Staff Articles
Learning about Baptists from Muslims - Thursday, January 22, 2009
Earlier this month, I had the opportunity to attend the first national Muslim-Baptist dialogue. About 80 Baptist and Muslim leaders gathered in Boston in hopes of furthering mutual understanding and discovering areas of common ground. The meeting, which was an outgrowth of the Celebration of a New Baptist Covenant, included presentations, breakout discussion sessions, worship services, and fellowship times. During the weekend, I learned much about my Muslim neighbors, which is an important part to living out the biblical command to love my neighbor as myself so that I do not say things that are unloving or bear false witness.
By far the most fascinating presentation came when Sayyid Syeed of the Islamic Society of North America talked about the rich heritage of Baptists. He noted that it was Baptists who historically stood up for the religious liberty rights of all people. He praised Baptists for having "contributed tremendously in this debate" and for having "been here for centuries" to carry "on this struggle of separation of church and state." He explained that Baptists were the ones who stood up and said, "'No, we do not want to force people into Christianity. That was not the teaching of Jesus Christ.'" Syeed then urged Baptists to help teach the importance of religious liberty to Muslims, because they "need to understand how [Baptists] were able to define the role of religion in a democracy." Syeed's remarks and energy captured the spirit of our Baptist heritage on the issue of religious liberty. It was humbling to hear Baptists spoken of so well by those whom some Baptists have preached so strongly against, and exciting to think that Baptists might be able to offer assistance to our neighbors on how to live respectfully and peacefully with others. However, Syeed's comments also represented quite a challenge to Baptists since many of us seem to have forgotten our heritage of standing up for the religious rights of all. When we were a minority faith being persecuted by others, we were the strongest and most consistent voices that--as Syeed put it--"[t]here should be no compulsion in religion." Somehow along the years it seems that as Baptists grew to become the largest Protestant denomination in the country that some Baptist leaders forgot that biblical principle and instead began campaigning for greater rights and recognition than those of other faiths. In doing so, we have lost some of what historically made Baptists Baptists--and some of what made Baptists such a critically important voice in society.
As I left Boston at the end of the weekend, I left with a greater understanding of my Muslim neighbors. I also left with a hope that all Baptists would have the same zeal and excitement for religious liberty as Syeed expressed. The Baptist example and voice is needed more than ever as many conflicts in our ever-shrinking world involve religious clashes. The historic Baptist principle of support for religious liberty is desperately needed. As we celebrate the 400th anniversary of Baptists this year, perhaps a fitting way to remember our Baptist ancestors would be a renewed passion for religious liberty. For as Baptist historian William R. Estep argued, "It is impossible to define Baptists apart from their devotion to the principle of complete religious freedom."
NOTE: You can learn more about the event by reading Kaylor's four
Ethics Daily news articles
here,
here,
here, and
here.
