Franklin Graham has said that Christians should never deny their faith, even when the consequence is that they will be killed for it.

The evangelist and founder of Samaritan's Purse was a guest on Fox News' The Kelly File and was asked about the plight of Christians in Iraq and elsewhere in the Middle East. He spoke of the widespread persecution faced by Christians in the region, referred to Pastor Saeed Abedini, imprisoned for his faith in Iran, and to the devastation of Christianity in Iraq. There, he said, "Christians are being slaughtered. The storm was coming last year as ISIS was building. I have people who work there and they saw these things happening, they saw it coming."

He said: "Christians are being not only targeted, but butchered. Women are usually raped by solders, men are shot in front of their families. This takes place every day."

Host Megyn Kelly asked him about a report by Canon Andrew White, the Vicar of Baghdad, that four children had been martyred after refusing to deny their faith. Questioned whether Christians should consider saying what terrorists wanted to hear in order to preserve their lives, Graham said: "Christians have been martyred going all the way back to the Romans when they fed them to the lions. We would be betraying every person who stood for their faith, who stood for Jesus Christ, if we turn our back on Jesus Christ ... I think we take a stand for our faith."