When it comes to the U.S.’s bitter ideological battle on race, it is easy to forget that, at the end of the day, there is only one solution to the issues being presented by each side as damaging to the quest for American justice: Jesus.
For Christians, it’s important to take a step back and remember that this is not about right vs. left, but right vs. wrong.
And as compelling as some of the arguments may be to keep monuments constructed, there are many Americans who are far more worthy of our homage.
Legendary evangelist and mighty soldier for the Gospel, Billy Graham, is just such a man. A statue honoring his legacy will soon replace that of a former North Carolina governor with an objectively racist history in the U.S. Capitol Building.
“You can try all your life…to find that certain something & you’ll never find it…[God] satisfies the deepest longings of our hearts & our lives…” –@BillyGraham #WednesdayWisdom pic.twitter.com/8ZTi1ZfSDn
— Franklin Graham (@Franklin_Graham) August 26, 2020
Christianity Today reported earlier this month that the statue of North Carolina native Graham will be installed in the U.S. Capitol’s Statuary Hall, to add to the national collection, which features two statues from each state.
The U.S. House of Representatives and the state of North Carolina want the statue of former Governor Charles Aycock (1859-1912), removed.
Christianity Today said “Aycock was one of the masterminds of the 1898 Wilmington, NC race riot and coup, in which a local government made up of Black Americans was overthrown and replaced by white officials. North Carolina’s other statue is of Zebulon Vance (1830-1894), a former governor and U.S. senator who was also a Confederate military officer.”
While a new round of calls for Confederate statues and imagery to be removed from various public places has followed the recent Black Lives Matter protests, placing Graham’s statue in Statuary Hall has actually been in the works for years.
While Graham was still living, former North Carolina state Sen. Dan Soucek pushed for the new statue and the process began soon after Graham’s death.
“From a Christian religious point of view, Billy Graham is an undeniable worldwide icon,” Soucek said, citing the six decades that Graham placed among the top 10 in Gallup’s list of the most admired people.
