The following article was copied and pasted from Religion News Service (RNS). I underscored numerous statements in the article so that readers would know that RNS and the “Christian” group they quote are each ‘Theological Liberals,’ not biblical Christians.
Below the article, I stated my rationale and explanations of which many Liberals are likely unaware.
Begin article:
Franklin Graham’s border tour draws 20,000 signers demanding its cancelation
Critics are calling the 10-city tour ‘hypocritical’ and denouncing what they say are Graham’s ‘anti-immigrant’ views.
(RNS) — A liberal Christian organization has launched a petition against the Rev. Franklin Graham’s southern border tour, calling on venue organizers to withdraw their invitations.
The petition, drafted by Faithful America, has so far garnered nearly 21,000 signatures.
The social justice ministry has gone after Graham with several previous petitions, mostly calling out Graham’s LGBTQ views and his support for former-President Donald Trump, who is running for reelection.
This time, Faithful America is denouncing what it says are Graham’s “anti-immigrant” views.
“The upcoming ‘frontera’ iteration of Graham’s tour feels especially distasteful and hypocritical given that, in an effort to dismiss criticisms of Donald Trump’s immigration policies, Graham once falsely claimed that immigration is ‘not a Bible issue’ — yet there are few topics the Bible addresses more,” the petition reads.
“Frontera,” which means “border” in Spanish, is the latest of Graham’s “God Loves You” tours. The tour, a kind of Christian worship event, features Christian musicians, prayers from local pastors and a short sermon from Graham.
The 10-city tour begins Feb. 24 in Brownsville, Texas, and then heads to McAllen, Laredo, Eagle Pass, Del Rio, Presidio and El Paso, before heading to Arizona and concluding March 9 in Chula Vista, California.
“We are taking the God Loves You Tour to the southern border this year because it is one of the neediest areas of our country at this time, and people need to hear a message of hope from God’s Word,” the 71-year-old Graham said in a statement.
A bipartisan group of lawmakers in Congress is hoping to strike a deal with the Biden administration that would enact sweeping new border controls, including the authority to pause asylum processing — a move the former president also enacted.
But in recent days, Trump has vowed to kill the measure, if it ever passes.
“It’s not going to happen, and I’ll fight it all the way,” Trump said Saturday in Nevada.
Graham does not typically speak about political or social issues during his preaching tours, a fact Faithful America acknowledged.
“He won’t say a lot of these conspiracy theories during his events,” said the Rev. Nathan Empsall, Faithful America’s executive director. “But every time he goes to one of these cities we’ve noticed he gives all sorts of local, radio and TV, news and newspaper interviews where the politics does come out.”
The group is planning some on-the-ground events in some of the same cities Graham will be speaking in, but it has no specific dates yet.
Several of Graham’s recent U.S. events have been named after the regions where they take place, such as the Tidewater Tour and the Route 66 Tour.
In a statement, Graham denied he was going to the border because 2024 is an election year.
“I’m not going to welcome people to the U.S. or to tell them to go back,” Graham said. “I’m not going there to speak against our policies at the border. The politicians know these policies are broken. There are a lot of hungry hearts and hurting people, so I’m going to the border to tell them about God’s Son Jesus Christ and how He can make a difference in our lives if we put our faith and our trust in Him.”
The Billy Graham Evangelistic Association is sponsoring the tour and partnering with 1,000 churches in Texas, Arizona and California, according to the press statement. Graham is president and CEO of the association.
Link to above article at RNS: https://religionnews.com/2024/01/29/franklin-grahams-border-tour-draws-20000-plus-petition-demanding-he-cancel/
END RNS article
MY RATIONALE FOR THE UNDERSCORED ARTICLE PORTIONS ABOVE:
- Theological Liberals are NOT true Christians. They do not follow scripture, they have discarded most major doctrines of the Bible. A famous work was written by J. Gresham Machen, Christianity and Liberalism, carefully explained how it is that “Liberals” are NOT Christians. The book was written about 100 years ago and is widely available. Anyone who has read the Bible, and has been given faith by God to believe it, agrees with Machen.
- The name this organization has chosen, “Faithful America” is a typical Leftist strategy because it suggests to those who do not understand what a true Christian is, that this organization consists of true Christians; it does not. They may not understand that they are not true Christians, but true Christians, Bible believers…, do.
- If any of the members of “Faithful America” were familiar with their Bibles, then they would understand that God gave individuals the right to own and to protect property; He also gave that to nations. Furthermore, He established government, ‘the sword,’ to protect law-abiding citizens and to punish criminals. Regulating the processing of immigrants wanting entrance into a country falls under such biblical guidelines.
- Graham’s views on LGBTQ are apparently biblical. While those who bow to political correctness and other pressures in society are not. This is God’s world and He makes the rules. In our day, law-breakers are making the rules and raging at God; most believe they will experience no consequences for such rebellion. The Bible says differently.