Reverend Franklin Graham gave the keynote speech at the opening session of the National Religious Broadcaster International Christian Media Convention earlier this week. In it, Graham addressed growing concern within the Christian media space that censorship may increase in years to come.
Graham called the next few years a possible, “coming storm,” in which Christian media will face cancellation attempts from Hollywood and traditional media outlets. Here is some of what he said, as quoted by the Christian Post:
“I believe there is a coming storm that we all need to be ready for. The world has deteriorated so quickly. We cannot be deceived and we can’t be fooled. We need to get ready and be prepared.”
Graham added that while we are “living in a cancel culture that wants to destroy Christian organizations,” “we cannot back up, we can’t retreat, don’t apologize for the Gospel — just declare it, just preach it.”
Graham then went on to discuss exactly what kind of Biblical speech seemed to be the most suppressed, saying:
“They want us to shut our mouths, they don’t want to hear from us. If you’re not going to preach the Gospel, you don’t have anything to worry about.”
“If you’re not going to talk about sin, you’re not going to have anything to worry about; but if you’re going to proclaim the Gospel, they’re going to try to shut you up.”
The National Religious Broadcasters event in 2023 described itself on its website as “the premier conference for Christian communicators. Whether you work in radio, TV, film, church media, or digital marketing, the NRB International Christian Media Convention is a can’t-miss event.” So, Graham’s speech in front of this conference is certainly falling onto the most important ears in Christian media.
According to Fox News, Graham even insinuated that Amazon Web Service is attempting to cause issues for those in the Christian Media space, stating:
“Who owns the [data] cloud? Amazon.”
For their part, Amazon released a statement denying that they have any hand in such activities. Amazon said:
“It’s completely false to claim that AWS discriminates based on customer viewpoints. AWS provides services to millions of customers across the political, business and ideological spectrum.”
President and CEO of the National Religious Broadcasters Troy A. Miller also took a moment to speak about the concerns that he sees as being at the forefront of Christian broadcasting, saying:
“All too often, we are seeing pastors and ministries fall by the wayside, compromising on the truth of scripture and disintegrating into fixtures of the culture.”
“As our society is bombarded by anti-Christian hostility and contempt for First Amendment freedoms, Graham’s message promises to deliver exactly what we need to hear as Christian leaders: a call to stand firm, not bow to the cultural influences of the day.”
When we humble ourselves and ask God to forgive us, He cleanses and forgives us, and He will set us on a new course in life. #ThursdayThoughts pic.twitter.com/idyDfaj7oF
— Franklin Graham (@Franklin_Graham) May 18, 2023
The Featured image is a screenshot from an embedded Tweet.
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