Billy Graham

His Life and Influence

Book Details

Discerning Reader Editorial Review

Reviewed 06/01/2010 by John Bird.

Recommended. Not necessarily inspiring, but an informative read nonetheless.

In Billy Graham: His Life and Influence, David Aikman gives a detailed account of the life of the world's most well-known, and perhaps influential, evangelist. We might expect a biographer to be biased in favor of his subject, but not so here. Though Aikman greatly admires Graham, his book is surprisingly balanced.

In chapter one, Aikman tells us that Graham's "manifest weakness" was that he "went out of his way to avoid offending people," and he uses much of the remainder of the book to convince us of that. To his credit, Graham is a supporter of civil rights, and he was a friend of the late Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. But according to Aikman, his early stand on segregation depended upon which part of the country he was in. While his evangelistic crusades were integrated in the North, crusades in the South were conspicuously segregated. "We follow existing social customs in whatever part of the country in which we minister," Graham once stated. When asked why he refused to speak out on the issue of segregation, he said that "Communists were behind most of the civil rights agitation in the United States."

Despite his distaste for the communists while on American soil, Graham, according to Aikman, outdid himself in courting them on their own turf. While on a tour of the Soviet Union, Graham was asked to respond to the imprisonment of 150 Baptist preachers. "We detain people in the United States if we catch them doing something wrong," he said to the disappointment of the Christians. During a trip to communist Romania, he thanked the government for being one "which gives full and genuine freedom to all religious denominations." Graham later praised North Korean leader Kim Il Sung as being "a gentle man and a logical thinker." Aikman's prevailing theme is Graham's desire to be liked by all.

Another theme Aikman develops is Graham's departure from fundamentalism, which Aikman characterizes as belief in such doctrines as scriptural inerrancy, the deity of Christ, and the blood atonement. While Graham himself doesn't seem to have departed from these beliefs (though the book doesn't make that clear), he was often criticized for being associated with clergy who went "on record as believing neither in the virgin birth, nor the Trinity, nor even Christ's resurrection." As for his own convictions, we learn little other than that he had a very inclusive and liberal view of salvation. When Graham was asked in an interview if one must hear the gospel in order to be saved, he said that he no longer believed that. "I believe there are other ways of recognizing the existence of God--through nature, for instance." Despite Graham's overly liberal views on many points, his avoidance of genuine, contentious fundamentalism can be admired. As he said: "If this extreme type of fundamentalism was of God, it would have brought revival long ago. Instead, it has brought dissension, division, strife and has produced dead and lifeless churches."

Aikman brings several strengths to his biography, including an impressive knowledge of recent history and political events, which is to be expected considering that he is former senior correspondent for TIME magazine. His knowledge of church history and doctrine, however, is more limited. For instance, he incorrectly calls the Westminster Confession a catechism, and he says that the Shorter Catechism is an abbreviation of the Confession (rather than the Larger Catechism). His linking of belief in such essential doctrines as the resurrection to "fundamentalism," and at times his discussion regarding the nature of the gospel itself, gives us reason to wonder if he is qualified to write on such subjects.

Still, I enjoyed reading Billy Graham. It is rich in recent history; I particularly enjoyed the more personal look into the lives of the U.S. presidents with whom Graham enjoyed close relationships. And certainly I learned much about the life and influence of Graham himself. Perhaps the most inspiring character of all is Rev. Graham's late wife, Ruth Bell Graham. The author's admiration for her is contagious, and we are left wanting to know more about her. Overall, Aikman's work is educational and enjoyable, though not necessarily inspiring.