Your Opinion on Billy Graham???

[WhiteDove]

Sooooo, many of you voted against Pat Robertson, but was about that American icon, Billy Graham???

 

[Poisson]

I must say Billy Graham trumps Robertson. :yup:

 

[larryo]

I place Reverend Billy Graham in the same category with men like John Wesley, Albert Schweitzer, and C.S. Lewis. All are/were good Christian men who simply were not given the grace of a full conversion. How fortunate are those of you in these fora who have received and responded to the God-given grace of conversion to the one, true Faith. How blessed we all are who belong to the one, holy, Catholic, and apostolic Church.

 

[Funky_Cedars]

larryo:

How blessed we all are who belong to the one, holy, Catholic, and apostolic Church.

amen, brother.
so often i find myself taking my faith for granted and not recognizing just what a grace-filled gift it is.

my mama always liked dr graham, so i saw him on several occasians when i was younger. one thing i heard him ask which has stuck with me was, ‘if being Christian was outlawed tomorrow and you were arrested, would there be enough evidence to convict you?’
although lacking in completeness, the faith he will lead people to will help them better know their God, which is always a good thing. i don’t think it will serve to make them hostile to the Spirit’s moving them along the path to their true home, also good.
and as noted, he stayed scandal-free. he’s kinda hard to beat.
thanks for listening, love and peace, terry

 

[Irish_Melkite]

Screwy theology? Anti-Catholic? People should learn something about a person or topic before posting to a poll on him/it.

Billy Graham is one of those whom you all too rarely encounter in this life, a genuinely good person, personable, of sound moral convictions, with definite qualities of holiness, who believes in God as he understands Him, seeks to bring others to or back to Him, and has been given unique skills and talents to do so (if you have ever heard him preach, you cannot help but know what I mean). Is he divinely ordained or inspired to do what he does? I think it would be very hard to believe that he is not an instrument of God, working in His Own mysterious ways.

Graham’s friendship with Nixon is mentioned in the poll choices; this is a man who does not judge others and counts persons from all faiths, of all political leanings, of all stations in life, among his friends. Bishop Sheen and Cardinal Cushing, both of blessed memory, very unlike men, called him “friend”. Hierarchy across the spectrum, liberal to conservative, meet with him, speak of him with admiration and affection, and cooperate with his crusades.

Perhaps one of the least known facts on the part of laity is that Graham does not proselytize among Catholics or other churched persons. Unfortunately, not knowing that (and assuming that he does) will cause some folks to vote the selection about him taking persons from the Church, one of the problems with polls that offer choices that have no reality and thus perpetuate misconceptions.

Let me explain what I mean when I say that he doesn’t proselytize churched persons. At evangelical crusades, persons who “decide”, “seek to be saved”, “make a commitment” are asked to complete so-called “decision cards”. These are then forwarded by crusade staff to a church near the person’s home - one of the same theological bent as the preaching evangelist. Graham’s staff assures that decision cards made out by Catholics are forwarded to local Catholic churches (the same is true for all churched persons; unless they ask otherwise, they are referred to a church/synagogue of their own denomination).

An official of the Pontifical Bible Institute, speaking of Graham’s crusades:

The Catholic will hear no slighting of his Church’s teaching authority, nor of Papal or Episcopal Prerogatives, no word against the Mass or sacraments or Catholic practices. Graham has no time for that … The Catholic, in my opinion, will hear little, if anything, with which he cannot agree

For a discussion of Graham’s ecumenical spirit, focusing especially on his relationship with Catholics, and written from the standpoint of fundamentalists (who despise the fact that, nominally, Graham is one of them), see:

Billy Graham & Rome

(continued)

 

[Irish_Melkite]

Graham quotes:

My goal, I always made clear, was not to preach against Catholic beliefs or to proselytize people who were already committed to Christ within the Catholic Church. Rather, it was to proclaim the Gospel to all those who had never truly committed their lives to Christ

When she (Mother Teresa) walked into the room to greet me, I felt that I was, indeed, meeting a saint

Mother Teresa is a heroic individual on whom the youth of America and the world could well model

Pope John Paul II has emerged as the greatest religious leader of the modern world, and one of the greatest moral and spiritual leaders of this century

No other man in the world today could attract as much attention on moral and spiritual subjects as John Paul. He is articulating what Catholic and Protestant churches have traditionally held, the moral values from the Ten Commandments and the Sermon on the Mount. The country is responding in a magnificent way. It shows there’s a great spiritual hunger. The Pope has reached millions of Protestants. The organized ecumenical movement seems to be on the back burner and ecumenicity is now taking place where Roman Catholics and Protestants share beliefs in matters like the Virgin Birth and the Resurrection of Christ

I’ve found that my beliefs are essentially the same as those of orthodox Roman Catholics, for instance. They believe in the Virgin Birth, and so do I. They believe in the Resurrection of Jesus and the coming judgment of God, and so do I. We only differ on some matters of later church tradition.

I think that Protestants, in reaction to the Catholic position, have made far too little of Mary. Mary was the most remarkable and most blessed of all women

While I am not worthy to touch the shoe laces of St. Francis, yet this same Christ that called Francis in the 13th century also called me to be one of His servants in the 20th century

If Catholics step forward there will be no attempt to convert them and their names will be given to the Catholic church nearest their homes

Many years,

Neil

 

[davy39]

You can’t compare Robertson to Billy Graham. It’s like comparing a motor scooter to a Cadillac. I think he is a good and holy man. I’m just sorry he is not a Catholic. God bless him.

 

[space_ghost]

Please don’t use pat robertson and Billy Graham in the same sentence… apples and oranges…

 

[robertaf]

Good Morning Church

I love Billy Graham. I attended one of his rallys in Southern California and had the great priviledge of being introduced to him and spent over half hour in private conversation with him.
He, indeed. loves our Holy Father and totally respectful to me a Catholic. He was the first person I ever heard use the term, “Sleeping Giant” in regards to the Church. He said when that Giant comes fully awake (and he believed She would) we would change the world.

He is a Spiritual leader and we are fortunate to have such a wonderful Christian brother.

 

[quijote]

robertaf:

He was the first person I ever heard use the term, “Sleeping Giant” in regards to the Church. He said when that Giant comes fully awake (and he believed She would) we would change the world.

I think it was Piux XII who referred to the U.S. as a “Sleeping Giant”. Funny how the same term can be applied to the Catholic Church.

I agree with the others who have posted so far. Rev. Graham is a good man who deserves our respect. He has led people from lukewarmness or even apathy back to Jesus. That has to be good.

Cheers.

 

[WhiteDove]

As for my opinion, I love Billy Graham. He’s a rare Protestant preacher who is totally dedicated to God and not the almighty dollar. He’s conducted his life very well, with only a few minor missteps. And, his preaching is great. What a speaker!

 

[pacersFan]

I am a huge fan of his life’s work and his commitment to God.

 

[davy39]

space ghost:

Please don’t use pat robertson and Billy Graham in the same sentence… apples and oranges… :thumbsup:Spaceghost::: What’s the meaning of the apples and oranges comment?

 

[davy39]

Hey spaceghost? What the meaning of the apples and oranges comment?

 

[Writer]

Thank you for those wonderful quotes, Neil. You made my day… I agree wholehartedly with the posted concensus here: Billy Graham is the genuine article and a wonderful example of a humble Christian.

Someone asked him once in an interview about “praying without ceasing”. They thought Graham said this as an expression but not in a literal sense. Graham corrected this impression, however, and said that he always was in prayer–even when in conversations with others. Another interesting observation is his habit of leaving the open Scriptures on a desk in his office. Every time he passes the desk, he pauses a moment for reflection and prayer.

 

[space_ghost]

davy39:

Hey spaceghost? What the meaning of the apples and oranges comment?

it meant that to group the two together was to do a disservice to Billy Graham…

Apples and oranges…yes?

 

[T.A.Stobie_SFO]

First, the couple of times I heard him, he demeaned the Church, so I have lost all interest in hearing him speak.

Second, the only time I have seen a normal human being worshiped was by a television anchor (i will not mention the name) worshipping Billy Graham.

 

[The_Barrister]

larryo:

I place Reverend Billy Graham in the same category with men like John Wesley, Albert Schweitzer, and C.S. Lewis. All are/were good Christian men who simply were not given the grace of a full conversion. How fortunate are those of you in these fora who have received and responded to the God-given grace of conversion to the one, true Faith. How blessed we all are who belong to the one, holy, Catholic, and apostolic Church.

I think that sums it up quite well.

Is there still time? What would THAT do for the Church in America, if BG joined us? Praise God, that would be huge!

 

[CD4]

Neil,

**Thank you for the wonderful quotes from Dr. Graham. I grew up listening to this man (I was a Methodist), and have always admired him greatly. He is one of this world’s truly great men, and an wonderful Christian. **

I think of Billy Graham, John Paul II, and Mother Teresa as the Big Three…

I have been privileged to sing in the choirs of two crusades in Cincinnti. They were twenty- five years apart, but the joy of being part of such a momentous event was the same. The choir that sang last year, in the new Paul Brown Stadium was four-thousand strong…It was truly awesome.

I thank God for such men as Billy Graham. What a great Catholic he would have made!

 

[Catholic_Eagle]

Catholics aren’t supposed to even go into Protestant worship services and churches. Catholics can’t even go to Protestant churches even though the worship maybe very Catholic looking.
Funerals and weddings are exceptions.