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The first flaw, explains Bagnel, is that Billy Graham really seems to be a "man of upright character and no dark side". We all know that this really should not be a flaw, and Rev. Bagnel, being a Christian minister, bravely declares that in spite of being rather dull, Billy Graham's spotless reputation is something for which "many of us are truly grateful".
But Graham's flawed character goes far deeper than this. Billy Graham, it appears, has a "simplistic, almost literalistic approach to the Bible". Bagnel regrets that, unlike a former evangelist and close friend, Charles Templeton, Graham did not turn his back on his evangelical faith. Templeton, who misses no opportunity to heap scorn on the faith of his "close friend", has apparently gained a deeper "biblical interpretation and moral range".
It is Graham's association with the power elites which seems to annoy Bagnel the most, however. Normally cutting and incisive interviewers such as David Frost and Larry King apparently only ask Graham "flattering `softball' questions that never raise real issues". And of course the fact that virtually every US President for the last 40 years has invited Billy Graham into the inner circle of the White House is a clear indictment of Graham's true character. The obvious conclusion of all this, according to Bagnel, is that Graham's "views are often so sympathetic to the powerful that they overlook the powerless".
Of all Bagnel's critiques, the most amazing is that Graham's preaching "has limited range, rarely raising at reasonable depth the ultimate, haunting questions that many thinking people face as they struggle against the secular tide to believe in a God who cares for us and for our destiny".
This is a profound critique of a person who has dedicated his life to addressing the questions of life and death; of heaven and hell; of time and eternity. Graham has personally addressed audiences in virtually every major country and culture on earth. Through the medium of television and radio, his preaching has blanketed the earth. Such is his reputation that when he comes to a city, only the largest venues are even considered, and in most cases they are filled to capacity night after night.
And what do these crowds come for? They come to hear a preacher who will stand before them for 45 minutes with nothing more than his voice and the impact of his message to persuade them to publicly declare themselves followers of Jesus Christ. Having heard that message, thousands come forward, often with great emotion.
Who comes to hear Billy Graham? They come from every class and every nation--the rich and the poor, the brilliant and the simple, the young and the old, the famous and the obscure.
In light of all this, for a writer who obviously deems himself both balanced and intelligent to declare that Billy Graham "has limited range, rarely raising at reasonable depth the ultimate, haunting questions" is too incredible to let pass without comment.
I have two questions for Rev. Bagnel and his colleagues: If the crowds who come to hear this elder statesman of the Christian world do not represent humanity, then one wonders who might represent it? And if the questions and challenges of life and eternity, of choosing and the consequences of choosing are not considered ultimate, what questions would be considered more important? It makes one wonder.
James Toews is senior pastor of Neighbourhood Church in Nanaimo, B.C. This article was originally published in the Nanaimo Daily News.
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