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Franklin Graham Rips US 'Fascination and Obsession with Death'
By Jason Devaney
http://www.Newsmax.com/
January 12, 2015
The Rev. Franklin Graham, son of preacher Billy Graham, slams the United States' "fascination and obsession with death" in a story for Decision Magazine.
In the article, Graham focuses on TV shows and video games that prominently feature death in some form. This, he writes, is to blame for many of the social problems in the U.S. and across the world.
"Death is not a fictional television series. It is not a popular gaming topic. It is the entryway into either eternal life or eternal death," Graham writes. "A culture that treats it as mere fantasy and amusing entertainment does so at its peril.
"At least half a dozen prime-time shows are strangely enamored and captivated by it. These shows, when combined with hugely popular video games like Mortal Kombat, demonstrate how obsessed with death our culture has become.
"However, despite our society's fascination and obsession with death, there is virtually no understanding of the eternal consequences that death brings. Amazingly, as much as the entertainment industry cranks out movies and programs that are preoccupied with death scenes and motifs, death is not a subject often candidly discussed. I think that's because we would prefer to portray death on a purely fictional level and avoid its stark reality."
Graham writes that in cultures where Christianity is strong, the focus is on life, not death. But in places where Christianity is in decline, such as much of Europe, the practice of euthanasia is becoming more and more prevalent.
Belgium, for example, now allows euthanasia for children of any age.
"I'm concerned that America is not far behind," Graham writes. "The euthanasia movement -- disguised now as 'death with dignity' -- is gaining ground in a number of states, and for every 1,000 live births in the United States, 219 pregnancies end with a murdered child, through abortion.
"I don't think there's any doubt that this rise in the culture of death in our own country coincides with the embrace of an immoral, sinful, godless worldview that rejects Christ. Christianity is constantly under siege from the halls of government and education, which seek to suppress any public expressions of faith.
"Yet bold, biblical Christianity is the only antidote to the devilish, dark culture of sin and death that seeks to enslave and ultimately damn people for eternity. We must never cease to preach, teach and live the truth of the Gospel."
In November, 29-year-old Brittany Maynard made national news when she ended her life via physician-assisted suicide. She was diagnosed with a brain tumor on New Year's Day 2014 and told she had six months to live. She and her husband moved from California to Oregon to take advantage of that state's assisted-suicide law.
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