Table Of Contenti
Billy Graham
ii
iii
Billy Graham
American Pilgrim
z
Edited by
ANDREW FINSTUEN
ANNE BLUE WILLS
GRANT WACKER
1
iv
1
Oxford University Press is a department of the University of Oxford. It furthers
the University’s objective of excellence in research, scholarship, and education
by publishing worldwide. Oxford is a registered trade mark of Oxford University
Press in the UK and certain other countries.
Published in the United States of America by Oxford University Press
198 Madison Avenue, New York, NY 10016, United States of America.
© Oxford University Press 2017
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in
a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, without the
prior permission in writing of Oxford University Press, or as expressly permitted
by law, by license, or under terms agreed with the appropriate reproduction
rights organization. Inquiries concerning reproduction outside the scope of the
above should be sent to the Rights Department, Oxford University Press, at the
address above.
You must not circulate this work in any other form
and you must impose this same condition on any acquirer.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Names: Finstuen, Andrew | Wills, Anne Blue | Wacker, Grant, editor.
Title: Billy Graham : American pilgrim /
edited by Andrew Finstuen, Anne Blue Wills and Grant Wacker.
Description: New York : Oxford University Press, 2017. |
Includes bibliographical references and index. |
Identifiers: LCCN 2016050920 (print) | LCCN 2017012227 (ebook) |
ISBN 9780190683528 (hardback) | ISBN 9780190683535 (ebook) |
ISBN 9780190683542 (updf) | ISBN 9780190683559 (online content)
Subjects: LCSH: Graham, Billy, 1918– |
United States—Church history—20th century. | Evangelism—United States.
Classification: LCC BV3785.G69 (ebook) |
LCC BV3785.G69 B495 2017 (print) | DDC 269/.2092—dc23
LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2016050920
1 3 5 7 9 8 6 4 2
Printed by Sheridan Books, Inc., United States of America
v
For
Edith L. Blumhofer
vi
vii
Contents
Preface ix
List of Contributors xi
Introduction—G rant Wacker 1
PART ONE: Religion
1. Professor Graham: Billy Graham’s Missions to Colleges
and Universities—a ndreW Finstuen 23
2. From Desire to Decision: The Evangelistic Preaching
of Billy Graham—M ichael s. haMilton 43
3. Singing to Save: Music in the Billy Graham Crusades—
edith l. BluMhoFer 64
4. God’s Ambassador to the World— WilliaM Martin 83
PART TWO: Politics
5. Preaching Good News to the Poor: Billy Graham and Evangelical
Humanitarianism— david P. kinG 119
6. A Politics of Conversion: Billy Graham’s Political and Social
Vision— curtis J. evans 143
7. “Heavenly Houston”: Billy Graham and Corporate Civil Rights
in Sunbelt Evangelicalism’s “Golden Buckle”—d arren dochuk 161
viii
viii Contents
PART THREE: Culture
8. “You Cannot Fool the Electronic Eye”: Billy Graham
and Media— elesha coFFMan 197
9. Billy Graham’s New Evangelical Manhood—s eth doWland 216
10. “An Odd Kind of Cross to Bear”: The Work of Mrs. Billy
Graham, from “Pretty Wife” to “End
of Construction”— anne Blue Wills 232
11. Complicated Innocence: A Case Study of the Billy Graham
Image—s teven P. Miller 262
Afterword: Billy Graham’s Legacy— MarGaret Bendroth 278
Epilogue: What Now?—k en GarField 295
Index 303
ix
Preface
in 2011 the Lilly Endowment Inc. awarded the Institute for the Study of
American Evangelicals (ISAE) at Wheaton College in Illinois a major grant
to examine the life and influence of the American evangelist Billy Graham
(b. 1918). The ISAE used the award to fund planning meetings, research
grants, public lectures, course offerings, two conferences (one academic,
one popular), a DVD about the history of Graham’s crusades (A Gathering
of Souls: The Billy Graham Crusades, from Tim Frakes Productions), three
spin- off volumes now under contract with Eerdmans Publishing Company,
and the scholarly essays that appear in this book. All are published here for
the first time. The editors thank the endowment for its generous support.
Many people helped bring this book to completion. First, we wish to
thank Paul Ericksen and Bob Shuster of the Billy Graham Center Archives.
Their knowledge of the Graham materials and eagerness to assist research-
ers is legendary. We also wish to thank John Akers and David Bruce of
the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association, who helped the authors make
sense of the complexity of Graham’s story, as well as offering tips about
elusive resources to check out and encouragement for carrying the book to
publication. At an early planning meeting in Maine, James Bratt astutely
critiqued the papers that eventually formed the book’s chapters. Larry
Eskridge ably handled planning details, and Joan Eskridge provided tech-
nical support. Leighton Ford, Martin Marty, and Kenneth L. Woodward
participated in a lively and perceptive public discussion about the project
at Wheaton College in 2013. Matthew Sutton and an anonymous reader for
Oxford University Press offered valuable suggestions for improving the
manuscript. Their carefulness established a gold standard for reviewers
of manuscripts. As always, Mark Noll staked out a spot on the sidelines,
where he brought keen perceptions about American evangelical history
(and much else) to bear on our work. Katherine Wacker suggested the
book’s title. Most important, we wish to thank Ingrid Finstuen for her
