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Religious leaders debate war on 'Larry King Live'

3/12/2003 News media contact: Kathy Gilbert · (615) 742-5470 · Nashville, Tenn.

NOTE: A photograph of Bishop Melvin Talbert is available

By United Methodist News Service

Religious leaders representing Roman Catholic and Protestant faiths debated questions about a "just war" on Iraq, the Bible and the Islamic faith during a panel discussion on CNN's "Larry King Live" show March 11.

A question from a viewer about whether Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein was a man of faith prompted diverse views from the panel about the nature of God and what it means to be saved.

"I believe my God is large enough to be inclusive of all human beings who were created in God's image, and that includes those religions that are not Christians," said United Methodist Bishop Melvin G. Talbert, ecumenical officer for the Council of Bishops, and one of the panelists.

Another member of the panel, John MacArthur, pastor of Grace Community Church in Sun Valley, Calif., said, "He (Hussein) is praying to the wrong God.

"There is only one true and living God, and that's the God of the Scripture, the God and father of our Lord Jesus Christ," he said. "And if you aren't praying to that God, you are praying to no one."

"Christians Debating War" was the topic of the discussion, and King introduced the show with the question: "What would Jesus do about war with Iraq?"

Other members of the panel were Bob Jones, president of Bob Jones University, Greenville, S.C.; Max Lucado, pastor of Oak Hills Church of Christ in San Antonio; and Father Michael Manning, a Roman Catholic broadcaster who hosts "Word in the World."

"For me, salvation in Jesus Christ is the way, and what I try to do as a Christian is to live that example. My responsibility is not to convert all other religions, but to live the Christian faith in the face of those religions," Talbert said.

United Methodists believe faith in Jesus Christ is the only way the Bible gives to salvation and heaven. They also believe they are "called to be neighbors with other faith communities and to work with them to create a human community, a set of relationships between people at once interdependent and free, in which there is love, mutual respect, and justice," according to the church's Book of Resolutions. More can be found in Resolution #79, "Called to be Neighbors and Witnesses."

Another caller asked the panelists about their views on the Islamic faith.

Lucado responded by saying Islam is a different approach to God than the Christian approach.

"My understanding as a Christian is that we're saved by what Christ did for us, whereas the Islamic faith (believes) we're saved by what we do for God," he said. "I prefer to trust God to save me than to depend on my words to save myself."

When pressed by King about his views on Islam, MacArthur said, "I believe God loves his creatures, his creations. But in the end, he's going to condemn to an eternal hell all those who reject his son, Jesus Christ."

King asked Talbert if he thought differing opinions about faith would lead to conflict in the world.

"I believe they're leading to a lot of conflicts because we do not open ourselves to each other and learn and grow," the bishop responded. "What we need to do is to be tolerant with each other and not assume that our way is the only way."

Each panelist was given an opportunity to address the question, "What would Jesus do about war with Iraq?"

"War's a part of man's sin nature," Jones said. "The sinful nature of man makes a sinful world, and war is going to be a part of this world right up until the very end." He went on to say Christians support peace and sometimes that requires going to war.

Manning said Jesus would be opposed to war. "He would say, 'Let's move with peace. Let's talk.'"

Lucado, Jones and MacArthur all agreed that war is horrible but said the Bible gives government the authority to wage war to save innocent lives. Talbert and Manning said they don't feel all avenues have been exhausted yet for achieving a peaceful resolution to the crisis with Iraq.

"I believe we have the United Nations there, and rather than assuming that we have the right to go in unilaterally, to fight this all on our own, we need to use the apparatus of the United Nations. That's why it exists," Talbert said.

"We are the most powerful nation in the world," he said. "We can always wait. We don't have to rush to war, and we can use that power in a way of mobilizing nations to work together rather than pitting ourselves against those nations."

Jones disagreed, saying America's national interest was being threatened.

"The United Nations is a menace to our national sovereignty," he said. "We need to get behind our nation at this time."

Lucado agreed with Talbert about war being the last resort.

"My thinking is, who knows when it's the last resort better than those in authority? According to Romans 13, the government and those in authority are really ministers appointed by heaven to protect and to punish, and you know, I agree very much with the concept that we have to let it be the last resort, but somebody has to make that call."

Talbert said he would like to trust President Bush, but he questions the kind of advice the president is getting from the religious community.

"He (Bush) has not seen fit to receive a delegation of his own bishops," Talbert said. "And if he's a member of the United Methodist Church, seemingly he would seek the counsel of the bishops of his church."

King asked Talbert: "What do you think is going to happen, bishop?"

"I, unfortunately, believe that the people in the Muslim world will see a war led from America as a Christian crusade. Having been to the Middle East and talked to the religious leaders there, they are very fearful that that's the way it's going to be read. And it's going to push the feeling of the people from the moderate to the more radical leaders in the Muslim world."

A complete transcript of the show can be found at http://www.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0303/11/lkl.00.html.

Only the General Conference, the top assembly of the United Methodist Church, speaks for the entire denomination. It meets every four years and will convene in 2004. For an overview of its statements on war, see http://umns.umc.org/backgrounders/war.html.

For more information on the Iraq situation, go to http://infoserv.umc.org/faq/iraq.htm, http://umc.org/headlines/iraq or http://umc.org/headlines/military_outreach/default.htm. Specific information about Talbert is at http://infoserv.umc.org/faq/iraqtvadfaqs.htm.

Special UMNS news coverage of the crisis, "Conflict with Iraq," can be found at http://umns.umc.org/conflict.html online.

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