Thank you Rev. Dr. Billy Graham for your guidance and dedication.
Tanenbaum mourns the loss of our Advisory Board member. Rest in peace.
In remembrance, we share your teachings…
- When wealth is lost, nothing is lost; when health is lost, something is lost; when character is lost, all is lost.
- Courage is contagious. When a brave man takes a stand, the spines of others are often stiffened.
- God has given us two hands, one to receive with and the other to give with.
- Nothing can bring a real sense of security into the home except true love.
- Each life is made up of mistakes and learning, waiting and growing, practicing and patience and being persistent.
- Suppose you could gain everything in the whole world, and lost your soul. Would it be worth it?
- There is nothing wrong with men possessing riches. The wrong comes when riches possess men.
- Tears shed for self are tears of weakness, but tears shed for others are a sign of strength.
- Mountaintops are for views and inspiration, but fruit is grown in the valleys.
- Take one day at a time. Today, after all, is the tomorrow you worried about yesterday.
*Update*
Thursday, February, 22, 2018
We received several emails questioning the statement above due to the National Archive’s 2002 revelation about some comments Rev. Graham made about Jews to President Nixon in 1972. Below is our response to expressed concerns:
Dear Friends:
We abhor the comments Rev. Graham made in the Nixon tape. They clearly complicate his legacy. But that tape does not capture the entirety of his story with the Jewish people and Judaism.
Reverend Billy Graham was also a close ally of our namesake Rabbi Marc Tanenbaum. That’s because of the largely untold story of his many acts of friendship toward Jewish people around the world. Whether his comments on the tape were as intolerant as they sound, an act of weakness in the face of the President’s instigation, or something else, one of the central tenets of the Evangelical Christianity, which Rev. Graham preached and practiced, is this: no matter how many times a person might fall, he can be redeemed. And Rev. Billy Graham, we believe, creditably redeemed himself in his support of Jews.
Whenever he undertook a Crusade to the Soviet Union or its satellites, he contacted Rabbi Tanenbaum to ask what he could do to help the Jews in that country. He helped free Soviet Jews. He sent each of his children to live on a kibbutz in Israel as part of their upbringing. He agreed to refrain from trying to convert Jews during his Evangelical campaigns. He also proclaimed that anti-Semitism was not part of his teachings–reaching over 215 million people in over 185 countries. And he literally saved Israel during the Yom Kippur war of 1973 by interceding on Israel’s behalf with President Nixon.
We also remember how he willingly joined with the Tanenbaum Center for Interreligious Understanding to promote respect among all people and to recognize the divine in each.
There is no justification for Rev. Graham’s statements to President Nixon. But I also remember a man who was a friend to many of our efforts for justice.
With gratitude that you took the time to share,
Joyce S. Dubensky
CEO
P.S. To read more about Rev. Graham’s relationship with Jews and Jewish leaders, as well as the points of view of many on this issue: http://www.sltrib.com/religion/2018/02/21/billy-graham-leaves-a-positive-interfaith-legacy-with-a-few-blemishes