Billy Graham Museum Business Impacted by Democratic Convention?
A spokesman from the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association has stated that the Billy Graham Museum has received many out-of-town visitors who are in Charlotte for the Democratic National Convention.
Brent Rinehart, manager of Public and Media Relations for the BGEA, told The Christian Post that the visitors have not necessarily increased business.
"There hasn't necessarily been an upsurge in visits to the Library overall, but we have met a number of people who are in town for the convention," said Rinehart.
Get Our Latest News for FREE
Rinehart's remarks come in response to an Associated Press article which cited a museum official as saying that Democrats from all over the country for the convention had visited the evangelical location.
"Democrats attending their national convention in North Carolina have been driving out of Charlotte's airport directly onto the Billy Graham Parkway," reads the AP article from Wednesday.
"Tom Phillips, vice president of the Billy Graham Library, says the museum is seeing an increase in visits from Democrats from around the country this week."
The number of Democratic Convention attendees visiting the museum could be seen as ironic, given the disparity in beliefs recently espoused regarding the hot button issue of marriage definition.
Earlier this year, the Rev. Billy Graham voiced his support for North Carolina's Amendment One, which added to the state's constitution a statement defining marriage as being between one man and one woman.
"At 93, I never thought we would have to debate the definition of marriage," said Graham in a statement in May. "The Bible is clear – God's definition of marriage is between a man and a woman. I want to urge my fellow North Carolinians to vote for the marriage amendment on Tuesday, May 8. God bless you as you vote."
By contrast, the Democratic National Convention decided in August to add a plank to the platform in support of same-sex marriage.
"I don't think that we had any issues that were controversial," said one Democratic committee member, as reported by Politico. "I think we were pretty much in sync and in agreement with where we ended up."
The AP story and Rinehart's remarks come after the Democratic National Convention dealt with a controversy surrounding their platform lacking a direct reference to God.
The platform had removed the term "God-given" from the 2008 platform. The 2012 platform did contain a section on the value of faith in America. In response to the outcry, the DNC added language mentioning God and acknowledging Jerusalem as the capital of Israel at the eleventh hour.
