August 12, 2009

VALLEY FORGE, PA – Neville Callam, general secretary of the Baptist World Alliance (BWA), spoke to their annual meeting, held in Ede, Netherlands, July 25- Aug 1, calling on the international fellowship to set up a commission that would deal primarily with Baptist conversation with Muslims.

Speaking to the General Council meeting on July 31, he noted that a commission would "provide space for shared reflection," and "receive contributions from ongoing dialogue taking place around the world."

Since then, Baptists and Muslims have gathered in Amman, Jordan, as well as Andover Newton Theological School, to learn more about each other and to stand together on the common ground between them.

American Baptists have been instrumental is initiating dialogue between Baptist and Muslim scholars in the United States. The first such forum was held at Andover-Newton Theological School, outside of Boston, in January. Scholars from both faiths spoke on the implications of the command that was common to them both: "love of neighbor."

At the BWA meeting, A. Roy Medley, general secretary of the American Baptist Churches USA (ABCUSA) presented a paper to the BWA Commission on Doctrine and Interchurch Relations, summarizing the event.

"There were eye-opening moments for each of us," Medley recalled, "as Muslims asked to learn more about religious liberty and the separation of church and state in democratic, pluralist societies. Baptists were challenged to think more about submission to God, the regular practice of prayer, and the practice of charity as essential to love of neighbor."

"We're very clear that our goal isn't to create Maptists and Buslims—a syncretism of our faiths," he stressed. "We recognize that while we share a ‘common word' we do not share common theologies on many points." Rather, he said, the talks are an effort to find common ground, ways to understand each other.

In addition to ongoing talks, Medley was able to report that January's dialogue will be the subject of a special documentary produced by Ethics Daily and aired by the ABC broadcasting network this coming January.

On July 31, the General Council of the BWA passed a resolution affirming efforts to bridge the gap between faith groups, expressing the belief that "we can humbly but confidently make our witness to the uniqueness of Christ as the way of salvation and to the self-giving of the Triune God, in ways that are not demeaning of other people's beliefs."

In addition to dialogue," the resolution encouraged, "Baptist conventions and unions to engage in…joint activities for human welfare with Muslims," and asks Baptist theologians to "study the response made by the BWA to A Common Word and to use it in their teaching."

A Common Word is a letter sent to the Christian world in October, 2007, by Muslim scholars, clerics and intellectuals who came together for the first time to "declare the common ground between Christianity and Islam." (More information can be found on their website: http://www.acommonword.com/)

After its annual meeting last summer, the BWA responded with a letter which thanked the Muslim leaders for their "generous initiative" and "irenic and constructive spirit," and proposed that future discussions take place. (www.bwanet.org/)

American Baptist News Service