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The 27 student missionaries serving in 10 Muslim-dominated regions sent a letter urging Southern Baptists to moderate their criticism of Islam and its founder because it hurts Christian evangelism and endangers missionaries.
The letter -- timely in light of the murders of three Baptist missionary hospital workers in Yemen last month -- declares: "We are not sure if you are aware of the ramifications that comments that malign Islam and Muhammad have not only on the message of the Gospel but also on the lives of our families as we are living in the midst of already tense times."
Missionaries did not mention any names. But many were dismayed last June when former Southern Baptist Convention President Jerry Vines called Muhammad a "demon-possessed pedophile" at a national pastors' conference in St. Louis. Some Baptist leaders defended Vines.
Vines, a Jacksonville, Fla., pastor, said he was merely commenting on the dangers of pluralism in America and the growing assertion that one religion is as good as another. Also, Jerry Falwell and Franklin Graham have made widely publicized derogatory comments about Islam.
The authors of the letter are students at Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary in Wake Forest, N.C. They participate in an exchange program by spending two years at one of the six Southern Baptist seminaries in the United States and then serving two years abroad with the Southern Baptist International Mission Board.
Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in Fort Worth has several students training to be missionaries under the program. Some are in Muslim countries, said Daniel Sanchez, professor of missions. None were involved in sending the letter.
"We think it is important to point out the differences between Islam and Christianity, but we must speak the truth with love," Sanchez said.
Richard Land, president of the Southern Baptist Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission, agreed. But he said threats of violence should not stop Christians from speaking out.
"If we allow terrorists who are willing to kill people who disagree with their religion to suppress what we believe to be true, then the murderers and terrorists win," he said.
Paige Patterson, president of Southeastern seminary, said the student missionaries are "incredible people" who risk their lives in spreading the gospel. But he disagreed with their implied criticism of those who speak out forcefully against Islam.
What the missionaries missed, he told Baptist Press, was that the real cause of the tensions was the "appalling" lack of religious liberty in Muslim countries and fears of a repeat of grisly events such as the recent murders in Yemen.
Avery Willis, senior vice president of overseas operations for the Baptists, said the missionaries wanted to emphasize Christ as a blessing for Muslims, rather than arguing Islam vs. Christianity.
"I believe what they were trying to say is that their concern is in communicating the gospel to lost persons without having to defend what someone in America said about Islam," he said.
Makes sense to me. Baptists, in my view, would do well to heed the call of these courageous missionaries serving the Christian faith in dangerous times.
(Jim Jones can be reached at jjones.12@charter.net.)
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