Statement on War in Iraq from CBF Coordinator Daniel Vestal

Great statement on the position of some Baptist Christians on this conflict in the Middle East. Vestal is truly a Godly man.

Statement on War in Iraq from CBF Coordinator Daniel Vestal
By Lance Wallace, CBF Communications
March 20, 2003


The following statement is the response of Daniel Vestal, coordinator of the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship, to the beginning of hostilities in Iraq:


“The overwhelming sense many people have about this war is sadness and confusion. Why is there not the leadership to build consensus among nations to remove Saddam Hussein from power? Why cannot the world community find the collective wisdom and will to disarm Saddam Hussein without war? Because there seems to be no clear answer to these questions, we are left with a global crisis of violence and destruction.


“One of the voices in the biblical witness is lament – the sober questioning of actions that produce pain. It is the unsatisfied struggle with why there is senseless brutality and death. It is the anguished cry of human beings experiencing evil and suffering. Today, it is this voice that we sound. As people who believe in a loving God and as followers of the One who is called the Prince of Peace, we confess our loud lament in the midst of this war and the circumstances that have caused it.


“We continue to pray for peace, protection for lives at risk, for leaders around the world and for a quick resolution to this conflict. May God have mercy on those in harm’s way.”


CBF is a fellowship of Baptist Christians and churches who share a passion for the Great Commission and a commitment to Baptist principles of faith and practice. The Fellowship’s mission is to serve Christians and churches as they discover and fulfill their God-given mission.