War on terror major setback to missions [North Carolina Baptist Men's Conference]

The United States' war on terrorism could set missions back 1,000 years, Tony Campolo told the North Carolina Baptist Men's Conference in March. Campolo, a sociologist and well-known Baptist speaker, said it has become dangerous to quote Jesus in church since September 11. "I'm not sure we want to hear of a Jesus who says, 'Blessed are the peacemakers....' " The war against terrorism is like trying to get rid of malaria by killing mosquitoes, he said. "You get rid of malaria by destroying the swamps in which the malaria mosquitoes are bred. There's a swamp out there called poverty and injustice." Campolo described himself as a "pro-Israel evangelical," but spoke against injustices against Palestinians. "When they send tanks into the West Bank and level 70 houses in retaliation to some madman setting off a bomb in Tel-Aviv, they're using Hitler-like tactics.... God loves the Palestinians every bit as much as he loves the Jews." Campolo also spoke out against the U.S. government's "faith-based" social programs. Putting government together with church programs "is like mixing ice cream with horse manure. It's not going to hurt the manure but it's going to raise havoc with the ice cream."--From reports