IBTS is delighted to be able to congratulate Elie Haddad on the successful defence of his PhD thesis at the Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam. Elie is well known throughout the European Baptist Federation (EBF) and serves as the President of the Arab Baptist Theological Seminary (ABTS) in Lebanon. Elie's thesis was entitled 'Developing a Missional Ecclesiology for the Local Baptist Church in Lebanon' and provided an assessment of how the Lebanese crises of the last ten years, as well as theological education, have helped shape the Lebanese Baptist Church. Elie said, "My ultimate passion is to witness a Lebanese Baptist Church with an effective missional witness among its neighbors. Consequently, the purpose of this study is to offer a theological framework for the Lebanese Baptist Church to consider as it revisits its ecclesiology to match its evolving praxis."International Conference 2018
Evangelicals and Oppression: Eastern European Perspectives
18-20 April 2018
A joint IBTSC Amsterdam and EBF Theology and Education Commission conference
Held at the Baptist House, Postjesweg 150, 1061 AX Amsterdam
The conference explored the topic 'Evangelicals and Oppression' in a wide-ranging way and from different angles: oppression that Eastern European Evangelicals have met in their history; elements of oppression that Evangelicals have created themselves in relation to other groups or within their own church life; conflict and community; religious freedom and political pressures; Biblical interpretation and persecution in Evangelical life; spiritual practices in times of persecution and oppression; reception of and reactions to oppression and tensions; practices of forgiveness in historical perspective.
Conference papers will be published in a 2018 issue of the IBTSC Amsterdam journal Baptistic Theologies.
For further information on the conference contact info@ibts.eu
