When "History" Becomes Religion

So the North Carolina Museum of History allows the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association to design and execute a special Billy Graham hagiography in 5,000 history-free feet of museum space, whitewashing over and airbrushing out anything that doesn't tend to suggest that the man is a living saint and all-round useful Republican symbol. The whole exhibit capped off by video of heir and theocratic bully Franklin Graham lecturing the museum-goer on the true meaning of being such a Towering Figure of Godliness.

This is Billy Graham without context, completely outside history and therefore unhistorical, mounted proudly and non-transparently (no info anywhere that the exhibit is 100% financed and scripted by the Billy Graham Evangelistic Assn.) in the state history museum.

And once he's shuffled off this mortal coil, we'll have his graven image set up in the U.S. Capitol as the living embodiment of everything North Carolina stands for since the Republican Right took over every lever of power in this backward-moving state.

What will history say about that?

Senator Soucek Gets Jiggy With Graven Images

Every state of the Union gets two statues in the famous Statuary Hall in the U.S. Capitol. North Carolina's two honorees are currently former governors Zebulon Vance and Charles B. Aycock.

Zeb Vance was a big slave-owner and a Confederate military officer. Aycock was a big proponent of public education and a major segregationist. At the moment, Aycock's reputation is under a cloud, though why Aycock is now singled out -- and Zeb Vance isn't -- for having his statue thrown out of Statuary Hall is an interesting case of political opportunity and egregious ass-kissing.

And who's puckered up to kiss major ass? Senator Dan Soucek.

'Cause Senator Dan wants a statue of Rev. Billy Graham to replace former Gov. Charles B. Aycock in Statuary Hall in DeeCee. No kidding. Soucek told John Newsom that his "ah-ha!" moment came while visiting Statuary Hall with a constituent who told Soucek about Aycock's white supremacist past.

Thus, behold! Soucek is the primary sponsor of S529, A BILL TO BE ENTITLED AN ACT REQUESTING THE JOINT COMMITTEE ON THE LIBRARY OF CONGRESS TO APPROVE THE REPLACEMENT OF THE STATUE OF CHARLES BRANTLEY AYCOCK IN NATIONAL STATUARY HALL WITH A STATUE OF THE REVEREND WILLIAM FRANKLIN "BILLY" GRAHAM, JR.

Isn't Soucek employed by Billy Graham's son Franklin Graham at Samaritan's Purse? According to the Republican NC Caucus, he is, since 2004. Did Franklin Graham put Soucek up to this? Soucek told Newsom that "another constituent" made the suggestion. Another constituent with private jets and deep pockets, who pays Soucek's salary?

From which naked toadying we turn away in embarrassment, leaving the historical, architectural, and cultural heap of Soucek's wreckage for others to unpack at their leisure.

Billy Graham: In Control of His Public Voice?

In a January 2011 interview with Christianity Today, Graham said one of the things he would have done differently in his life is that he "would have steered clear of politics. … Looking back I know I sometimes crossed the line…. I wouldn't do that now."

Which makes Billy Graham's recent decision to endorse Mitt Romney for President, while scrubbing an article calling Mormonism a cult from the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association website, all the more puzzling ... especially to the editors at Christianity Today.

Their majority conclusion? It's not Billy Graham saying and doing these things. It's his son Franklin, the Svengali manipulator.

This Page Describing Mormonism as a Cult Has Been Removed from the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association Website

Mitt and Billy Graham. The hands to Graham's left belong to Franklin Graham
.(AP Photo/ Evan Vucci)

"BGEA: What is a cult?"

The above is the archived page. It used to be on the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association website. It says unequivocally that Mormonism is a cult.

Try searching for this page now, and you get "Our apologies, but the article you requested doesn't exist." But through the miracle of "nothing ever goes away permanently on the Web," it is still retrievable. And you can read Billy Graham's opinion from Wednesday that Mormonism is a cult "which teaches doctrines or beliefs that deviate from the biblical message of the Christian faith."

Billy Graham met with Mitt Romney on Thursday in Montreat, NC, and told him that he wanted to do "all I can" to see him elected president.

All previous statements are now inoperable.

Hattip: Laura Leslie

The Billy Graham Ghost-Writers

"Let me tell you about Billy Graham, just as he is," writes Steve Knight, "because based on what I experienced working for the man for six years, two statements issued under his name last week (and one earlier this year) significantly collide with the well-established values of this great humble faith leader."

The statements issued in Billy Graham's name that Mr. Knight is referring to were the political calls to action to pass the anti-gay Amendment 1 in May and the more recent evangelical support for a certain chicken-centric mega-corporation's anti-gay pugnaciousness. Mr. Knight on the shifting priorities at the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association (BGEA), which put out the statements in Mr. Graham's name:

Mr. Graham had never made political statements like this in the 62-year history of the ministry, and BGEA's evangelistic crusades have never partnered with corporations like Chick-fil-A, although they easily could have .... Now, to have three of these statements come out in the past three months -- and a very obvious commercial for a fast-food chain -- causes me to wonder if this trickle will turn into a flood, right at the end of Billy's life.

Mr. Knight sees the hand of Franklin Graham in all this politicizing of evangelism, and if this is indeed how things are working, it's waaay beyond cynical. It's downright cruel:

My concern is that here's how things like this continue to work: Franklin Graham (or Franklin and his sister Anne Graham Lotz) have an agenda (in all three of these cases, "traditional marriage"), they get a BGEA copywriter to draft the text, then a BGEA graphic designer does the layout (in the case of the ad), Franklin approves the copy and/or design, then Franklin drives out to Little Piney Cove (Billy's cabin home outside of Asheville, N.C.) and holds the piece of paper in front of Billy and asks, "Daddy, can we publish this?" And Billy nods (or whatever he's capable of doing at this point in his life), and Franklin goes back and publishes this stuff with his good father's name all over it. 

Billy Graham is 93 years old, in the advanced stages of Parkinson's disease (among a host of other age-related ailments). He's been having fluid drained from his brain on a regular basis for over a decade. When I worked for BGEA and Mr. Graham was still leading evangelistic crusades around the country, it was well-known that all of his sermons, articles, letters and books were ghostwritten -- and had been for quite some time.

April Is the Pharisee's Month

When asked by Christianity Today back in January if there was anything he regretted, Billy Graham said he should have studied more and preached less, and then this:

"I also would have steered clear of politics. I'm grateful for the opportunities God gave me to minister to people in high places; people in power have spiritual and personal needs like everyone else, and often they have no one to talk to. But looking back I know I sometimes crossed the line, and I wouldn't do that now."

Meanwhile, his son Franklin got the Graham ego but not the message. He said on Sunday, on This Week with Christiane Amanpour, that Donald Trump might be The One, the Great White Hope, and he dropped a couple of two-ton tablets of The Law on Obama's "Muslim-seed" head, ruling him out of the Kingdom where Franklin Graham is B.M.O.C., because hey! Franklin Graham knows how to assess everyone's level of Christianity down to the finest points.

Watauga County's most famous citizen at the moment. Has no regrets. For the moment.

On the Menu at Montreat: Turkey Hash

Sarah Palin is having dinner with Franklin Graham and his father Billy tonight in western North Carolina.

Back-up to be provided by The Angel Chorus.

Holy Association

Photos of Boone mover-and-shaker Franklin Graham, posing with new NCGOP Chair Tom Fetzer and Franklin's father Billy Graham, were used by Fetzer at the Republican State Convention on Saturday to convey the unmistakable impression that he was endorsed by the Graham family.

McCain Kissing Some Rings in WNC

Senator John is outside Asheville today paying fealty to one branch of American churchiness represented by Billy Graham and his son Franklin.

McCain's denial that the visit has anything to do with politics is hilarious (and logic-defying):

"I think the Graham family really transcends politics in America. Billy Graham was an adviser to every president and so I'm not sure that there is any -- there certainly is no political aspect to the meeting that I will have."

McCain has been trying to convince Christian conservatives that he's one of them, and hanging out with the Grahams might help.

Plus McCain and Franklin Graham have a lot of mutual Middle Eastern war-lovin' to discuss. Franklin seemed to welcome the Iraq War as an expansion opportunity for his brand of evangelistic Christianity.