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Adopt a Terrorist for Prayer Founder Mobilizes for Iraq Deployment

Jeremy Reynalds, Ph.D. - 4/23/2008

When Dr. Thomas Bruce founded a movement six months ago to mobilize Christians to pray for heart changes in terrorists and terrorism sponsors, he did not know the Army would be mobilizing him this week as a reservist to go to Iraq.

“It's exciting to deploy just as this movement is beginning,” said Bruce in a news release, “and this is a truly fitting follow-on assignment.”

A year ago Bruce, who has a doctorate in ministry, sat in a conference of Christian military ministry leaders, wondering how to transform the struggle against terrorism from a spiritual defensive to a spiritual offensive.

Quoting from the Army Field Manual 100-1 that he studied in the 1980's, Bruce said, “War is not won on the defensive.”

Bruce said in the news release he believes the primary nature of this war is spiritual. He said that for almost seven years, we have been fighting terrorists by defending America and by trying to change material circumstances that reportedly generate sympathy for terrorists.

Bruce commended the American government and military for facilitating political, economic, medical, and educational progress.

“Jesus also fed the hungry and healed the sick,” he said in the news release. “But,” he added, “an approach that neglects the spiritual is just as lopsided in one direction as an evangelist who is only concerned with saving souls is lopsided in the other.”

As he mobilizes to support material changes in Iraq, Bruce said he is relieved to have a growing spiritual offensive behind him.

“Materially, terrorists are the weakest enemy we have ever faced,”Bruce said in the news release, “but they are wielding a very powerful spiritual weapon – fear. Jesus’ instruction to love enemies and pray for persecutors offers a symmetrical counter offensive.”

Bruce added, “The antidote to fear is love. Love for country helps soldiers risk their lives. Love for children enables parents to discipline them without being intimidated. Love for us took Jesus to the cross. Love for terrorists will give courage to face, overcome, and transform them. When we hate, we are victims. When we love, we have the initiative.”

At ATFP.org, people can read brief biographies and post their prayers for almost one hundred at-large and captured terrorists or terrorism sponsors, who are identified by the FBI and U.S. State Department.

As moderators volunteer, eventually every featured terrorist or terrorism sponsor will have a blog-based “adoptive prayer family” of web-connected people praying for him.

According to the release, organizers of the new ministry hopes the letters ATFP will become the new WWJD as people wear and post them to show their participation.