THANKFUL to God for the positive changes that have taken place in Eastern Europe and the whole of the Soviet Union, including the increasing freedom experienced in many aspects of the life of these nations,
THANKFUL particularly for those places where greater freedom of religion has been evidenced and new opportunities for evangelization and theological education have been made possible,
Today we commend Christians in the Soviet Union, and especially Baptists, for their positive contributions, faithfully made in season and out, to their country’s morality, culture and history.
For many years the Baptist World Alliance has appealed to the government of the USSR to permit a larger measure of religious freedom for its people.
Baptist people numbering more than 34 million from all over the world have long stood for the right of all people to be free and independent and have worked to encourage governments everywhere to respect human rights. As Christians we believe that human rights are God-given and that violations of human rights are violations of the laws of God. We have expressed deep concern in previous years about human rights violations in all parts of the world, from blatant racial discrimination and restrictions on religious freedom to military and economic oppression.
Thankful for the history of Baptist witness in South America and for those who have given leadership to the worldwide fellowship from this part of the world, we congratulate the churches, conventions, unions and assemblies on the foundation of the new regional fellowship, the Union Bautista Sud Americana.
Affirming the Baptist heritage of religious liberty which has, from its inception, upheld the right of all people to practice and propagate their religious faith without let or hindrance;
The Baptist World Alliance is a fellowship of almost 29 of the 33 million Baptists in the world. They represent many nations and widely differing cultures and ways of life and thought. It is neither within its power nor its function to direct, or rule on the internal affairs of the political or economic procedures of its constituent bodies or of their countries.
WHEREAS the Commission on Freedom, Justice, and Peace has for a number of years devoted some of its attention to the issues of human rights, we request the Commission to provide the 1978 BWA General Council such summary statement and guidelines as they deem appropriate.
WE REAFFIRM our faith that the gospel of God’s free salvation in His Son, Jesus Christ, the Way, the Truth, and the Life, is for all men, without distinction, and that today as in previous generations it speaks to man’s every need, convicting, redeeming, transforming, guarding the human spirit and requiring the ending of exploitation and tyranny, and the provision of full opportunities for its free acceptance and for worship, witness, and service.
We who have the privilege and joy of attending the Twelfth Congress of the Baptist World Alliance at Tokyo greet you, the members of churches in fellowship with the Alliance. In this written message we cannot convey the wonder of the inspiration felt in worship, prayer, and fellowship with so large a gathering of representatives from so many countries, meeting for the first time in Asia.
The Tenth Congress of the Baptist World Alliance reaffirms its belief in the separation of the church and its institutions from the state.