One more thing about Billy Graham
May 24, 2005
The USA Today story about Billy Graham makes an important point and provides a contrast between Mr. Graham and other evangelical Christians:
- He believes and preaches an inclusive Christianity. What does this mean? So many in the Christian Right truly believe that anybody believing different from them in specifics is going to hell.
- When my furnace man found out that I was Lutheran and that I believe I was saved at my infant baptism, he choked. He said my salvation was in danger because of that.
- Dr. James Dobson of Focus on the Family comes off regularly with the attitude that anybody who doesn't believe just like him is not a real Christian or they don't have as many punches on their God card as he does.
- My own Lutheran Church Missouri Synod goes through periods and fits of arrogance about Lutheran doctrine and seem to suggest that non-Lutherans are less if they're anything at all.
Billy Graham seems able to keep his boundaries strong and still accept and show love to others. This story mentions that he doesn't see himself so much a part of evangelicalism as evangelsm.
Amen.