Over the weekend a group of “young” evangelicals launched an initiative to mobilize Christians in the United States to reduce and eventually abolish nuclear weapons. The initiative is called the Two Futures Project and it is spearheaded by a 31 year-old Baptist minister from Nashville. Here’s the story courtesy of Bob Allen of the Associated Baptist Press.
The project has been endorsed by evangelicals such as Leith Anderson, President of the National Association of Evangelicals; Robert C. Andringa, President Emeritus of the Council for Christian Colleges & Universities; Rob Bell, Tony Campolo, Richard Cizik, Shane Claiborne, Andy Crouch, David Gushee, Joel Hunter, Bill and Lynne Hybels, Brian McLaren, Jonathan Merritt, David Neff, Sam Rodriguez, Ron Sider, Glen Stassen, Cameron Strang, Miroslav Volf and many others.
Here is a snippet from the article:
Jonathan Merritt, national spokesperson for the Southern Baptist Environment and Climate Initiative, spoke in support of the initiative.
“Nuclear weapons are not only unacceptable, they are un-Christian,” Merritt said. “As followers of Jesus we serve a God that abhors the shedding of innocent blood.” “We understand that those that will be affected by the detonation of a nuclear bomb are not numbers,” Merritt said. “They are objects of God’s love, wonderful creations made in his image.” Merritt said he is aware that some people think the goal of eliminating nuclear weapons worldwide is impossible.
“Calling something impossible is often a tool of distraction employed by those who simply lack moral courage,” he said. “As Christians, our decisions must be made on morality, not plausibility. We serve a God through which all things are possible. So when Christians hide behind the skirt of probability, it is the ultimate act of distrust.”
Merritt said he supports the Two Futures Project as a Southern Baptist, citing the 2000 Baptist Faith & Message article calling it the duty of Christians to seek peace and do all in their power to end war.
“Southern Baptists have always placed immense value on human life, which is an important part of the pursuit of peace,” Merritt said. “Therefore I find this effort wholly consistent with both my theological convictions and a long-held Baptist belief.”
In the thousands and thousands of blog posts, article quotes and message board comments that I’ve read over the last few years, this is the first time that I’ve seen a Southern Baptist cite the 2000 Baptist Faith & Message’s statement on peace – a statement that too many older Southern Baptist leaders have ignored in recent years.
Boy, are they going to be ostracized by the right! I hope they win coverts right and left. It is time Christians stood up to be counted on this subject.
All during the inerrancy controversies of the ’80s when the Baptist Faith & Message of ;63 was cited as a creed, I kept pointing to its strong peace statement–which comes REALLY close to demanding pacifism. The ’25 statement on peace is strongest, then the ’63, but even the ’00 is stronger than anyone notices.