The forces of the Israeli government should withdraw from the occupied Palestinian areas and the suicide bombers be condemned,” said the leader of the Baptist World Alliance, Denton Lotz, in a pastoral letter to Baptists of Israel and the Middle East.
There are 62 Baptist churches and more than 5,300 baptized believers in Middle East churches in Egypt, Israel, Jordan, Lebanon and Syria.
In the letter, written April 8, Lotz called “upon the governments of the world who have tremendous influence and power, to understand that the use of power without a concern for justice ultimately becomes totalitarian and unjust.”
Lotz appealed to the governments of the Middle East, Europe and North America to use their influence “to call for an immediate withdrawal of Israeli forces from the occupied areas.”
Describing the current conflict as a part of the tragic “clash of civilizations” which has brought the Middle East and much of the world to its knees, Lotz said that the idea that peace can come from a sword is contrary to the teaching of Jesus Christ.
“We are called to be a servant people,” Lotz said, and he called on Baptists in the area to be servants of those who are suffering.
Lotz called upon Baptists worldwide to immediately begin prayer vigils for peace and justice in the Middle East, and he assured the believers there of the love and prayers of Baptists during this tragic war “which now engulfs the cities where our Lord Jesus walked and where He called for peace, righteousness and reconciliation.”
(BWA)
Share with others: