Billy Graham and the Beloved Community Published Works Against Us, but for Us: Martin Luther King, Jr. and the State Martin Luther King, Jr. on Creative Living God and Country? Diverse Perspectives on Christianity and Patriotism (Palgrave Macmillan, 2007) Billy Graham and the Beloved Community Michael G. Long BILLYGRAHAMANDTHEBELOVEDCOMMUNITY © Michael G. Long 2006. Softcover reprint of the hardcover 1st edition 2006 978-1-4039-6869-2 Certain Graham materials are reprinted here with permission of the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association. All rights reserved. Certain King materials are reprinted by arrangement with the Estate of Martin Luther King, Jr., c/o Writers House as agent for the proprietor, New York, NY. All rights reserved. Scripture quotations not included in direct quotations of Graham material are from the New Revised Standard Version Bible, copyright 1989, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved. All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles or reviews. First published in 2006 by PALGRAVE MACMILLAN™ 175 Fifth Avenue, New York, N.Y. 10010 and Houndmills, Basingstoke, Hampshire, England RG21 6XS Companies and representatives throughout the world. PALGRAVE MACMILLAN is the global academic imprint of the Palgrave Macmillan division of St. Martin’s Press, LLC and of Palgrave Macmillan Ltd. Macmillan® is a registered trademark in the United States, United Kingdom and other countries. Palgrave is a registered trademark in the European Union and other countries. ISBN 978-1-349-73478-8 ISBN 978-1-137-05985-7 (eBook) DOI 10.1007/978-1-137-05985-7 Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Long, Michael G. Billy Graham and the beloved community / Michael G. Long. p. cm. Includes index. 1. Graham, Billy, 1918– I. Title. BV3785.G69L66 2006 269(cid:2).2092—dc22 2005058661 A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library. Design by Newgen Imaging Systems (P) Ltd., Chennai, India. First edition: August 2006 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 For Karin C O N T E N T S Acknowledgments ix Abbreviations in Notes xi Introduction: “Bowed in Prayer”—Resurrecting the Assassinated King 1 One “The Bible Says”: Heart Problems and the Divine Cure 8 Two “Preaching Nothing but the Bible”: Against a Political Church 30 Three “True Christian Loyalty in Our Hearts”: A Christian Defense of American Patriotism 57 Four “He Belonged to All the Races”: The Evolution of Graham’s Race Ethics 79 Five “This Is Freedom Out of Control!”: Graham’s Dissent from the Civil Rights Movement 108 Six “The Tramp, Tramp, Tramp of the Little Man”: Graham’s Conversion to the War on Poverty 143 Seven “I’m Not a Pacifist”: On Militarists, Pacifists, and Vietnam 179 Conclusion: “We Are Now in the Violent Society”—A Question of Legacy 221 Appendix: Behind the Billy Pulpit 227 Notes 233 Index 258 A C K N O W L E D G M E N T S One of the most satisfying parts of my research has been the opportunity to watch film archives of the evangelist squirming this way and that when admiring interviewers would recount all of his achievements. When lauded, Graham would usually become uncomfortable and refuse to take credit for the success of his worldwide ministry, citing instead the contri- butions of his staff members as well as the major reason behind their inces- sant work—the triune God they worshipped so enthusiastically. Although I have little personal interest in his Christian theism, I discovered the Billy Graham of those clips to be nothing less than a moral exemplar of humility and gratitude, and it is in his grateful spirit that I offer him my deepest thanks for making this study possible. Had he not jumped so energetically into the public square, even while futilely denying his own central place in American politics, I would most likely have joined the rest of the academy in overlooking the importance of his remarkable ministry. There are many others who deserve my gratitude, too. The staff mem- bers of the Billy Graham Center Archives at Wheaton College were truly extraordinary in their efforts to help me access the requisite materials for this study. They are not to be held responsible for my conclusions, but Paul Ericksen, Bob Shuster, Wayne Weber, and Christian Sawyer deserve spe- cial thanks for making their Archives the premier research site in the field of American evangelical thought. Staff members of the Archives at the Martin Luther King, Jr. Center for Nonviolent Social Change, Inc., and Boston University’s Mugar Library also offered precious assistance. I have not visited either institution since my dissertation days at Emory University, but portions of the research I offer in this book are directly traceable to the contributions of the friendly and pro- fessional staff at both institutions. Andrea Dowdy of the Martin Luther King, Jr. Papers Project, as well as Michele Rubin and Talia Shalev at the Writers’ House in New York City, also provided invaluable assistance. I owe a debt of gratitude to my home institution, Elizabethtown College in Pennsylvania. Special thanks goes to Donald Kraybill, formerly acting provost, for offering me a generous faculty grant that supported research trips to the Graham Center. In addition, Christina Bucher, an excellent administrator and wonderful colleague, enabled me to devote significant amounts of my professional life to research and writing; her former work as