TV interview of Billy Graham by Robert Schuller – May 31, 1997. 

 That was 1997 ( Billy was 79 yrs old) –  Similar Interview w/ Larry King on CNN – 2005 (87 yrs old)

30 years Earlier ~1967 (49 yrs old)    Billy Graham had a DIFFERENT Take on the Subject – in his book –

             BILLY GRAHAM Answers your Questions –

One Questioner asked –  “A famous Christian theologian recently stated that after a life-long study of  the Religions of the World he was convinced that there was no such person as a ‘non-Christian’  that every Buddhist Temple and heathen shrine was a marker on the road to God. This sounds reasonable – but is it Christian?

Billy Answers – “Over the platform in all our Crusades there is a text which reads:  ‘Jesus said, “I am the Way, the Truth and the Life.”  This points up the distinctiveness of Christianity and the exclusiveness of its teaching. Christ IS Christianity and there can be no true Christianity apart from Him. While it may be true that some of the ethics and idealism of other religions run parallel to Christian teaching, the fact remains, as stated by Jesus Himself ‘no man cometh to the Father but by Me.”

Another Questioner asked – “There are many religions in the world. Why do you believe Christianity is better?

Billy Answers – “World religions embody the attempt of mankind to reach up to God through their own works and endeavors. Only in Christianity is God reaching down to man. Only in Christianity do we have a God who is able to forgive sin and give eternal life, through Jesus Christ, who defeated death, rose from the dead, and thereby guarantees life with God beyond the grave to all those who  commit their lives to Him.”

QUESTION – What happened to  Billy Graham in those 30 Years?

While I do NOT know Billy Graham Personally – I think that there are 2 factors that may have caused a change in his theology – FAME & AGE

1)FAME – Billy Graham has attained World Fame as the unofficial Evangelical Christian Pope. He has literally preached all around the world. ALL of his Crusades have been inter-Denominational and in order to pull that off    there has to be some COMPROMISE. The Reason there are Different  Denominations is because all Christians do not all share the same beliefs.     So in order to get everyone to work together you, have to find  “Common Ground”

In order to do that – you have to CRANK UP certain parts of your Message that you have majority agreement on and TONE DOWN other parts.

 As Billy got Older – He started to have more DIALOGUE with Other World Religions – and began TONING DOWN the “Jesus is the Only Way” part of the GOSPEL. And when you finish TONING DOWN JESUS, there’s not much  GOSPEL (GOOD NEWS) left.  

Along with Billy’s World Fame – he has become the Pastor to Presidents. He  visited with all of the last 12 Presidents. And in order to keep an Open Door at the White House – you also have to Tone Down some of the Message.  Since meetings with Presidents are Privileged & Confidential we have  NO IDEA how much Billy had to compromise. On a couple of occasions we caught a glimpse of what it takes to be a friend of the President:   

Example 1 – In 2002, the Nixon Watergate tapes were declassified. One of  those tapes was a recording of Billy Graham meeting with Pres Nixon –   talking about how Jews in US Media organizations were destroying the Country. Billy was agreeing and even adding – Jews had a ‘stranglehold’ on  the American media and were part of the “synagogue of Satan”…

Example 2 – In 2005 – Billy Graham had the Clintons at his last crusade and   said “I felt when he left the presidency he should be an evangelist because he has all the gifts”. He offered all that Praise for man who turned the White House into a  Fraternity House during his tenure as President. 

 IS BILLY the ONLY CHRISTIAN to TONE DOWN the Gospel in certain Circumstances?  NO – Most of us do – and especially Pastors –  because we WANT to be  LOVED, ACCEPTED, APPLAUDED – so much so – that we often SELL out our   SAVIOR in order to NOT OFFEND our Family, Friends, and potential Friends.  Given the right setting – How many of us have not at one time or another been “ashamed of the Gospel”(Rom 1:16) or the “offense of the cross”      (Gal 5:11) ?   NEVERTHLESS – the Bible says in Joh 12: 42 … even among the rulers many believed in Him,  but because of the Pharisees they did not confess Him, lest they should be put out of the synagogue; 43 for they loved the praise of men more than the praise of God.

 2)AGE– Billy Graham is now 93 years old – and for the last 15 years or so he has suffered with Parkinsons Disease and a variety of other ailments. I do not know the family dynamics of the Graham family – but I wish that someone in his family would have stepped up and said “Dad – I love you – but it’s time to get away from reporters&microphones.”  Like Noah’s sons in Gen 9, sometimes the best way to “Honor your father and mother” is to cover up the short- comings of your parents and limit their “exposure”.

I’ve already told my sons – that when the time comes that I begin losing my mind and start to unravel what little good I may have done in  this world – to take me on to a Nursing Home – even if I go kicking and  screaming.

A Few other related Items:

3)LIGHT – The idea that people can be saved by responding to whatever “Light”  that the Lord gives them. I assume this idea comes from the first 3 chapters on Romans. God has shined the Light of His Goodness thru Creation, Conscience, and the His Son, Jesus Christ.

I’m almost certain that Paul was NOT teaching that you can be saved by creation or your conscience. He makes it clear in Rom 6:23 that “eternal life [is] in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

Rom 2:1 teaches that this “Light” refers to Judgment, NOT Salvation. All human beings have had enough “Light” in Creation and in their  Conscience that there is a God – so we cannot say on Judgment day “I didn’t KNOW” – we will be  “without excuse.” 

 Jesus is the Only Way of Salvation. God has taken great pains to reveal Himself and His salvation to us.  When Noah got off the Ark – everyone in the world knew God. The reason there are “Lost” people today – is because some father or mother didn’t take the time to tell their children about God. And since mankind is the main problem with Lostness in   the world, the Lord has chosen to allow us to be a part of the Solution – Mat 28:19 “Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations…

 4)”Wideness of Gods Mercy”–  I’m not sure where this quote came from but   I’m guessing it was a Catholic Theologian & Songwriter named –Fredrick  Faber. He had traveled around the world and wrote a book called – Sights    and Thoughts in Foreign Churches and among Foreign Peoples – 1842.  Later he wrote a Hymn – called There’s a wideness in God’s mercy, Like the wideness of the sea; There’s a kindness in His justice, Which is more than liberty.”      Apparently this is a regular hymn at Robert Schullers Crystal Cathedral, an Ecumenical Church where all beliefs are Welcome.  

I can assure you that while the LORD is Merciful – there is not a secondary Plan of Salvation that allows a person to be saved without Gods   Son, Jesus Christ. If there had been ANOTHER WAY – then the Cross would have been unnecessary. In Mark 14 – Jesus asked His Father -in the Garden of Gethsemane – if there wasn’t some other plan that would work.

 CONCLUSION – A few Words from the Apostle Paul about the “Wideness of Gods   Mercy” – but also a Warning about making Gods Mercy TOO WIDE. And it  applies to Billy Graham, Robert Schuller, Me & You:

            Gal 1: 6 I marvel that you are turning away so soon from Him who called you in the grace of  Christ, to a different gospel,  7 which is not another; but there are some who trouble you and want to pervert the gospel of Christ.  8 But even if we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel to you than what we have preached to you, let him be accursed.  

 Also from Paul – 1Co 9:27 But I discipline my body and bring it into subjection, lest, when I have preached to others, I myself should become disqualified.