Billy Graham
Billy Graham
William Franklin "Billy" Graham, Jr.is an American evangelical Christian evangelist, ordained as a Southern Baptist minister, who rose to celebrity status in 1949 reaching a core constituency of middle-class, moderately conservative Protestants. He held large indoor and outdoor rallies; sermons were broadcast on radio and television, some still being re-broadcast today. In his six decades of television, Graham is principally known for hosting the annual Billy Graham Crusades, which he began in 1947, until he concluded in 2005, at the...
NationalityAmerican
ProfessionReligious Leader
Date of Birth7 November 1918
CityCharlotte, NC
CountryUnited States of America
I have many friends that don't claim to be followers of Christ. As far as day-to-day friendship and being together at various functions, I don't think that there should be any difference at all.
I'd grown up in a Presbyterian church, but I really didn't know Christ personally in my heart. I knew him, but I didn't know him. And there's a difference between an intellectual faith and a personal, heart faith in which I opened my heart to him and let him rule my life.
There is a vast difference between intellectual belief and the total conversion that saves the soul.
If Christianity is valid, why is there so much evil in the world?" To this the famous preacher replied, "With so much soap, why are there so many dirty people in the world? Christianity, like soap, must be personally applied if it is to make a difference in our lives.
When I reached about 80, my physical world turned upside down,
The storm was raging. The sea was beating against the rocks in huge, dashing waves. The lightning was flashing, the thunder was roaring, the wind was blowing; but the little bird was sound asleep in the crevice of the rock, its head tucked serenely under its wing. That is peace -- to be able to sleep in the storm! In Christ, we are relaxed and at peace in the midst of the confusions, bewilderments, and perplexities of this life. The storm rages, but our hearts are at rest. We have found peace -- at last!
Billions and billions of stars and planets out there, and behind them all are God.
The test of a preacher is that his congregation goes away saying, not, 'What a lovely sermon!' but 'I will do something.'
The thing that alarms me is that there are so many clergymen who say that the so-called 'new morality' is all right. They say we're living in a new generation; let's be relevant, let's change God's law. Let's say that adultery is all right under certain circumstances; fornication's all right under certain circumstances. If it's 'meaningful.'
A tragedy like this could have torn our country apart. But instead it has united us, and we have become a family.
June Glenn was one of the greatest photographers I ever had the privilege of knowing. He was a warm, personal friend who took hundreds of photographs of me and my family. Ruth and I feel a great sense of loss.
One of the things we desperately need is a spiritual renewal in this country. We need a spiritual revival in America.
Because President Clinton has been a friend for so many years, I feel like it is very difficult after he became President, because I led the Inaugural prayer, and when I stepped down I said, "Mr. President," and I almost said, "Bill," because I'd called him Bill so long. And I feel like calling him Bill again tonight after those warm words of a brother.
I loved him very much, and had the opportunity of discussing so many things with him, and we wrote each other several times during the years.