Vernon Grounds Institute of Public Ethics
The Vernon Grounds Institute of Public Ethics provides environments and resources to educate, facilitate and train Seminary students, members of Christian leadership and the Christian community as a whole in the area of social ethics. Its aim is to empower Christians to fulfill the biblical injunction to be "salt and light" and to "shine like stars" in a dark and depraved world (Matthew 5, Philippians 2:14,15). The Institute endeavors to partner and network with other, like-minded institutions, agencies and organizations on the national and global scene which are concerned about a comprehensive, cutting edge and robust evangelical witness to the public square.
The Institute's annual theme will be fleshed out during the course of the academic year in a series of three activities: The Kent Mathews Lectureship in the fall, a lecture in January and a spring workshop.
This Year's Theme
The inaugural year of the Institute, 2008, will focus on the "Christian Concern for Our Common Life," which is a slight modification of the title of a lecture Dr. Grounds gave at Harvard in 1981. We feel that since the Institute is established in his honor, it is very appropriate to launch it with a challenge that he never tired of issuing to the evangelical community, namely, the necessity of intertwining evangelical theology with a robust and full-orbed ethical witness in the public square.
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The Institute's launch in the Fall of 2008 included two notable speakers for the Kent Mathews Endowed Lectureship on Social Ethics, which is an important part of the Institute. They were Dr. Ron Sider, president of Evagelicals for Social Action, and Dr. Darrell Bock, professor of New Testament at Dallas Theological Seminary.
The launch also included the presentation of a reprinted version of Vernon Grounds' Evangelicalism and Social Responsibility. A booklet written by Dr. Grounds nearly 40 years ago. You may download a free .pdf version of the booklet here: Evangelicalism and Social Responsibility.
Listen to the Presentations from the Institute's launch in October 2008
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Dr. Ron Sider: "Toward an Evangelical Methodology for Political Engagement
Part 1 of the Kent Mathews Endowed Lectureship on Social Ethics
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Dr. Ron Sider: "Combining Evangelism and Social Action: Cementing the Legacy of Vernon Grounds"
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Dr. Darrell Bock: "Engaging Culture Theologically: Understanding and Engagding the Trinitarian Anti-Christian Apologetic"
Part 2 of the Kent Mathews Endowed Lectureship on Social Ethics
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Dr. Darrell Bock: "Engaging Culture Theologically: What Makes the Under-30s So Different...?"
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