Saturday November 8, 2008, 7:03 am
All human traditions must come to an end at some point, but we will need all the help we can get over the next 5 years!!!

Signature:
That which is to follow, comes from that which has gone before: http://tinyurl.com/3fs5m8

Saturday November 8, 2008, 7:19 am
It will be up to us to start the ball rolling.We will have to demand, Shout, and Scream the message out. We what Green technology NOW!!!
WELL done Robert. Love to you Janet.

Sunday November 9, 2008, 10:40 am
Watch out for that door, homo hater. It swings pretty hard.

Sunday November 9, 2008, 1:18 pm
About time.

Sunday November 9, 2008, 2:10 pm
noted...

Sunday November 9, 2008, 2:23 pm
I do not for one second believe that Franklin is speaking for his father in expressing his moral views.
Billy Graham would never state any position as recovered alcoholic Franklin says in this article.

Franklin is fatally flawed and his father know this as well when he admits, "It's a changing world".

Several times in several articles over the past decade when asked about the gay union Mr. Graham always replied that if it was his son he would still love him. He refuses to act like the TV evangelist of today, and has always remained distinctively isolationist from them. Always.

It is a truly sad day for Christians when this man can no longer express his messages.

Example:

Graham even finds it difficult to take a truly Christian position on moral issues. When in Portland for the aforementioned 9/92 Crusade, Graham had the unique opportunity to declare that homosexuality is sin. He was asked about his position on Oregon's upcoming (11/92) statewide referendum that would declare homosexuality abnormal, and would thereby prohibit government support of it. Rather than giving a clear answer from the Bible, Graham played the politician:

"I find it is emotional, with strong arguments on both sides of the issue. I intend to stay out of national and local politics while here. God loves all people whatever their ethnic or political background or their social orientation. ... Christians take opposing views on many issues ... those on both sides of the issue must love each other. ... I never speak against other groups" (9/22/92, The Statesman Journal).

On the 12/22/94 Larry King Live Show, Graham also said that he believed that homosexuals are born with a tendency toward homosexuality; i.e., in the genes.

Concerning the issue of abortion, a year earlier on ABC's "Good Morning America" (GMA) (9/5/91), Graham, when asked the Christian position on abortion, said: "... there is a Christian position, I think. But I'm not prepared to say what it is." And, again two weeks later on GMA (9/19/91), Graham said: "But there are occasions when abortion is the only alternative" (although he didn't say when it is okay to snuff out innocent, unborn human life). (Reported in the 2/22/93, Christian News.)

In an interview in TV Guide (8/6/94), Graham says, when asked about the issues of abortion and homosexuality:

"I don't get involved in the abortion thing. I agree with the Pope, whom I know well, on abortion. But I just don't take extreme positions. I preach to unite people. There is a great division in the religious community today. God loves homosexual as much as anyone else. I think homosexuality is a sin, but no greater than idolatry and adultery. In my judgment, it's not that big."

Sunday November 9, 2008, 2:32 pm
Everyone should have the freedom of speech. But the Billy Graham/Bush people didn't believe in it.......

Sunday November 9, 2008, 3:16 pm
Richelle, how can you clump Dr. Graham together with Bush? He has been with every President at one time or another. He is not endorsing them or has he ever indicated any form of approval of them.

Freedom of speech? What are you talking about.

Sunday November 9, 2008, 6:39 pm
If Billy Graham has grown more tolerant over time,then fair play to him.
He has always been more associated with the right wing,than the left though,and of course on the Watergate tapes,he was recorded expressing anti-semitic sentiments,in conversation with Nixon.
Some of Grahams comments,as passed on above (thank you Carol),certainly challenge,the view i've held of Billy Graham. It would be good to see more moderation and accuracy from Christians,it can't just be about gay hating. The far rights,marrying of free-market greed,intolerance and bigotry with christianity,always seemed an attempt to marry, two dominant but incongruous ideas.
The Christian right really, have to be rethinking the message they put out,as do The Republican Party.Otherwise they will be marginalised by the course of history,and the complete failure to connect with people's real concerns.Perhaps they can't evolve,and will become increasingly marginalised..I'd be happy with that.

Sunday November 9, 2008, 6:44 pm
You're right Carol. But he should be separate from the politics, and they should stay away from him. He's very wealthy, is he not?

Sunday November 9, 2008, 7:11 pm
By PETER STEINFELS
Published: February 3, 1993
truncated...
Both on a segment of "Prime Time Live" before Christmas and in an hourlong PBS interview with David Frost on Friday, Mr. Graham recalled how, like "a young fool," he became persona non grata with President Harry S. Truman by naively divulging the contents of a White House visit. Wise About White House

Asked by Mr. Frost whether he did not run the danger of compromising his religious role by associating closely with political leaders, Mr. Graham said "yes," but he added that it was "not so much as in the earlier years before I knew better."

Mr. Graham has frequently confessed that he was shocked by the Watergate tapes of Mr. Nixon's White House conversations and afterward became much more wary of political friendships. "It was a Nixon I didn't know; he was a stranger to me," he told "Prime Time Live."

Mr. Martin's biography, "A Prophet With Honor" (Morrow, 1991), shows the evangelist's deep behind-the-scenes commitment to Republican candidates and conservative policies, at least until Watergate. But it also shows his ability to pull back quickly whenever that commitment threatened to undercut his evangelical crusades.

Mr. Graham's survival has also been attributed to an uncanny ability to smooth over conflicts. Asked about Pat Robertson's mix of religion and politics on Larry King's call-in program on CNN on Inauguration Day, Mr. Graham told the caller, "I have a distaste for it."

Mr. Martin, the biographer, said: "It's not mental gymnastics for Billy Graham to be positive. He wants to believe that everyone is trustworthy, and that has often left him vulnerable."

But Mr. Graham has rigidly protected himself from the two vulnerabilities that have destroyed other prominent evangelists: sex and riches. Fighting the powerful symbol of Sinclair Lewis's fictional Elmer Gantry, Mr. Graham established extremely strict standards for himself and his associates on their travels. No Solution but Faith

Likewise, Mr. Graham long ago put himself on a fixed salary, now $80,000 a year, while the highly efficient Billy Graham Evangelistic Association, overseen by outsiders, handles millions of dollars used in its operations. Most of his book royalties go back to the ministry or to charity.

Sunday November 9, 2008, 7:14 pm
In a few cases he has taken unpopular positions. In the 1950's, fundamentalists condemned him for working with liberal churches. He has built bridges to Jews and Muslims as well, although some have said that they were distressed by the traditional Christian invocation of the Trinity in his inaugural prayer.

Mr. Graham was by no means in the forefront of the struggle for racial equality, but he was ahead of many white Southern Christians.

"I don't have all the answers," he said. "I just know that I trust God, who is a God of mercy."

Sunday November 9, 2008, 7:20 pm

I don't know why I have such an affinity for this man and his beliefs.
I was kind of raised on him through my 20's. Seldom missed the chance to hear him speak on radio, television, and live. I have to defend the notion he is like any other. Because he is not.

Monday November 10, 2008, 12:51 am
Noted

Monday November 10, 2008, 7:32 am


Separation of Church and State, please.

It's the law of our land, though it needs to be reinstated. It has become impossible to see it !

Where is Separation of Church and State ? -

Why can't we hold elections without kowtowing to religious pressure ?
Why do candidates have to answer questions about their faith ?
Why do they have to go to church on Sundays ?
Are they running for public office or the ministry ?

These are not issues for me.
I resent the religious turn that public life has taken in the US and its interference in elections and political debate.

Ethics & morality exist without religion.

Being a God-fearing person has not made any of our leaders better.

Before Rosa Parks & Martin Luther King got into action, what, besides attending church, did our Christian presidents do when it came to Jim Crow, the KKK, lynchings, church burnings and bombings ?

Did the influence of Graham or Jesus have any effect on GW when it came to having torture and extraordinary renditions carried out?
Did GW's faith prevent him from causing massive loss of life in Afghanistan and Iraq ?

On the contrary, it was more like 'God is on our side,' & the great confrontation between Christianity and Islam. The Crusades are over; they belong to the history of the Middle Ages, also known as the 'Dark Ages.'

Church leaders should simply stop using their moral authority to interfere with women's rights, pro-choice & gay marriage. We gasp in horror at countries that make Sharia law the national law, yet here we are accepting the tyranny of religion in our own country.

I seriously question the humanity and sanity of people who can flip out over the elimination of a 5-mm tadpole-like fetus and support the annihilation of over 1 million Iraqis and their entire country.

This is all hypocrisy & downright dangerous.

If people receive spiritual nourishment through their religion, that's fine & wonderful.
Let them praise the country that accepts their freedom to belong to the church or temple of their choice. And praise their Lord in private, while avoiding to impose their beliefs on others !