Displaying items by tag: Franklin Graham

Adverts on buses promoting a church-run event in Blackpool featuring Franklin Graham are being removed after a number of complaints were made. Blackpool Transport, which oversees the buses, claimed the ads ‘resulted in heightened tension’. A number of people had taken to social media to claim that he would be preaching hate and homophobia at the event, due to take place at the city's Winter Gardens in September. Jane Cole of Blackpool Transport said, ‘The removal of these adverts is as a result of us listening to and acting on customer and public feedback, which we aim to do at all times. Blackpool Transport is a proud ongoing supporter of the Pride and LGBT+ communities, and in no way did we intend to cause any distress or upset.’ Graham said, ‘I'm not coming to preach hate, I'm here to preach about a Saviour - Jesus Christ.’

A number of MPs have added their voice to the growing concern over an upcoming visit to the UK by US evangelist Franklin Graham. Over 5,000 people have signed a petition stating he should not be allowed into the country. They claim he has homophobic and islamophobic views and is ‘likely to promote prejudice and hatred’. The preacher, who is the son of legendary evangelist Billy Graham, is due to speak at Blackpool's Festival of Hope in September. But after recent endorsements of Donald Trump and what has been seen as inflammatory statements about Islam, many are unhappy about the visit. Labour MP Gordon Marsden is calling on the home secretary to refuse him entry into the UK saying, ‘some of his comments are incompatible with what Jesus said in the Bible’. His visit is being supported by many local church leaders.

The inauguration of Donald Trump as President of the United States of America took place in Washington, watched by tens of millions around the world. His speech was full of rhetoric and confirmed many of his aims mentioned in the campaign leading to his presidency: America First, never let you down, trade deals changing, Mexico wall, anti-terrorism. Think big, dream bigger. Franklin Graham, son of Billy Graham, before reading a passage from 1 Timothy, said: ‘Mr President, in the Bible rain is a sign of God's blessing. It started to rain, Mr. President, when you came to the platform. It's my prayer that God will bless you, your family, your administration, and may He bless America.’ We will wait to see when the rhetoric becomes reality and what priorities President Trump sets. One of his first actions was a memorandum designed to move forward the controversial Keystone XL and Dakota Access pipelines. See: