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

[DLCreed]

GregH wrote:

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 agree strongly with your accessment of Graham and his embrace of Trump and the damage it has caused the Gospel (and the plethora of other evangelical leaders who have done the same.) I was just offer a word of caution before dismissing the whole of Liberty University because of the words of Jerry, Jr. Let’s just say that Jerry’s love for all things Trump is not shared by many, perhaps even a “moral majority” of faculty members in several of the schools that comprise LU. Jerry’s political pragmatism and theological shallowness is not lost on many who are on the frontlines of the educational experiences at LU.

Thank you. It is good to hear there is some sense of sanity still there.

“Mayor Buttigieg says he’s a gay Christian,” Graham wrote. “As a Christian, I believe the Bible which defines homosexuality as sin, something to be repentant of, not something to be flaunted, praised or politicized. The Bible says marriage is between a man & a woman – not two men, not two women.

“The core of the Christian faith is believing and following Jesus Christ, who God sent to be the Savior of the world – to save us from sin, to save us from hell, to save us from eternal damnation.” -Franklin Graham

A sound, biblical statement. I have great respect for Franklin Graham’s courage, convictions, evangelism.

David R. Brumbelow

If Trump said, “I am an adulterous Christian” and claimed God’s endorsement on that statement, he would be saying essentially the same thing as Buttigieg. When Trump says he has a good relationship with God, who’s to say he is not claiming confession of his sin, and claiming God’s forgiveness? I’m afraid the core issue has gotten lost in the mire of political mud slinging. Is Trump really a Christian? Who knows but God. (My opinion is that he is not.) Is Buttigieg a true Christian? I find that hard to believe, given his public defense of openly and ongoing gay activity which he claims is endorsed by God.

Franklin Graham has never endorsed Trumps adultery. If Trump ever claims that his adultery is OK with God, Graham should confront him publicly as he did Buttigieg. The issue is not which of the two is the worse sinner. The issue is which of the two is claiming God’s approval for his sin.

So this is really the essence of your debate?

Christians should only denounce sin when the sinner claims that his sin is sanctioned by God.

Seriously? Where do you get this principle from? Did you apply this principle to Bill Clinton during his scandal? Or does it only apply when you agree with someone’s politics?

To answer my own question, yes there is a hypocritical double standard based on politics at least for Franklin Graham. Here are his own words (WSJ 1998):

Last week Mr. Clinton told 70 million Americans that his adulterous actions with Ms. Lewinsky were a “private” matter “between me, the two people I love the most–my wife and our daughter–and our God.”

But the God of the Bible says that what one does in private does matter. Mr. Clinton’s months-long extramarital sexual behavior in the Oval Office now concerns him and the rest of the world, not just his immediate family. If he will lie to or mislead his wife and daughter, those with whom he is most intimate, what will prevent him from doing the same to the American public?

Private conduct does have public consequences. Some of Mr. Clinton’s defenders present King David of the Bible, one of history’s great leaders, as an example as they call on us to forgive and forget the president’s moral failings. Since God pardoned David’s adulterous act with Bathsheba, the reasoning goes, we should similarly forgive Mr. Clinton.

But forgiveness is not the end of David’s story. Huge consequences followed immediately. The prophet Nathan confronted David with the news that while his life would be spared, the life of his child would be extinguished after just seven days on earth. Bathsheba’s husband and others were killed in an attempt to cover up the illicit affair. David, who confessed his sin when confronted by Nathan (perhaps God’s special prosecutor), also witnessed a bloody coup attempt by his own son, Absalom. He was never the same king.

The private acts of any person are never done in secret. God sees and judges all sin, and while He seeks to restore the offender with love and grace, He does not necessarily remove all the consequences of our sin. As a boy I remember my mother telling me of the consequences of sin. Like a boat, whose wake can capsize other boats, sin leaves a wake. Just look at how many have already been pulled under by the wake of the president’s sin: Mr. Clinton’s wife and daughter, Ms. Lewinsky, her parents, White House staff members, friends and supporters, public officials and an unwitting American public.

Mr. Clinton’s sin can be forgiven, but he must start by admitting to it and refraining from legalistic doublespeak. According to the Scripture, the president did not have an “inappropriate relationship” with Monica Lewinsky–he committed adultery. He didn’t “mislead” his wife and us–he lied.

Am I supposed to respect this kind of hypocrisy simply because Graham is supposedly on my side? I don’t. He is a hypocrite.

Neither Trump nor Buttigeig show signs of regeneration. Both are unbelievers, though both have deceived themselves in thinking they are believers. Their policies are quite different, however.