Franklin Graham rushed to the defense of his good friend Pastor Greg Laurie after he was targeted by anti-Christian bigots who feigned outrage over a series of billboards promoting his “Harvest” outreach event.

Pastor Laurie had advertised his massive outreach event on billboards throughout Fashion Island, a mall in Orange County, California. The advertisement shows Pastor Laurie holding up what appears to be a bible, however, the cover of the book is blank.

The image of the bible on the billboard appears to have triggered some shoppers. According to CBN, the Irvine Company, which owns Fashion Island, received complaints about the advertisements. The Irvine Company sided with the anti-Christian complaints and demanded that the ads be changed. Ultimately Laurie and the Harvest outreach festival complied and resubmitted a new design without the image of the bible.

Despite redesigning the ad to appease the offended, the Irvine Company ultimately decided to remove the entire ad campaign and issued Harvest a refund.

The targeting of Pastor Laurie caught the attention of Franklin Graham who wasn’t about to let the anti-Christian bigotry continue unchecked.

“Have we really come to this? Even a picture of a preacher holding a Bible is now too offensive to have on a mall banner in California? My good friend Pastor Greg Laurie has a large event coming up in August and they had a very benign banner designed to promote this 29-year-old annual event. And the picture of the Bible didn’t even say the word Bible on the front of it! Nonetheless, someone complained, and the mall, called Fashion Island, had the banners taken down. They said people weren’t comfortable with the photo of the Bible, so when the ad design was re-done with no Bible photo, the owner of the mall who I understand is Irvine Company then told the church they wouldn’t advertise the event at all.

This should concern us for our nation. The Word of God and the Name of Jesus Christ are an offense to many. I wish they knew that the Bible holds the answers to what troubles the human heart. God wants to heal broken hearts, and bring comfort, wisdom, and peace to all who will turn to Him by faith in His Son, Jesus Christ. I can’t explain everything in the Bible, but I do believe every word of the Bible, by faith. What do you think about what happened with the banners? Will you pray for the Harvest Crusade and invite your friends? Get more details here: https://www.harvest.org“

Read more at Franklin Graham Defends Pastor Greg Laurie After Anti-Christian Censorship.