On Billy Graham
Mungo MacCallum writes: Re. “Rundle: ‘America’s Pastor’ and the crusade for Australia’s eternal soul”
Guy Rundle’s evocation of the Billy Graham crusades would add the proviso that although the crowds were vast, some at least were serial recidivists. An aunt of mine made 17 separate and complete decisions for Christ over the tour. Is this an Australian resident record?
On the Catholic Church
Peter Wileman writes: Re. “What we’re really talking about when we talk about ‘the church’”
If Pell could find a missing (or hidden) Billion Euros, how much more is salted away? Accepting the premise that “the church” is made up of “hundreds of separate dots that are loosely and culturally, but often not corporately or legally, connected”. Then when a crime is detected in one of the “dots”, let that dot pay for its transgressions. No doubt the other “dots” would not allow another dot to be bankrupted. But that would be up to their own accountants to decide, I doubt that charity would come into the decisions of this tax free business that sits on vast treasures as “caretakers for posterity” whilst their clients starve.
Is the term “serial recidivist” tautological?
I was at Billy Graham’s crusades at the MCG. He had one on Saturday night (reasonably well attended) and the Sunday afternoon session. I was there working for the caterer. Billy Graham had been invited by several Protestant leaders to preach, and to outdo a Catholic Rosary crusade a few years prior, when they claimed 200,000 of the faithful recited the rosary (I was working for the caterer that day too). The claimed attendance was at least four times the likely crowd, given the capacity of the lawns and the logistics of getting people there.
The Billy Graham crowd at the MCG was claimed by his staff. Nobody went through the turnstiles, and although a lot of people sat on the turf, the standing room areas (Which probably held 20-30,000 people at the time), were virtually empty. The attendance may have been 100,000.
I noticed that those making decisions for Christ were mainly young people- mid-teens. Given the increasing proportions in recent censuses, it is probable that they weren’t permanent.
Billy Graham had a second coming to the MCG about ten years later. The crowd was reasonable but no figures were released. Some actually went for entertainment, and as with sports fixtures brought their eskies with a good supply of beer. I wasn’t there.
Neither the Catholic rosary crusade (and I was biting my tongue as they went through the rosary) or the Billy Graham crusade converted me away from non-belief.
I give up, what’s with the blue-blocked articles?
Since they began this week the comments revert to a week old Stephen Mayne article (… not that there’s anything wrong with ….) –
https://uat.crikey.com.au/2018/02/15/mayne-jeff-kennett-should-retire-from-public-life/#comments