Baptist World Alliance

Some Baptists have claimed to be "a people of the book." Often, this self-designation is meant to highlight the value we place on the Bible. In We Baptists, published by the BWA in 1999, the priority Baptists assign to the Bible is reflected in a number of ways. Take the following affirmation, for example:Baptists believe that the Bible is both the true record of God's revelation to our world and the supreme... Continue reading

Christians everywhere should analyze carefully the study on "The Global Religious Landscape" recently released by The Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life. The report is available at: http://www.pewforum.org/uploadedFiles/Topics/Religious_Affiliation/globalReligion-full.pdf                                                      The study is based on data from censuses and other demographic sources, collected from 232 countries and territories and reflecting people's self-identification. It reveals that eight in 10 people in the world identify themselves with a religious group -- a sign that people... Continue reading

make disciples of all nations ... (Matthew 28:18) A fundamental aspect of our calling as Christians is to spread the Good News of Jesus Christ. This was the focus of an email I received some two and a half years ago from an educator in New Zealand. He had read an editorial I had written under the caption "Follow God fearlessly" and, in his encouraging response, urged the importance of personal witnessing... Continue reading

When the Council of the European Baptist Federation (EBF) met in Rome, Italy, in 2010, one of the resolutions it affirmed dealt with the Christian attitude to strangers. "We believe," the EBF said, "that God commands us in the scriptures to love and to welcome the stranger. We urge all Baptists to show hospitality toward immigrants, refugees and ethnic minority groups and to work for a welcoming attitude in our societies." According... Continue reading

Long will I remember the week in 1997 that I spent in Faverges, a beautiful town in Haute-Savoie in the Rhône-Alpes region in Southeastern France. I was attending a conference on baptism where contemporary liturgical scholars were to reflect on what systematic theologians and biblical scholars from different Christian World Communions had written on the subject. These liturgical scholars focused on baptism as practiced by various church communions and how such practices... Continue reading