God May Bring America 'to Its Knees,' Says Disappointed Franklin Graham
Conservative Christian minister Franklin Graham has recently taken to multiple talk shows to speak on the re-election of President Barack Obama, saying that more Christians should have turned out to vote, and suggesting that America may need a "complete economic collapse" before turning to God.
"God is in control, and if Christians are upset, they need to be upset at themselves. We need to do a better job of getting our people – the Church – to vote," Graham said in a recent interview on The Brody File, featured on the Christian Broadcasting Network's website.
"Now, I'm not trying to tell you how to vote, you can vote, but vote, my goodness, and vote for candidates that stand for Biblical values," added Graham, who is the president of the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association (BGEA).
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Graham went on to tell host David Brody that he believes Obama's policies, which include the Health Care Mandate, will "usher in the largest changes in our society since the Civil War," which, in his opinion, include a massive increase in taxes.
In a recent, separate interview with Newsmax TV, Graham said that he believes America has turned its back on God, and "the more we turn our backs on God, the bigger our problem becomes."
"What has happened is we have allowed ourselves to take God out everything that we do – and I believe that God will judge our nation one day," Graham continued.
He added that "maybe God will have to bring our nation to our knees – to where that we just have a complete economic collapse... Maybe at that point, people will again call upon the name of Almighty God."
Although the BGEA never officially endorsed Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney, it did begin the "Vote Biblical Values" campaign, encouraging voters prior to the Nov. 6 election to vote for candidates who shared their values regarding social and religious issues.
Additionally, Mitt Romney had a sit-down conversation with Franklin's father, the Rev. Billy Graham, 93, at his North Carolina home on Oct. 11.
The BGEA's involvement with the 2012 election is now under scrutiny, with the Wisconsin-based Freedom From Religion Foundation filing a complaint with the Internal Revenue Service regarding the BGEA's "Vote Biblical Values" political campaign, arguing that it violated their tax exempt status as a religious organization.
Graham called the allegations "ridiculous," and maintained that evangelical Christians must keep their biblical values in mind when voting.
"We wanted people to remember that, as they were going into the voting booth, that there were political decisions, no question, but there also were moral issues," Graham said during the Newsmax interview.
"At every level, we need to think about who we are voting for and encourage Christians, especially, to vote for candidates who support biblical values," he added.
