By: Jacob Lupfer – religionnews.com – February 26, 2018

As soon as news spread of evangelist Billy Graham’s death last week at age 99, the accolades began pouring in.

Widely esteemed for his faith and integrity during seven decades as a Christian evangelist, Graham was one of the most admired men in America.

The obituaries and reflections noted the oft-repeated criticisms of the most popular preacher and pastor in Christendom: He did not do enough for civil rights; his closeness to presidents diminished his prophetic voice; etc.

But the consensus across American society — not just from conservative evangelicalism — is that we have lost a truly great man.

So it was unsurprising, then, when House Speaker Paul Ryan, R-Wis., and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., asked Graham’s son Franklin that his father’s remains be brought to the Capitol “in recognition of Rev. Graham’s long and distinguished service to the nation.”

Ryan announced the invitation on his Twitter feed, which is peppered with defenses of the Republican Party’s tax cuts for the rich.

Graham was no doubt a great man. His faithfulness and constancy inspired millions. It is thought that he alone pointed millions of nonbelievers toward faith in Jesus Christ.

Graham is deserving of many honors, naturally, within the religious communities that will defend, debate, and rightly honor his legacy.

By all accounts, he was an exemplary citizen as well. He was personally acquainted with every U.S. president since Harry Truman. In an age where his fellow evangelicals lost their Christian moorings and were seduced by the trappings of political influence, Graham mostly stayed out of partisan politics.

Even so, it is wrong to speak of Graham’s “long and distinguished service to our nation.” And it is a mistake for his remains to lie in honor in the Capitol Rotunda in Washington.

The cause that Graham served with longevity and distinction is evangelical Protestantism, not the United States of America.
The church and the state are not the same thing. It is dangerous to conflate them, as Graham himself would be the very first to admit.

I certainly understand the impulse to honor Graham, especially for politicians like Paul Ryan and Mitch McConnell.

The last time a person other than a public official lay in honor in the Capitol Rotunda was Rosa Parks, in 2005. House Speaker Dennis Hastert, R-Ill., and Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist, R-Tenn., found it a good opportunity to honor her “historic contributions,” as the concurrent resolution stated.

It was also a good political opportunity for the Republican Party to honor a legendary civil rights figure in such a showy way, according her an honor that had only been given to two people before her who were not military or elected officials.

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Source: Billy Graham should not lie in honor in the Capitol Rotunda