One former ally told a local television station that Billy “is
doing more to harm the cause of Jesus Christ than any living
man,” and suggested that Billy’s supporters pray by reciting, “Dear
Lord: Bless the man who leads Christian people into disobeying
the Word of God, who prepares the way for Antichrist... .”
This savage criticism pained Billy not just because of its blis-
tering tone, but because on a majority of their theological beliefs,
he still concurred with conservative antagonists, admiring their
respect for the Bible.
His response to these critics? For the most part, Billy simply
brushed off their disapproval. He feared engaging them would
ultimately detract from his mission. “Satan would like nothing
better than to have us stop our ministry and start answering crit-
ics, tracking down wretched lies and malicious stories,” he said of
his policy in 1952. “By God’s grace I shall continue to preach the
gospel of Jesus Christ and not stoop to mudslinging, name-calling,
and petty little fights over nonessentials.”
Pastor Leith Anderson recently observed, “Unlike many reli-
gious leaders before and since, Graham refused to attack his crit-
ics and those with whom he disagreed. Most of those people and
their issues have long been forgotten, but Graham’s legacy is long-
lasting. If he had chosen to attack those with whom he disagreed,
he would have been lost in the dust of forgotten controversies.”
■ ■ ■Billy’s restraint was severely tested during preparation for his
1957 campaign in New York City. Key fundamentalist leaders
turned on him when he included Catholics and liberals on the
platform. In addition, his stance didn’t protect him from attacks
from the left—liberal theologians added to the chorus of criticism.
One theologian in particular—the prominent Reinhold Niebuhr—
ridiculed Billy for presenting Jesus as the all-sufficient answer for
man’s ills. Writing in Lifemagazine, Niebuhr argued, “Perhaps
because these solutions are rather too simple in any age, but par-
ticularly so in a nuclear one with its great moral perplexities, suchLoving Harsh Critics