In many ways, the Rev. Billy Graham was an admirable man. As a fellow Christian, I admired his extraordinary abilities to make a compelling case for his faith, and the vigor with which he pursued his calling. As a Southerner, I especially appreciated his insistence that his “crusades” in the South be racially integrated. I remember, on Easter Sunday 1964, attending an evangelistic service in Legion Field in Birmingham, Ala., which was the first time ever that the gigantic stadium had hosted a racially integrated event. (Amazing, but true.)
Graham had come to Birmingham, at the height of its troubles, on the condition that his service be integrated in an attempt to bring healing to that city. Unlike many evangelists, Graham conducted his life with integrity and honor — except for occasional lapses of judgment when he sought or succumbed to the allure of political ambrosia through his association with presidents of the United States.
My admiration for him is the reason that I was disappointed in his family’s decision to have him “lie in honor” in the rotunda of our nation’s Capitol.
When a member of government dies, such as a former president, and the family is invited by Congress to display the casket in a government building, that is known as “lying in state.” If the individual was not a government official, it is known as “lying in honor.” Before Graham, only three other American civilians had been so honored: Rosa Parks, whose courage initiated the civil rights movement for all Americans, and two U.S. Capitol police offices, Jacob Chestnut and John Gibson, who were killed in a shooting at the Capitol in 1998. I am disappointed that Graham is one of these four for two reasons.
First, I cannot believe that he himself would have wanted such recognition. At his best, Graham was a humble man who saw himself simply as a preacher of the gospel. He made every effort, aside from his lapses with the presidents, to avoid politicizing his message. I believe he would have objected to the decision made for him. He had publicly stated his regret that his ministry had ever been compromised by politics. His son Franklin Graham, however, who is CEO of the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association, is not as careful about separating his political and religious allegiances.
Second, it sets a dangerous precedent. Will other faith leaders now be seen to deserve such honor? As Americans, we can and do respect a person’s faith. We do not, however, expect any single faith leader to speak for all of us. Once the “wall of separation” has been breached, as it has by this invitation, it will be hard to repair.
I quietly honor Graham’s faith, and his life. It is fitting that he should be buried at the Billy Graham Museum and Library in Charlotte, N.C., his home state, beside his wife, Ruth. Since Graham preached in so many places, it would have been fitting to have his body lie in honor in a stadium, or a large auditorium, or even, perhaps, in a church. Our political leaders, if they wished, could have paid tribute to him there.
Richard R. Crocker is the college chaplain emeritus of Dartmouth College, as well as emeritus dean of the William Jewett Tucker Foundation. He lives in Lebanon.