Anti-war Christians oppose Franklin Graham Japan rally
-07/11/06
Hundreds of Christian
Anti-war Christians oppose Franklin Graham Japan rally
-07/11/06
Hundreds of Christians and seven churches in Japan have opposed an evangelical festival on account of its preacher’s support for the war in which the United States is embroiled in Iraq and for statements attributed to the pastor against Islam – writes Hisashi Yukimoto for Ecumenical News International.
The 3 to 5 November 2006 festival was to have Franklin Graham, son of evangelist Billy Graham, preaching on one of the islands of Japan’s southwestern Okinawa Prefecture. About 75 per cent of the US military bases in Japan are concentrated on the island of Okinawa, from where US troops have been dispatched to Iraq.
“We think that joining the festival and saying ‘Amen’ to his message as ‘the word of God’ would constitute an act that supports the American war on Iraq,” the opponents of Graham’s festival said, in a statement that was on 31 October sent to the chairperson of the event’s executive committee, the Rev. Mamoru Kuniyoshi.
“You say that the festival aims for ‘salvation’, but should a person who supports the Iraq war that is depriving many innocent people of their lives and calls Islam ‘evil’ deserve to be a messenger of ‘salvation’ for citizens of the prefecture?” the statement says.
Following the 11 September 2001 terror attacks in the United States, Franklin Graham provoked widespread criticism after he was quoted describing Islam as “a very evil and a very wicked religion”.
In advance of the evangelical festival in Japan, Graham said: “We’re proud of our troops serving in places such as Iraq and Afghanistan.” He added, “We pray for them, and of course, we’re grateful for them … There are thousands of US military personnel on Okinawa, and the Lord is giving us a number of opportunities to present the Gospel to those who serve our country so bravely and sacrificially.”
With acknowledgements to ENI. Ecumenical News International is jointly sponsored by the World Council of Churches, the Lutheran World Federation, the World Alliance of Reformed Churches, and the Conference of European Churches.
Anti-war Christians oppose Franklin Graham Japan rally
-07/11/06
Hundreds of Christians and seven churches in Japan have opposed an evangelical festival on account of its preacher’s support for the war in which the United States is embroiled in Iraq and for statements attributed to the pastor against Islam – writes Hisashi Yukimoto for Ecumenical News International.
The 3 to 5 November 2006 festival was to have Franklin Graham, son of evangelist Billy Graham, preaching on one of the islands of Japan’s southwestern Okinawa Prefecture. About 75 per cent of the US military bases in Japan are concentrated on the island of Okinawa, from where US troops have been dispatched to Iraq.
“We think that joining the festival and saying ‘Amen’ to his message as ‘the word of God’ would constitute an act that supports the American war on Iraq,” the opponents of Graham’s festival said, in a statement that was on 31 October sent to the chairperson of the event’s executive committee, the Rev. Mamoru Kuniyoshi.
“You say that the festival aims for ‘salvation’, but should a person who supports the Iraq war that is depriving many innocent people of their lives and calls Islam ‘evil’ deserve to be a messenger of ‘salvation’ for citizens of the prefecture?” the statement says.
Following the 11 September 2001 terror attacks in the United States, Franklin Graham provoked widespread criticism after he was quoted describing Islam as “a very evil and a very wicked religion”.
In advance of the evangelical festival in Japan, Graham said: “We’re proud of our troops serving in places such as Iraq and Afghanistan.” He added, “We pray for them, and of course, we’re grateful for them … There are thousands of US military personnel on Okinawa, and the Lord is giving us a number of opportunities to present the Gospel to those who serve our country so bravely and sacrificially.”
With acknowledgements to ENI. Ecumenical News International is jointly sponsored by the World Council of Churches, the Lutheran World Federation, the World Alliance of Reformed Churches, and the Conference of European Churches.