Bo Garrett World Literature II May 5, 2011

Billy Graham
William Franklin Graham, Jr., respectively known as Billy Graham, was born November 7, 1918 to William Franklin Graham I (18881962) and Morrow Coffey (1892 1981), on a dairy farm near Charlotte, North Carolina. Graham was raised in the Associate Reformed Presbyterian Church by his parents. He was almost expelled from college, but Bob Jones, Sr. (Founder and first President of Bob Jones College) warned him not to throw his life away: "At best, all you could amount to would be a poor country Baptist preacher somewhere out in the sticks.... You have a voice that pulls. God can use that voice of yours. He can use it mightily." He eventually graduated from Wheaton College in Wheaton, Illinois with a degree in anthropology. It was during his time in Wheaton that Billy accepted the Bible as the infallible word of God. Billy Graham is by far one of the most admired Americans in U.S. history. His style draws emotion by using logistic and spiritual combinations to teach lessons about life. His popular appeal was the result of his extraordinary charisma, his forceful preaching, and his simple, homespun message: anyone who repents of sins and accepts Jesus Christ will be saved. Billy vowed to never be alone in a room with a woman besides his wife Ruth in order to avoid any negative assumptions. This later became known as the Billy Graham Rule. He has numerous books, but just to mention a few are: The Secret of Happiness (1955, 1985), Answers to Life's Problems (1988), and Hope for the Troubled Heart (1991). He has a few titles such as, Greatest Living American and Reverend Billy Graham. I would compare Billy Graham to

Thomas Merton because of their similar themes of spiritual concepts and connections through logistic and spiritual understanding of life. These men were strongly touched by God and were not convinced by any other religion. The two men used flippant tones to drive home their meaning and on numerous occasions they were guilty of stepping on the toes of others. Billy Graham is 92 years of age and currently lives in Montreat, North Carolina. He has five children and their names are Franklin, Nelson, Virginia, Anne, and Ruth. He has several prestigious accommodations such as, the Congressional Gold Medal from the United States Congress and the Presidential Medal of Freedom from Ronald Reagan (America's highest civilian honors), he was the first Protestant to receive an honorary degree from Belmont Abbey College (a Roman Catholic school), he was awarded Big Brother of the Year Award for his work on behalf of children, Billy has received the Templeton Foundation Prize for Progress in Religion, and he was honored by the American Jewish Committee with its National Interreligious Award for his efforts on the behalf of Jewish-Christian relations.

To conclude, Billy Graham was and still is a well known figure in America. His powerful sermons that combined a logistic and spiritual undertone, as well as his driving voice that drew people towards him are why I believe Mr. Graham is a genius.

Billy Grahams Prayer For Our Nation

Heavenly Father, we come before you today to ask your forgiveness and to seek your direction and guidance. We know Your Word says, Woe to those who call evil good, but that is exactly what we have done. We have lost our spiritual equilibrium and reversed our values. We have exploited the poor and called it the lottery. We have rewarded laziness and called it welfare. We have killed our unborn and called it choice. We have shot abortionists and called it justifiable. We have neglected to discipline our children and called it building self esteem. We have abused power and called it politics. We have coveted our neighbors possessions and called it ambition. We have polluted the air with profanity and pornography and called it freedom of expression. We have ridiculed the time-honored values of our forefathers and called it enlightenment. Search us, Oh God, and know our hearts today; cleanse us from every sin and Set us free. Amen.

Quotes of Billy Graham

Courage is contagious. When a brave man takes a stand, the spines of others are often stiffened. God will prepare everything for our perfect happiness in heaven, and if it takes my dog being there, I believe he'll be there God has given us two hands, one to receive with and the other to give with. It is not the body's posture, but the heart's attitude that counts when we pray. Man has two great spiritual needs. One is for forgiveness. The other is for goodness. You're born. You suffer. You die. Fortunately, there's a loophole. A child who is allowed to be disrespectful to his parents will not have true respect for anyone. When wealth is lost, nothing is lost; when health is lost, something is lost; when character is lost, all is lost. Suppose you could gain everything in the whole world, and lose your soul. Was it worth it? Being a Christian is more than just an instantaneous conversion - it is a daily process whereby you grow to be more and more like Christ The highest form of worship is the worship of unselfish Christian service. The greatest form of praise is the sound of consecrated feet seeking out the lost and helpless. In my travels I have found that those who keep Heaven in view remain serene and cheerful in the darkest day. If the glories of Heaven were more real to us, if we lived less for material things and more for things eternal and spiritual, we would be less easily disturbed by this present life. People have become so empty that they can't even entertain themselves. They have to pay other people to amuse them, to make them laugh, to try to make them feel warm and happy and comfortable for a few minutes, to try to lose that awful, frightening, hollow feeling--that terrible, dreaded feeling of being lost and alone. I have been asked on hundreds of times in my life why God allows tragedy and suffering. I have to confess that I really do not know the answer totally, even to my own satisfaction. I have to accept, by faith, that God is sovereign, and He is a God of love and mercy and compassion in the midst of suffering.