MARCH 10 2018 LISTENER 35
E HOTLINE TO GOD
350,000 enthralled Kiwis during a 1959 visit. by REDMER YSKA
GETTY IMAGES; NEWSPIXfiery sermon was not interrupted by trains
passing nearby.
The capital was next. On the afternoon of
Sunday, April 7, Prime Minister Nash joined
the crowd at Athletic Park as Graham spoke
on “God So Loved the World”. Today, his
message seems surprisingly tough and
direct: “Thousands of you here are dead,
walking dead men and walking dead
women ... you look alive, but down in your
heart you are spiritually dead.”J
uvenile delinquency, a major issue of
the day, was another resonant theme.
Graham was not surprised that ado-
lescents were growing up confused, with
nothing to believe in. “Our young people
are questing and longing, and unless we
are careful, we in our generation are going
to hand to man nothing but the hydrogen
bomb to unleash on society and destroy
the world.”As Graham spoke, the Nash Govern-
ment was coming under pressure for
being “soft” on small groups of promiscu-
ous, overdressed teenagers – colloquially
known as bodgies and widgies. Keith
Holyoake’s Opposition successfully
needled it for refusing to reintroducehard-line measures such as flogging of
offenders.
Nash was therefore happy to pose for
photographs with Graham and teen
idol Devlin; editorial writers referred to
the three “leaders”. Devlin, meanwhile,
said he’d try to read a chapter of the
Bible every day and encourage youngpeople to take an interest in the church.
“I sat up in the stands with all the
others and I was impressed with the way
he conducted the crowd. I’d never seen
anything like it. He asked me to tour with
him around New Zealand and I had to
decline because I’m on my own tour.”
Looking back, Graham’s timing was
flawless. His visit came in a period when
barely 1% of Kiwis claimed no religious
belief. Churches were already empty-
ing out by 1969 when his great spiritual
bandwagon roared through for the second
time, and crowds were just a fraction of
the size. lReports told of a weeping
constable bent in prayer
on Lancaster Park.
67
3
4
5
8
1, 2 & 9. Billy Graham in action. 3. With a Māori
welcoming party. 4. Addressing football
supporters at Stamford Bridge in London.
5 & 8. With Presidents Richard Nixon and John
F Kennedy. 6. Graham and wife Ruth with, from
left, the Queen, Prince Philip, the Queen Mother
and the Queen's Chaplain, Gerry Murphy, in
- With his family.