Charles, Billy, and the Bible

It’s not an exaggeration to say that nearly everyone knows who Billy Graham is - his ministry of preaching, and his life of faithful service from advising kings and presidents, to throngs of everyday people across numerous nations. Even skeptics cannot deny that Billy Graham had an eternally positive impact upon the world in his ninety-nine years of life. But most people have no idea who his friend and preaching partner was in the early years of the ministry. A Canadian, named Charles Templeton - an evangelist who by many accounts was a more articulate speaker and polished orator than Billy. So alike were the two evangelists that they were referred to as the “Gold Dust Twins”. They were both influential in co-founding Torrey Johnson’s “Youth For Christ” in 1944 and spoke together often throughout the United states and Europe for the sole purpose of drawing people to faith in Jesus. Two young men, similar in age, calling, talents, and results. But something happened to them individually in the height of their careers, that sent the two friends and co-ministers into opposite trajectories, ending with two radically different conclusions. This is a story of two men with two fates who made two decisions about one book.