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
When I reached about 80, my physical world turned upside down,
When I reached 80, my world turned upside down physically. I've had a lot of physical problems.
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.
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.
I have a very strange feeling of loss. I almost feel as though one of my family members has gone,
I can't explain 9/11, except the evil of man.