RIP: Billy Graham
 

Probably the most famous American religious figure passed away at the age of 99.

Billy Graham: Remembering America's Pastor : NPR

Many a people owe their faith to Billy Graham

Could be a good Mt. Rushmore question.

What a life lived. Regardless of religious beliefs, we can learn a lot from him about how to maximize your life.

RIP

I got to meet/interact with him on a few occasions. When I was dating my wife, my long-time roommate was dating one of Billy's granddaughters, so the four of us had numerous double dates, and were part of each others' weddings. (The two weddings were just 8 weeks apart, in May and July of 1998.) I had long known who Noelle's grandfather was, but when she asked me to lead a few worship songs before the rehearsal dinner, it didn't occur to me that I'd be leading worship with Billy and Ruth Graham sitting on the front row.That was, uh, a little intimidating.

Couple more quick anecdotes...

1. He didn't perform the ceremony, but he did speak at the wedding. To be perfectly honest, as this fragile guy (he could barely walk then...all the way back in '98) shuffled up to the front with both a cane and human assistance, I was feeling a little judgmental toward Noelle for having him speak. He looked so frail and pathetic that it seemed like I was about to witness Michael Jordan playing for the Washington Wizards or something like that. "Just let him be here and in the pictures and not embarrass himself," I thought to myself.

Then he spoke. Uh, wow.

I'm not capable of expressing the power and conviction that boomed from that frail-looking old man as he talked about his granddaughter and God's purpose for marriage. It was....just amazing.

2. Fast-forward to 2010. Noelle invited us and one other couple with whom we'd been friends back in Atlanta to join them for a long fall weekend trip to the Grahams' former home in Montreat. Leaves changing. Old friends reconnecting. Seven kids ages 7 and under. All that. On one of the afternoons, we went up the mountain to the home where "Daddy Bill" lived. The attached picture was taken there...

....30 seconds before my then-18-month-old daughter threw an EPIC 2ish-minute-long tempter tantrum right there on the floor at Billy Graham's feet.

AWESOME PARENTING FAIL MEMORY!

Godspeed, sir.

Great picture!

So, uh the granddaughter of Billy you talk about... she ain't the daughter of Franklin is she?

A great eulogy. I love it when Billy refused to be baited by the culture wars.

Nope. Ruth.

Billy Graham
Joel Osteen
Oral Roberts
Robert Schuller

Joseph Smith would need to be on there

If the Mt. Rushmore doesn't have Jonathan Edwards, it's bunk ;).

Though, famous as in by who the common folk know, or famous as in prominent?

Don't forget L Ron Hubbard!

Osteen?

Spurgeon would be a better choice.

An underappreciated part of his legacy,

Billy Graham held his first integrated rally in 1953, taking down the physical barriers himself. He wrote an article for entitled, "No Color Line in Heaven" for Ebony magazine in 1957. In 1963, he bailed MLK out of jail.

The Gospel is freely given, and all are welcome to it.

— Mark Hemingway (@Heminator) February 21, 2018

Not threadjacking, but can't get past this one. Osteen is nothing but a straight up conman. jmo.

I assume that Trump would be speaking at his funeral, which is a shame considering that Trump doesn't belong on the same stage as Graham. I saw Graham for 2 days back in the day. Very captivating teacher. Quite the humanitarian and someone that is actually deserving of respect for his service to the people.

Wait...Spurgeon isn't British???

Ok..yeah..he is. Thought I was crazy there for a minute.

The question was most famous though, wasn't it? if that's the question, does it matter what his(unknowable) motivations are?

My mistake. Piper or Macarthur would be better than Osteen. A rock would even be better

I'd go back for Jonathan Edwards.

Though I hate to join in the threadjack on Billy with Mt. Rushmore, I can't help myself. Somebody big you're forgetting: Martin Luther King, Jr.

So, without too much thought going into it, for "religious" Americans, I'd suggest ...

Billy Graham
Martin Luther King, Jr.
Jonathan Edwards
Joseph Smith

Fr. Coughlin has a good argument for Mt. Rushmore.

That walking, talking sack of shit normalized hate and violence against the LGBTQ communuity. Fuck that asshole, I hope his death was long and painful.

That...and his anti-semitism. Fuck that guy.

I feel like Roger Williams should be mentioned for the Mt Rushmore

Taken out of context this really puts a damper on the entire thread.

He'd been dying for 99 years, hope this makes you feel better.

99 years too late

Look at the words, here. Hard to really make a point against "hate" when you're working so hard to stir up more of it.

Perfect example of why I don’t come to this place anymore. If you don’t hate the correct people, and support the right people, you have no voice at FOFC.

Hate is hate and it doesn’t matter what side you’re on. I feel really sad for people like Todd. Must have lot of hurt in his heart to feel like that.

This might be the greatest quote in the history of FOFC (but I may be prone to exaggeration)

Yet you're here.


Is someone being silenced? Or do people just disagree?


Hate often breeds hate. Billy Graham has said some pretty hateful stuff in his life especially regarding the LGBT community. That's going to get a reaction from that community and their supporters. It's even more insulting when the guy is looked to as some sort of role model and top tier spiritual advisor.

As a member of that community, am I happy that one of the main voices against LGBT can no longer be heard? Yes I am. But I recognize that there are people here like Ben and Rev (I think) who respected him and found their faith through him and others like him. So no I won't go "dancing on his grave", and I wouldn't choose here as a place to badmouth him.

So condolesences to those who are grieving him, and I hope you now do not turn to the likes of his son Franklin, who is firmly in the grips of anti-LGBT hate groups in looking for the next "America's Pastor"

Snowflakes TRIGGERED after one insists Men & Women DIFFERENT - YouTube

Speaking of reactions