wfn.org | ABCUSA: LEADERS SIGN 'RESPONSE TO TERRORISM'

[RICH.SCHRAMM@ecunet.org]

AMERICAN BAPTIST NEWS SERVICE 
Office of Communication  
American Baptist Churches USA 
P.O. Box 851, Valley Forge, PA 19482-0851 
Phone: (610)768-2077 / Fax: (610)768-2320 
Web: www.abc-usa.org
Richard W. Schramm, Director 
 E-mail: richard.schramm@abc-usa.org

AMERICAN BAPTISTS AMONG SIGNERS OF 
INTERFAITH `RESPONSE TO TERRORISM'
 A number of American Baptists and 
representatives from American Baptist-related institutions 
have joined with more than 200 religious leaders in issuing 
an interfaith statement, "Deny Them Their Victory: A 
Religious Response to Terrorism," that addresses the 
terrorist attacks against the U.S. and their aftermath.
 The signers include a broad spectrum of 
Protestant, Roman Catholic and Orthodox Christians as 
well as Muslim and Jewish leaders.  They include heads of 
denominational, national and regional religious 
organizations and parachurch groups; local pastors and 
rabbis; and theologians and professors from across
parts of the nation.
 Those within American Baptist Churches USA and 
its related institutions who have endorsed the statement 
include: Dr. Robert H. Roberts, interim general secretary, 
American Baptist Churches USA; Dr. Manfred T. Brauch, 
Maxwell Professor of Biblical Theology, Eastern Baptist 
Theological Seminary, Wynnewood, Pa.; the Rev. Jeffrey 
L. Brown, pastor, Union Baptist Church, Cambridge Mass., 
co-founder, Ten Point Coalition; Dr. Joan Brown Campbell, 
director, Department of Religion, Chautauqua Institution; 
Dr. Robert Franklin, president, Interdenominational 
Theological Center, Atlanta, Ga.; Dr. Kathryn A. Lee, J.D., 
chair, Department of History and Political Science, Eastern 
College, St. Davids, Pa.; Dr. Ron Sider, Evangelicals for 
Social Action; the Rev. Robert W. Tiller, director of 
Government Relations, Bread for the World; the Rev. 
Robert Walk, endorsed American Baptist Chaplain serving 
in Philadelphia, Pa.
 The document was developed in consultation with 
Christian, Jewish and Muslim clergy and circulated for 
signature by the Rev. Jim Wallis, Call to Renewal and 
Sojourners; Dr. Robert W. Edgar, National Council of 
Churches; the Rev. Wesley Granberg-Michaelson, 
Reformed Church of America; Rabbi David Saperstein, 
Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism; and Dr. Ron 
Sider, Evangelicals for Social Action. 
The full text follows:

"DENY THEM THEIR VICTORY: A RELIGIOUS RESPONSE 
TO TERRORISM"
 "We, American religious leaders, share the broken 
hearts of our fellow citizens.  The worst terrorist attack in 
history that assaulted New York City, Washington, D.C., 
and Pennsylvania has been felt in every American 
community.  Each life lost was of unique and sacred value 
in the eyes of God, and the connections Americans feel to 
those lives run very deep.  In the face of such a cruel 
catastrophe, it is a time to look to God and to each other 
for the strength we need and the response we will make. 
We must dig deep to the roots of our faith for sustenance, 
solace, and wisdom.
 "First, we must find a word of consolation for the 
untold pain and suffering of our people. Our congregations 
will offer their practical and pastoral resources to bind up 
the wounds of the nation. We can become safe places to 
weep and secure places to begin rebuilding our shattered 
lives and communities. Our houses of worship should 
become public arenas for common prayer, community 
discussion, eventual healing, and forgiveness.
 "Second, we offer a word of sober restraint as our 
nation discerns what its response will be. We share the 
deep anger toward those who so callously and massively 
destroy innocent lives, no matter what the grievances or 
injustices invoked. In the name of God, we too demand 
that those responsible for these utterly evil acts be found 
and brought to justice.  Those culpable must not escape 
accountability.  But we must not, out of anger and 
vengeance, indiscriminately retaliate in ways that bring on 
even more loss of innocent life. We pray that President 
Bush and members of Congress will seek the wisdom of 
God as they decide upon the appropriate response.
 "Third, we face deep and profound questions of 
what this attack on America will do to us as a nation. The 
terrorists have offered us a stark view of the world they 
would create, where the remedy to every human 
grievance and injustice is a resort to the random and 
cowardly violence of revenge - even
against the most innocent. Having taken thousands of our 
lives, attacked our national symbols, forced our political 
leaders to flee their chambers of governance, disrupted 
our work and families, and struck fear into the hearts of 
our children, the terrorists must feel victorious.
 "But we can deny them their victory by refusing to 
submit to a world created in their image. Terrorism inflicts 
not only death and destruction but also emotional 
oppression to further its aims.  We must not allow this 
terror to drive us away from being the people God has 
called us to be.  We assert the vision of community, 
tolerance, compassion, justice, and the sacredness of 
human life, which lies at the heart of all our religious 
traditions.  America must be a safe place for all our 
citizens in all their diversity. It is
especially important that our citizens who share national 
origins, ethnicity, or religion with whoever attacked us are, 
themselves, protected among us.
 "Our American illusion of invulnerability has been 
shattered.  From now on, we will look at the world in a 
different way, and this attack on our life as a nation will 
become a test of our national character. Let us make the 
right choices in this crisis - to pray, act, and unite against 
the bitter fruits of division, hatred, and violence. Let us 
rededicate ourselves to global peace, human dignity, and 
the eradication of injustice that breeds rage and 
vengeance.
 "As we gather in our houses of worship, let us 
begin a process of seeking the healing and grace of God."

WFN0917A.TXT

 -0-