In Easter Sunday morning's interview, ABC News gave Rev. Franklin Graham the opportunity to give a remarkable Christian witness, but the White House focused on Rev. Graham's suggestion that Obama provide America with his birth records.
UPDATE 4/26/11 Franklin Graham amplifies ABC interview on FOX News:
UPDATE 2/29/12: Graham apologizes for implying that he can't discern if Obama is a Christian
-- From "'This Week' Transcript: God and Government" ABC News 4/24/11
ABC NEWS CHRISTIANE AMANPOUR: What's the word that you most dearly associate with Easter? Is it sacrifice, is it love? What is it?
REV. FRANKLIN GRAHAM: It's all of that. It's God's love, it's the sacrifice of Jesus Christ for me. When I look at Easter, I look at my sins and realize that Jesus Christ paid my debt in full when he died on that cross, he died for me, he died for you, Christiane
AMANPOUR: you have also said that we live in the time of the anti-Christ.
GRAHAM: Yes.
AMANPOUR: How do you reconcile those two?
GRAHAM: I look at the world in which we live today, and the secularism is anti-Christ. It's every bit anti-Christ. We can't talk about Jesus in our schools. God has been kicked out of our government. Whether it's Europe or whether it's here, yes. The spirit of anti-Christ is in the world today.
AMANPOUR: So, describe what sort of era we are, Biblically right now, in terms of a second coming, in terms of a change.
GRAHAM: Well, I believe we're -- no question, I believe we are in the latter days of this age. When I say "latter days," could it be the last hundred years or the last thousand years or the last six months, I don't know. But the Bible, the things that the Bible predicts, earthquakes and famines, nation rising against nation, we see this happening with more frequency and more intensity. But there's other things. When the anti-Christ comes, we talk about the number of the anti-Christ, that he'll have an economic mark that will be on your forehand -- or, on your right hand or your forehead. And that economic mark, you can't buy, sell, or trade unless you have that number.
AMANPOUR: And you believe in that? [She asked with amazement on her face]
GRAHAM: I believe the Bible, Christiane, from cover to cover. Absolutely word-for-word. I believe the Bible.
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Read related article Obamas' Rare Church Attendance is Easter
From "Obama spokesman fires back at Franklin Graham" by Richard Wolf, USA TODAY 4/26/11
Graham, who 10 years ago delivered the opening prayer at the first inauguration of George W. Bush, told ABC's This Week with Christiane Amanpour Sunday that Obama "has some issues to deal with" when it comes to proving his nationality.
"He can solve this whole birth certificate issue pretty quickly," the son of the Rev. Billy Graham said. "I was born in a hospital in Asheville, N.C., and I know that my records are there. You can probably even go and find out what room my mother was in when I was born. I don't know why he can't produce that."
In the last question tossed at him during Monday's White House briefing, [White House spokeman Jay] Carney was asked to comment on Graham's musings, as well as his recent allegation that the Muslim Brotherhood had infiltrated the Obama administration.
"I think it's unfortunate that a religious leader would choose Easter Sunday to make preposterous charges," Carney said. "And I'll leave it at that."
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From "White House: Franklin Graham Made 'Preposterous' Charges Against Obama" by Ethan Cole, Christian Post Reporter 4/26/11
The eldest son of renowned evangelist Billy Graham, who was often affectionately called the pastor to presidents, also seemed to question Obama’s definition of Christian when he was asked if he believes Obama is a Christian or Muslim. Graham said that Obama has told him he is a Christian, but the evangelical leader said the debate is how does Obama define Christian.
“For him, going to church means he’s a Christian. For me, the definition of a Christian is whether we have given our life to Christ and are following him in faith, and we have trusted him as our Lord and Savior,” said the BGEA president. “That’s the definition of a Christian; it’s not as to what church you’re a member of. A membership doesn’t make you a Christian.”
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