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In his new autobiography, Evangelist Billy Graham recounts some of the highlights of his career as he had the occasion to meet the acquaintance of and in some cases become quite familiar with all the presidents from Harry S. Truman to William Jefferson Clinton. Particularly telling is his account of Bill Clinton. He writes,

After Clinton’s election, some people criticized me for agreeing to pray at his inauguration. On certain issues, the new president had taken stands that disconcerted those who were morally more conservative, including some evangelical Christians. I felt it was important to keep my commitment to pray, however, even if I did not agree with everything he held. I also felt a warm personal affection for Mr. Clinton, whatever his viewpoints.

Billy Graham has never exhibited very strong conviction on abortion; in fact, in the 1970’s he openly expressed his feeling that there wasn’t anything wrong with it, though he has since changed his mind. Even now, however, he can refer to it as a mere "issue" on which he does not agree with Clinton. Clinton’s "viewpoints" weren’t significant enough to keep Mr. Graham from leading in prayer at his inaugural and having "a warm personal affection for" him. Graham continues,

I will always especially remember joining President and Mrs. Clinton as we met privately with some of the families who had been affected by the [Oklahoma City] bombing. There were no television cameras or reporters around, and Mr. Clinton had nothing to gain politically by taking the time to be with them. And yet seldom have I seen anyone express so movingly and sincerely a genuine sense of compassion and sympathy to those who were hurting. I felt that he, not I, was the real pastor that day.

There may not have been any cameras around, but that does not at all insure that there was no political consideration in Clinton’s sympathy. It is obvious that the man does absolutely nothing except from some political motivation; it has become so much a part of him that it itself is the only "genuine" thing about him. Cameras and reporters may not have been around, but Billy was. And earlier in the chapter he confesses to being fooled by Richard Nixon’s expressions of religious sincerity, that he "exaggerated Nixon’s spirituality in [his] own mind," even though he was closer to him personally than any of the other presidents or all of them combined. I wander what his "hindsight" will be regarding Clinton (or what it would be should Mr. Graham live much longer)? Remarking on another occasion of visiting with President Clinton during his first term in office, Graham writes,

We spent much of the afternoon together, talking about the past and current events, and also about the Bible and what it says about God’s plan for our lives. It was a time of warm fellowship with a man who has not always won approval from his fellow Christians but who has in his heart a desire to serve God. (From Just As I Am by Billy Graham Evangelistic Association; HarperCollins Publishers:NY; 1997; chapter reprinted in the U.S.News & World Report; May 5, 1997; pp.64,70)

Bill Clinton doesn’t have any "fellow Christians" unless you believe that lying, blaspheming, womanizing, abortionizing reprobates can be Christians! Clinton "has in his heart a desire to serve God"? Give me a break! Billy Graham is somewhat of an enigma. On the one hand you cannot help but appreciate the way he has been a witness of Jesus Christ to our nation and for the messages he has preached, many of which are quite good, at least compared with the circus served up by religious television networks and evangelists. But on the other hand, it is no wonder that Billy Graham has won the favor of presidents and the press. The chapter on the presidents epitomizes the shallowness that has become characteristic of American evangelical Christianity in general. And lately Billy Graham has come out with some other real doozies. An interview with him in the Parade Magazine supplement to the Sunday newspaper on October 20, 1996, opened with this wonderful statement:

"I fully adhere to the fundamental tenets of Christian faith for myself and my ministry," said the Rev. Billy Graham. "But, as an American, I respect other paths to God—and, as a Christian, I am called on to love them."

What do you think of that?! Further down in the article there is another grand confession from Mr. Ecumenicism:

Graham has been noted for his willingness to work with leaders of different religions. "Each time a President has asked me to lead the Inaugural prayer, I have argued that I should not do it alone, that leaders of other religions should be there too," he said. "We are a multirelgious nation, and it would be good to reflect that at this important ceremonial occasion. I was only able to persuade Mr. Nixon." "We are all brothers and sisters in our hearts," he stressed. "We ought to love each other." about other Christian leaders who do not share this view? "Well, I don’t agree with them," Graham said.

Wow! Later the interviewer commends Graham (rightfully) for being openly opposed to racism since the 1950’s, calling it a sin. Then he continues:

I asked him what sins concerned him most in the world today. "I’m frightened by chemical weapons—the most vicious weapons of all," he said. "You can’t hear or smell them. First thing you know, people are dropping dead. We need a great outcry against them." Graham said he also has been increasingly worried about the destruction of the environment: "The Lord said we are to look after His Garden," he said, "and we are responsible for it." (Parade Magazine, in The Joplin Globe, Sunday, October 20, 1996; Parade Publications:NY; "Change Will Come When Our Hearts Change," An Interview With the Rev. Billy Graham by Colin Greer; pp.4-6)

Yeah, boy! That’s the biggest problem we face, buddy, those chemical weapons! And the destruction of the environment! These are the "sins that concern him most?"! Can you believe it? Let’s see, we’ve got abortion on demand, infanticide, doctor assisted suicides, a flood of pornography and sexual filth including homosexuality and pedophilia, violent crime, drugs, and the disintegration of marriage and the home—but Billy’s most concerned about chemical weapons and the environment! You sure can see he spent a lot of time with Jimmy Carter.

Could it be that the Rev. Mr. Graham is not what he has appeared to us to be all this time? An earlier biography of him was telling titled, A Prophet With Honor, a deliberate turning of the words of Jesus who said, "A prophet is not without honor, except in his own country, and among his own kin, and in his own house" (Mark 6:4). The rule is that men who truly speak for God are often unpopular and despised as Christ was. But in Billy Graham, behold, a prophet with honor! But does not the words of the Lord still apply, "Woe unto you, when all men shall speak well of you! for so did their fathers to the false prophets"(Luke 6:26)? Considering the above quotes by Graham it is no secret why he has been the most celebrated evangelist in the world.

Background from Greenfield Graphics.