Remarks by the President Via Satellite to the Southern Baptist Convention 2002 Annual Meeting
Dwight D. Eisenhower Executive Office Building
Room 459
10:50 A.M. EDT
THE PRESIDENT: Thank you all very much. Dr. Merritt, thanks so
much. It's good to be able to see you via video. I want to thank you
for coming to the White House right after September the 11th, and thank
you for such a kind introduction. I appreciate your friendship, and
I'm honored to join all of you for the 2002 Southern Baptist Convention
Annual Meeting. And I'm grateful for the opportunity to address you on
this most special occasion.
As you gather this week in St. Louis, you'll choose a new
President, and you will renew old and honorable commitments. Three
centuries ago, there were fewer than 500 Baptists in America. Today,
there are almost 16 million members of the Southern Baptist
Convention. From your denomination have come Presidents like Harry
Truman and preachers like Roger Williams and Billy Graham, a man who
has played such an important role in nurturing my faith.
Baptists have had an extraordinary influence on American history.
They were among the earliest champions of religious tolerance and
freedom. Baptists have long upheld the ideal of a free church in a
free state. And from the beginning, they believed that forcing a
person to worship against his will violated the principles of both
Christianity and civility.
What I found interesting is the Baptist form of church government
was a model of democracy even before the founding of America. And
Baptists understood the deep truth of what Reverend Martin Luther King,
Jr., said: "The church is not the master or the servant of the state,
but rather the conscience of the state."
Since the earliest days of our Republic, Baptists have been
guardians of the separation of church and state, preserving the
integrity of both. Yet, you have never believed in separating
religious faith from political life. (Applause.) Baptists believe as
America's founders did: that religious faith is the moral anchor of
American life.
Throughout history, people of faith have often been our nation's
voice of conscience. We all know that men and women can be good
without faith. And we also know that faith is an incredibly important
source of goodness in our country.
True faith is never isolated from the rest of life, and faith
without works is dead. Our democratic government is one way to promote
social justice and the common good, which is why the Southern Baptist
Convention has become a powerful voice for some of the great issues of
our time.
You and I share common commitments. We believe in fostering a
culture of life, and that marriage and family are sacred institutions
that should be preserved and strengthened. (Applause.) We believe
that a life is a creation, not a commodity, and that our children are
gifts to be loved and protected, not products to be designed and
manufactured by human cloning. (Applause.)
We believe that protecting human dignity and promoting human rights
should be at the center of America's foreign policy. We believe that
our government should view the good people who work in faith-based
charities as partners, not rivals. We believe that the days of
discriminating against religious institutions simply because they are
religious must come to an end. (Applause.)
Faith teaches us to respect those with whom we disagree. It
teaches us to tolerate one another. And it teaches us that the proper
way to treat human beings created in the divine image is with
civility. Yet, you also know that civility does not require us to
abandon deeply held beliefs. Civility and firm resolve can live easily
with one another.
Faith teaches us that God has a special concern for the poor, and
that faith proves itself through actions and sacrifice, through acts of
kindness and caring for those in need. For some people, Jesus's
admonition to care "for the least of these" is an admirable moral
teaching. For many Baptists, it is a way of life. (Applause.)
Faith is also a source of comfort during times of grief. We saw
this in the aftermath of the attacks on September the 11th. Millions
of Americans turned to prayer for wisdom and resolve, for compassion
and courage, and for grace and mercy. And in these moments of prayer,
we are reminded of important truths: that suffering is temporary, that
hope is eternal, and that the ruthless will not inherit the earth.
(Applause.)
Our faith teaches us that while weeping may endure for a night, joy
comes in the morning. And while faith will not make our path easy, it
will give us strength for the journey ahead.
Many of you have prayed for my family and me. We have felt
sustained and uplifted by your prayers. Laura and I are incredibly
grateful to you for those prayers. We consider your prayers to be a
most precious gift.
I want to thank you all for your good works. You're believers, and
you're patriots, faithful followers of God and good citizens of
America. And one day, I believe that it will be said of you, "Well
done, good and faithful servants."
May God bless you all, and may God continue to bless America.
(Applause.)