Manny P. here…
“`Reverend Billy Graham, labeled America’s Pastor and a Protestant Pope, achieved a level of influence and reach, no other evangelist is likely ever to match. At his height, he was bringing the word of God into people’s homes around the globe via television, and dispensing spiritual counsel (and cultural guidance) to United States presidents. More than anyone else, the magnetic Hollywood-handsome Graham built evangelicalism into a major force, rivaling liberal Protestantism and Roman Catholicism. REVEREND BILLY GRAHAM —>
“`William Franklin Graham Jr. was born on a rural dairy farm near Charlotte. His path began taking shape at age 16, when the Presbyterian-reared teenager committed himself to Christ during a tent revival. After high school, he enrolled at fundamentalist, Bob Jones College, then transferred to Florida Bible Institute in Tampa.
“`A 1949 Los Angeles revival meeting in a tent dubbed Canvas Cathedral turned Graham into evangelism’s rising star. Legendary publisher William Randolph Hearst had ordered his papers to hype Graham. In the 1950s, he created a syndicated newspaper column, My Answer. At its height, he reached tens of millions of readers.
“`Graham ended racially segregated seating at his Southern crusades in 1953, a year before the Supreme Court’s school integration ruling, and long refused to visit South Africa while its white regime insisted on separating the races at meetings. He later traveled on expectation-defying crusades in London and New York, and soon becoming a global voice for Christianity. Queen Elizabeth II became an ardent supporter throughout her reign.
“`He had especially strong influence on religion and spirituality of 12 American presidents, beginning with Dwight D. Eisenhower, whom he urged to run for office and baptized at the White House. His presidential ties proved problematic, when his close friend Richard Nixon resigned in the Watergate scandal in 1974, leaving Graham devastated, embarrassed, and baffled. Billy urged Gerald Ford to pardon Nixon; plus, stood by Jimmy Carter on the SALT Disarmament Treaty; and was in the Oval Office with George H. W. Bush on the eve of the initial Persian Gulf War. He delivered a poignant speech about the country’s wounds in the aftermath of September 11th, during his sermon from Washington National Cathedral, three days after the attacks. George W. Bush credited Billy with helping him find his born-again Christian values.
“`He successfully reached millions on the radio, and later, on television. Hour of Decision was a weekly radio program, broadcast around the world for over five decades. Mission television specials broadcast in almost every market in the United States and Canada. However, his live crusades proved most enduring. Since 1955, Graham was recognized by Gallup a record 55 times (49 consecutive times); more than any other person in last half of the 20th Century, as one of the most admired people in the world. When the Billy Graham Museum and Library was dedicated in 2007 in Charlotte, the elder Bush, Carter, and Bill Clinton attended.
“`Throughout his life, Reverend Graham has received hundreds of accolades from presidents, royalty, and even various entertainment academies. All told, he was the most widely followed and revered Christian evangelist in modern history.
“` Billy Graham’s body will lie in honor in the United States Capitol Rotunda next week, the first time a private citizen has been accorded such recognition, since Civil Rights hero, Rosa Parks, in 2005. The two-day viewing in Washington on February 28th and March 1st is part during nine days of mourning for postwar America’s most famous preacher.
“`Reverend Billy Graham was 99; a blessed and prolific journey that is well traveled.
Until next time> “never forget”
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