The Billy Graham Evangelistic Association recently named Harris after its political action committee (PAC) ran a $1 million ad campaign using footage of the Rev. Billy Graham to attack former President Trump. He threatened to sue the evangelicals.
A spokesperson for the Charlotte, North Carolina-based nonprofit organization said, “We have directly communicated our concerns about the unauthorized political use of BGEA's copyrighted videos to the organization and will continue to do so.'' We will take appropriate measures to address the issue.” christian post.
Last month, Evangelical Harris released several ads featuring decades-old sermons by Billy Graham, suggesting that Trump is not the candidate Christians should support. of latest adstitled “Keep Clear,” was excerpted from a sermon Graham gave in 1988. 2 Timothy 3:1-5 He suggested that Trump is displaying the character of a bad man in the last days.
A BGEA spokesperson said that Graham himself, who passed away in 2018, expressed regret In later years, he would have been too close to politics and would have been upset that his evangelical sermons were used to attack presidential candidates and make political points.
“Throughout his many years of ministry and through his relationships with 11 U.S. presidents, Billy Graham has been dedicated to encouraging them and offering them the counsel of Christ as revealed through the Word of God. may be worthy of attention,” the spokesperson said. “He has never publicly criticized the president and will certainly refuse to have his sermons used to criticize anyone, regardless of who is involved.”
In response to this cease-and-desist letter, Evangelicals for Harris issued a formal legal response stating that “the limited use of Billy Graham's speech falls within the fair use protection afforded by Section 107 of the Copyright Act. “It falls directly within the scope of.”
PAC also posted a series of posts on X claiming that Billy Graham's son, evangelist and BGEA president Franklin Graham, intended to “silence” Company X because he was “afraid” of advertising. did.
Franklin Graham said in August that Trump was the last presidential candidate his father voted for, writing that the PAC was “trying to mislead people.”
Harris Evangelicals, founded by former Evangelical Environmental Network and Biden Evangelicals President Rev. Jim Ball, also broad statement Charges were filed against Graham on Tuesday. idolatry and threatened to take the legal matter to court.
“Franklin puts his hope in a man, and the darkness we saw in Springfield last month when police stormed the Capitol on January 6th, and the darkness brewing at every Trump rally Franklin attends. We put our hope in a spirit of fear and anger. Our hope is not in men or women, but only in Christ,” PAC wrote.
“Our mission is to serve, to bear witness to the love and mercy of Christ, and to follow his example of standing between hypocritical religious leaders and social outcasts. The law is on our side in this matter. We know that if Franklin follows through on his threats, we'll see you in court,'' they added.
Our full statement on this is below: @Franklin Graham Recent legal threats:
In response to our first ad, Franklin Graham went on a conservative media tour to smear us and remind Christian viewers of the Bible and Donald Trump's own words in our ad. I told her to ignore it.— Harris Evangelicals (@Evangels4Harris) October 8, 2024
During a Zoom call hosted by Evangelicals for Harris in August, Jerusha Duford, Franklin Graham’s niece, said: implicit That Trump supporters are driving people away from Christianity.
Duford is connected to the Lincoln Project, whose website describes her as an “LGBTQ+-friendly” licensed professional counselor in Greenville, South Carolina, and has been outspoken about Trump. I have stated. In a 2020 op-ed, she urged Christian women to reject the former president, claiming that “the church honors Trump before God.”
Last week, she criticized her uncle for leaving his family behind in western North Carolina to survey hurricane damage with President Trump in Valdosta, Georgia.
“I'm glad he had the time and resources to fly to Georgia to stand next to Mr. Trump. Meanwhile, his 79-year-old sister, my mother, is stranded without food or water. '' Duford said. I wrote “#wwjd” was added to X's October 1st post.
I'm glad he had the time and resources to fly to Georgia to stand next to Trump. His 79-year-old sister, my mother, is stranded without food or water. #wwjd https://t.co/b8ig3fGRnC
— Jerushahruth (o | | | | o) (@jerushahruth) October 1, 2024
Photo courtesy: ©Getty Images/Ethan Miller/Staff
