Chuck Baldwin
Franklin Graham on the wrong side of the Bible and history
By Chuck Baldwin
According to TIME magazine, "Rev. Franklin Graham and other leading evangelical figures are publicly backing efforts to require background checks for all gun purchases, providing a shot in the arm to stalled congressional efforts to enact elements of President Barack Obama's gun control plan.
"Graham, the son of evangelist Billy Graham and the president of Christian relief organization Samaritan's Purse, and Dr. Richard Land of the Southern Baptist Convention's Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission told TIME they have agreed to back universal background check legislation put forward by the administration in the wake of last year's shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Conn.
"'As ministers, we agreed together that we could stand on a united front for universal background checks,' Graham told TIME, noting he had many conversations with civil rights leader Rev. Amos Brown on the subject. 'We think that's reasonable and responsible.'"
See the TIME report at:
Franklin Graham Backs Universal Background Checks
My disappointment, and even anger, at Mr. Graham's endorsement of universal background checks cannot be put into words. When America falls into tyranny and oppression it will be with the help and assistance of the likes of Franklin Graham and Richard Land. In fact, it is no hyperbole to say that pastors and Christians all over America are facilitating their own slavery.
Adolf Hitler would never have been able to become the fuhrer of Germany without the collaboration and cooperation of Germany's evangelical pastors and churches. It is an absolute truth that the blood of Hitler's victims flows to the doorsteps of Germany's churches. There were some 14,000 evangelical churches in Germany at the time Hitler and his fellow Nazis were rising to power. Out of those 14,000 pastors and churches, only 800 had the courage and sagacity to oppose Hitler. That equates to about 5%.
Graham and Land are either totally ignorant of the meaning and ramification of "universal background checks" or they are willing participants in America's subservience to an ever-burgeoning police state. Either way, they are both on the wrong side of the Bible and history.
Let's be clear about what is being proposed. President Barack Obama and his gaggle of gun-grabbers are trying to accomplish three things: 1) they want to ban all semi-automatic rifles, 2) they want to ban all high-capacity magazines, 3) they want to ban the right of individuals to freely buy and sell their personal firearms.
This third initiative is commonly called "universal background checks." But what it would actually do is prohibit private citizens from being able to freely buy and sell their own personal firearms. This is an egregious assault against both the right to keep and bear arms and the private ownership of personal property.
Should this universal background check bill become law, it would be a crime for individuals to buy or sell a firearm without filling out a government form similar to the one firearm dealers are required to fill out, which equates to asking the State for permission to purchase a gun. In essence, private citizens would be subject to all the laws and penalties as are licensed gun dealers.
Can you imagine: a father would not be able to freely pass down a cherished family firearm to his children; people would not be able to freely exchange firearms in either gift or purchase form; and anyone attempting to buy or sell a firearm would become an agent of the State.
Furthermore, instituting a universal background check system would create a national database of all firearms bought and sold in America. Ladies and gentlemen, this is nothing more than a back door universal gun registration ploy. Every gun owner in America would be entered into a giant national database akin to the system proposed by Adolf Hitler and virtually every other tyrant and dictator of modern history. And as any honest student of history knows, gun registration is ALWAYS a precursor to gun confiscation. ALWAYS!
Do Mr. Graham and Mr. Land truly understand what they are endorsing? Do they understand that they are cooperating with one of the most devilish attacks against the liberties and freedoms of the American people since before our War for Independence? If they do, they should be totally ashamed of themselves; and they should also be forever identified as traitors to the cause of liberty!
Right now, all three of Obama's gun-control proposals are facing fierce opposition. Will the endorsement of Franklin Graham (and other evangelical leaders) be the catalyst for all or part of these proposals becoming law? If so, history will look back on Mr. Graham and Mr. Land's endorsements in the same light as we now look back at the utter gutlessness and stupidity of those clergyman in Nazi-era Germany who rolled over for Hitler's Third Reich: with the utmost contempt!
I cannot speak for anyone else, of course, but as for me, I have had it up to my eyeballs with these holier-than-thou, constitutionally-naive, politically-correct, compromising, yellow-belly, spineless, sucking-up-to-power preachers. They are selling our liberties into the hands of tyrants. They are as culpable to the death and destruction of the American republic as any big-government politician. No! They are more culpable! They are deceiving tens of millions of Christians into going along with these incessant assaults against our liberties.
In the name of "God is in control," or "Jesus is coming soon," or "God hasn't called me to get involved with politics," these preachers are facilitating the destruction of America. And when they do decide to "jump into politics," they are like Franklin Graham and endorse some stupid, big-government, unconstitutional, tyrannical proposal such as the universal background check bill. If they are going to "get involved in politics," why don't they read the Constitution first and try to help the cause of liberty once in awhile? But, no! When they do decide to leave their ivory palaces and dirty their lily-white hands with "politics," they come out in favor of bigger and more intrusive government.
Think about it: if Barack Obama and Franklin Graham have their way, any person who tries to buy or sell a firearm without Big Brother's oppressive oversight would be treated as a crack cocaine or heroin dealer.
I tell you the truth: it makes a preacher want to cuss!
Franklin Graham is on the wrong side of the Bible, and he is on the wrong side of history.
Think about it: Jesus COMMANDED His disciples to purchase a sword (Luke 22:36). Not only that, it was AGAINST ROMAN LAW for Hebrews to carry the Roman sword when Jesus issued His instructions. Think of it: Jesus COMMANDED HIS DISCIPLES TO BREAK THE LAW AND BUY A SWORD! Plus, at the time Jesus told His disciples to arm themselves, two of them (one of whom was Simon Peter) had already purchased – and were carrying – their personal sidearms. How long had they been carrying these weapons? For all of the nearly four years of Jesus' public ministry? We are not told. But we do know that two of the disciples were armed before Jesus told the rest of the disciples to get armed; and Jesus knew they were armed and fully approved of their being armed. And you can be sure of this: Jesus was certainly not endorsing a "universal background check" for the disciples, because it was against the law for them to possess such a weapon.
If Franklin Graham and Richard Land properly understood their Bibles and the teachings of Jesus, instead of promoting bigger and more oppressive government via a universal background check system, they would be telling people to go buy a firearm and forget about submitting to any governmental background check.
Are Franklin Graham and Richard Land not familiar with the fact that the presence of a firearm prevents a crime and potentially saves a life over 2.5 million times every year in this country? If they are interested in saving lives and making America a safer place to live, they would be advocating for more and freer gun possession. In the recent killing sprees that everyone uses as justification for more gun control, had someone (or a group of someones) been armed, the causality list would most certainly have been a lot shorter. And the reason that people in those venues were not armed was because there was in place a stupid, nonsensical, asinine governmental law requiring them to be unarmed.
Furthermore, are Franklin Graham and Richard Land not familiar with history? Are they unaware that the tyrants and butchers of history have ALL used gun registration as a precursor to gun confiscation? Are they unaware that gun confiscation ALWAYS precedes genocide and mass murder?
Instead of calling for universal background checks, Franklin Graham should be shouting for government to abandon their "gun free zones" and demand that people be allowed to universally defend themselves. Instead of coming to the aid of big-government zealots who desire to trample constitutional liberties, Franklin Graham should be shouting for the President and members of the US House and Senate (including Dianne Feinstein) to abide by their oaths to preserve, protect, and defend the Constitution of the United States, and keep their grubby fingers off our gun rights.
I further suggest that Franklin Graham and Richard Land obtain a copy of my new book entitled, "To Keep or Not To Keep: Why Christians Should Not Give Up Their Guns," which is co-written by my constitutional attorney son, Tim. We delve deeply into the Old and New Testaments and conclusively show that nowhere does the Bible teach that Christians (or anyone else) should ever surrender their firearms in the face of any would-be tyrant. And nowhere does the Bible teach gun registration or background checks or anything of the sort. All men (not just Christians) are given an unalienable, God-given, Natural right of self-defense.
To pre-order my new book, "To Keep or Not To Keep: Why Christians Should Not Give Up Their Guns," go to:
Keep Your Arms
The book should be released in about four weeks. Orders are coming in quickly, so order now to be assured of getting a first-edition copy of what is sure to be a blockbuster book.
Let's be clear: any government that tries to infringe upon the sacred right of self-defense is on the wrong side of history, on the wrong side of the Constitution, and on the wrong side of the Bible. And so is any preacher who promotes the infringement of that right. And that includes Franklin Graham.
P.S. I regularly write mini-columns and comments on my Facebook page. I also post news and information relating to my work on this page. And, of course, since it is Facebook, you are free to add your comments. To follow me on Facebook, please "LIKE" the following page:
Chuck Baldwin's Official Facebook Page
© Chuck Baldwin
March 22, 2013
According to TIME magazine, "Rev. Franklin Graham and other leading evangelical figures are publicly backing efforts to require background checks for all gun purchases, providing a shot in the arm to stalled congressional efforts to enact elements of President Barack Obama's gun control plan.
"Graham, the son of evangelist Billy Graham and the president of Christian relief organization Samaritan's Purse, and Dr. Richard Land of the Southern Baptist Convention's Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission told TIME they have agreed to back universal background check legislation put forward by the administration in the wake of last year's shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Conn.
"'As ministers, we agreed together that we could stand on a united front for universal background checks,' Graham told TIME, noting he had many conversations with civil rights leader Rev. Amos Brown on the subject. 'We think that's reasonable and responsible.'"
See the TIME report at:
Franklin Graham Backs Universal Background Checks
My disappointment, and even anger, at Mr. Graham's endorsement of universal background checks cannot be put into words. When America falls into tyranny and oppression it will be with the help and assistance of the likes of Franklin Graham and Richard Land. In fact, it is no hyperbole to say that pastors and Christians all over America are facilitating their own slavery.
Adolf Hitler would never have been able to become the fuhrer of Germany without the collaboration and cooperation of Germany's evangelical pastors and churches. It is an absolute truth that the blood of Hitler's victims flows to the doorsteps of Germany's churches. There were some 14,000 evangelical churches in Germany at the time Hitler and his fellow Nazis were rising to power. Out of those 14,000 pastors and churches, only 800 had the courage and sagacity to oppose Hitler. That equates to about 5%.
Graham and Land are either totally ignorant of the meaning and ramification of "universal background checks" or they are willing participants in America's subservience to an ever-burgeoning police state. Either way, they are both on the wrong side of the Bible and history.
Let's be clear about what is being proposed. President Barack Obama and his gaggle of gun-grabbers are trying to accomplish three things: 1) they want to ban all semi-automatic rifles, 2) they want to ban all high-capacity magazines, 3) they want to ban the right of individuals to freely buy and sell their personal firearms.
This third initiative is commonly called "universal background checks." But what it would actually do is prohibit private citizens from being able to freely buy and sell their own personal firearms. This is an egregious assault against both the right to keep and bear arms and the private ownership of personal property.
Should this universal background check bill become law, it would be a crime for individuals to buy or sell a firearm without filling out a government form similar to the one firearm dealers are required to fill out, which equates to asking the State for permission to purchase a gun. In essence, private citizens would be subject to all the laws and penalties as are licensed gun dealers.
Can you imagine: a father would not be able to freely pass down a cherished family firearm to his children; people would not be able to freely exchange firearms in either gift or purchase form; and anyone attempting to buy or sell a firearm would become an agent of the State.
Furthermore, instituting a universal background check system would create a national database of all firearms bought and sold in America. Ladies and gentlemen, this is nothing more than a back door universal gun registration ploy. Every gun owner in America would be entered into a giant national database akin to the system proposed by Adolf Hitler and virtually every other tyrant and dictator of modern history. And as any honest student of history knows, gun registration is ALWAYS a precursor to gun confiscation. ALWAYS!
Do Mr. Graham and Mr. Land truly understand what they are endorsing? Do they understand that they are cooperating with one of the most devilish attacks against the liberties and freedoms of the American people since before our War for Independence? If they do, they should be totally ashamed of themselves; and they should also be forever identified as traitors to the cause of liberty!
Right now, all three of Obama's gun-control proposals are facing fierce opposition. Will the endorsement of Franklin Graham (and other evangelical leaders) be the catalyst for all or part of these proposals becoming law? If so, history will look back on Mr. Graham and Mr. Land's endorsements in the same light as we now look back at the utter gutlessness and stupidity of those clergyman in Nazi-era Germany who rolled over for Hitler's Third Reich: with the utmost contempt!
I cannot speak for anyone else, of course, but as for me, I have had it up to my eyeballs with these holier-than-thou, constitutionally-naive, politically-correct, compromising, yellow-belly, spineless, sucking-up-to-power preachers. They are selling our liberties into the hands of tyrants. They are as culpable to the death and destruction of the American republic as any big-government politician. No! They are more culpable! They are deceiving tens of millions of Christians into going along with these incessant assaults against our liberties.
In the name of "God is in control," or "Jesus is coming soon," or "God hasn't called me to get involved with politics," these preachers are facilitating the destruction of America. And when they do decide to "jump into politics," they are like Franklin Graham and endorse some stupid, big-government, unconstitutional, tyrannical proposal such as the universal background check bill. If they are going to "get involved in politics," why don't they read the Constitution first and try to help the cause of liberty once in awhile? But, no! When they do decide to leave their ivory palaces and dirty their lily-white hands with "politics," they come out in favor of bigger and more intrusive government.
Think about it: if Barack Obama and Franklin Graham have their way, any person who tries to buy or sell a firearm without Big Brother's oppressive oversight would be treated as a crack cocaine or heroin dealer.
I tell you the truth: it makes a preacher want to cuss!
Franklin Graham is on the wrong side of the Bible, and he is on the wrong side of history.
Think about it: Jesus COMMANDED His disciples to purchase a sword (Luke 22:36). Not only that, it was AGAINST ROMAN LAW for Hebrews to carry the Roman sword when Jesus issued His instructions. Think of it: Jesus COMMANDED HIS DISCIPLES TO BREAK THE LAW AND BUY A SWORD! Plus, at the time Jesus told His disciples to arm themselves, two of them (one of whom was Simon Peter) had already purchased – and were carrying – their personal sidearms. How long had they been carrying these weapons? For all of the nearly four years of Jesus' public ministry? We are not told. But we do know that two of the disciples were armed before Jesus told the rest of the disciples to get armed; and Jesus knew they were armed and fully approved of their being armed. And you can be sure of this: Jesus was certainly not endorsing a "universal background check" for the disciples, because it was against the law for them to possess such a weapon.
If Franklin Graham and Richard Land properly understood their Bibles and the teachings of Jesus, instead of promoting bigger and more oppressive government via a universal background check system, they would be telling people to go buy a firearm and forget about submitting to any governmental background check.
Are Franklin Graham and Richard Land not familiar with the fact that the presence of a firearm prevents a crime and potentially saves a life over 2.5 million times every year in this country? If they are interested in saving lives and making America a safer place to live, they would be advocating for more and freer gun possession. In the recent killing sprees that everyone uses as justification for more gun control, had someone (or a group of someones) been armed, the causality list would most certainly have been a lot shorter. And the reason that people in those venues were not armed was because there was in place a stupid, nonsensical, asinine governmental law requiring them to be unarmed.
Furthermore, are Franklin Graham and Richard Land not familiar with history? Are they unaware that the tyrants and butchers of history have ALL used gun registration as a precursor to gun confiscation? Are they unaware that gun confiscation ALWAYS precedes genocide and mass murder?
Instead of calling for universal background checks, Franklin Graham should be shouting for government to abandon their "gun free zones" and demand that people be allowed to universally defend themselves. Instead of coming to the aid of big-government zealots who desire to trample constitutional liberties, Franklin Graham should be shouting for the President and members of the US House and Senate (including Dianne Feinstein) to abide by their oaths to preserve, protect, and defend the Constitution of the United States, and keep their grubby fingers off our gun rights.
I further suggest that Franklin Graham and Richard Land obtain a copy of my new book entitled, "To Keep or Not To Keep: Why Christians Should Not Give Up Their Guns," which is co-written by my constitutional attorney son, Tim. We delve deeply into the Old and New Testaments and conclusively show that nowhere does the Bible teach that Christians (or anyone else) should ever surrender their firearms in the face of any would-be tyrant. And nowhere does the Bible teach gun registration or background checks or anything of the sort. All men (not just Christians) are given an unalienable, God-given, Natural right of self-defense.
To pre-order my new book, "To Keep or Not To Keep: Why Christians Should Not Give Up Their Guns," go to:
Keep Your Arms
The book should be released in about four weeks. Orders are coming in quickly, so order now to be assured of getting a first-edition copy of what is sure to be a blockbuster book.
Let's be clear: any government that tries to infringe upon the sacred right of self-defense is on the wrong side of history, on the wrong side of the Constitution, and on the wrong side of the Bible. And so is any preacher who promotes the infringement of that right. And that includes Franklin Graham.
P.S. I regularly write mini-columns and comments on my Facebook page. I also post news and information relating to my work on this page. And, of course, since it is Facebook, you are free to add your comments. To follow me on Facebook, please "LIKE" the following page:
Chuck Baldwin's Official Facebook Page
© Chuck Baldwin
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