Rev. Franklin Graham. (BGEA)
In a discussion with Focus on the Family founder Dr. James Dobson, evangelical preacher Franklin Graham warned parents (and churches) to be “careful” who they let their kids associate with, particularly when it comes to homosexuals, and he stressed that although a gay person can go to Heaven, the person must “repent” and “leave their sins” – “you cannot stay gay and continue to call yourself a Christian.”
In the Q&A session, which was posted on the website for Dr. James Dobson’s Family Talk radio program on Jan. 19, Rev. Franklin Graham said, “We have allowed the enemy to come into our churches. I was talking to some Christians and they were talking about how they invited these gay children to come into their home and to come into the church and that they were wanting to influence them.”
“And I thought to myself, they're not going to influence those kids,” said Rev. Graham. “Those kids are going to influence those parents’ children."
“What happens is we think we can fight by smiling and being real nice and loving,” said the reverend. “We have to understand who the enemy is and what he wants -- he wants to devour our homes. He wants to devour this nation.”
“We have to be so careful who we let our kids hang out with,” he said. “We have to be so careful who we let into the churches. You have immoral people that get into the churches and it begins to affect the others in the church and it is dangerous."
“So, I’m going to encourage the church to take a stand for Christ,” said Rev. Graham. “To be the church, to take a stand for righteousness. And homosexuality is -- we have allowed into our schools – that’s why I want to get the school boards back -- homosexuality is taught to be okay in our universities, and you have all these diversity classes and all these nice names that they come up with promoting and pushing homosexuality.”
He continued, “Listen, I’m not here to bash gays, I don’t want to do that – and God does love them. I have people ask me, can a gay person go to Heaven? Absolutely, sure.”
“But the gay person is going to have to repent of their sins and turn from their sins, leave their sins,” said the reverend. “And they have to believe on the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and trust Him as their Savior. They have to be willing to follow him as their Lord.”
Dr. James Dobson. (AP)
“But you cannot stay gay and continue to call yourself a Christian,” said Rev. Graham. “You can’t do it.”
Dr. Dobson then remarked, “You know, it’s a whole lot broader than just the gay agenda. L-G-B-T. People understand, you know, when they say people have this inclination and want to fall in love and want to express this in the form of marriage and so on.”
Dobson continued, “L-G-B-T. You know what the B stands for? Bisexual. That’s orgies. That is lots of sex with lots of people.”
Dr. James Dobson, 79, is married and has two children. He is a psychologist, the author of 25 books, and the founder of Focus on the Family.
Franklin Graham, 63, is the son of world-renowned preacher Billy Graham. He is married and has five children, and he oversees the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association and the international Christian relief group Samaritan’s Purse.