Baptists Say Terrorism Can, Must Be Stopped
The high turn-out rate for the Baptist Centenary Congress last week was a sign of “visible solidarity” among the faithful, the newly elected Baptist World Alliance President said Sunday.
The high turn-out rate for the Baptist Centenary Congress last week was a sign of “visible solidarity” among the faithful, the newly elected Baptist World Alliance President said Sunday.
David Coffey, general secretary of the Baptist Union of Great Britain and BWA president noted that with more than 13,000 people in attendance, believers were largely undeterred from coming to the meeting despite terrorist scares.
In the weeks leading up to the Congress, London – a city only two hours south of Birmingham where the Congress was held – was struck by four suicide bombers and four attempted bombings in the transit system. Even during the Congress, which began Wednesday evening, police successfully arrested several people as part of a relentless hunt for accomplices in the July 21 failed bombings.
For Baptists, many whom did not know about what police activity was going on, fighting terrorism was an under-girding theme that ran throughout the Congress. Top leaders at the Congress addressed the threat, and came up with a unique solution: a slice of pizza.
“Baptist leaders urged Christians to fight terrorism with dinner conversation,” a press statement from the BWA read. “Terrorism will wane when believers reach out to disenfranchised individuals in a spirit of love and peace.”
Accordingly, Jimmy Carter, former U.S. President and Southern Baptist Sunday School teacher, encouraged believers to get involved with interfaith dialogues.
He said all major faiths – Christianity, Judaism, Hinduism and Islam – hold to basic tenents of peace, justice, hospitality, truth and alleviation of suffering. Therefore, he said, “If we concentrate on those things, that would make the united front against terrorism more effective.”
Meanwhile, another top Congress speaker, Tony Campolo, told attendants that young people have the “primary responsibility” to step-up in the battle against terror, since those drawn to terrorist networks are often times disenfranchised youth.
Therefore, he said, Christian youth should reach out “over pizza” those who feel isolated. He said this approach helped Northern Ireland resolve longstanding disputes between Roman Catholics an Protestants and healthy dialogue and friendships resulted from the dialogues.
Rick Warren, pastor of Saddleback Church in Lake Forest, Calif., and author of the Purpose Driven Life, also weighed-in on the terrorism debate.
“[Terrorism] “shows there is evil in the world,” he said, noting that some still refuse to believe evil exists. Once we understand terrorism as a battle against evil, terrorism can be stopped.
“I do not believe you can pacify evil,” he said. “I do not believe you negotiate with it.”
