Franklin Graham Responds to Criticism of Christians Who Back Trump

Lawrence K. Ho/Los Angeles Times via Getty Imagesfranklin_graham_gi.jpg?itok=KE8GS51p
October 17, 2016
50868245 Comments 12498

On Friday, Pastor Franklin Graham responded to the criticism of his fellow evangelical leaders who continue to stand by Donald Trump despite the business mogul's morally objectionable behavior, particularly the lewd sexual comments captured in the 2005 "Access Hollywood" tape.

Graham—who does not officially endorse political candidates in part because of the tax exempt status of his religious organization—pushed back against the idea that his evangelical peers were giving Trump "a pass" on his sexually aggressive and derogatory behavior. Trump, said Graham, "has taken full responsibility" for his 2005 comments, but his immoral behavior is not what is important anyhow. What matters, stressed the massively influential pastor, is the Supreme Court. 


Graham commented on the election on multiple platforms last week, addressing the issue of the Supreme Court in a prayer rally in North Carolina on Thursday and then in a Facebook post the next day. At the 50th Decision America Tour prayer rally in Raleigh, he told a crowd of over 10,000 that despite the difficult choices presented to Christian voters this election, it was their duty to vote for the candidate who would appoint the best justices. 

"Hold your nose and go vote," he told the large audience. "You have to decide which one of the two (presidential candidates) that you would trust to appoint justices that are going to protect our religious freedom as Christians. ... Vote where you can for people that are going to support Biblical principles."

Graham posted a statement on Facebook the next day defending evangelical leaders who still support the Republican nominee: 

 lot of people are slamming evangelicals for supposedly giving Donald J. Trump a pass. That’s simply not true. No one is giving him a pass. I’m certainly not, and I’ve not met an evangelical yet who condones his language or inexcusable behavior from over a decade ago. However, he has apologized to his wife, his family, and to the American people for this. He has taken full responsibility. This election isn’t about Donald Trump’s behavior from 11 years ago or Hillary Clinton’s recent missing emails, lies, and false statements. This election is about the Supreme Court and the justices that the next president will nominate. Evangelicals are going to have to decide which candidate they trust to nominate men and women to the court who will defend the constitution and support religious freedoms. My prayer is that Christians will not be deceived by the liberal media about what is at stake for future generations.

Though it's clear that Graham is unofficially endorsing Trump, he has repeatedly stressed to his audiences that no political candidate can restore the United States. God alone, says Graham, can do that. 
 

You need to be a member of The Patriots For America to add comments!

Join The Patriots For America

Email me when people reply –

Replies

  • There is no way that a person could call themselves a follower of Christ Jesus and vote for a demonRAT.

  • Hold your nose?  As a Christian, I will not hold my nose, or my tongue.  What an absurd notion.  If the morality of one is questioned, so to should the morality of the other.  And neither should be acceptable.  As far as "voting" for the lessor of two evils to produce the outcome in the S.C., again more absurdity.  We should be taking our rightful authority and power back and throw these bastards in prison.  They have stolen our wealth, our future, our children's future, our very souls.  

    "When in the course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands that have connected them to another, and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and Nature's God ENTITLE (emphasis added) them, a decent respect to mankind requires that they should, declare the causes that impel them to the separation." 

    NOT HOLD OUR NOSES!!!

    • All Christians commit sin and Donald Trump was led to the Lord by James Robison.  I know that God has appointed Trump to be the next "Cyrus" in DC.  Read your Bible about Cyrus.  Throw the 1st stone if you have not committed any sins.  Trump will prevent a "New World Order" and he will protect Christianity unlike Clinton who will totally destroy our First Amendment, our 2nd Amendment and many others.

    • For those of you who believe in Biblical prophecy, please watch this video - the narrator is a bit, um, wierd? but please look beyond that to the actual truth - Donald J. Trump IS our Cyrus!!!!

      TRUMP: the COMING LANDSLIDE. ~Ancient Prophecy Documentary of Donald Trump / 2016

      https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xzuxTEq-plE

    • No person since Christ would be an ideal candidate, and I think you underestimate the importance of the next supreme court justices. If clinton is elected we can assume every justice she nominates will be against all Christian interests and that the justices nominated by Donald Trump, and his other policies will help to restore our once great government.

      As for overthrowing our government, that option would have to be the wish of the overwhelming majority of the population and unfortunately it's not.

  • Those without sin cast the first stone.  

  • What the criticizers of Christianity fail to remember is that Jesus did NOT hate the sinner, only the SIN itself...

    Incidentally, I never heard Bill Clinton or Hillary EVER apologize for ANY of Bills sexual proclivities, have you?

    So I believe that the Clinton/DNC MACHINE POLITICS is alive and well and doing it's dirty deeds....spreading gossip and despair wherever they go.

    • NEW AVENUE OF VOTER FRAUD!!!!!  SPREAD THIS FAR AND WIDE!!!!

      I live out here in flyover country in a very small town with only 1300 people. I went to

       my county courthouse yesterday to participate in early voting. When I gave the clerk

      my name, she looked it up, then asked if my address was *** E. Line AVENUE. I said

      no, it is E. Line STREET. She then explained that it had been changed to Avenue. I was

      very confused since it has been Street since I moved here almost four years ago and asked

       if the local City Office was aware of this since the street sign still said “LINE ST.” I then

       called my City Office and spoke with one of the secretaries who said, no, it was NOT

      changed to Avenue and asked where the County Clerk got this information because ONLY

       the City could change it. Turns out, as the clerks at the courthouse were annotating the

      votes received in a Government database, they were getting flagged that the addresses

      were incorrect and were being segregated into a separate file as invalid, so they called

      and spoke to someone at our Post Office. She was told by the PO clerk that all north

      and south running roads were to be considered Street and all east and west running roads

      were to be considered Avenue. They then went in and manually changed all of the Streets

      to Avenue and vice versa. The County Clerk called the PO in front of me to clarify - the

      clerk who gave them that information was not in the office and would be out until next

      Tuesday but they would straighten this out then. Thankfully, I did hear the County Clerk

      say “We have to get this straightened out before the election.”  THINK ABOUT THIS!!!!

      Had the clerk I was dealing with NOT asked me if I lived on Line Avenue, I would have

      simply filled out my ballot and turned it in, thinking everything was fine. On the contrary –

       had this NOT come to my attention, my vote would NOT have been counted since my

      address would have been Incorrect!!!!! THEY WILL STOP AT NOTHING TO STEAL

      THIS ELECTION, PEOPLE!!!!! CHECK YOUR REGISTRATION ADDRESS WITH

      YOUR COUNTY CLERK!!!!!

  • As Christians, we ought to remember that Christ, Himself, was of the House of David. King David. Remember him? He's the one who sent one of his soldiers to the front so he'd be killed so that David could have the man's wife. David, was a sinner. We're ALL sinners. Our job, as Christians, is to forgive. God forgave David, and kept his promise to him. Mr. Trump has apologized, declared he was embarrassed at the words he used, owned that he said it, and said that he is a changed man. People, THAT'S repentance. It's time to stop grousing and MOVE ON.

    If you don't vote, or if you vote for somebody else, you're helping to put the SHE-DEVIL in office. She, who continually lies, and lies about her lies and, sadly, wouldn't know the truth were it to leap up and bite her on the behind will take the reigns of our nation, already perilously overhanging the cliff. 

    I've seen the Clinton Machine in operation in the past. This is a horrible form of deja vu. They're slinging every bit of made-up dirt at the man they can find. But, it's not really working. To put it in Hillary's own words, "Why aren't I 50 points ahead?"

    We have a very clear choice before us. Democratic-Socialism, (which doesn't really work) or Liberty.

    Which door will you choose? Me? I'll choose the one labeled Mr. Donald J. Trump.

  • Franklins statement "Hold your nose and vote" was a very poor choice of words in my opinion but he was correct in that we should focus on the issues at stake. As far as looking at the morality of each candidate and being offended consider this:
    Trumps was words. Bill and Hillary (and you can't seperate the two) were deeds. Trump apologized and confessed and asked forgiveness, the Clintons not only did neither but continue to lie and refuse to come into the light and ask forgiveness even after making an out of court settlement. The word repentance means to turn and go in the opposite direction. Not only have the Clintons not repented but continue with their sinfulness. This God cannot forgive and neither should we. We are admonished as Christians to avoid even the very appearance of evil. The Clintons not only do not avoid it they run to it, they embrace it, they practice it as a life style they choose it day after day. And for those of you who hold to the false notion "we're not to judge" I'd remind you Jesus's statement to His disciples on distinguishing the real from the false, "You'll know them by their fruits, a good tree produces good fruit". It is true that God hates the sin but loves the sinner but because He love themHe also holds them accountable and so should we.
    No repentance, no forgiveness.
    What I would admonish you and everyone I come in contact with is shut out all the noise, the personal attacks, the media hype, the lies of who's ahead and consentrate on the issues. As for who's the worst sinner, who's forgiven and who's not, who's the true Christian and who's not, all you have to do is judge according to what the Scriptures say. If you know the Word of God it's a simple matter. Really...
This reply was deleted.