A letter to the editor in the Jan. 21 issue of The Alabama Baptist has sparked controversy as well as a clarification by the letter writer.
In the Jan. 21 letter, Alabama Pastor Ted Sessoms criticized Southern Baptist Convention (SBC) leaders for what he says is coddling Syrian refugees.
SBC leaders and others rushed to Twitter beginning Jan. 26 to condemn the letter by Sessoms, pastor of Arbor Springs Baptist Church, Northport, suggesting denominational officials should consider Old Testament passages where God gave instructions to destroy entire populations, including women, children and animals.
At press time, more than 300 conversations, likes or comments were in the Twittersphere regarding the letter to the editor.
“Why would He give such instructions?” Sessoms asked in the letter. “Because He knew the impact these idol worshippers of false gods would have on His people. It is not a matter of loving your neighbor. My neighbors are the people that value the same standards of life and way of life that I value.”
‘Garbage’ letter
Florida Pastor Dean Inserra, member of an advisory council to the Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission, called the letter “garbage” and wondered why the Baptist newspaper would even publish it.
Danny Akin, president of Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary in Wake Forest, North Carolina, called the letter and the concepts expressed in it “an embarrassment to the gospel and the one who told us to love our neighbor and our enemies.”
Sessoms told Birmingham TV stations CBS-affiliated WIAT-42 and NBC WVTM-13 on Jan. 28 that he wrote the letter to express his frustration with Baptist leaders who have advocated for allowing refugees to enter the country.
“In this country we are under attack by terrorists and we don’t know who those folks are,” Sessoms said. “And (we do) so by allowing these refugees to come in [without knowing] their background. But we certainly know their past is to hate Americans and hate Christianity.”
A couple of posts on the Arbor Springs Baptist Facebook page gave the pastor a thumbs-up.
“Just read your letter to editor in AlBaptist. Great. Say it again and again,” wrote one commenter. “Your church members should be very proud to have a man such as you as Pastor,” added another. “I don’t know what the people of AB are thinking. THANKS again so much for writing what a lot of us are thinking.”
To read the letter, visit www.thealabamabaptist.org and search “Syrian refugees.”
(ABP, TAB)
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