More than 17,000 people have signed petition calling for evangelical pastor Franklin Graham to be fired for supporting former President Donald Trump’s alleged role in the Jan. 6 demonstration at the US Capitol.
The petition, drawn up by Christian organization Faith America, demands that Graham be dropped from the Samaritan’s Purse and the Bill Graham Evangelistic Association for his “idolatry” of the former president.
“With blasphemous preachers like Graham blessing Trump’s Big Lie and pretending ‘antifa’ was behind the attack, it’s no wonder the failed coup featured crosses and ‘Jesus saves’ banners and flags. Graham and the religious right must be held accountable for their deadly dishonesty,” the petition states.
Faithful America accused Graham of pushing Trump’s claims that the 2020 presidential election was stolen, thereby lying to his congregants and other Republican voters.
Graham’s actions went against his own late father’s teachings, the organization claimed.
Though he was an adviser to several presidents, Billy Graham, argued against mixing religion and politics, the group explained.
“Graham gets away with his hatred and conspiracy-theories by hiding behind the humanitarian work of Samaritan’s Purse and his late father’s name,” the petition said.
“It’s time for Samaritan’s Purse and the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association (BGEA) to realize that by propping up Franklin’s unchristian extremism, they are abandoning their Gospel missions, undermining democracy, and helping incite white-nationalist sedition.”
Paul Saber, who serves on the board of directors for both Samaritan’s Purse and the BGEA, said both organizations plan to stand by Graham and slammed Faithful America for fabricating “this lie that [Graham] incited violence at the Capitol.”
“The Boards of Directors for Samaritan’s Purse and the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association have expressed that they fully support Franklin Graham and are more than satisfied with the job he has done and is doing in leading these ministries,” Saber said in a statement.
“Franklin Graham was not in Washington, D.C., and he did not encourage people to go to the Capitol on January 6,” he added.
Ironically, the petition itself might also be seen as crossing the line into political advocacy.
Its language parroted the baseless, inflammatory rhetoric used by congressional Democrats to quell dissenting voices as they move to assume complete, unfettered control of the legislative and executive branches (with the prospect of court-packing to complete the trifecta not far off).
The Left has long sought to neutralize the influence of groups like the Christian Coalition and the Moral Majority in GOP fundraising and policy-making, although it has only more recently begun efforts to infiltrate the church itself.
Doing so was one of 45 objectives promoted by the Soviet Union in 1963 for how it might effect a bloodless communist revolution in America:
27. Infiltrate the churches and replace revealed religion with “social” religion. Discredit the Bible.
