some round about interviewing

My mother used to like the church, she also used to like the Reverend Billy Graham a lot. There have been a lot of things over the years that have eroded her connection to both and I find it suprising that more Americans have not had the same feeling of "hey that's not quite right...". Just skimming over a newsweek interview with Billy Graham's son Franklin also a reverend I believe, just shows you how someone who said something incredibly 'not -PC' is trying to maintain his integrity as a credible man and person of the faith, with all the toleration and moral attitude that you may expect from those that are tenets of organized religion.

Here are some quips I found rather... round about answers and contradictory. Does the rest of America not scratch their heads over this, or does religious doctrine and agreement just cause a mass head nod of agreement?

Newsweek:The president seemed to signal that he was OK with civil unions in the last weeks of the campaign. Is your objection to marriage as a word?

grahamThis was an issue that I think in this election where people finally said, “I’ve had it. I don’t want that agenda being forced and pushed and mandated on me.” You can’t legislate morality. A homosexual’s sins are no different than a heterosexual’s sins. If I go out tonight and I sleep with someone who’s not my wife, it’s just as great a sin as gay people [having sex]. Sin is sin.

*keep this answer in your head. interesting, 'the people finally said'. finally said what? civil unions and gay marriage hasn't exactly been pushed on america in all 50 states and is a super hot issue threatening to undermime the morality of america. he says you can't legislate morality, i believe the legislation was EXACTLY to legislate morality, why did we sign into law in probably 200% more states that gay marriage is ILLEGAL. then, he's right a sin is a sin, if you sleep with someone that's not your wife you are performing adultry. sin. must have missed a lesson in making analogies in middle school english, because adultry and gay sex have nothing to do with one another and doesn't even provide a semi coherent illustration of what he's trying to say, which is nothing anyways.

Newsweek:Some people have said that the evangelical community has a disproportionate amount of interest about what goes on people’s sex lives as opposed to spending more time fighting poverty, healing the sick, feeding the hungry and trying to do more that is in line with Jesus’ teachings.

grahamI don’t have an interest in what goes on in other people’s bedrooms. I think it’s a fascination by the media. When I go around with other Christian leaders, we don’t have those conversations, “Hey, Franklin, did you hear who’s sleeping with so-and-so?”

*for someone who just answered the question that he really cares about people sinning and sleeping with people other than their wives and gay sex, it's interesting that he says he has no interest in what's going in the bedrooms of america. he doesn't care about who's sleeping with so and so but apparently he cares about sodomy and gays making out. go figure. maybe i read the answer wrong.

Newsweek:You were quoted a couple years ago as calling Islam an “evil and wicked religion.” Would you care to revisit that comment?

grahamThose comments started a debate in this country. I don’t know what I can add to it. I respect the people of the Islamic faith that have come to this country. I have Muslim friends. But that doesn’t stop me from wanting to help them. That doesn’t stop me from loving them. I certainly don’t believe the way they believe, and they don’t believe the way I believe, either. That doesn’t make me dislike them, and I love them very much. I want to do all I can to help them. In Khartoum, we have been working for years in a mission in the south. I want to demonstrate to those Muslims that my love for them is sincere. I want them to know about God’s son, Jesus Christ. I want them to know but I certainly don’t want to force it on them. I would like some day for Muslims to know what Christians do.

*can you answer this in a more round about manner? no analysis necessary. cool he has muslim friends. he says he doesn't want to convert people but he wants them to know jesus,... which is converting people. ok.


Newsweek:Talk about AIDS if you would. What work do you see that needs doing in that arena?

grahamI’m a pilot. If I am up at altitude and I am sitting inside the airplane and I stick my head out, I’m not going to live very long. God didn’t create me to live at 40,000 feet. I go to the Caymans each year, and I like to scuba dive. If I put my nose just a millimeter under water and I don’t have a breathing apparatus on, I’m not going to live very long because God didn’t make me to live underwater. If we get outside of God’s perimeters, we are at risk. When we use sex outside of how God intended sex to be used, we are at risk. People have to be educated as to what these risks are. What [distributing] condoms says is: “If you use this the risk is now dealt with. So enjoy sex however you want to use it because you’ll be safe.” Wrong, you’re not safe. And the only way you can be safe is to use sex as God intended: between a man and a woman in a married relationship. That’s not a message that the world wants to hear.

*i just think this is rather silly.

Newsweek:Was Brown v. Board of Education a case of activist judges making their own law?

grahamI don’t know; I’m not familiar with it. Look, there’s a lot of good that takes place in this country every day. In spite of all our problems, I am pro-American. I am pro-Republican, I am pro-Democrat and I am even pro-a-few-of-those-Independents-we’ve-got-laying-around. We’ve got a great nation. But I do believe that the majority of people, people of Christian faith, are under attack. No question about it.

* wow. for such a high profile figure... i would have thought he'd be at least somewhat familiar with Brown vs. Board. Billy Graham's son has never been pro-democrat... at least not that i've ever seen, i randomly went to him and his dad when they came to jacksonville in 2000, definately heard a giagantic speech about how we should all vote republican and for Bush. Democrat values, whatever they were/are at the time, demonized. Why are these people the spokesman for a large majority of the population?