My, How Christian Of Him

Franklin Graham is apologizing for his remarks last week questioning the President’s faith:

WASHINGTON (RNS) Evangelist Franklin Graham apologized Tuesday (Feb. 28) to President Obama for questioning his Christian faith and said religion has “nothing to do” with Graham’s decision not to support Obama’s re-election.

Graham’s apology came after a group of prominent black religious leaders criticized the evangelist for saying he did not know whether Obama is a Christian and suggesting that Islamic law considers him to be a Muslim.

Graham, president of the relief organization Samaritan’s Purse and the son of famed evangelist Billy Graham, said he now accepts Obama’s declarations that he is a Christian.

“I regret any comments I have ever made which may have cast any doubt on the personal faith of our president, Mr. Obama,” he said in a statement.

“I apologize to him and to any I have offended for not better articulating my reason for not supporting him in this election — for his faith has nothing to do with my consideration of him as a candidate.”

I’ll let others decide if Graham’s apology is genuine. Considering that last week wasn’t the first time that he’d questioned the President’s faith and then “apologized” for it, though, there is at least some evidence to doubt his sincerity.

FILED UNDER: 2012 Election, Religion, US Politics,
Doug Mataconis
About Doug Mataconis
Doug Mataconis held a B.A. in Political Science from Rutgers University and J.D. from George Mason University School of Law. He joined the staff of OTB in May 2010 and contributed a staggering 16,483 posts before his retirement in January 2020. He passed far too young in July 2021.

Comments

  1. Jsmith says:

    Will Franklin now apologize to Latter-Day Saints, having said the same thing about us?

  2. @Jsmith:

    Will the LDS apologize for saying non-Mormons aren’t Christian?

  3. Donald Sensing says:

    And yet President Obama, who has openly confessed Christian faith, would feel himself bound by Matthew 18:21-22, would he not?

    21Then Peter came to Jesus and asked, “Lord, how many times shall I forgive my brother when he sins against me? Up to seven times?”

    22Jesus answered, “I tell you, not seven times, but seventy-seven times.

  4. de stijl says:

    @Donald Sensing:

    And yet President Obama, who has openly confessed Christian faith, would feel himself bound by Leviticus 11:5, would he not?

    And the rock-badger, because he cheweth the cud but parteth not the hoof, he is unclean unto you.

  5. Gold Star for Robot Boy says:

    @Donald Sensing: So, the onus now is on Obama? Really?

  6. Jenos Idanian says:

    I’m curious about the theology behind Obama’s attitude towards charity. Apparently, in his Bible, Christ said the best way to aid the poor was to “give unto Caesar, and Caesar shall care for the poor.”

  7. sam says:

    @Jenos Idanian:

    I’m curious about the theology behind Obama’s attitude towards charity.

    To hear some rich folks talk, if what they say is true, they seem not to realize that he’s doing them a favor by removing burden from their shoulders, no?

    And again I say unto you, It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God.

  8. Jenos Idanian says:

    @sam: There are terms and sayings for those who do things for our own good, whether we want them to or not, and will even go so far as to get the force of law to make it illegal to refuse their “favors…”

    It’s why I don’t like mandated community service. There’s no virtue in doing good deeds when you are forced to perform them.

  9. Rick Almeida says:

    There’s no virtue in doing good deeds when you are forced to perform them.

    That’s your opinion, of course. It’s equally possible that the good is in the act, irrespective of motivation.

  10. Ron Beasley says:

    I’m an atheist and find all religion to be silly mythology. That said I had a great deal of respect for Billy Graham. I can’t say the same for his son Franklin who is an intolerant ass and a charlatan.

  11. Justin Christian says:

    Most adults remember the days when the lawyer profession was the butt of every other joke. Many jokes were hilarious and extremely true to life but miraculously lawyers were able to stem the tide; the jokes are now few and far between and the profession’s image has been resurrected. But then Doug comes along and reminds us why we had the good ole days:

    Doug, you had just a few lines of direct but in those lines you manage a title which mocks Franklin, an assertion that you will let others decide and then a statement which primes the pump for the decision that you desire. Nice punching below the belt.

    Lawyers!! A bunch of …….. Hey I’m not going there. To do so would put me at risk of being harassed by some lawyer caucus. Then I would have to decide if I should issue an apology; an apology that could never be judged to be genuine by the featherweights who punch Outside The Beltway.

  12. Tillman says:

    I can’t believe I just stumbled into a Bible fight.

  13. Jenos Idanian says:

    I guess it’s only in Jeremiah Wright’s church where God’s command that we help the less fortunate translates into “give the government more money that they say will help the poor, and that absolves you of any personal responsibility.” Because in the Church I grew up in, that obligation was far more personal.

  14. TonyW says:

    He would have to apologize to me for calling me a christian

  15. gVOR08 says:

    @Jenos Idanian: I know I’ll live to regret responding to a troll, but no, Jesus didn’t say the best way to aid the poor was to

    “give unto Caesar, and Caesar shall care for the poor.”

    Common sense and history say this.

    This is actually a classic example of the difference between conservatives and liberals. If a conservative sets out to help the poor, his goal is to feel virtuous about helping the poor. If a liberal sets out to help the poor, his goal is to help the poor.