Personally, I thought that President Obama delivered a very moving speech last week at the Tuscon Memorial Service, perhaps the greatest speech of his entire political career. Acting as "Mourner-in-Chief," his speech received praises from even his usual critics on the right.
However, the Rev. Franklin Graham has voiced his "dismay" over how that memorial service was conducted. Speaking on Tuesday at John Brown University, an ultra-conservative private Christian college in northwest Arkansas, the son of the revered evangelist Dr. Billy Graham, complained that the memorial was not religious enough, specifically not "Christian" enough.
Graham, who was banned from a Pentagon National Day of Prayer event last year for repeatedly disparaging Islam as "an evil and wicked religion," was particularly upset that Native American blessings were said by Dr. Carlos Gonzales, an associate professor of medicine at the university, who is a Pascua Yaqui Indian and fifth generation Arizonan. (Graham called him a native of "the Yuppie tribe or something, I didn't quite get it.")
The president and CEO of the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association criticized that the service did not include an official prayer or the mention of God. Graham lamented at the rapid secularization of America, saying "There was no call for God to put his loving arms around the people who were hurting, the people that were suffering. Why? Why did they take God out of it? Why did they leave him out?"
Raising his voice in anger, Graham asserted, "Because the world scoffs at the name of Jesus Christ. They scoff when they say that he's the son of God." And he predicted that the scoffing and persecution of Christians will only get worse in the near future. Claiming that just the mentioning of the name of Jesus Christ in public is increasingly frowned upon, Graham warned: "The spirit of anti-Christ is everywhere."
I really am perplexed as to why Graham did not consider the service to be "Christian" enough. After all, many would agree that, at times, the President's speech sounded like a sermon -- citing the consolations of Psalms 46 plus the laments of Job. Additionally, Department of Homeland Security Secretary (and former Arizona governor) Janet Napolitano preceded Obama and read from Isaiah 40, and U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder read from the Second Letter of Paul to the Corinthians.
Despite never attending seminary and never receiving a formal theological education, surely even Franklin must know that Psalms, Job, Isaiah, and Corinthians are from the Bible: the Christian Bible. From my perspective, with the exception of the lengthy Native American prayer at the very start of the memorial celebration, the remainder of the program was exclusively Christian. I don't know which memorial Graham might have been referring to as not "Christian" enough.
Not an advocate of ecumenism or religious harmony, Graham once also made fun of Hinduism's deities, saying that "No elephant with 100 arms can do anything for me. None of their 9,000 gods is going to lead me to salvation." As an evangelist, I truly wish that Franklin had had the benefit of some basic seminary training, specifically Evangelism 101. When sharing the Gospel, as in life, "people don't care how much you know until they know how much you care." I am saddened to think of all the Hindus, Muslims, and other potential believers who will never listen to him because of the harsh vitriolic remarks that he's said about their religion.
Franklin Graham, who has become something of a shepherd to Sarah Palin (she accompanied him to Haiti last month), is becoming known for rhetoric that is very edgy. While I admire the passion that he has for his religious beliefs, I am praying that he -- along with Palin and all the politicians, on the right and on the left -- would tone it down and consider carefully what they say. As Representative Giffords had admonished, "Words have consequences!"
In light of the recent violence in Tuscon: it's time for us as a society to strive for "civility;" it's time for us to start caring about each other; it's time for us to be kind to each other; it's time for us to show compassion and understanding. United, as one nation with a common cause to do good, I am confident that "yes, we can" become a "kinder and gentler nation." Let's pledge together to use American strength as "a force for good." Let's do away with divisive rhetoric and strive to become "one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all." I have pledged to do so and to encourage others to do so. Will you, Rev. Graham?
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