam "a very evil and wicked religion." Last year, he was disinvited from a National Prayer Breakfast event at the Pentagon after his Islam-bashing became an issue. (Sarah Palin quickly rushed to Graham's rhetorical rescue, pronouncing his excommunication from this ecumenical breakfast a travesty.)
For his part, Graham was not at all apologetic about his attacks on Islam. Instead, he called the revoking of his invitation "a slap at all evangelical Christians." He blamed the White House for orchestrating the move: "I don't know if it's exactly from President Obama. But I'm certain that some of the men around him are very much opposed to what we stand for and what we believe." Graham added, "I just don't understand why the president would be giving Islam a pass." Could it be precisely because the Muslim Brotherhood had infiltrated Obama's circles? Graham didn't say so back then. Perhaps that was before he had discovered this plot.
CLARIFICATION: After this story appeared, Newsmax sent a note taking issue with the article's characterization that it "pushes the Obama-was-born-in-Kenya conspiracy theory." The conservative site says,

Newsmax does not 'push' that Obama was born in Kenya. What Newsmax has written about in the past is that Obama was born in the U.S., but should reveal his birth certificate in order to put the matter to rest. Here is an example: http://www.newsmax.com/Ruddy/Obama-birth-certificate/2009/12/12/id/341849. And in this case, Newsmax columnist Ron Kessler makes it clear that Obama was born in the U.S.: http://www.newsmax.com/RonaldKessler/obama-birth/2008/12/08/id/326987.

Indeed, the site has not championed the Kenya conspiracy; we apologize for the error. But it has generally aligned itself with birthers who suggest there is some sort of conspiracy afoot involving Obama's birth documentation. During the 2008 election, the site ran a piece asking, "Where Was Obama Born?" In 2009, anti-Islam activist Pam Geller wrote a Newsmax article that noted there "might be something more sinister at work here," regarding the president's birth certificate. But the site has not gone Kenya.

David Corn

Washington Bureau Chief

David Corn is Mother Jones' Washington bureau chief. For more of his stories, click here. He's also on Twitter and Facebook. RSS | Twitter

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• How Billy Graham Brought Us the Tea Party

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Franklin Graham Calls Obama's Religious Beliefs Into Question 21FEB12

I have heard a lot of people make comments about Billy Graham and Franklin Graham not being Christians because of their conservative values. I have defended both, pointing out Billy Graham and the BGEA has never been rocked by financial or sexual scandals and that Billy Graham has confessed to errors in judgement concerning his statements on political and social issues (Nixon, the Vietnam war, Jews) and that the story of Franklin Graham is like that of the prodigal son. And I told those who would judge the Graham's faith to leave the judging to God. Franklin Graham has plenty in his life to cause some to question his claim to being a Christian, so who is he to question the claim of Christianity by Pres Obama? Franklin Graham, there is nothing in your judgement that is Christian, and you definitely are no BILLY GRAHAM! From HuffPost.....

Evangelist Franklin Graham called President Barack Obama's religious views into question on Tuesday, stating that he does not know for sure if Obama is a Christian.
Graham, who is the son of Billy Graham and the CEO of the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association, said on MSNBC's "Morning Joe" that Obama "has said he's a Christian, so I just have to assume that he is."
"All I know is I'm a sinner, and God has forgiven me of my sins... you have to ask every person," he said about whether he could say for sure that Obama is indeed of the Christian faith.
However, when asked about GOP presidential candidate Rick Santorum's religion, Graham gave a much more concrete answer.
"I think so," Graham said when asked if he believes Santorum is a Christian. "His values are so clear on moral issues. No question about it... I think he's a man of faith."
MSNBC's panelists questioned the reverend's double standard, but Graham continued to draw distinctions between the candidates on the issue of faith. On Mitt Romney, Graham was again evasive, stating that "most Christians would not recognize Mormonism as part of the Christian faith."
But Graham was more willing to label Newt Gingrich's faith. "Newt's been married several times... but he could make a good candidate," Graham said. "I think Newt is a Christian. At least he told me he is."
Later in the segment, Graham also said he could not be sure that Obama was not a Muslim.
"All I know is under Obama, President Obama, the Muslims of the world, he seems to be more concerned about them than the Christians that are being murdered in the Muslim countries," he said.
He continued, "Islam sees him as a son of Islam... I can't say categorically that [Obama is not Muslim] because Islam has gotten a free pass under Obama."
Graham drew the criticism of the White House last spring when he suggested in an interview with ABC that Obama had not been born in the United States.
During that same interview, Graham also questioned whether Obama's actions and values matched up with his identification as a Christian.
"Now he has told me that he is a Christian. But the debate comes, what is a Christian?" Graham said of Obama. "For him, going to church means he's a Christian. For me, the definition of a Christian is whether we have given our life to Christ and are following him in faith and we have trusted him as our lord and savior."
Watch Graham's full interview on MSNBC:
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