Human rights advocacy deeply rooted in Baptist history

ARLINGTON—The mandate for Baptists to advocate for human rights around the globe has deep roots that stretch back four centuries, said Raimundo Barreto, director of the division of freedom and justice of the Baptist World Alliance.

Barreto lectured at the B.H. Carroll Theological Institute's spring colloquy and convocation.

Raimundo Barreto

The colloquy celebrated the 400th anniversary of the publication of Thomas Helwys' A Short Declaration of the Mystery of Iniquity in 1612, believed to have been the first English-language plea for religious freedom.

Christians need to be aware of the need to advocate on behalf of the poor and those who suffer as victims of sin, Barreto said.

Protestants understand the salvation work of Christ that liberates sinners, he noted, but sometimes lack the perspective that this same theology liberates the victims of sin.

"Jesus had compassion—not just for the slaves of sin, but for its victims," Barreto said.

Citing the double burden of freedom and responsibility, Barreto challenged participants to remember Baptists began as victims of oppression and have suffered intensely and often throughout their 400-year history. This heritage places Baptists today in a position to be conscientious advocates for oppressed people.

"We have a duty to resist and respond to persistent evil," he said.

Barreto focused on the Baptist legacy deriving from the work of Helwys, who first advocated not merely liberty for some, but for universal religious freedom for all people. For this revolutionary notion, Helwys was sent to Newgate Prison, where he died shortly thereafter.

This advocacy is an "awful burden" that is not easy to carry, Barreto explained. The fight for religious freedom protects for the peoples of the world the right of varied religious expressions. A healthy secular space—one that embraces and protects the differences of all its peoples, is important for a nation, he said.

Citing Stanley Hauerwas, Nigel Wright, Jose Casanova and others, Barreto challenged Baptists to continue the work of the church—to be salt and light, to live in community as peacemakers, and to change social and political structures so people are free to extend the name of Christ.

The church should be a change-agent for, and a voice of, people who struggle within political, social and economic structures that rob them of freedom, justice and dignity, he said.

For Helwys, freedom was not an end in itself, but a means by which society could be improved and the poor cared for through the sacrificial love of Christ lived in community with others. While Helwys called for separation of church and state, this notion did not imply a separation of church and society or church and politics.

Barreto also told how the Baptist World Alliance works today to advocate on behalf of human rights at the global level.

He spoke of the century-long commitment of the BWA in addressing violations of human rights, fighting for justice, working for peace and monitoring religious freedom across the globe.

Helen Boursier, a graduating doctoral student in theology, responded, "Of all that was and could have been said, the most compelling words were, 'Remember the poor.'"