American Christians may pledge loyalty to the U.S. Constitution. But behind the closed curtain of the polling booth, many violate the spirit of the constitutional prohibition on any religious test for public office. And several church-state experts insist that's not…
Baptism still Baptists’ symbol but ‘problems’ must be answered
WACO, Texas (ABP) — After four centuries, believers baptism remains the symbol of Baptist identity, historian Bill Leonard stressed during a lecture series at Baylor University's George W. Truett Theological Seminary. But in the 21st century, Baptists must respond to…
Does event evangelism still work?
Some observers of church life insist the day of event evangelism has passed. They point to one-on-one evangelism as the only effective way to reach non-Christians today. But does that mean event evangelism is dead? Some evangelists are stepping forward…
Human rights and wrongs
ATLANTA — Most evangelical American Christians remained silent about torture at Abu Ghraib and Guan-tanamo for some of the same reasons European Christians 70 years ago largely failed to resist the Holocaust, ethicist David Gushee told a na-tional summit on…
Not all coercive force is torture, Baptist ethicist insists
Debate over the morality of coercive force would be served better if everyone involved quit using the word “torture” altogether, said Daniel Heimbach, professor of Christian ethics at Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary. “The problem here is that in hotly debating…
Torture fails to ensure national security, experts insist
ATLANTA — Retired high-ranking military officers and national security experts at a national summit on torture agreed — a policy that permits torture does not make the United States or its troops safer. Speaking on the seventh anniversary of terrorist…
Human rights rooted in Bible, not political philosophy
ATLANTA — Concern about hu-man rights means biblically grounded compassion for oppressed people — not a selfish desire to protect one's own property or prestige, Baptist ethicist Glen Stassen told the National Summit on Torture. “It has been the defenders…
Red-letter Christians can transcend partisan politics, Campolo insists
WACO, Texas — Red-letter Christians committed to taking Christ's teachings seriously have the potential to transform society in a way that moves beyond partisan politics, author and educator Tony Campolo told an ethics conference at Baylor University's Truett Theological Seminary….
Should missionaries always tell the whole truth?
Christian workers who serve in countries closed to traditional missions outreach should tell the truth — but that doesn't necessarily mean full disclosure, some Christian ethicists and missiologists insist. “It is not correct to lie about the reason for being…