'Our Nation Is In A Moral And Spiritual Crisis': Franklin Graham Laments the Durham Report In Viral Facebook Post

On Tuesday, evangelist Franklin Graham lamented the findings of the Durham report -- arguing it evidenced a 'moral and spiritual crisis' in American society.

"Reading the news about the Durham report, it is evident that our nation is in a moral and spiritual crisis. We have turned our back on our Creator, Almighty God, and the results are evident," Graham opined in a viral Facebook post.

"If we obeyed one of God’s simplest commands—do not lie—there wouldn’t have to be a Durham report. If we had followed God’s law—do not bear false witness—there wouldn’t have to be a Durham report. If we had followed Jesus’ instruction—do to others as you would have them do to you—there wouldn’t have to be a Durham report," Graham continued.

Graham then argued the influence of sin is far-reaching -- and it has generated much of the fuel for the scandalous findings of the Durham report.
 
"What we have is sin, and it has affected every level of our government. It is growing like an aggressive cancer of the soul of our nation. I have known many fine FBI agents over the years who are honorable and love this country; however, this corruption seems to be from the top, filtering down," Graham added.
 
Graham concluded by saying, "For public trust to come back to the FBI, there’s going to have to be some real soul-searching and some real accountability. It is my hope and prayer that those responsible for this deceit and the destruction of trust they have caused will resign and be held accountable. We need to go back to the Biblical principles and moral integrity that this nation was founded on."

While Christianity is no utopian religion -- it does not believe in externalized solutions to the problem of human sinfulness -- Christians have always seen the civic value in their beliefs. Human depravity will always show itself on this side of eternity. But biblical values and a society that embraces them are a helpful curb to the worst excesses of human nature. 

As conservatives, we do not believe in the perfectibility of human nature as such. That is a uniquely Christian assumption rooted in the evidence of radical depravity. But Graham is getting at something more fundamental -- our government evidences the choices of the American people. We must flee the excesses of secularism and recultivate the virtues of Athens and Jerusalem.