Criticizing the President and CEO of the great humanitarian organization called Samaritan’s Purse, not to mention he’s the son of the 20th century’s most prolific evangelist, is by definition dancing with danger. But I do have a bone to pick with Brother Franklin Graham, and to be honest, it’s the same bone I’ve been picking for the last decade.
Graham and other speakers at the recent Rededication 250 event in DC decried what he called the “moral decline” in American culture. While I don’t think any serious Christian would take issue with that assessment, it seems to me that he honed in on a singular subset of sins over another in keeping with his party’s platform and his unflagging respect and support of Donald Trump.
The main text of his video speech (2 Timothy 3:1-5) shines a spotlight on a list of sins for which American culture is well-known.
- People that are lovers of themselves,
- lovers of money,
- boastful,
- proud,
- abusive,
- ungrateful,
- unholy,
- without love,
- unforgiving,
- slanderous,
- without self-control,
- brutal,
- not lovers of the good,
- treacherous,
- rash,
- conceited,
- lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God
- having a form of godliness but denying its power
Franklin said, “It seems this could be written to describe America today.” I couldn’t agree more that these behaviors are destructive to any country and are rife within ours in particular. But what I found particularly duplicitous about Graham’s speech, and frankly his recurring refrain, is how these behaviors are toxic for Americans but evidently not any sort of a deal breaker for America’s president.
The lifestyle that Graham decries, I might describe as “Trumpian.” Go over the list again and see if I’m just blowing smoke or is Donald Trump in fact guilty of every last one of these moral contaminants? How Franklin could in good conscience identify these as America’s sins and at the same time give mulligan after mulligan to America’s chief executive baffles the mind!
Paul advises his protégé, Timothy to “Have nothing to do with such people.” Graham has more than just “something to do with” Donald Trump. He praises him at every opportunity and has many times claimed him to be God’s man for the job.
“Sinful behavior that ought to make us blush,” said Graham in his speech, “is now celebrated on Main Street America.” Agreed. But can he not see that it is also celebrated every day on Pennsylvania Avenue in America’s capital?
He said, “We have an insatiable appetite for violence, which grieves the heart of God.” No argument here. But has he not witnessed the president’s frequent threats to flatten Iran and wipe out their culture permanently? Is he not aware of how he demonizes and bullies his political opponents and disloyal subjects? Has he not noticed that Trump’s own rhetorical violence corresponds with his followers’ aggressive rhetoric, violent threats, and actual violence against his declared “enemies”?
Graham’s aptitude at condemning sin in one arena while condoning it in another, depending on its political expediency, is in my opinion deeply hypocritical. It is tribal loyalty dressed in christianized language. The Word of God, and I know Graham would agree, is our standard for morality. He speaks as a moral authority while defending conduct that directly contradicts the moral framework he invokes. He applies the standard selectively, which to my mind makes his moral authority collapse under its own weight.
When allegiance to party or when vying for a seat at the table of power whitewashes behaviors that Scripture clearly condemns––“Houston, we have a problem!” If that’s not at least opaquely hypocritical, I sincerely don’t know how else to categorize it.
Contrast this with what he said in a Wall Street Journal op-ed in 1998 about Bill Clinton’s adultery and lies: “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.
Acknowledgment must be coupled with genuine remorse. A repentant spirit that says, ‘I’m sorry. I was wrong. I won’t do it again. I ask for your forgiveness,’ would go a long way toward personal and national healing.”
This is the same Graham that said Trump’s affairs with porn star Stormy Daniel is “nobody’s business.” Furthermore, he overlooks that Trump has said on national TV that he never asks God for forgiveness. “Let’s not have a double standard, said George Carlin. “One standard will do just fine.”
I don’t deny that Franklin Graham is a good Christian man who does a lot of good in the world. He seems to love God, passionately preach the gospel, and are deeply about suffering populations. But he has a serious blind spot when it comes to Donald Trump and leads millions of Christians astray by continually defending his person and presidency.
To me, this is a tragedy of the selective application of moral outrage.
barney wiget 