NEVILLE CALLAM from the


General Secretary


Something to


Respected Baptist historian Harry Leon McBeth passed away in May and Baptists around the world expressed their appreciation for McBeth’s scholarship, which has helped clarify dimensions of the story of Baptists. Former chair of the Baptist Heritage and Identity Commission, Karen


Bullock, described McBeth as a “faithful follower of Jesus Christ, beloved champion of the church, gifted storyteller, and eminent historian” who championed the voiceless and faceless. She also praised McBeth as a model of Christian dignity and a champion on the pages of Baptist heritage. In one of his significant works, The Baptist Heritage (Broadman Press, 1987), McBeth explains that: “The doctrinal framework for Baptists was not erected in a day; the Baptist faith was not born full-blown.” It emerged over time as Baptists sought to respond to the setting in which they lived and served.


Concerning the attitude characterized 17th of Baptists to government, McBeth century British Baptists as reflecting different points on a


spectrum. Some General Baptists, he said, exhibited “hostility toward civil government” and did not allow government officials to hold membership in their churches. Others would “admit magistrates into membership provided they not attempt to exercise authority in the church.” Meanwhile, McBeth said, Particular Baptists gave “high value to political loyalty and patriotic participation in civil affairs” and “many of their leaders were involved to some extent in government service.” Over the years, not surprisingly, Baptist commitment to advancing


the welfare of people has found expression in a number of their members seeking and occupying political office. With varying degrees of success, these persons have used the opportunity of public office to advance social reconstruction in ways that are consistent with the values derived from their faith.


In the United Kingdom, several Baptists have served in parliament. During the last century alone, David Lloyd George, John Hinds, William John and Alfred Thomas, all of whom also served as president of the Baptist Union of Wales, occupied political office. Three members of the British parliament – Cyril Black, George White and Ernest Brown – served in the position of president of the Baptist Union of Great Britain and Ireland. Elsewhere in contemporary Europe, Pavlo Unguryan of Ukraine and


Valeriu Ghiletchi of Moldova, a former president of the European Baptist hold political office in their respective countries. Some United States presidents are said to have been Baptists when they


entered the White House. These include Warren Harding, Harry Truman, William Clinton and, of course, Jimmy Carter. Recently, President Carter assured me that, as often as possible, he continues to teach his Sunday School class at the Maranatha Baptist Church in Plains, Georgia, US. Former US Vice Presidents Nelson Rockefeller and Al Gore also have known association with the Baptist church. Members of the Baptist community in Latin America have held political


office in their countries. These include Carlos García García in Peru, Victor Marinuena in Ecuador, and Walter Pinheiro and Eraldo Tinoco in Brazil. In the Caribbean, John Maxwell Sr., Maxine Henry Wilson and Clifton Stone have served in the Jamaican national parliament. Meanwhile, among the large number of politicians with Baptist roots in the Baptist community in Bahamas are former Member of Parliament and Governor General Clifford Darling, former Prime Minister Hubert Ingraham, and Rome Italia Johnson, first female speaker of the House of Assembly in the Bahamas. Many African politicians have undisputed Baptist origins – whether it


is Lott Carey in Liberia or David George in Sierra Leone. Liberia itself produced William Tolbert, a former BWA president, and, in Nigeria, the


4 BAPTIST WORLD MAGAZ NE AGAZINEI


former president, Oluṣẹgun Ọbasanjọ, and many other politicians such as Olorunnimbe Mamora, Emmanuel Uduaghan and Dawari George, who has served as president of the Men’s Missionary Union of the Nigerian Baptist Convention, are Baptists. In Ghana, Baptists who have held ministerial positions in the government include Christiana Amoako-Nuamah and Joe Oteng Adjei, and in the Sierra Leone government, Alimamy Phillip Koroma. In the Asia Pacific region, Baptists have played a role


in several governments. In India, Reishand Keishing from Manipur, and Rano Shaiza and S. C. Jamir from Nagaland are well known Baptists. Yukio Hatoyama, a former president of Japan was also a Baptist. In Australia,


politicians of Baptist persuasion include


Thomas Playford, who served in parliament, and Athol Townley who was a minister of government and also Peter Costello. Current Australian Prime Minister Julie Gillard, whose parents are Baptists famously said, “I was brought up in the Baptist church but, during my adult life, I’ve … found a different path. I’m of course a great respecter of religious beliefs, but they’re not my beliefs.” Of course, the Baptists to whom we have referred in this column were chosen at random. Many others have served, or continue to serve, as parliamentarians in the countries mentioned. Still many others serve in a similar way in other countries.


Whether they have served as politicians, as civil


servants, or as volunteers in civic groups committed to meeting human need, defending the rights of people and fostering respect for the environment – Baptists, like so many other Christians and other people of faith, continue to contribute in important ways to the betterment of life in community.


If, at one time, many Baptists were rightly characterized as hostile to the idea of fellow Baptists participating in government, with the passage of time, this is increasingly not the case. McBeth’s reference to the emergence over time of Baptist positions on Christians’ participation in politics and government is uncontroversial. These changes represent something to celebrate.


Celebrate

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