The Rev. Franklin Graham tells Newsmax that the nation is "in a mess" because politicians "have turned their backs on God."
"Our country is in a mess, no question, and it seems like we're just in an ever-tightening spiral downward, and it doesn't seem as if anybody is listening to what is happening," Graham said Monday on Newsmax TV.
"We, as a nation, we've turned our back on God. Politicians have turned their backs on God. They have taken God out of our schools, out of just about everything you can imagine, and now we find ourselves in great danger," said Graham, son of renowned evangelist Billy Graham.
Story continues below video.
Urgent: Should GOP Stick to Its Guns on Obamacare? Vote Here.
Franklin Graham is president and CEO of the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association, and is currently on a tour to promote a new book by his aging father, "The Reason for My Hope: Salvation."
Graham told Newsmax that his father's new book isn't "a cut-and-paste book of old writings" but a brand-new book that his father thinks will help readers restore their hope and faith."
With the government in Washington shut down, Graham was asked what message of spiritual guidance he and his father had for politicians and Americans during this trying time.
"If we would just turn back to God and trust Him, if our politicians would call upon His name," he said. "But if you look at this mess in Washington, how many politicians have said, 'Hey, time out, let's go on our knees and let's call on Almighty God and ask for help.' I haven't heard anybody make that call.
"But my father, at 95, is trying to call America back to Almighty God. He has not only this book that is just out, but he has a video that's going to be released on Nov. 7 on stations all across the country.
"It is a tremendous film. It'll be his last call. It's called 'My Hope America.' My father has hope. Ever since he was 16 years of age he's had hope, and that's because at 16 he gave his life to Christ."
Graham called the shutdown "tragic," noting that "the politicians have not been able to deal with this debt crisis that we are facing, and they keep raising the debt limit, they keep spending . . . It's going to be our great-great-grandchildren who are going to have to pay this debt."
"It's a terrible thing that we're doing to our nation with this uncontrolled spending," he said. "There has to be some way out of this, and we've got to lower the spending and allow the economy to grow. But I don't think these politicians in Washington are listening. It's all about winning, and it's all about getting the last punch in. They should be working together for the American people, and they're not doing that."
Graham also expressed his continued concern about the growing persecution of Christians in Muslim nations, including Syria, Egypt, Pakistan and Iran.
"We are seeing Christians being persecuted throughout the Islamic world, and very little has been said on their behalf," he told Newsmax. "My father has spoken out and I have spoken out, but we need our politicians to speak out.
"Christians around the world are being persecuted, churches are being bombed in Egypt, pastors are being killed in Egypt. We are seeing that the opposition forces in Syria are the ones that are attacking churches and burning churches and killing Christians.
"These are the opposition forces that many advocates in Washington say we should support and arm. But we find out that these people are al-Qaida and they're wanting to destroy all Christians," Graham said.
"And so, our world is in a mess. It's not just our country."
Urgent: Should GOP Stick to Its Guns on Obamacare? Vote Here.
Graham also acknowledged the recent comments by Pope Francis on homosexuality and abortion.
"I appreciate his stand on the poor and his speaking out on behalf of the poor and reminding people that all people are objects of God's love, regardless of their sexual orientation; that our sins are what separate us from God," he said.
Related:
Rev. Billy Graham Prepares 'Perhaps … My Last Message'
© 2025 Newsmax. All rights reserved.