Sons of Ham

It's time the American people take a harder look at Billy Graham's empire, and an empire it is, what with its size, means of subsistence, internationalism, paternalism, nepotism and adherence to primogeniture, as evidenced in the passing on of the organization to the founder's unworthy son, Franklin Graham.

For all those who have seen poshness portrayed in film the way of life of the Graham family is instantly recognizable as a throwback to the days of empire and nobility, no one in the family having made an honest living since the birth of Billy. They are also, as revealed privately, firmly rooted in traditions of bigotry and exploitation.

The innovation of Billy Graham was not in religious purity or piety or even simple discipline, but in marketing. He is all about ambition, which he would have us believe is ambition on behalf of Christ, but, since Billy and Jesus are indistinct in his own mind, the argument is specious. The family's incredible wealth betrays them.

As with so many of these new-age, reactionary, retrograde people who call themselves Christians, their secret dealings show the truth. Billy's taped antisemitic outbursts and his behind the scenes battles against Catholicism reveal the inner workings of his soul and indicate who is in charge there. It certainly isn't Jesus.

The most fundamental aspect of Christianity, the sine qua nothing, is that you must live for something outside of yourself, firstly Jesus. The rest follows from there, and is effortless once your soul is transformed by Jesus, though it may look odd to an outsider, since you are no longer selfish, grasping, greedy and mean.

The hallmark is humility. Contrast this with the Grahams. These crackers live like kings and carry on with it into the fourth generation, but it goes back even beyond Billy when you consider his true father-in-Christ, Mordecai Ham, a renowned bigot. A big-shot bigot -- he was not obscure -- so you can look him up. Please do so now.

All will be clear. It was with Mordecai's guidance that Billy found Christ, under Southern Baptist auspices, that great group which renounced slavery as early as 1995, for the sake of appearances. Billy's ambition, addiction to power and striving for nobility are also most tellingly revealed in his glomming on to US presidents.

He loves that stuff. The son, Franklin, shows how a noble class degenerates quickly due to insularity and inbreeding, an inbreeding of pernicious and unchristian beliefs in the case of the Grahams. Many traits alternate generations, I've been told, and you can see this in Franklin, who is so obviously a son of Ham.

As he demonstrates daily in his outpourings of ignorance. Franklin, if you read this, take the first step in repentance, lop off the offending hand, and you know what it is, your weakness. Sell all you have and give it to the poor. Blows your mind, I bet, to consider it. Maybe Jesus meant it, when he said as much.