Quote:
Originally Posted by kstar
Billy Graham came out for Vietnam and the Gulf War, to me that is encouraging people to vote for candidates that support those. He also supposedly became friends with Kim Jong Il, and called him a "different kind of communitst." To me- a very political move.
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Are you really suggesting that no member of the clergy should talk about politics at all? Not just in the pulpit but ever?
And where do you get that he "supported the Gulf War," especially in such a way as to constitute an endorsement of candidates that supported it (especially given that it was over before any presidential election)? The fact that Bush asked him for advice on the "just war" doctrine?
Yes, Billy Graham was very anticommunist, the context in which his comment about Kim Il Sung (not Kim Jong Il) and his support of the Vietnam War have to be understood. Exactly how did that support equal endorsement of a candidate? One can certainly take sides on an issue without implicitly endorsing any candidate who shares the same position. Or are you suggesting that everyone who speaks out against the Iraq War is endorsing Ralph Nader?
The reality is he made it a policy early on not to endorse any candidate or party, and he has never done so.
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