BEIJING (AP) - The son of American evangelist Billy Graham said Friday he is opposed to illegal missionary work at this summer's Beijing Olympic Games.
Franklin Graham, also an evangelist, was speaking to reporters Friday during a visit to Beijing for meetings with the Communist Party-controlled Protestant church movement.
He said he wanted to encourage authorities to resolve conflicts with the church, but would not criticize policies that critics say limit the church's independence and religious rights.
While some Christian groups have said they plan to proselytize during the August games, Graham said he was against that because Chinese law does not permit such actions.
"I would not support any illegal activity at all," Graham said.
While the Protestant church has grown rapidly in China in recent years, the party maintains strict control over the official church, seminaries and individual congregations. Christians who meet in independent, unauthorized congregations — often private homes — are frequently subject to harassment and arrest.
In the most recent such report, police raided a gathering of about 40 members of the Chengdu Qiuyu Blessings Church at a resort near the southwestern city of Chengdu on May 2, New York-based Human Rights Watch reported.
Officers joined by officials of the local religious affairs bureau told the participants they were "suspected of being involved in illegal religious practices," the group said. Members were detained for hours and photographed, and Bibles, hymnals and Bible study materials were confiscated.
Separately, three leaders of unauthorized churches in the eastern province of Shandong were detained during a Bible study group on Thursday morning, the Texas-based monitoring group, China Aid Association reported.
Among them, one pastor from Taiwan was expelled and banned from returning to China for five years as part of China's ban on missionary work of all types.
Graham, whose mother was born in China where her father worked as a physician, said he had seen improvements in religious freedoms in the 20 years since he had been coming to the country, but said Christians in China must obey the law as they work with authorities to "resolve these areas of misunderstanding or where there is tension."
"I think the government of China is recognizing that more and more and are seeing the value of a personal faith that people can have and so I'm here to encourage that," Graham said.
"I'm not here to condemn, I'm here to work with them and help to build better bridges of understanding between Christians and government," he said.
On Sunday, Graham was due to address congregants at the 6,000-seat Chong-Yi Church — China's largest.
Graham said he sympathized with the victims of deadly rioting in Tibet last month and said he was encouraged by new talks between Beijing and Tibet's exiled Buddhist leader, the Dalai Lama.
"Dialogue is always the best approach," Graham said.
Copyright 2008 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Comments
Franklin Graham seems to be consistent in his skewed belief of the power of his words when it comes to matters of government. "After the meeting, Franklin Graham issued a statement praising the Arizona senator's "personal faith and his moral clarity." Are you kidding me? McCain dumps his first wife, formerly a model, because she had a disfiguring, debilitating accident, calls his second trophy wife the "c" word, publicly jokes about beating his wife where is the moral clarity? Did I miss a meeting on the meaning of having morals. Oops, that's right, he did agree to pay the first wife's medical bills for life, that must be what Graham is talking about. Not about outright adultery or anything like that...
Excuse me, I meant to say the Dalai Lama was God to the people in Tibet, not China.
'....encouraged by new talks between Beijing and Tibet's exiled Buddhist leader, the Dalai Lama...??' Isn't the Dalai Lama "GOD" to the people in China. Has anyone realized why an earthquake of the magnitude of the one last week has killed almost 70,000 Chinese? Wasn't it Franklin Graham who cowardly said the "devil" was the one who leashed the tsunami of 2004? This man for some reason has a spirit of deception on him. The judgment of God is coming on many, many people who have been lead down the wrong path. I say pray for Franklin Graham who is a misdirected person with absolutely no godly discernment, and realize that God is lifting His hand from the world, for many things are to happen now. I believe the Lord is coming back soon, and this is the tip of the iceberg of what is to come.
As for preaching the word, the Bible says PREACH THE WORD IN SEASON AND OUT OF SEASON, REPROVE, REBUKE, EXHORT WITH ALL LONGSUFFERING AND DOCTRIN.
IN SEASON: WHEN THE OPPORTUNITY OCCURS.
OUT OF SEASON: UNSEASONABLE (WHETHER SEASONABLE FOR MEN OR NOT)
REPROVE: 1. CONVICT, REFUTE, CONFUTE. GENERALLY WITH THE SUGGESTION OF SHAME TO PERSON. B. BY CONVICTION TO BRING TO LIFE; EXPOSE
2. TO FIND FAULT WITH; CORRECT. A. BY WORD, (1) TO REPREHEND SEVERELY B. BY DEED (1) TO CHASTEN, PUNISH.
For Mr. Graham to attempt to disenfranchise the missionaries who want to spread the truth of God's word in a country that has lost 70,000 people by an earthquake is a TRAVESTY of spiritual advisement. I don't think he is saved at all, and if he is, he is grossly blind and possessed.
Franklin is a phony, and needs to stay in China.... After all, his father Billy said that the little "Red Book" of that moral standard, the mass murderer Mao Ze-Dong, reminded Billy of Moses' Ten Commandments ??? !!!! I am with the Chinese Missionary on this page... he is not a coward !
I was born in China, and bred there, graduated from college there. I want to tell my American friends and Franklin Graham a simple fact why he is invited by Chinese officials with a red carpet: In 1949, there were only a small handful of Christian believers in China. If what Franklin said was correct, then no one, such as myself would preach the Gospel illegally, then there would be no 80 million believers in China today. Over tens of thousands of illegal pastors have been persecuted over all these years. If there were still only a small handful of believers in China, Chinese government would not invite Franklin at all. the communist government knows well they have no way to stop us, so they invite ignorant people like F Graham, making his influence actually his father's influence to stop the fast growing Gospel. The very reason he is invited is due to the increasing influence of thriving churches, mainly underground house churches. Now Franklin jumps to our bandwagon and want to stab the drivers in their back. What an arrogant hypocrite.
You are welcome to write to me: woodforadonai@gmail.com
The problem is the ruler of china on preaching the Good News. Even now China haven't a regular law on all regilious. Please pray for China more and more.Thanks.
Not even the gates of hell can stop the church of Jesus Christ...HIS KINGDOM IS ETERNAL!!!
Praise the LORD!!! God bless Mr. Graham and all those who call upon the Name of the LORD!
We are to be as wise as serpents but gentle as doves!
The CHURCH is not dying....The false church and the true church are being exposed! Which side are you on....it isn't enough to know about Jesus...do you know Him personally, He is asking, "Do you know Me? and do you truly want Me?, or are you just seeking My blessings and My benefits. Do we want the Revivor, or the tickling of Revival??
Jesus Christ, is looking for those who will worship Him in Spirit and Truth!!
Flagged as inappropriate.
msnchris,
"Before any of you Protestants start criticizing Mr. Graham, take the log out of your eyes. Like anyone who lives for Jesus, he too can make personal mistakes about Government laws or anything really. The fact Mr. Graham is in China will give all Christians hope, and hope is what they need with more than half of our Christians having to worship underground."
The Christians will look for hope, and then see that Franklin Graham condemns them and does not speak ill of the policies that have allowed them to be put into prison and tortured. Also, you said Franklin Graham was mistaken about government. Fine, now he needs to learn, repent and make the right decisions, just like the rest of us.
"SAINT BILLY and Franklin, We Catholics pray for you."
Are Billy and Franklin Graham truly "Saints" in the Catholic sense of the term? Why doesn't the Catholic Church just merge with the Lutherans? I think they might have more in common with Lutherans than with the traditional RCC.
Jesusis,
Kindly, I must disagree. Not with what you have said about looking past sin, but at your apparent unwillingness to deal with it. Franklin Graham is in a position to stand up for Christians around the world, and to lead Christians to stand strong against oppressive regimes. Again, obeying the law is fine, so long as that law does not go against God. I wonder if Franklin Graham would deny Christ if it was illegal to be a Christian? If not, then why on earth does he deny the work of Christ? I suppose he would have told the early Christians not to tell others about Christianity, and he would have not spoken out against the Roman persecution against Christians.
I am from communist China. I have been engaged in illegal preaching for about 20 years and led hundreds of people to Christ. I apologize to Frank Graham. I wish he had told me this 20 years ago so that I would not make such a mistake. I was arrested three times, and many of my close friends are still serving in jail for illegal preaching. Frank, can you go and visit them in jail and advise them not to preach the Gospel any more with the government's permit? There are eighty million Christians in China today, as compared to a small handful in 1949, most of them as a result of illegal preaching. Communist Party of China should have invited F Graham 30 years ago.
Any of American Christians are welcome to write to me: woodforadonai@gmail.com
And someone came and told them, "Look! The men (the apostles) whom you put in prison are standing in the temple and teaching the people." Then the captain with the officers went and brought them, but not by force, for they were afraid of being stoned by the people. And when they had brought them, they set them before the council. And the high priest questioned them, saying, "WE STRICKLY CHARGED YOU NOT TO TEACH IN THAT NAME, yet here you have filled Jerusalem with your teaching, and you intend to bring this man's blood upon us." But Peter and the apostles answered, "WE MUST OBEY GOD RATHER THAN MEN. The God of our fathers raised Jesus, whom you killed by hanging him on a tree. God exalted him at his right hand as Leader and Savior, to give repentance to Israel and forgiveness of sins. And we are witnesses to these things, and so is the Holy Spirit, whom God has given to those who OBEY HIM."
(Act 5:25-32 ESV)
Look below the surface. Franklin Graham's presence makes a strong statement in and of itself. He is there representing Christ! Would you rather that he antagonize the communist regime? What good would that do? One has to get in the door in order to be able to DO anything.
hmmmm... maybe franky needs to read the book of Acts again... wow
Before any of you Protestants start criticizing Mr. Graham, take the log out of your eyes. Like anyone who lives for Jesus, he too can make personal mistakes about Government laws or anything really. The fact Mr. Graham is in China will give all Christians hope, and hope is what they need with more than half of our Christians having to worship underground.
SAINT BILLY and Franklin, We Catholics pray for you.
We Catholics will be praying for his trip to China. May he truly help people find the saving love of Christ.
Peace of Christ be with you on your Trip!! Pax Christi