Billy Graham and the Beloved Community : America's Evangelist and the Dream of Martin Luther King, Jr.

This study is the first detailed analysis of Billy Graham's social thought during one of the most volatile periods of American history, the Martin Luther King, Jr. years (1955-1968). Using previously unpublished documents, this book argues that although the popular evangelist occasionally supported King's mission to save America, he largely opposed King's vision of the beloved community and his tactics of civil disobedience. The book also offers the controversial claim that because Graham allowed his political allegiances to trump his biblical Christianity, he never dreamed of nor worked for a world marked by lasting racial reconciliation, economic justice, and peace. Front Matter....Pages i-xi Introduction: “Bowed in Prayer”—Resurrecting the Assassinated King....Pages 1-7 “The Bible Says”: Heart Problems and the Divine Cure....Pages 8-29 “Preaching Nothing but the Bible”: Against a Political Church....Pages 30-56 “True Christian Loyalty in Our Hearts”: A Christian Defense of American Patriotism....Pages 57-78 “He Belonged to All the Races”: The Evolution of Graham’s Race Ethics....Pages 79-107 “This Is Freedom Out of Control!”: Graham’s Dissent from the Civil Rights Movement....Pages 108-142 “The Tramp, Tramp, Tramp of the Little Man”: Graham’s Conversion to the War on Poverty....Pages 143-178 “I’m Not a Pacifist”: On Militarists, Pacifists, and Vietnam....Pages 179-220 Conclusion: “We Are Now in the Violent Society”—A Question of Legacy....Pages 221-226 Back Matter....Pages 227-268

China's new leader Xi Jinping has announced that the China Dream of great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation is now closer than ever. This book discusses the meaning and progress of Chinese national rejuvenation from multiple perspectives. It discusses critically China's progress towards becoming a strong, prosperous and well-governed country.