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Billy Graham
1918 -
Transcending doctrine and denomination, he served as the
nation's spiritual counselor and made America safe for public
testimonies of faith
By HAROLD BLOOM for Time Magazine
William
Franklin Graham Jr., known to all the world as Billy, is now 80
years old, and has been our leading religious revivalist for
almost exactly 50 years, ever since his eight-week triumph in
Los Angeles in the autumn of 1949. Indeed, for at least 40
years, Graham has been the Pope of Protestant America (if
Protestant is still the right word). Graham's finest moment may
have been when he appeared at President Bush's side, Bible in
hand, as we commenced our war against Iraq in 1991. The great
revivalist's presence symbolized that the Gulf crusade was, if
not Christian, at least biblical. Bush was not unique among our
Presidents in displaying Graham. Eisenhower and Kennedy began
the tradition of consulting the evangelist, but Johnson, Nixon
and Ford intensified the fashion that concluded with Bush's
naming him "America's pastor." President Clinton has
increasingly preferred the Rev. Jesse Jackson, but the aura of
apostle still hovers around Billy Graham. Harry Truman unkindly
proclaimed Graham a "counterfeit," a mere publicity monger, but
while I still remain a Truman Democrat, I think our last really
good President oversimplified the Graham phenomenon.
No one has accused Graham of intellectualism, profound
spirituality or social compassion, but he is free of any
association with the Christian right of Pat Robertson, Ralph
Reed and all the other advocates of a God whose prime concerns
are abolishing the graduated income tax and a woman's right to
choose abortion (which Graham also opposes). And there have been
no scandals, financial or sexual, to darken Graham's mission.
His sincerity, transparent and convincing, cannot be denied. He
is an icon essential to a country in which, for two centuries
now, religion has been not the opiate but the poetry of the
people. In the U.S., 96 percent of us believe in God, 90 percent
pray, and 90 percent believe God loves them, according to Gallup
polls. Graham is totally representative of American religious
universalism. You don't run for office among us by proclaiming
your skepticism or by deprecating Billy Graham.
Still, one can ask how so theatrical a preacher became central
to the U.S. of the past half-century. Always an authentic
revivalist, Graham has evaded both doctrine and denomination. He
sounds not at all like a Fundamentalist, even though he affirms
the fundamentals — the literal truth of the Bible: the virgin
birth, atoning death and the bodily resurrection of Christ; the
Second Coming; salvation purely through grace by faith and not
works. Graham's most important book, "Peace with God" (1953), is
light-years away from C.S. Lewis' "Mere Christianity," which is
revered by Fundamentalists. Everything that is harsh in Lewis is
softened by Graham, whose essential optimism is inconsistent
with his apocalyptic expectations. But you cannot read "Peace
with God" and expect consistency; soft-edged Fundamentalism,
Graham's stance, will not sustain scrutiny.
Graham's coherence and significance depend upon the history of
modern evangelical revivalism in the U.S. That history began
with Charles Grandison Finney, who created a new American form
of religious revival, a highly organized, popular spectacle. (He
later gave up his career as an evangelist to become president of
Oberlin College in 1851.) The tradition was carried on by Dwight
Lyman Moody, William Ashley Sunday and Graham, the disciple of
Moody rather than of Billy Sunday. Moody, in Finney's wake,
invented Graham's methods and organizing principles: advance
men, advertising, aggressive publicity campaigns, and a staff of
specialists (prayer leaders, singers, counselors, ushers).
Graham perfected Moody's transformation of revivalism into mass
popular entertainment, superbly executed in the New York City
crusade of 1957, with triumphant performances at Yankee Stadium
and Madison Square Garden.
Politics could have been the destructive element for Graham,
since he started his rise in the age of Eisenhower and for a
time was a fervent red hunter, an admirer of Senator Joe
McCarthy and an overall basher of the left, as here in a radio
broadcast of 1953: "While nobody likes a watchdog, and for that
reason many investigation committees are unpopular, I thank God
for men who, in the face of public denouncement and ridicule, go
loyally on in their work of exposing the pinks, the lavenders
and the reds who have sought refuge beneath the wings of the
American eagle and from that vantage point try in every subtle,
undercover way to bring comfort, aid and help to the greatest
enemy we have ever known — communism."
That is now a period piece, but I think it is important to keep
it on the record. Graham, a slow but sure learner, moved with
the spirit of the age, and in the 1980s he became a preacher of
world peace, urging reconciliation with Russia and China, where
his wife Ruth, the daughter of missionaries, was born. Angry
Fundamentalists turned against him, a move that became an
anti-Graham passion when he rejected the program of the
Christian right: "I don't think Jesus or the Apostles took sides
in the political arenas of their day." The break between Graham
and the Christian right became absolute when he denounced the
violence of the antiabortion group Operation Rescue. "The
tactics," Graham declared, "ought to be prayer and discussion."
Though Graham has never, to my knowledge, spoken out on behalf
of the poor, it seems legitimate to conclude that his almost
exclusive emphasis upon soul saving is his passionate center,
even his authentic obsession. And there, whatever his
inadequacies of intellect or of spiritual discernment, Graham
has ministered to a particular American need: the public
testimony of faith. He is the recognized leader of what
continues to call itself American evangelical Protestantism, and
his life and activities have sustained the self-respect of that
vast entity. If there is an indigenous American religion — and I
think there is, quite distinct from European Protestantism —
then Graham remains its prime emblem.
Evangelicals constitute about 40 percent of Americans, and the
same number believe God speaks to them directly. Such a belief
yearns for a purer and more primitive church than anyone is
likely to see, and something in Graham retains the nostalgia for
that purity. In old age and in poor health, he is anything but a
triumphalist. There is no replacement for him, though he has
hopes for his son Franklin. More than a third of our nation
continues to believe in salvation only through a regeneration
founded upon personal conversion to the Gospel, and Graham
epitomizes that belief. A great showman, something of a
charismatic, Graham exploited his gifts as an offering to
America's particular way with the spirit. Some might have wished
for more, but Graham honestly recognized his limitations, and
his career nears its close with poignancy and a sense of
achievement.
~~~<"((((((><~~~<"((((((><~~~<"((((((><~~~<"((((((><~~~<"((((((><~~~
The American evangelist and charismatic preacher Billy Graham
(born 1918) became a leading spokesman for Fundamentalism when
he initiated a series of tours of the United States and Europe
that led to large-scale evangelism.
William Franklin Graham, Jr. was born November 7, 1918, on a
dairy farm near Charlotte, N.C. which his paternal grandfather
Crook Graham bought after serving in the Confederate army. Young
Billy would read from his collection of history books. He also
practiced baseball when finished with his chores, because and
his ambition was to become a professional baseball player. It
was changed into a commitment to an evangelical career by a
religious conversion experience when he was 16. Graham was
ordained a Southern Baptist minister in 1939. He was educated in
conservative Christian colleges: Bob Jones University in
Greenville, S.C., the Florida Bible Institute (now called
Trinity College) near Tampa, and Wheaton College in Illinois
where receiving a bachelor of arts degree in anthropology in
1943. On August 13 of that year he married Ruth McCue Bell, a
fellow student and daughter of a medical missionary. Their first
daughter, Virginia, was born two years later, followed by Anne
in 1948, Ruth in 1950, and sons William in 1952 and Nelson in
1958. For many years the Graham family made its home in Montreat,
N.C.
After a period as minister of the First Baptist Church in
Western Springs, IL, Graham became a traveling "tent
evangelist," the calling which in a few years brought him to
national prominence.
Graham was first vice president of Youth for Christ
International from 1945 to 1948. He served as president of
Northwestern College in Minneapolis from 1947 to 1952. He met
singer George Beverly Shea and song leader Cliff Barrows and the
three formed a lasting partnership. The three began offering
revival meetings in small churches and started developing a
following. In 1949, Graham, Shea, and Barrows had a meeting in
Los Angeles and rather than the usual crowd of 3,000 or so, more
than 10,000 turned out to hear the backwoods preacher and his
team. He was the founder and president of the Billy Graham
Evangelistic Association and editor in chief of Decision
magazine. The organization is run by a board of directors that
pays Graham an annual salary equivalent to that of a community
pastor. The first year it amounted to $15,000. Today, the
institute has a cash flow of more than $50 million a year. His
radio program, "Hour of Decision," began in 1950, and he wrote a
daily newspaper column. Graham's published writings include
Calling Youth to Christ (1947), Revival in Our Times (1950),
America's Hour of Decision (1951), Korean Diary (1953), My
Answer (1960), and World Aflame (1965). Graham turns over all
the royalties from his books and all his speaking fees.
Graham launched his worldwide ministry with his first overseas
tour in 1954 to Great Britain. Crowds of more than two million
people attended his rallies. He even met with Queen Elizabeth
II. At a 16-week rally in New York City three years later, more
than two million packed Madison Square Gardens to hear the young
preacher. Graham has preached the Gospel to more people in live
audiences than anyone else in history totaling more than 210
million people in more than 185 countries and territories. Since
his crusades began his work has propelled him to more than 400
rallies in nearly every corner of the world. He conducts an
average of six crusades a year in the United States and abroad.
In the mid-1950s Graham took his crusade to India, Hong Kong,
Japan, Korea, and the Philippines. He has also been to Rio de
Janeiro, Nairobi, Seoul, Poland, Romania, and Slovakia, filling
jam-packed churches and meeting with government and religious
leaders wherever he travels.
Graham's Message
Graham's message has remained the same and is based on
traditional Biblical study. It is simply this: "Choose Christ as
I did. Mankind is sinful, but through Christ those sins are
forgiven and people can live in peace." In other words, this is
a message of love and hope. Graham has been friends with many
world figures, especially the presidents starting with Harry
Truman who sought advice from Graham and Richard Nixon was a
frequent golf partner. On April 9, 1996, together with President
William Clinton, he led 12,000 mourners in Oklahoma City to
grieve for victims of the Federal Building bombing. Graham has
been the chaplain at many Inaugural Ceremonies; in fact his
eighth Inauguration invocation in January 1997 was inspired by
our Founding Fathers, noting that "technology and social
engineering had yet to solve the ancient problems of human greed
and selfishness." Graham has maintained an untouchable
integrity, unlike Jimmy Swaggart and Jim Bakker who were
involved in sex and money scandals that ruined their careers.
Prodigal Son To Take Over
Graham has decided that when he retires or dies his son Franklin
will take over his $88 million-a-year ministry. The younger
Graham, who continually rebelled against his father as a
teenager and was expelled from college, was a "heck-raiser" as a
boy, has long since gone straight. He now runs two world relief
organizations, and has done some preaching. It has been said
that Franklin does not have the presence of his father and will
not be able to replicate the senior Graham's impact on American
Protestantism. Graham, in his seventies, shows no sign of
slowing down regardless of his advancing illness, Parkinson's
disease. It will eventually take away his ability to feed
himself or even button his clothes. He walks with difficulty now
and can write only his name, but he still has enough energy to
work on his memoirs. Ruth, Graham's wife, "never slows down."
Her presence and vitality have helped ease the frustration
brought on by his illness. Together, Ruth and Billy have three
daughters, two sons, 19 grandchildren and eight great
grandchildren. Graham states that "I don't see anybody in
Scripture retiring from preaching," and along with Pope John
Paul II, who also has Parkinson's Disease, keeps chugging along.
The Cove
One of Graham's dreams was to build a training center to serve
as a retreat for religious evangelists. It is located in
Asheville, NC. In 1997, 30 seminars will be taught, featuring
biblically grounded speakers. Cove seminars help those attend to
Grow in God's Word, gain a deeper understanding of God, take
time for personal renewal, and acquire tools for stronger
Christian walk.
Graham Archives
The Archives of the Billy Graham Center are located at Wheaton
College in Wheaton, IL. They contain many collections with
documents relating to African Christianity. Most of these
contain the work of North American missionaries or evangelists
in Africa, though there is a substantial amount of material
documenting the activities and beliefs of African churches,
leaders, and quasi-ecclesiastical organizations. Most of the
records are twentieth century and about seventy-five percent are
concerned with east or central Africa.
Graham has received numerous awards from various institutions
and organizations, including honorary doctorates from Baylor
University, the Citadel, and William Jewell College. He received
the Barnard Baruch Award in 1955; Humane Order of African
Redemption, 1960; gold award of the George Washington Carver
Memorial Institute, 1963; Horatio Alger Award, 1965; Franciscans
International Award, 1972; Man of the South Award, 1974; Liberty
Bell Award, 1975; Templeton Prize for Progress in Religion,
1982; and the William Booth Award of the Salvation Army, 1989.
Graham's crusades have taken him to all the major cities of the
United States and Europe and to such far-off areas as North
Africa, India, and Australia. Although basically a
fundamentalist in his theology, individualistic in his religious
and ethical approach, and traditional in his appeal, he always
sought and obtained a broad base of ecumenical support for his
evangelistic campaigns. Graham brought evangelism to a new level
of sophistication in organization, techniques, support, and
prestige. Graham once stated that "It seems to me that the whole
world, regardless of culture and religious tradition, is
searching for something spiritual." The most important thing
that counts (for Graham) is what happens in the hearts of men."
Graham is the most respectable symbol of American
evangelicalism.
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This web page was last updated on:
10 December, 2008
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