What Billy Graham's Death And His Son Franklin's Rise Reveal About America

At the death of a patriarch, it is only a natural moment to compare the son to his father.

America’s most famous preacher, Billy Graham, rose to the heights of religious power in America by uniting evangelicalism after a fundamentalist crisis in the early 20th century. His son, Franklin Graham, the heir to his religious empire, has risen to prominence by embracing the divisions of our time. The difference between father and son says as much about America as it does about the two men.

The elder Graham’s death at age 99 on Wednesday prompts a moment of particular soul searching for millions of evangelicals across the nation. Graham was diplomat, statesman, and personal counselor to presidents since Dwight D. Eisenhower. He single-handedly made evangelicalism relevant in the highest halls of power and in every nation across the globe. As Pope John Paul II was for Catholics, Graham was a beloved family member for evangelicals who shaped their daily lives around devotion to Jesus. He stood for unity across Christian traditions and across political divides. He represented gentleness, and he asked nations to be better.

His son Franklin Graham represents a very different way.

Franklin, 66, rose to political prominence in recent years as Billy Graham disappeared from public life to his home in the North Carolina mountains to finish out his days. Franklin has been the elder Graham’s successor, and for the past two decades has run his dad’s Billy Graham Evangelistic Association and the international humanitarian organization Samaritan’s Purse.

Source: Yahoo News