Michael Hranek wrote:
Joel
Jesus also told us, 'he who is not with me is against me.'
Excuse me but it simply doesn't take a rocket scients of a theologian or a "religious forensic investigator" to know Roman Catholicism is wrong, evil and damnably wrong. Also I lived in the South and although Catholics were in the minority they are there and to imagine Mr. Graham didn't encounter them and didn't know they practised open disobedience to God and to His Word in such things as praying to Mary is an enormous stretch of one's imagination.
And if he had heeded what God says in the Bible, God's word would have told him the same thing back in the 1950's as it tells us today, 'Do not be bound together with unbelievers' such as John Paul II with his open Maryolatry.

I can't defend his ties with Roman Catholicism. I do not agree with the ecumenical movement.

Wayne wrote:
Have a look at the following article http://www.ianpaisley.org/revivalist/1984/Rev84jan.htm

I looked at the link, and I understand Rev. Paisley's strong stand against Billy Graham and his associations with the Roman Catholic Church.

I'm not prepared to take on a argument about B.G. and his associations with Roman Catholicism. Personally, I am disturbed by this.

At the same time, knowing that God is Sovereign and that He causes all things - good and evil - to redound to His Glory, I have to rest in that.

Since Billy Graham is pretty much out of the picture now in terms of evangelizing, it just isn't as important as focusing on those who are now misleading the masses, namely Rick Warren, Joel Osteen, and others.

Michael Hranek wrote:
My father was a devote Roman Catholic who I believed died lost. My dad loved listening to Mr. Graham. So what was wrong with that?
. .unless Mr. Graham warned him of the false teaching of the Catholic Church which Mr. Graham DID NOT DO.

Let me give a personal perspective. I never encountered a person of the Catholic faith until I was an adult. I befriended someone who shared her faith to me, and it wasn't very different from my understanding at the time. She didn't pray the rosary - didn't pray to Mary - believed in Jesus as the atonement for her sins. So, I had a narrow perspective of Catholicism. I have since learned much.

Having said that - B. Graham is not a theologian - isn't a Bible scholar, grew up in the South where he didn't encounter Catholicism - never studied different religions - so, perhaps he has a very limited understanding of RC. That's not to excuse it, but just to put a perspective on it.

Remember when the disciples came to Jesus and said someone was preaching who was not of them, and Jesus' response was "He who is not against Me is for Me."

Michael Hranek wrote:
Joel
I believe your faith in Christ is being tried.

Thank you for your heartfelt concern and post.

My faith is not in Billy Graham; however, I love the Graham family. The recent video clips of him with Schuller, and his ties to the Catholic Church are very disturbing. I'll just leave his vindication or condemnation to God. His remaining time is short, and he is not a threat to the Christian community, as are some of the current movers and shakers.

enough already wrote:
Joel, Perhaps Mr. Graham's comments are due to failing health. . is popular, which goes against what Christ says, 'if the world hates you, you know that it hated me before it hated you. If you were of the world, the world would love it's own' John 15:18-19 When the true gospel is given, most will be offended and reject the messenger and the message, just as they did when Christ preached.

But, that's beside the point. EA, you are on the side of Christopher Hitchens, avowed atheist, and author of "God is not great." On a recent CSPAN interview, he said what you said in a previous post - Graham has misled many a young man. He went further than you in stating that Graham was "evil" and that the world would be better off when he dies.

Billy Graham or Christopher Hitchens? I'll side with Billy Graham - At ninety years old, seventy years in the ministry, only the prophet Daniel would have a perfect record.

fuzzy logic wrote:
Joel, IS Jesus GOD?
YES or NO?
God's Word says Jesus IS God. I believe this is true and therefore I can state unequivocally, Jesus is God.
Please say (TYPE) the following sentence for all to see:
* * JESUS IS GOD * *

I am a firm Believer that it is God who calls us to Himself.

However, there are many verses that call us to "seek the Lord while He may be found...call upon Him while He is near." "CHOOSE you this day whom you will serve....Josh.24:15 ". .refuse to do evil, CHOOSE to do good. Isa.7:15" ". .CHOOSE what pleases Me. .Isa 56:4"

And, then there are the NT passages, "CALL upon the name of the Lord and be saved." "COME to me all who are weary and heavy-laden.." "BELIEVE on the Lord Jesus Christ and be saved." "REPENT." These are all directives calling for a response.

So, there is the call of God "COME" and there is the response "Here I am Lord." And, let's not forget that it is the work of the Holy Spirit.

When Spurgeon was "saved" he was listening to an uneducated man speak from a pulpit in a church that Spurgeon had not attended before. The man said, "LOOK," "LOOK", "LOOK", to Jesus. At that moment, Spurgeon was "born again."

I agree that Billy Graham's association with Roman Catholics is not good; however, I think it comes from a lack of understanding of Catholicism. He grew up in America, in the South.

As a young man, he had a heart for evangelism. His message was "we are sinners, in need of forgiveness, and forgiveness could be found in Jesus Christ." He called people to repentance.

Many Americans, especially in the South, in the mid-20th century, did not know any Catholics. 99% of churches were Protestant.

Billy Graham is not a deceiving heretic. He is a simple man who lives and has lived his adult life in a reconstructed log cabin in the mtns of N.C. He has not accumulated wealth.

He is a man who has made some judgment errors - moreso, in his later years with his declining health. Perhaps his reasoning abilities have been affected by his Parkinson's, and his multiple brain surgeries, and old age.

He does not believe that there are many ways to heaven. He has always preached the historical Jesus of the Bible.

He questions the fruit of the ministry that he has given himself to for 60+ years.

Spurgeon said he came to God an Arminian, and when he understood more fully, he became a Calvinist.

fuzzy logic wrote:
*The OBVIOUS question is: which 'christ' did Graham make a "decision" for?
I doubt the film will reveal Graham's Masonic background. The 'christ' freemasons (cabalists, new-agers, hindus, muslims, jews) believe will unite them with their 'godly' self in the cosmos is Lucifer.

TOWER OF INFAMY
which explains how Graham got to be such a 'success.'

The name fits. Your assessment of Billy Graham fits into the "fuzzy logic" category.

May I ask - How old are you? Do you have any idea of who Billy Graham is or have you just read a bit here or there?

How long have you known the man and his family?

Do you know that he is one of the few "known" evangelists without a blemish on his moral record. Oh, yeah, the Nixon tapes - well, who hasn't said something he/she regrets? He isn't anti-semitic.

Now, as to his salvation. Who are you to judge him, based on the way he phrases coming to the Lord - making a decision? Please don't lump him in with known unbelievers.