AP still using the term "Crusade" to refer to Graham preaching event

[brg5001]

Comment: One would think that someone proclaiming the "Good News" about Jesus would have the sensitivity and kindness to object to the use of a term that equates to the wanton slaughter of those of another faith. I suppose that complaining about the term "crusade" would cause his followers to accuse him of "political correctness," which we all know ONLY refers to the practice of genuflecting to progessive causes and never the demands of the religious right. (Sarcasm)

I'm not objecting to the right to promote this pseudo-religious political event, only the characterization of it as a "crusade", popularized by Rev. Billy Graham. Why not just call it a cross-burning?

Not surprisingly, Rev. Will Graham has a degree from Liberty "University" in Lynchburg, VA.

(End of Comment)

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20061009/ap_on_re_us/graham_s_grandson

Billy Graham's grandson to lead crusade Sun Oct 8, 10:13 PM ET

(AP) The Rev. Will Graham, the grandson of evangelist Billy Graham, will lead his first U.S. crusade this week.

The 31-year-old's appearance at the three-day Greater Gaston Celebration is a first step for a man whose grandfather has led more than 400 crusades worldwide, and whose father, Franklin, has preached in 33 states and several countries.

He insists his calling is not a family legacy.

"You've just got to be your own person," Graham told The Charlotte Observer for a story published Sunday. "There's no replacing Billy Graham. I don't want to be Billy Graham."

The Rev. Austin Rammell, a former classmate from Liberty University who is now pastor of a church in Gaston County, extended the invitation.

Graham is assistant director of the Billy Graham Training Center in Asheville. He tentatively plans to lead a crusade in Ohio and others in Canada next year. He has already led some in Canada and has preached in India.

"If I end up doing more, great," he said. "If I don't, great. It's not about me."

He has degrees from Liberty and Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary.

[sugapablo]

1. That's the term the Grahams use...

...but I think you're breaking a few LBN rules here...

[jhrobbins]

2. I agree - that word has been used so much in western language...

that it has lost - at least for many of us - the original meaning. There have been crusades on so many things that it seems to have been neutered over the years. I remember a crusade I went on to get more money from my Dad for school, etc.
I guess we should all be more sensitive, but sometimes it really isn't meant to be a pejorative against someone.

[brg5001]

4. Chucklenuts originally called the War on Terror a "Crusade"

I appreciate your response, jhrobbins, but make no mistake -- the religious right understands very well that NOTHING is to stand in the way of a crusade. No one can plead ignorance to knowing what this word means when it's used in a religious context.

[jhrobbins]

5. It is a sad and frustrating thing when language can be hijacked...

in order to spin a political or religious agenda. The same thing is being done on the other side, I believe, with the word jihad. Historically, it is not the pejorative that conservative pundits have turned it into and yet, there it is. Anytime that word is used, we have decided that it is an attack on western religion and western values.

[Orrex]

9. It's heavily based in context, though

If Richard Dawkins or, say, Jerry Lewis were to use the word to refer to a concerted, dedicated effort, then I think we can conclude that they would be describing a "crusade" much different from what Graham or Boykin or Bush would be implying by the same word.

[Orrex]

8. Agreed

The demented General Boykin explicitly framed this as a Jesus vs. Allah Crusade when he declared that he knew that "my God was bigger than his God."

If this were a time of peace or at least a time of non-war, then "Crusade" would carry a different connotation. As it is, the word can't be uttered by those in power (legislative or spiritual) without resonating with the savagery of the original (and often disastrous) Crusades.

And welcome to DU, by the way!

:hi:

[Totallybushed]

13. I agree, we

can all be more sensitive to others. But some of us need to be less sensitive, period.

Not everybody cares enough about their group, their cause, or themselves to go out of their way to either insult them, or cater to their feelings.

Some people need to grow up and get over it, to a large extent. Of course, I'm not talking about fighting current injustice, or deliberate provocation.

[brg5001]

3. It was breaking on Yahoo, but I didn't see an obvious earlier post

Perhaps that should have gone into the general discussion. This is actually my first post as a new thread, so if I've made an error, I apologize.

[peace13]

10. Welcome!

Don't worry about it, if it was a mistake we all make them! Peace, Kim

[The Stranger]

12. Then tell the Grahams to stop using it.

They are pissing off a bunch of people needlessly, and they are supposed to be Christians. You see, the Crusaders mass murdered a bunch of people based on their religion. If that isn't what the Grahams are doing, then they need to pick a different word.

[moobu2]

6. Onward Christian soldiers

:eyes:

[riverwalker]

7. and using the term "Christian"

after beating their war drums and celebration of the slaughter in Iraq. After watching and learning of the Amish this last week, I wonder if the Amish are the only true Christians left.
The obscene Crystal-Palace-Christo-Mungo-Extravaganza circuses should bow in humility and shame in comparison.

[onager]

11. "Crusade" is a trademark for Billy Grab'em

The tiresome old fart has been calling his sideshow "The Billy Graham Crusade" since forever. I'm sure he doesn't want to change the "branding" of his worthless product at this late date. When I was a kid my parents often forced me to watch his crusades on TV--just one of the many threads eventually making up the large and colorful tapestry of my current atheism.

Since the subject popped up, whenever I mention Billy Graham unfavorably, DU'ers always yell: "he's a Democrat!" If that's so, then ask yourself why he endorsed Shrub in 2000. A Google will prove that. Of course, Graham couldn't do an outright endorsement, since that might endanger his tax status. What he did was a cutesy little sidestep, appearing in public with Shrub and Pickles and gushing about "this fine young man."

Like most of his ilk, under the toothy smile and platitudes, Graham is a power-mad egomaniac, as described in several good unauthorized bios about him. For a seat at a White House dinner, Graham would probably sell the Baby Jesus to King Herod and throw in John The Baptist as a bonus.

His lust for power nearly got Graham in serious trouble during the Nixon Years, when he slavishly defended Tricky Dick just as Watergate got rolling. But as always, Graham could count on the short memories of the religiously insane when it comes to their so-called leaders.

Some other notable modern Xian Crusades:

Campus Crusade For Christ--those annoying asshats cluttering up the college campuses. Their leader is the seriously misnamed Bill Bright.

Campus Anti-Communist Crusade--created by Rev. Billy James Hargis. When a young man and woman from Harris' organization got married, on the wedding night they discovered that the Rev. had known BOTH of them in the Biblical sense. Harris blamed his bisexuality on "genes and chromosomes."

[brg5001]

14. What strikes me as remarkable...

is that no one in the media or in the religious publicity biz blinks when using the term "crusade" to characterize a (supposedly) Christian conversion exercise. We know better now, or should.

I did notice, however, that Will Graham was not using the term "crusade" himself. He is calling this thing the "Greater Gaston Celebration" (after Gastonia, NC). Perhaps he could launch the celebration by apologizing for helping transform Jesus from a humble person of peace into an SUV-driving, preppily-garbed Fox-watching supporter of the status quo, and a convenient spokesmodel for KKKarl Rove's efforts to recruit suburban and rural voters to the Republican Party.