Evangelist Franklin Graham just concluded his 11th revival tour, now misleadingly named the “God Loves You Tour.” The tour was a perfect showcase of talking from both sides of one’s mouth.
Graham has built his reputation by masquerading behind the goodwill generated by Samaritan’s Purse and the legacy of his widely beloved father, preacher Billy Graham, yet also serves as a MAGA court evangelist engaged in the very rightwing politics his father came to despise.
Nathan Empsall
Jesus defined false prophets as those “who come to you in sheep’s clothing but inwardly are ravenous wolves.” With that definition in mind, there is perhaps no bigger false prophet in America today than Franklin Graham.
Although there may well be bigger wolves than Graham, few wear thicker or more deceptive sheep’s clothing. Graham’s events ultimately appear to be just a ruse to lure Christian voters into joining his far-right, pro-Trump political associations and comments — despite his father’s insightful words, “The hard right has no interest in religion except to manipulate it.”
Instead of falling for it, Graham’s fellow Christians should remind him that Jesus didn’t only teach us that God loves us; he also taught us to love one another. If Graham truly wants to show Christ-like love to those at the border, he should give up his MAGA agenda, return home to true pastoral ministry like Christ’s parable of the Prodigal Son and denounce the cruel policies of anti-LGBTQ and anti-immigrant politicians like Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, and North Carolina Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson.
But that’s not what he did on this tour. Instead, Graham ignored the ongoing political cruelty and even called the former president’s presence at the southern border “a great encouragement to many,” despite Trump’s past and future cruelty toward immigrants and his promise to “begin the largest domestic deportation operation in history” if re-elected. This mirrors Graham’s behavior in 2016, when he tried to justify his support for Trump by dishonestly claiming immigration “is not a Bible issue.” In reality, there are few topics mentioned in the Bible more than welcoming migrants and refugees.
Moreover, Graham’s use of his religious platform to push deadly MAGA conspiracy theories, including election denial and the absurd notion that “antifa” was behind the January 6 insurrection, pose a danger to democracy. He has also referred to Islam as “a very evil and wicked religion,” questioning the religious liberty of millions.
“This is not what Christ-like love looks like.”
The examples of Graham’s hateful bombast are legion: He has called LGBTQ people “evil and rebellious”; praised Russian dictator Vladimir Putin for passing anti-LGBTQ laws; and asserted that teaching LGBTQ history is “an affront to God.” Such vicious rhetoric has been linked to higher suicide and self-harm rates among LGBTQ youth and has no doubt fostered today’s staggering record highs of anti-LGBTQ violence. This is not what Christ-like love looks like.
It is incumbent on all Americans, especially those of us who call ourselves Christians, to reject the false idol that Graham has made of his malevolent worldview.
Musician Dennis Agajanian performs in front of a giant American flag at Franklin Graham’s Frontera tour in Chula Viast, Calif. (Photo: BGEA via Facebook)
We have a moral obligation to take a stand against his odious interpretation of Christianity and the threat it poses to the religious liberty on which we depend. This is a country founded on the idea that I don’t get to tell you what to believe any more than you get to tell me. If Graham and other religious-right leaders have their way, we will all be beholden to a white Christian-nationalist vision.
Franklin may now lead the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association, but his father proclaimed a very different gospel. In his 99 years, Billy Graham preached that “our neighbors are people of a different race or a different cultural background and we’re to love them.” The elder Graham also said his biggest regret was when he “undoubtedly stepped over the line between politics and my calling as an evangelist.”
The Constitution grants each of us freedom of expression, the right to speak without punishment by the government, but that does not mean we are exempt from opposition by our fellow citizens. That is why, from El Paso to Chula Vista, local clergy stood against Graham’s border tour and reminded him of both his father’s and Scripture’s words. And while Graham claims to have support from 1,000 churches, the Christian organization Faithful America has gathered more than 250,000 signatures objecting to his hijacking of our faith over the years.
Americans know the danger of ideologues who come in sheep’s clothing but are, as Jesus warned, “inwardly ravenous wolves.” Graham’s dehumanization of any who do not fit an extremist, hateful, MAGA worldview is a threat to our communities, our religious freedoms and our democracy.
We dare not allow him to continue to twist religious commitment for the sake of partisan hatred.
Nathan Empsall is a priest in the Episcopal Church and executive director of Faithful America. He holds a master of divinity degree and a master of environmental management degree from Yale University.
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