No good deed goes unpunished. Franklin Graham has helped millions of people through Samaritan’s Purse, but an activist group is calling for him to resign after his prayer at the recent Republican National Convention.
Faithful America has launched a petition titled, “Tell Samaritan’s Purse: Franklin Graham’s Hateful, Pro-Trump Politics Are Ruining Your Credibility.” In the petition, the Democrat-leaning group said that if the directors of Samaritan’s Purse “truly believe in their ‘purpose of sharing God’s love,’” then they would oust Graham for his prayer.
WATCH GRAHAM’S PRAYER:
“The final night of the 2020 Republican convention began with a partisan appearance from notoriously homophobic preacher Franklin Graham, who prayed, ‘I thank you tonight for our president, Donald J. Trump .. in the mighty name of your Son,’” the petition stated. “Standing behind a Trump-Pence campaign sign, Graham also used Jesus’s name to give thanks for ‘the many blessings we have received these past four years.’ We would hardly consider family separation, the deadly federal COVID-19 response, rampant corruption and authoritarianism, or ongoing systemic racism to be ‘blessings.
“While Faithful America commends Samaritan’s Purse for their important work for the sick and poor, Graham’s hateful politics and support of President Trump is damaging the credibility of the international Christian aid organization.”
Samaritan’s Purse responded to the petition, telling “The Hill” that Graham “does not tell people who to vote for, but he does encourage everyone to pray and to vote. If the Democratic National Convention had asked him to pray, he would have prayed at the DNC as well. The most important thing any of us can do for our nation is to pray for our leaders, regardless of their political affiliation.
“Franklin Graham continues to lead Samaritan’s Purse and the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association with the purpose of sharing God’s love and the truth of the Gospel of Jesus Christ with hurting people around the world. Under Franklin’s leadership, Samaritan’s Purse is committed to providing spiritual and physical aid to victims of war, poverty, natural disasters, disease and famine, as evidenced by our relief efforts in more than 130 countries over the past 50 years.”
Franklin Graham follows a long tradition of his father, who regularly offered prayer at both Republican and Democrat events. Democrats stopped inviting the Grahams to participate over a decade ago as the party moved to expel most religious expression from its gatherings.
–Dwight Widaman | Metro Voice