Essays: Is Involvement in the Fight Against the Persecution of Christians Solely for the Benefit of Christians? “But with gentleness and respect”: Why missions should be ruled by ethics Persecution May a Christian Go to Court? Putting Rumors to Rest Human Rights and Christian Faith There Has to Be a Social Ethic Thomas Schirrmacher (*1960) is professor of ethics and of world missions, as well as professor of the sociology of religion and of international development in Germany, Romania, Turkey and India, and is president of Martin Bucer Theological Seminary with 11 small campuses in Europe (including Turkey). As an international human rights expert he is board member of the International Society for Human Rights, spokesman for human rights of the World Evangelical Alliance and director of the International Institute for Religious Freedom (Bonn, Cape Town, Colombo). He is also president of Gebende Hände gGmbH (Giving Hands), an internationally active relief organization. He has authored and edited 74 books, which have been translated into 14 languages. He earned four doctorates in Theology (Dr. theol., 1985, Netherlands), in Cultural Anthropology (PhD, 1989, USA), in Ethics (ThD, 1996, USA), and in Sociology of Religions (Dr. phil., 2007, Germany) and received two honorary doctorates in Theology (DD, 1997, USA) and International Development (DD, 2006, India). Thomas is married to Christine, a professor of Islamic Studies, and father of a boy and a girl.