Billy Graham~ If he could go back & do anything differently, would have "steered clear of politics"

[Emit]

Q & A: Billy Graham on Aging, Regrets, and Evangelicals

~snip~

If you could, would you go back and do anything differently?

~snip~

I also would have steered clear of politics. I'm grateful for the opportunities God gave me to minister to people in high places; people in power have spiritual and personal needs like everyone else, and often they have no one to talk to. But looking back I know I sometimes crossed the line, and I wouldn't do that now.

~snip~

http://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2011/januaryweb-only/qabillygraham.html?start=2

Billy Graham and the Rise of the Religious Right
~snip~

Few people realize the significant role that Graham has played in the rise of the Religious Right in America.

Graham was instrumental in creating the Christian Right as a political force while, at the same time, distancing himself from it publicly. He was a participant in meetings where the fundamentalist takeover of the Southern Baptist Convention was organized as a means to influence secular politics. In 1985, Graham sent a telegram to Charles Stanley endorsing his re-election as President of the SBC in the most contested election during the fundamentalist takeover the denomination. Most revealing, as he had done in the takeover of the SBC, he could be counted on to lend support to the Religious Right candidate in a tight political election:

Two days before the 2000 election, Graham went a step further and declared his support for a Bush victory. The setting for what can only be called Graham's endorsement of Bush was Jacksonville, Florida (...)

http://www.talk2action.org/story/2011/1/21/15441/1055

[xchrom]

1. I think that's a lie. Nt

[w4rma]

8. Agreed. Otherwise his son would be steering clear. He taught his son the family business. (nt)

[yourout]

2. No regret for fleecing the week minded of their money though.

[hughee99]

3. And for many others, if they could go back, they'd steer clear of Billy Graham.n/t

[Lint Head]

4. Apparently his offspring Franklin hasn't gotten the message.

They cynically used Jesus and the Bible to gain riches and power.

[Lint Head]

5. Sounds like a dying man's confession.

[bluestate10]

11. Sort of like Lee Atwater, the originator of the infamous "Willie Horton" ad.

When key figures of the right see themselves making their first move in a game of chess with satan, they have regrets, but alas, their fate is sealed by their life's activities, they will hold the hot hand of satan and experience a heart colder than their own.

[Bluebear]

6. A fine thing to realize at ****92****

Idiot.

[somone]

7. He "crossed the line" alright

[bluestate10]

12. The gates of hades await him. nt.

[malaise]

9. Someone should tell his son n/t

[TlalocW]

10. No, he wouldn't

He enjoyed the extra prestige and fame (and the money it brought him) for being the unofficial White House minister for so many decades.

TlalocW