In Defense of a “Heretic”: Racist, Bigoted, Right-Wing Populist or, None of the Above?

Anti-LGBTQ+

Graham was opposed to same-sex relationships—there is nothing to debunk here. As a straight man, I am not in a position to understand the difficulty of being a member of the LGBTQ+ community and a Christian. So, I approach this topic with great trepidation.

My entry into the blogging world was a direct response to the leaders of the conservative world’s attempts to draw smaller and smaller circles around the true believers. if holding to the traditionalist approach to sexual ethics is the line in the sand for who is on the “wrong side of history” (progressive code for “not a true follower of Jesus”), then the Body of Christ is quite small.

A growing number of progressive Christians are drawn to mainline, liturgical traditions. The millennial generation longs for tradition and history. We want to be reconnected to our roots, to practice the rituals of our ancestors, to celebrate the lives of the Saints. As a student of early Christianity, I am absolutely thrilled to see my peers finding new life in the teachings of the Fathers and Mothers of our faith. These Saints, however, rather explicitly rejected any sexuality apart from heterosexual monogamy—in fact, many of them even rejected that.

The point is: right or wrong, Billy Graham’s sexual ethic aligns with the overwhelming majority of Christian teaching throughout its history. If Graham is “out,” then so is virtually everyone else.