American Christian leaders have supported ex-atheist Putin over the years, praising his “morality”

Putin’s morality is “higher than our own”

… the brutal dictator is hardly a follower of Christ

How times have changed. Vladimir Putin became a hero to American conservatives, particular those who call themselves “Christians.” They praised him as a leader with better morality than Americans. 

Putin was an atheist for years as a member of the Communist Party in the USSR, which prosecuted anyone who followed God. He was a leader of the KGB that brutally enforced those policies and killed anyone who deviated from them. 

Yet, over the past 15 years, American evangelical leaders have praised Putin, the brutal leader who is now being denigrated worldwide for his immoral and illegal invasion of and war in Ukraine. 

In fact, one religious figure even praised Putin as having better morality than the American president. 

And now? The worm has turned, and the snakes have started slithering away from adulation of Putin — though not all of them. 

Why?

Franklin Graham, the far-right lover of dictators

Why do far-right Christians love autocrats? That is too complicated a story for this post. However, the truth is that many of them prefer the government of Russia to democracy. 

This became clear about eight years ago when Franklin Graham, who tries to emulate his father but fails on every level, praised Putin for one reason: The Russian leader, like Graham, also hates homosexuals,

Franklin Graham also spoke highly of Putin. In the leadup to the 2014 Olympic Games in Sochi, Russia, Graham called Russia’s standard on morality “higher than our own,” saying, “In my opinion, Putin is right on these issues. Obviously, he may be wrong about many things, but he has taken a stand to protect his nation’s children from the damaging effects of any gay and lesbian agenda.”

Graham later visited Russia and gave an interview on Russian television, more than a year after Russia’s annexation of the Crimean peninsula. In this interview, Graham stated, “Democracy is not for all people. In some parts of the world, it just doesn’t work.” He also lauded Putin’s protection of Bashar al-Assad’s regime in Syria. 

Finally, when asked about international sanctions against Russia, he declared, “I have never been a supporter of sanctions.”

Josiah Reedy, “How Christian enabled Putin,” Juicy Ecumenism, March 12, 2022

In short, Graham was a strong supporter of Putin.

Praised Putin in an op-ed

Putin wrote a gushing opinion piece of Putin in 2014, and it really shows the hypocrisy that he has exhibited over the years. 

Citing a Gallup Poll survey, Politico said that 60 percent of Americans hold an unfavorable view of Russia and 63 percent have a negative opinion of President Vladimir Putin.

American distaste for Putin and his policies, however, hasn’t diminished his global standing. Last October, Forbes magazine declared Putin to be the most powerful man in the world. Anyone who watched the recent Winter Olympics from Sochi, Russia, could see why. More than any of the gold medal winners, Putin was the commanding presence.

The Olympics were a $51 billion spectacle, but the days leading up to the Games were overshadowed by a controversial issue—a law Putin signed in 2013 to protect minors (children) in Russia from homosexuals promoting their lifestyle. Specifically, the law bans the “propaganda of nontraditional sexual relations to minors.”

Franklin Graham, “Putin’s Olympic Controversy,” Decision Magazine, February 28, 2014

So, Graham praises the law that Putin signed forbidding homosexuals from “promoting their lifestyle” and forgets about the brutal killing that he led during the Soviet years -- and is now. 

Lest we forget, it has not yet been 25 years since the fall of the Berlin Wall, the collapse of the Soviet Union and the retreat of godless communism. Just a few generations ago, America held the high moral ground.

How the times have changed! …

As far as the federal government is concerned, there is no longer any difference between traditional and same-sex marriage—even in the 33 states that outlaw those marriages.

It’s obvious that President Obama and his administration are pushing the gay-lesbian agenda in America today and have sold themselves completely to that which is contrary to God’s teaching.

Franklin Graham, Decision Magazine, February 28, 2014

Contrary to the teachings of Jesus Christ?

Remember when Jesus said that there were two great commandments that his followers must embrace: The first was to love God. 

Here is the second that so many of these Christians ignore despite being the basis of God’s admonitions,

The second is this: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no commandment greater than these.”

Mark: 12:31

How can Graham and others praise the brutal Putin who kills those who oppose him while concomitantly ignoring the second greatest commandment?

Yes, homosexuals are people, too, and they are our neighbors. To call a brutal man a moral leader since he hates people because of the way they are born — in God’s image — is simply not being Christian.

Christians must believe in a “free society”

This opinion by an American Christian summarizes the strange, illogical thinking of such people whose views are antithetical to Christ, while they symbolically embrace him as their savior,

The celebration and legitimization of Putin’s leadership serves as a lesson for Christians going forward.

A supposed “pro-family” ethic has no meaning under a leader who will tear young children’s homes apart as they flee their homeland, leaving fathers and grandfathers behind to fight.

Jail, assassination, and censorship are not the weaponry of the fight against secularism.

Moral laws require enforcement by people with moral compasses. No political agenda has ever been worth sacrificing basic freedoms of expression and self-governance to achieve.

Authoritarians are not messiahs and will never be trustworthy rulers.

Christians must be defenders of democracy. Christians must trust that their voice will have an impact in a free society, rather than waiting for the right strongman to revere.

Jonathan Reedy, Juicy Ecumenism, March 12, 2022

Putin today has embraced a Russian Orthodox religion that is far-right. Its leader has praised his invasion of Ukraine, and has embraced many of his autocratic ideas.

He was raised by a militantly atheist father, though his mother secretly baptized him into the Orthodox religion, something he hid from his Communist benefactors during his career as a KGB killer.