QuoteFor the last year, religious leaders have prepared Jacksonville for the biggest evangelistic event of the year.
In between crusades in Barcelona, Spain, and Lviv, Ukraine, Franklin Graham—son of Billy Graham and therefore the heir to an impressive and massive gospel-preaching network—will preach Friday, Saturday and Sunday nights at the Veterans Memorial Arena for the Greater Jacksonville Festival of Hope.
"People are searching and longing for something that they don't know they're searching and longing for," Graham told The Florida Times-Union. "People want to be loved. People want to know the truth. People want to know: Is there a God?
"If there is a God, do I register on his radar? Does he care? Does he know? Is he interested?" he said. "At the bottom of everyone's heart, they're wanting to know: Can I be forgiven? How can I have a right standing before God?"
Fifteen years ago, Billy Graham came here and filled the stadium and preached one of his final crusades. Billy Graham had also come to Jacksonville to preach a 1961 revival that this newspaper called the largest indoor audience ever in the city. He filled the Jacksonville Coliseum so much that the newspaper said worshipers sat in the aisles and stood in the corridors.
http://jacksonville.com/news/metro/2015-05-28/story/franklin-graham-son-greatest-modern-day-evangelist-will-preach (http://jacksonville.com/news/metro/2015-05-28/story/franklin-graham-son-greatest-modern-day-evangelist-will-preach)
He may be "the heir to an impressive and massive gospel-preaching network" but he is also an anti-gay, anti-Muslim nutjob.
Franklin Graham: Muslims Who 'Hate Israel And Hate Christians' Run The White House - See more at: http://www.rightwingwatch.org/content/franklin-graham-muslims-who-hate-israel-and-hate-christians-run-white-house#sthash.qbkPoXHT.dpuf
Franklin Graham: Gay Boy Scouts 'Put Young, Innocent Boys At Risk' - See more at: http://www.rightwingwatch.org/content/franklin-graham-gay-boy-scouts-put-young-innocent-boys-risk#sthash.E1U8OmZc.dpuf
Franklin Graham Says That Obama's Mother 'Must Have Been A Muslim' - See more at: http://www.rightwingwatch.org/content/franklin-graham-says-obamas-mother-must-have-been-muslim#sthash.hBwzMRAS.dpuf
Franklin Graham Blasts 'Anti-Christ' Obama Administration, 'Ungodly' World Vision For Accepting Gays - See more at: http://www.rightwingwatch.org/content/franklin-graham-blasts-anti-christ-obama-administration-ungodly-world-vision-accepting-gays#sthash.oEqczvxc.dpuf
The apple apparently doesn't fall that far from the tree.
Franklin Graham doesnt issue fatwas.
He doesnt call for holy wars against infidels.
He has a disaster relief charity that has helped many people no questions asked.
He isnt a murderer, doesnt fund a terrorist organization, doesnt launder dough or smuggles arms to the third world.
He doesnt blow up abortion clinics or protest at military funerals.
Quote from: spuwho on May 29, 2015, 12:25:36 PM
Franklin Graham doesnt issue fatwas.
He doesnt call for holy wars against infidels.
He has a disaster relief charity that has helped many people no questions asked.
He isnt a murderer, doesnt fund a terrorist organization, doesnt launder dough or smuggles arms to the third world.
He doesnt blow up abortion clinics or protest at military funerals.
So what? How does this list of what he doesn't do make him less of a nutjob?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Red_herring
Quote from: spuwho on May 29, 2015, 12:25:36 PM
Franklin Graham doesnt issue fatwas.
He doesnt call for holy wars against infidels.
He has a disaster relief charity that has helped many people no questions asked.
He isnt a murderer, doesnt fund a terrorist organization, doesnt launder dough or smuggles arms to the third world.
He doesnt blow up abortion clinics or protest at military funerals.
We set such a low bar, don't we?
At least he's not a warring, murderer, terrorist, abortion clinic bomber. He's okay in my book, then.
I don't know anything about Franklin, except that he removed Mormonism as on of the religions referred to as a cult by the ministry. This was when Romney was running against Obama.
That says a lot for a ministry whose primary purpose is evangelism.
http://www.cbsnews.com/news/billy-grahams-organization-removes-mormonism-from-its-list-of-cults/
(http://www.cbsnews.com/news/billy-grahams-organization-removes-mormonism-from-its-list-of-cults/)
If we're evaluating people based on the worst of society, it doesn't say much for the society.
I think your comment is humorous. Thank you.
Quote from: TheCat on May 29, 2015, 12:52:47 PM
I think your comment is humorous. Thank you.
You're welcome. Laugh it up.
The Army rescinded its invitation to evangelist Franklin Graham for the National Day of Prayer at the Pentagon over controversial remarks he made. http://www.cnn.com/2010/US/04/23/graham.islam.controversy/
Graham praises genocidal regime in Sudan http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/02/13/AR2007021301255.html?nav=rss_world/africa
Quote from: finehoe on May 29, 2015, 12:44:13 PM
Quote from: spuwho on May 29, 2015, 12:25:36 PM
Franklin Graham doesnt issue fatwas.
He doesnt call for holy wars against infidels.
He has a disaster relief charity that has helped many people no questions asked.
He isnt a murderer, doesnt fund a terrorist organization, doesnt launder dough or smuggles arms to the third world.
He doesnt blow up abortion clinics or protest at military funerals.
So what? How does this list of what he doesn't do make him less of a nutjob?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Red_herring
Call it whatever, I was being sarcastic. (Except about his charity)
Must be tough being judgemental on those who are criticized for being so.......judgemental.
Per Jacksonville.com:
http://jacksonville.com/news/crime/2015-05-31/story/festival-hope-brings-thousands-veterans-memorial-arena (http://jacksonville.com/news/crime/2015-05-31/story/festival-hope-brings-thousands-veterans-memorial-arena)
Franklin Graham, son of the well-known evangelist Billy Graham, preached to those in attendance about the need for hope and to turn to Jesus for salvation. His preaching came among a host of musical acts including The Charlie Daniels Band that performed Sunday.
Eric Boatieller, festival director, said about 300 churches participated with about 1,000 volunteers each day helping the festival run smoothly.
He said festival organizers counted about 5,000 people Friday, 8,500 people Saturday and a final count wasn't available Sunday, but the expected total festival attendance was about 20,000 people.
20,000 suckers
Quote from: finehoe on May 29, 2015, 01:03:15 PM
Quote from: TheCat on May 29, 2015, 12:52:47 PM
I think your comment is humorous. Thank you.
You're welcome. Laugh it up.
The Army rescinded its invitation to evangelist Franklin Graham for the National Day of Prayer at the Pentagon over controversial remarks he made. http://www.cnn.com/2010/US/04/23/graham.islam.controversy/
Graham praises genocidal regime in Sudan http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/02/13/AR2007021301255.html?nav=rss_world/africa
I was referring to spuwho's comment.
Quote from: spuwho on May 29, 2015, 01:58:54 PM
Quote from: finehoe on May 29, 2015, 12:44:13 PM
Quote from: spuwho on May 29, 2015, 12:25:36 PM
Franklin Graham doesnt issue fatwas.
He doesnt call for holy wars against infidels.
He has a disaster relief charity that has helped many people no questions asked.
He isnt a murderer, doesnt fund a terrorist organization, doesnt launder dough or smuggles arms to the third world.
He doesnt blow up abortion clinics or protest at military funerals.
So what? How does this list of what he doesn't do make him less of a nutjob?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Red_herring
Call it whatever, I was being sarcastic. (Except about his charity)
Must be tough being judgemental on those who are criticized for being so.......judgemental.
Don't even bother. If you aren't a die-hard liberal, you're a "nutjob".
Count me as a nut job then, LOL. Graham being anti-Muslim, ooohh.... Because Muslim people are well known for being tolerant to Christians...Especially with all of these countless Christian executions by ISIS nowadays.
^^^Of course, the obligatory 'Here I come to save the day!!!" liberal defending Islam, totally predictable...ISIS are jihadists, which is apart of Islam. Many mainstream Muslim people don't actually do the horrific acts of violence, but totally subscribes to ISIS's philosophy, which is a Islamic takeover of the world.
The most notable modern example of the "equal ISIS" organization examples is Antibalaka IMO; They are defending themselves against Islam, even VICE covered it. It's's a dog-eat dog situation there in CAR; Contrary to the liberal belief that Christians aren't being attacked in CAR.
Quote from: I-10east on June 01, 2015, 08:56:00 PM
Count me as a nut job then, LOL. Graham being anti-Muslim, ooohh.... Because Muslim people are well known for being tolerant to Christians...Especially with all of these countless Christian executions by ISIS nowadays.
Sorry, but that's just a bigoted comment. None of my Muslim neighbors or work colleagues has ever been less than tolerant. How many Muslims do you know, personally?
Muslims are the same as Christians and everyone else - they're just people who go to a different church.
^^^I was generalizing... I don't think that everything is all kumbaya like you wanna believe that these opposing religions are.
Quote from: I-10east on June 02, 2015, 07:32:52 AM
^^^I was generalizing... I don't think that everything is all kumbaya like you wanna believe that these opposing religions are.
Of course you were generalizing. And that's the problem. It's dehumanizing and wrong. There are estimated to be over a billion Muslims worldwide (I think). I'm sure a lot - or even most - of them have beliefs I would find incompatible with my way of life. But I think it's fair to assume that the vast majority of these people are not terrorists. In fact, due to the large number of Muslims in the world, it's likely that all the Muslim terrorists combined represent a statistically insignificant number.
People seem very comfortable making distinctions between Christian and Jewish extremists and "most" Christians and Jews. Same thing for gun-owning nutjobs who commit mass murders and "most" gun owners (or "responsible" gun owners) - yet when it comes to Islam, people make blanket statements about Muslim tolerance towards other groups, etc. Or tar them with the brush of ISIS or Boko Haram, etc.
I don't think Islam or any other religion (no idea what you mean by "opposing religions") is "all kumbaya". I just don't agree with making sweeping statements against entire groups of people. As I said, that's dehumanizing.
Sometimes it seems that the people who make the most noise about Muslims tend to be the ones who don't really know any Muslims.
^^^Adam, if you're gonna bring up an argument with me, atleast look at what I said, without putting words in my mouth. I never said that all Muslims are terrorists, but I did say that many (who AREN'T blowing themselves up, throwing homosexuals off of buildings etc etc) in Islam subscribe to Islamists extremists view points (not all). There are pollings that back up what I said (Sharia Law, death to whoever draws Muhammad etc etc etc).
Please chill with all of these liberal-esque shaming words (dehumanizing, bigoted, racists, Islamophobe etc) I do think that you are naively underplaying the rift between many Christians and many Muslims. I don't think that they currently are both the same (Muslims and Christians); One is obviously has a more hostile faction right now.
Quote from: I-10east on June 02, 2015, 08:34:38 AM
^^^Adam, if you're gonna bring up an argument with me, atleast look at what I said, without putting words in my mouth. I never said that all Muslims are terrorists, but I did say that many (who AREN'T blowing themselves up, throwing homosexuals off of buildings etc etc) in Islam subscribe to Islamists extremists view points (not all). There are pollings that back up what I said (Sharia Law, death to whoever draws Muhammad etc etc etc).
Please chill with all of these liberal-esque shaming words (dehumanizing, bigoted, racists, Islamophobe etc) I do think that you are naively underplaying the rift between many Christians and many Muslims. I don't think that they currently are both the same (Muslims and Christians); One is obviously has a more hostile faction right now.
You are the one who said you are generalizing.
And please chill with the use of "liberal". I am not a liberal and I don't appreciate the label.
Quote from: WarDamJagFan on June 01, 2015, 05:05:19 PM
If you aren't a die-hard liberal, you're a "nutjob".
So if you think it isn't a sane vs. nutjub thing, but a conservative vs liberal thing, as a non-liberal you presumably also believe that God will punish America for the Obama administration's support for gay rights, that Obama's mother (actually an agnostic) must have been a Muslim because she married a Muslim man (actually an atheist), that all gay men are pedophiles, and that the White House has been "infiltrated by Muslims".
I heard Dr Dre, Beats and Apple have developed a new product.
Its a new stereo keyboard for the iPhone.
It allows people to type in high fidelity.
Quote from: finehoe on June 02, 2015, 11:45:06 AM
Quote from: WarDamJagFan on June 01, 2015, 05:05:19 PM
If you aren't a die-hard liberal, you're a "nutjob".
So if you think it isn't a sane vs. nutjub thing, but a conservative vs liberal thing, as a non-liberal you presumably also believe that God will punish America for the Obama administration's support for gay rights, that Obama's mother (actually an agnostic) must have been a Muslim because she married a Muslim man (actually an atheist), that all gay men are pedophiles, and that the White House has been "infiltrated by Muslims".
Seriously, I think its time you grab yourself a beer.
Quote from: WarDamJagFan on June 02, 2015, 02:51:44 PM
Seriously, I think its time you grab yourself a beer.
You buyin'? :-*
I've met several muslims in jax, there is quite a large community here, and all of them have been nice, normal people. The reverse can't really be said; wasnt that long ago some redneck tried to blow up their mosque. I don't think we can paint with quite so broad a brush here.
What a winner
http://money.cnn.com/2015/06/09/news/companies/franklin-graham-lgbt-wells-fargo/index.html
There is an old school approach and there is a new school approach.
Franklin Graham represents the old school approach.
This NY Times article reviews the new school approach.
http://mobile.nytimes.com/2015/06/09/us/some-evangelicals-take-new-look-at-bibles-stance-on-gays.html?referrer=&_r=0
Evangelist Franklin Graham Moves Millions To Bank Sponsoring Miami Pride In Failed Boycott
If you're going to do something, do it right. Words to live by, no?
Moving from one tired cliche to the next, Evangelist Franklin Graham might have done well to consider this advice before his very public, very misguided crusade against businesses that support LGBT equality.
Last week he railed against companies like Tiffany's and Wells Fargo for advertising gay wedding rings and, well, storing gay people's money. What would you have us do, Billy? Keep our cash rolled up and tucked away in our BDSM dungeons/devil worshiping altars?
He promised to take decisive action, urging his fellow "Christians" on Facebook, "Let's just stop doing business with those who promote sin and stand against Almighty God's laws and His standards."
Graham moved all of the Billy Graham Evangelical Association's (BGEA) business dealings away from those evil homo-sinners at Wells Fargo and into the vaults of North Carolina-based BB&T.
The same BB&T that's sponsoring this year's Miami Beach Gay Pride Parade. The same bank that was awarded a 'high' rating in the Human Rights Campaign's 2015 Corporate Equality Index.
Graham later backpedaled, saying it was never about a business being gay-friendly, but rather "corporate advertising to promote lifestyles that are counter to what God's Word teaches."
So using profits to sponsor pride parades is OK, but advertising to reach new customers isn't?
It isn't surprising that Graham wouldn't quite grasp the idea of being inclusive to keep up with the times and grow a business — GBEA's $107.7 million 2014 income proves there's dependable money in exploiting fear.
http://www.queerty.com/evangelist-franklin-graham-moves-millions-to-bank-sponsoring-miami-pride-in-failed-boycott-20150612