Billy Graham and The Forgotten Factor in the Overthrow of Soviet Communism
By Julio Severo
As an American tourist in the former
Soviet Union, Billy Graham prayed in a Moscow empty stadium in 1959. He prayed for
God to open the doors for the Gospel to be preached in that nation.
Billy Graham preaching in Moscow in 1992 |
Billy Graham in a Moscow stadium in 1959 |
After the fall of the Soviet empire,
Graham preached in a Moscow stadium to 50,000 Russians in 1992 and God’s action
was so fantastic that the choir singing “The Battle Hymn of Republic” (Glory,
Glory, Hallelujah! His truth is marching on) was the Red Army itself. Several red
soldiers in the choir went forward to receive Christ after Graham gave the
invitation.
Red Army soldiers singing Glory Hallelujah in a Billy Graham Crusade in Moscow in 1992 |
I have all the anticommunist books by Paul
Kengor, a Catholic author who writes extensively about Soviet communism from
the Catholic standpoint.
Even though Billy Graham visited Russia
several times before and after the Soviet Union, and Pope John Paul II never
visited Russia, Kengor singularly extolled the pope as the most prominent Christian
to defeat Soviet communism.
This representation goes against what
Kengor said in his book “A Pope and a President” where he quoted President
Ronald Reagan as saying at the National Religious Broadcasters in the early
1980s: “The most awesome military machine in history [the USSR]… is no match
for that one, single man, hero, strong yet tender, Prince of Peace.”
Billy Graham preaching to 50,000 people in Moscow in 1992 |
There is no greater force against
communism than the Gospel. And no one in the West preached more the Gospel in
the Soviet Union than Billy Graham did.
Yet, the Gospel is no once mentioned in
Kengor’s book “The Crusader,” where he chronicles Reagan’s battle against Soviet
communism. Billy Graham, whom Kengor recognizes as a close Reagan friend, is
marginally mentioned in Kengor’s books. On the other hand, Pope John Paul II is
extensively mentioned.
The only antidote against communism and
socialism is not the right. There are right-wing groups, like the Moonies, who
follow the false messiah Rev. Moon, which brainwash their followers.
The only antidote against communism and
socialism is not Catholicism. Catholic Latin America is filled with socialism
and communism, thanks to the Liberation Theology preached by Catholic leaders. This
is the reason that the more Catholic is a Latin American nation, the more prone
to socialism it is. Venezuela is massively Catholic — 97 percent of its
population. Cuba is also massively Catholic.
The only antidote against communism and
socialism is the Gospel. This is the reason the more evangelical is a nation, the
more prone it is to oppose socialism. Guatemala,
which has now become 50 percent evangelical, is not so prone to socialism
as Catholic Venezuela is. This is the reason that the
main political base of Bolsonaro in Brazil against socialism was evangelicals,
even though he
has been empowering right-wing groups that brainwash people. Brazil, which
was some decades ago so massively Catholic as Venezuela and Cuba, now has
become about 30 percent evangelical.
It
is not coincidence also that the most anticommunist president in
the U.S. history — Ronald Reagan — was supported by evangelicals and
was a Protestant himself. In fact, Reagan proclaimed 1983 as Year of the Bible
in the United States.
The basic difference is that in Catholic
churches the Gospel is not so prominently preached as it is in evangelical
churches. This is the secret against communism: The proclamation of the Gospel.
When the Gospel begins to be effectively proclaimed
in the Catholic churches in Venezuela, Liberation Theology will die away and socialism
will disappear.
Yet, if the Catholic Church in Venezuela
and other Latin American nations do not begin to preach the Gospel, evangelical
churches will increase and emerge as the main force against communism by merely
preaching the Gospel.
There
is no greater conservative and anticommunist force in the universe than the
Gospel of Jesus Christ. All the other “antidotes” fail and brainwash people,
but only the Gospel transforms, delivers, heals and saves people.
Information and pictures about Billy
Graham Crusade in Moscow were taken from the movie “Billy Graham: God’s
Ambassador.”
Portuguese version of this article: Billy
Graham e o fator esquecido na derrubada do comunismo soviético
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