In 1993, the Billy Graham Crusade came to Columbus, Ohio, for a series of revivals. Churches and others in the community ballyhooed the event, and the establishment media followed along like sheep. Together, they generously provided Graham with extensive favorable publicity that sometimes appeared to be idolization.
By gushing all over this famous evangelist, the media neglected to do their job of presenting the other side of the story. For the health of the community, they should have pointed out that humanistic researchers have found compelling reasons for rejecting Graham's message.
Some of those reasons are contained in the book Deadly Doctrine, by psychiatrist Wendell Watt-ers, professor emeritus at McMaster University in Ontario. He argues that the teachings of Graham and other evangelists can cause or contribute to significant health problems.
Graham urges people to view themselves as sinners and feel guilty because they deserve eternal punishment in hell. Watters reports that this teaching that people are inherently evil and deserve severe punishment can prevent or hinder the development of strong self-esteem, which is essential to mental health. The lack of adequate self-esteem is at the root of many emotio-nal problems.
Watters adds that the doctrine of the inherent depravity of human nature may lead some to behave in accordance with it, or cause them to develop a negative attitude toward others. Additionally, that teaching is completely at odds with modern psychiatry's position that people must be able to love themselves before they can be capable of loving others.
Graham advocates that persons turn to the Lord for the solutions to their problems. In fact, one of the children's programs at the Columbus crusade parodied Sigmund Freud, the founder of psychoanalysis, as "Sigmund Fraud."
Watters asserts that this emphasis on seeking other-worldly solutions to psychiatric problems - in place of searching for human solutions - can discourage the development of self-understanding, human-to-human communication skills, and human support groups. All of these promote health, and their absence can contribute to psychological and physical illness.
Graham alleges that there will be a judgment day when not only physical sins but also "sins of the mind" will be revealed. According to him, such mental sins include "jealousies, greed and lust."
Watters maintains that the teaching of "mental sins" can cause some to live in constant warfare with their own thoughts and emotions. This conflicted state of mind is in opposition to psychotherapy's goals of getting people to accept their feelings as natural, to feel at home with themselves, and to draw a distinction between feelings and actions.
Graham proclaims that sexual expression is acceptable only "within the bounds of matrimony," thus apparently condemning homosexuality, masturbation, and sex between an unmarried man and woman who are in love and in a monogamous relationship. Watters echoes many other medical experts in stating that this overly repressive attitude toward sexuality leads to neurosis and sexual dysfunction.
The scientific evidence adds up to a clear causal relationship between Graham's version of Christianity and the development of serious psychological problems. As Watters conclu-des: "Not to state the case too strongly, indoctrination with the core doctrine and other teachings of the Christian Church constitutes a form of mental and emotional abuse."
To allow people to make informed decisions about the doctrines of Graham and other evangelists, the media should be reporting the views of researchers who have gathered persuasive evidence that many of those teachings are extremely harmful.
Biography
Joe Sommer is an attorney with the state government of Ohio. He obtained a B.B.A. from Ohio University and a J.D. from the University of Toledo. He is admitted to the bar in Ohio and California, and is certified by the Ohio State Bar Association as a specialist in workers' compensation law.
An activist for many years with the Humanist Community of Central Ohio, he has served on its board and in the offices of president, vice president and secretary. He is also a longtime member of the American Humanist Association, the Freedom From Religion Foundation (currently serving on its national board), and Americans United for Separation of Church and State. The American Humanist Association certified him as an Advocate for the Humanist philosophy.
He is a volunteer attorney for the Columbus Bar Association's Homeless Project and the Ohio Chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union. He serves on the state governing board of Common Cause/ Ohio and is a board member and vice president for the Center for Effective Discipline, which operates the national program End Physical Punishment of Children (EPOCH, USA). He is also a member of the Governor's Pro Bono Implementation Committee, which is responsible for increasing participation by Ohio state government attorneys in volunteer legal work for charitable and social service organizations.
