THANKFUL TO Almighty God for the cessation of open war in Kuwait and Iraq,
MINDFUL of the tragic aftermath of such hostilities in terms not only of loss of life but also of the appalling social and economic conditions prevailing in the Gulf and the long-term threat to the environment caused by oil pollution in both sea and air,
The General Council of the Baptist World Alliance has often addressed peace issues, most recently in 1985 and 1986. Again in 1988, as the Council meets in the Bahamas, we:
Reaffirm previous resolutions that have spoken to peace with disarmament and peace with justice, and
Welcome the completion of the treaty calling for the elimination of intermediate range nuclear equipped missiles for the United States of America and the USSR and encourage work toward understandings which will lead to the reduction of all levels of military forces.
The BWA General Council, meeting in Singapore, July 1986:
1. affirms its solidarity with the Nicaraguan Baptist Convention;
2. notes with pleasure that delegations of Baptists from various parts of the world have established personal and church links with our brothers and sisters in Nicaragua and encourages other Baptist Unions and Conventions to do the same;
This Council expresses its deep appreciation to the Union of the Evangelical Free Churches s in Germany (Bund Evangelisch-Freikirchlicher Gemeinden in Deutschland), to the Baptist Churches of Berlin West and to the city authorities, for their welcome and generous hospitality and for their careful preparations for these Council meetings. We also thank the officers and staff of the Alliance for their commitment and organization which have insured the success of the meetings.
We express our grave disappointment over the breaches of international peace which have occurred in the past twelve months, especially but not limited to, the situation in the Falkland Islands-Islas Malvinas, and in Lebanon, Somalia, El Salvador and Afghanistan, among others.
The General Council of the Baptist World Alliance, meeting in Prague, Czech Republic, July 20- 25, 2008;
Rejoices in the work God is doing among his people in Zimbabwe and in particular through the Baptist churches in Zimbabwe;
“The international misunderstandings, jealousies and rivalries which have followed the last Great War have baffled every effort to secure general disarmament. The preparation of munitions of war is a commercial interest. There is through-out the World a growing sense of insecurity because of the failure thus far to establish an effective commonwealth of nations possessing the authority and the means for redressing and preventing international injustice.
Whereas the Baptist World Alliance in 1934, 1939, 1947 and 1950 has already declared itself unalterably opposed to racial discrimination in every form; and
Whereas, in this Congress of the Baptist World Alliance representatives have gathered from more than sixty countries representing many nationalities and races;
In these days of tension and concern for the destiny of all mankind, we Baptists appeal to all Christians to join together to preserve peace on earth.
We must answer the call “to seek peace and pursue it.” The things that belong to “Thy peace” must be found. No nation wins a nuclear war—all are defeated. As much as one hundred and twenty billions of dollars are being spent yearly on armaments and armed forces by the nations of the world.
We urge the nations to dispense with all testing of nuclear weapons and the production of the same; and co-operatively, to agree on satisfactory methods of inspection designed to ensure that all nations shall exercise good faith in this matter.