An ad published in papers across the country urges Americans to vote for biblical values and traditional marriage.
The advertisement, put out by the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association, features a picture of the soon-to-be 94-year-old evangelist with a message urging Americans to pray for the country and vote for candidates who “protect the sanctity of life and support the biblical definition of marriage between a man and a woman.”
“On Nov. 6, the day before my 94th birthday, our nation will hold one of the most critical elections in my lifetime. We are at a crossroads and there are profound moral issues at stake. I strongly urge you to vote for candidates who support the biblical definition of marriage between a man and a woman, protect the sanctity of life and defend our religious freedoms. The Bible speaks clearly on these crucial issues. Please join me in praying for America, that we will turn our hearts back toward God,” the ad reads.
The Deseret News reported the ad “first appeared about a week after Graham and his son Franklin met with Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney in North Carolina” and has run in the New York Times, the Wisconsin State Journal, the Wall Street Journal, USA Today and several others.
An Associated Press article that appeared in the Seattle Times said the ad also appeared in the “Thursday edition of the Edmonds Beacon newspaper.”
While expressing support for traditional marriage, the ad does not specifically mention Referendum 74, the ballot measure that would legalize gay marriage in Washington.
On Oct 29, Franklin Graham wrote a letter encouraging Christians to pray and vote.
“This could be America’s last call to repentance and faith in Jesus Christ, God’s only Son, who is coming again one day very soon to save His own and to judge those who don’t know and worship Him,” he wrote.
Graham's call for intercessory prayer could not have come at a more opportune time, as the presidential campaign has taken a decidedly ugly turn over the last few days.
On Friday, for example, President Obama told supporters in Springfield, Ohio, that voting is “the best revenge” against Mitt Romney, raising the ire of many conservatives.
Earlier this week, Michael Moore and MoveOn.org released a profanity-laced ad that can only be described as “not safe for work.” In the ad, one senior citizen says that if Romney wins,”we will burn this (expletive deleted) down.”
A gruesome ad recently released shows liberal supporters of gay marriage and Barack Obama killing conservative “zombies” in a number of ways.
“This is a crucial hour for our nation. Above all, this is a time for deep, intercessory prayer on behalf of our great country, which is in grave danger unless we repent of our sins and turn back to the God of our fathers,” Graham wrote.
Some see the ad as being little more than an implicit endorsement of Mitt Romney, but the younger Graham explains that his father is concerned for the moral well-being of the country.
“My father watches the news every day, and he is deeply concerned about the enormous moral issues facing our country,” he wrote.
“That’s why your vote on November 6 is so critical.”
Billy Graham has earned his stripes as the elder statesman of the Evangelical movement in America. I went to a Franklin Graham crusade and was, shall we say, less impressed. But the thing is most of us liberals agree with both of the Grahams that there are important moral issues at stake in this election; what we don’t agree on is what they are. My list includes fifty million Americans who don’t have direct access to health care, and the over 900,000 who declared bankruptcy over medical bills last year, 78% of whom had some medical insurance. I am voting for the guy who has at least tried to address that moral crisis. Another one on my list is this strange need we seem to have to spend 800 billion bucks a year on “defense” spending, nearly half of the entire world’s budget for soldiers, weapons and weapons platforms. Neither major candidate has talked about that at all, and the reason is obvious. It is a loser. That all by itself is a great moral issue. Both those issues are about biblical values, as is the way we treat undocumented foreigners. The fact is that every election is about moral values, and every election reveals the values of a people and a nation, both in what is talked about and what isn’t, what motivates people, and what is so hot as to be taboo. This election is no different than any other one.