Franklin Graham Urges Buttigieg to Repent and Rejects Idea of ‘Gay Christian’

Once again, Franklin Graham openly defends Biblical Christianity without concern for the attacks from the liberal media which are sure to follow. I have long realized that Franklin has much more courage than his father.

Yes Graham is quite willing to call liberals sinners. He is not so interested in pointing out the sins of his alt god Donald Trump.

He is pathetic.

GregH, I understand where you are coming from because of previous comments on SI. I have no interest in defending the many sins of Donald Trump, nor in claiming Trump as a fellow Christian. From what I have seen, neither does Franklin Graham.

What Graham did recently, is call out an openly gay politician who claims to be a Christian, and also claims that God made him gay and approves of his gay lifestyle and gay marriage. That is a direct and public attack on Biblical Christianity, something I am not aware of Trump doing. That is what Graham denounced. If Trump does something similar, I expect Graham to publicly censor Trump as well. Far from being pathetic, Graham has shown himself courageous. May God protect and uphold him. We need voices like his that will speak out for Biblical truth in the public arena.

We will have to disagree. Homosexuality is of course one of the pet sins of evangelicals but I think Trump has hurt Christianity far more than Buttigieg with his own plethora of sins. Yet, Graham fawns over him and defends him like a girl does for her junior high crush. Yes, the media has noticed the hypocrisy and they are very right to point it out.

If Franklin Graham hadn’t wedded himself to a particular politician and become a “court evangelical,” he wouldn’t be facing charges of hypocrisy. He should have stayed out of the political sphere, and focused on evangelism. His meeting promo material often comes with the American flag displayed on front. He positions himself as an American, Christian nationalist - rather than a Christian ambassador for the coming Kingdom of God.

I appreciate his comments about homosexuality, but he undermines himself by every move he makes to frame himself as an American nationalist Christian.

GregH, it would appear that you are dodging the issue. Saying Trump has hurt Christianity more than Buttigieg with his many sins is a judgment call, a subjective opinion. What I said, specifically, is that Trump has not, to my knowledge, paraded his sins as acceptable and normal Christianity. That’s what Buttigieg has done by saying that God made him gay, and that his gay marriage is condoned by God. For Trump to do something similar, he would have to say that God made him an adulterer, and that his sexual immorality is OK with God. Has Trump said anything like that? Has Franklin Graham said anything like that in defense of Trump?

I agree with Tyler that Graham should separate himself from direct political involvement. But denouncing a frontal attack on God and the Bible, as Buttigieg did, is exactly what Christians should do, but it takes courage to do it. I’m thankful that Graham was willing to stand up and be counted.

I don’t think Trump has to say what you say he would have to say to be evil enough for Graham to confront. I think he is quite evil enough, at least as evil as Buttigieg.

After Trump was exposed in the Mueller report as dishonest and crooked, where was Graham with his condemnation then?

Again, the fawning of Graham and Falwell and that crowd is sick and I despise it. I will never donate to Samaritan’s Purse again. I will not encourage my kids to go to Liberty either. That is how strongly I feel about this. Graham and those like him are hypocrites.

I think what Greg is stating, rightly so, is that Trump consistently says things like he “has a great relationship with God”, and portrays himself as a Christian, while at the same time sinning blatantly (i.e. lying, not treating others as Scripture dictates…). Franklin Graham is an ardent supporter of Trump because he is blinded by his belief that Trump is a “defender of Christians”. He is willing to call out Buttigieg because that is a pet issue for Christians, while failing to recognize the blatant sin around others that he supports. Sin is sin. His comments steer less mature Christians in doing things like supporting Trump and rejecting Butigieg. This is not a theocracy, and having a super Christian as president is not going to turn around this country or make it anymore acceptable to God.

I’m not saying Buttigieg is a greater sinner than Trump. Only God is qualified to make that judgment. I’m saying that Buttigieg is claiming that his sin of homosexual conduct and gay marriage are OK with God. I’ve never heard Trump claim that his adultery and carelessness with facts are condoned by God. That is a large and significant difference. Why is this so difficult to understand? When Trump claims his adultery is condoned by God, I will denounce him, and I would expect Franklin Graham to do so as well.

I understand what you’re saying. You have a good point.

Does Buttigieg support gay marriage? Abortion (at any trimester)? Illegal immigration?

Look, the issue is not really about who’s the bigger hypocrite in claiming to follow Christ. It’s about whose policies best line up with a Christian ethic

[G. N. Barkman]

I’m not saying Buttigieg is a greater sinner than Trump. Only God is qualified to make that judgment. I’m saying that Buttigieg is claiming that his sin of homosexual conduct and gay marriage are OK with God. I’ve never heard Trump claim that his adultery and carelessness with facts are condoned by God. That is a large and significant difference. Why is this so difficult to understand? When Trump claims his adultery is condoned by God, I will denounce him, and I would expect Franklin Graham to do so as well.

So Trump can do whatever he wants but you won’t denounce him unless he claims it is sanctioned by God? What is your basis for that? Does your Bible say not to denounce sin unless the sinner claims that God sanctions his sin?

I will say this one more time. Christians that held their nose and voted for Trump are OK by me. On the other hand, Christians like Falwell and Graham that excuse anything Trump does and give him cover because of his politics are hypocrites.

I sympathize with that last paragraph

[GregH]

I will say this one more time. Christians that held their nose and voted for Trump are OK by me. On the other hand, Christians like Falwell and Graham that excuse anything Trump does and give him cover because of his politics are hypocrites.

I’m pretty sure that most here at SI agree with this, though there are certainly plenty of never-Trumpers here too. There may be some big-time Trump supporters on SI, but if there are, they hide it pretty well.

[G. N. Barkman]

I’m not saying Buttigieg is a greater sinner than Trump. Only God is qualified to make that judgment. I’m saying that Buttigieg is claiming that his sin of homosexual conduct and gay marriage are OK with God. I’ve never heard Trump claim that his adultery and carelessness with facts are condoned by God. That is a large and significant difference. Why is this so difficult to understand? When Trump claims his adultery is condoned by God, I will denounce him, and I would expect Franklin Graham to do so as well.

I would argue that when Trump states, “he has a great relationship with God”, in light of his behavior, he is in essence stating that God condones his behavior. Yes, it isn’t quite being as direct as Buttigieg, but he is making the exact same argument. You can only have a great relationship with God, when you are regenerate and living in a right relationship, anything less than that, destroys the image of a Holy and Righteous God. It isn’t that Franklin is silent on Trump, instead he praises Trump and supports him.

[GregH]

I don’t think Trump has to say what you say he would have to say to be evil enough for Graham to confront. I think he is quite evil enough, at least as evil as Buttigieg.

After Trump was exposed in the Mueller report as dishonest and crooked, where was Graham with his condemnation then?

Again, the fawning of Graham and Falwell and that crowd is sick and I despise it. I will never donate to Samaritan’s Purse again. I will not encourage my kids to go to Liberty either. That is how strongly I feel about this. Graham and those like him are hypocrites.