The Gold Standard of Billy Graham

Does Protestant Christianity have saints?

Of course: all Christians are saints! And many Protestant churches are named after some of the earliest heroes of Christianity from the New Testament, such as Saint Paul, after whom the Presbyterian church I attended growing up was named.

The Catholic Church also acknowledges that all true Christians are saints (after all, the word "saint" is a synonym for "holy"). However, it has pointed out some special heroes of the faith who are particularly good examples of how to live a holy life, and canonized the most outstanding among them as Saints, reflecting the Catholic Church's advice that we can benefit in our own faith journeys by learning about and reflecting on the lives and teachings of these holy people.

How about modern saints? Do the kind of people who become the recognized heroes of Christianity still exist?

Sure! Think of Mother Teresa, who, while not yet canonized due to the short amount of time since she passed away, was an example to us during her life, and continues to be a great example from our lifetimes. In fact, many would suggest we can also learn a great deal in our journey from reflecting on Pope John Paul II's life.

Great. But how about non-Catholics? If I really believe that there are Protestant Christians as well as Catholic Christians then I must believe there are heroes of the faith among Protestants as well, even if the Catholic Church isn't currently in a position to canonize them as Saints.

Actually, I can think of quite a few, including Jim Elliot who was martyred among the Aucas, and Billy Graham, who has lived an exemplary life of preaching God's word and inviting people to join the faith.

So, you can imagine how pleased I am that Billy Graham and Pope John Paul II met in person, had a very high regard for each other, and that Billy Graham called Pope John Paul II "the most influential voice for morality and peace in the world in the last 100 years."

I love it when saints get together, and so much good results.

And I particularly love it that one of the great Protestant saints of our time, in many ways the Gold Standard of Protestant Christianity, explicitly acknowledged the common faith he shared with Pope John Paul II, one of the great Catholic saints of our time - regardless of whether either of them eventually gets canonized.

(Copyright (c) 2011, Reg Harbeck, all rights reserved)