Billy Graham Blasts Brethren

The Jewish Week/January 7, 2000
By Eric J. Greenberg

Rev. Billy Graham has questioned leaders of his own Southern Baptist denomination for targeting Jews and others for conversion.

"I normally defend my denomination. I'm loyal to it. But I have never targeted Muslims. I have never targeted Jews," he said this week in an interview with Fox News.

The comments from the 80-year-old world-renowned evangelist [are] considered significant as the leadership of the Southern Baptist Convention-the nation's largest Christian group with 15.8 million member-has recently increased efforts to proselytize Jews, Hindus and others. The move has sparked outrage from Jewish and non-Jewish religious leaders.

"I consider Graham's comments very important because he is giving a reprimand and a corrective to the religious extremists who have taken control of the Southern Baptist Convention," said Rabbi James Rudin, director of interreligious affairs for the American Jewish Committee.

Philip Abramowitz, director of the Task Force on Missionaries and Cults for the Jewish Community Relations Council of New York, also welcomed Graham's remarks. "It's wonderful that he has made such a statement," said Abramowitz, whose organization has been locked in a running quarrel with Dr. Paige Patterson, president of the Baptist Convention.

The JCRC charges Patterson with endorsing "deceptive tactics" used by Hebrew Christian groups to entice non-affiliated Jews to accept Jesus as God. In response, Patterson proposed a meeting between his leaders and Hebrew Christians and Jewish leaders. But JCRC rejected that, countering with a proposal for a one-on-one meeting between Patterson and JCRC president Gedale Horowitz.

In the latest development, Patterson rejected the counteroffer and called the matter closed. But the Southern Baptist leadership said it intends to send thousands of missionaries to Chicago next summer to try to convert Jews and Muslims, sparking an outcry from Chicago's religious leaders.