Christians in America are going to address Jerry Falwell in newspapers across the land.
They heard him say Mohammed was a terrorist on CBS Sixty Minutes last Sunday evening, but they know that that day's diatribe was just the tip of the iceberg in his betrayal of the true message and life of Jesus Christ (who did not, and does not, talk like that).
And so they are going to challenge the estimable Reverend, in the newspapers of America, to convert to Jesus Christ, and begin to live and teach as Jesus lived and taught.
Finding their voice, these Christians of a different persuasion will speak in the voice of an Arab Christian, Dr. Bernard Sabella of the Middle East Council of Churches, who wrote a letter to Dr. Falwell, appealing to him to change his ways. An emerging movement in the American church, called Every Church A Peace Church, is inviting Christians and all persons of conscience to oppose the Bush administration's push toward war and Jerry Falwell's support of it by signing Dr. Sabella's letter in newspapers of record and hometown papers in every nook and cranny of the American empire.
Asked if his letter could be placed in the newspapers of America, Dr. Sabella responded: "I have no problem with using my letter in the constructive manner you suggest. And may I thank you for your project of making every church a peace church. This is in the essence of the Christian message. May the voices of wisdom and courage overtake those of war and conflict."
With best wishes,
Bernard Sabella
This is your invitation to sign the letter. We, the folks at the welcome table of Every Church A Peace Church, urge you to do two things:
First, send your name with $10 to ECAPC, PO Box 240, Akron PA 17501 to pay for placing this letter in a major national paper if we get enough support. Record your denomination after your name if you wish. We want to show the trans-denominational breadth of the constructive voice which opposes the violence-prone rhetoric of Mr. Falwell.
Second, place the letter as a paid advertisement in your local newspaper. Organize that project with the help of a few other people who want to save the world from those who would take it away from us by fomenting unrestrained hatred and bigotry. Simply adapt the introductory material you have read here to explain the origin and purpose of the letter. And at the end of the letter, invite readers to send in their signatures for publication at a later date. This message will grow, it will expand, and the call for compassion and nonviolence will drown out the voices of bigotry and hatred.
Dr. Sabella's letter follows.
Reverend Falwell,
I am a Christian from Jerusalem. My roots in the Holy Land go to one thousand years ago, so says my family tradition. Some would argue that our roots as indigenous Christians might go back further and link up to the early Church in Jerusalem. In this sense we are a Christian fundamentalist family deep-rooted in the foundations of the Christian faith.
As a Christian from Jerusalem, I owe great debt to two monotheistic traditions: Judaism, on the one hand, because of the Old Testament which is the basis of my faith in the New Testament and to Islam, with whose adherents my family, for centuries, has shared the experience of living side by side in Jerusalem. Thus my fundamentalist Christianity is enlightened by the history of the Hebrews on the one hand and by the experiential sharing with Moslem neighbors, on the other.
As a Christian believer, I strongly adhere to the teachings of Jesus Christ and his message of compassion and forgiveness. This Christian message has taught me to accept others; not to judge lest I be judged and to consider every human being, irrespective of background, in the image of the Creator. This is the basis of living in Peace with oneself; one's religion; one's world and with all the nations, religions, cultures, nationalities that make up the mosaic of life on our planet.
It is this comfort that my faith gives me that also causes me great spiritual and moral tribulation when I hear someone of your stature making statements of judgment on Islam and its Prophet. Not only do I find this offensive to Moslemsand their religion but also as well to our Christian faith and practice. A commitment to stop violence, all violence, should also include a commitment not to utter verbal violence. What our world needs now is more understanding, compassion and healing across continents and within societies. It is on persons like yourself that such a burden falls. Uttering statements that project hostility and enmity in generalizing tones make you part of the problem confronting our world today and not part of the solution.
Could I plead with you to return to the fundamentals of our Christian faith and to become a constructive force in our world and especially in our Middle Eastern region? Could you please bring hearts together instead of distancing them from one another? Could your faith and belief afford to accept others, irrespective of their backgrounds? Could you please be a force of healing in our troubled world?
Is it too much to expect these things from a person of your stature?
Dr. Bernard Sabella, Ph.D.
Executive Director
Department of Service to Palestinian Refugees
Middle East Council of Churches
Jerusalem
Send your signature and contribution promptly to ECAPC, PO Box 240, Akron PA 17501
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