20 Facts About Bill Bright

Bill Bright was born in Coweta, Oklahoma, on October 19,1921.

Bill Bright was the sixth child and fifth son of Forrest Dale and Mary Lee Rohl Bright.

Bill Bright's father Forrest Dale was a cattle rancher while his mother Mary Lee was a school teacher prior to marrying Forrest.

Bill's father Forrest was actively involved in the Oklahoma Republican Party with Bill remaining a staunch Republican throughout his life.

Bill Bright studied economics at Northeastern State University in Tahlequah, Oklahoma.

In 1942, Bill Bright enlisted in the United States Navy Reserve but did not see combat service due to a burst eardrum from playing football during high school.

In 1946, Bill Bright quit his candy business to pursue Biblical studies and theology at Princeton Theological Seminary and Fuller Theological Seminary.

In 1965, Bill Bright wrote The Four Spiritual Laws, an evangelistic Christian tract.

Bill Bright initially planned to produce an evangelical film called "The Great Adventure" but abandoned the project due to a lack of funding.

In 1951, after recruiting several volunteers from Fuller Seminary and Hollywood Presbyterian, Bill Bright started Campus Crusade's first chapter at the University of California, Los Angeles.

However, the relationship deteriorated after Bright sided with Billy Graham, who had accepted the sponsorship of liberal Protestants for his 1957 New York crusade.

Bill Bright held five honorary doctorate degrees: a Doctor of Laws from the Jeonbuk National University of Korea, a Doctor of Divinity from John Brown University, a Doctor of Letters from Houghton Seminary, a Doctor of Divinity from the Los Angeles Bible College and Seminary, and a Doctor of Laws from Pepperdine University.

In 1975, along with fellow evangelist Loren Cunningham and theologian Francis Schaeffer, Bill Bright was one of the founders of what would later be termed the Seven Mountain Mandate.

Bill Bright wrote more than 100 books and booklets, and thousands of articles and pamphlets.

Bill Bright was a co-founder of the Alliance Defense Fund, which funds high-profile litigation cases on behalf of Christians' First Amendment rights.

Bill Bright was a co-signatory of the Land letter of 2002 which outlined a just war rationale for the 2003 invasion of Iraq, providing a theological underpinning for the invasion being planned by President George W Bush.

Bill Bright produced the film Jesus in 1979, which was released by Warner Bros.

Bill Bright offered to buy the film's negative from Universal in order to destroy it.

Bill Bright's father Dale Bright was a staunch Republican who served as the chairman of the Wagoner Country Republican Party.

Bill Bright claimed that Park was fighting against Communism and supported religious freedom.