By Bob Allen
Four dozen Christian leaders voiced support for a framework agreement for a peaceful path to prevent Iran from building nuclear weapons in a full-page ad in Roll Call paid for by Sojourners, a Washington-based social justice ministry founded and led by author and public theologian Jim Wallis.
Under a “political understanding” announced April 2 with the United States, the United Kingdom, France, China, Russia and Germany, Iran promised to make drastic cuts to its nuclear program in return for the gradual lifting of sanctions.
Supporters of the plan say it could end a 13-year nuclear standoff, and might be a turning point in normalizing Iran’s relationship to the West, which has been adversarial since the country’s Islamic revolution of 1979. The plan faces opposition in Congress from Republicans who view the deal as soft on Iran.
Baptists David Gushee, director of Mercer University’s Center for Theology and Public Life; Roy Medley, general secretary of the American Baptist Churches USA; Suzii Paynter, executive coordinator of the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship; and LeDayne McLeese Polaski, executive director of the Baptist Peace Fellowship of North America, all joined other faith leaders in welcoming the framework agreement.
“As followers of Christ, we begin with the things that Jesus instructed us to do,” the statement said. “Whenever Christians are responding to situations of conflict, to issues of war and peace, Jesus must always be our starting point.”
For that reason, the faith leaders said they must start with the question, “What can we best do to make peace?”
“At the same time, our biblical faith tradition also cautions us about the persistent potential of evil,” they continued. For that reason, they said, their faith traditions also “are careful to trust not in words alone, but in actions that are fully transparent.”
The White House says the deal ensures that any attempts by Iran to overtly or covertly misuse fissile material to produce a nuclear bomb will be blocked, and allows transparent inspections of Iran’s nuclear activities perhaps unparalleled anywhere in the world.
A bill before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee would require congressional approval to ease sanctions. Democratic supporters say that would undermine Obama’s ability to negotiate, and some believe its passage would kill the deal.
The faith leaders said the framework path is better than alternatives of increasing sanctions or engaging in military strikes against Iran. While diplomacy is never perfect, they said, the nation has a “moral obligation” to pursue peaceful paths to achieve the goal of preventing Iran from becoming a nuclear-armed state before creating another U.S. war with a Muslim country.
“As Christian leaders we are telling our political leaders: It is imperative that you pursue this agreement with integrity, commitment and perseverance,” the ad says. “We will be praying for you.”
Others endorsing the statement include Tyler Wigg-Stevenson, founder of the Two Futures Project, a grassroots Christian movement aimed at ridding the world of nuclear weapons.
Other names include author Diana Butler Bass, former Progressive National Baptist Convention President Carroll Baltimore, Red Letter Christians Executive Director Shane Claiborne, and Joshua DuBois, former head of the White House Office of Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships and now CEO of Values Partnerships, a social enterprise promoting partnerships between foundations, nonprofits and private companies and the faith community, service organizations and other grassroots influencers.