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This issue of A Public Witness addresses how two things can be true: Trump is a victim of political violence and he is a dangerous cheerleader for political violence today.

Reactions from faith leaders and fellow politicians to Donald Trump’s narrow escape from an apparent assassin’s bullet called upon God’s protection for the former president and for the nation. 

During the annual gathering of the Baptist World Alliance, members of the body’s general council unanimously passed a resolution on religious nationalism that specifically denounced Christian Nationalism. Two other unanimous resolutions addressed issues of world hunger and the Israel-Gaza conflict.

This issue of A Public Witness conjures up the righteous indignation of Charlton Heston as Moses to look at the dangerous push for the Ten Commandments in public schools.

Dangerous Dogma

Church

The same factors that have caused a crisis in the homeowner's insurance market are also affecting churches, who have to choose between paying for insurance or running programs.

This issue of A Public Witness takes you to church to consider the dangers of transforming Sunday worship into a campaign rally.

On Monday, the denomination also passed a resolution denouncing Christian Zionism.

Nation

This issue of A Public Witness addresses how two things can be true: Trump is a victim of political violence and he is a dangerous cheerleader for political violence today.

Reactions from faith leaders and fellow politicians to Donald Trump’s narrow escape from an apparent assassin’s bullet called upon God’s protection for the former president and for the nation. 

A Thursday report from Pew Research Center shows that while Protestants overall favor Trump (55% to 29%, with 15% supporting Kennedy), Black Protestants favor Biden (65% to 11%, with 22% supporting Kennedy).

World

During the annual gathering of the Baptist World Alliance, members of the body’s general council unanimously passed a resolution on religious nationalism that specifically denounced Christian Nationalism. Two other unanimous resolutions addressed issues of world hunger and the Israel-Gaza conflict.

Many who opposed Daniil, the new Patriarch of All Bulgaria, worry that his election represents a sharp turn away from the policies of his predecessor, Neophyte I, who is remembered as a unifier.

This comes nearly a year after one of the worst mob attacks on Christians in the country.

Editorials

While messengers to last week’s annual meeting of the Southern Baptist Convention debated how to treat churches with women in pastoral roles, Baptist Women in Ministry showed up to offer a counter witness.

The thinning of the UMC’s conservative ranks makes this week’s conference a perfect time to address the issue.

Missing in all the jokes and news reports about the Trump Bible is that this isn’t the first time a presidential stamp of approval was sought for the Good Book.

Word&Way Voices

Contributing writer Rodney Kennedy explores how for many conservative evangelicals, fellow Americans and other Christians have come to be seen as evil enemies.

Contributing writer Greg Mamula walks through the various biblical, theological, and civic concerns raised by Louisiana’s attempt to mandate display of the Ten Commandments in every public school classroom.

Faithful America’s Rev. Nathan Empsall makes the case that Christian Nationalism poses multiple threats to the common good, but perhaps none are more dangerous than its misuse of Christianity to incite violence.

E-Newsletter

This issue of A Public Witness addresses how two things can be true: Trump is a victim of political violence and he is a dangerous cheerleader for political violence today.

This issue of A Public Witness listens to Hawley’s recent speech at the National Conservatism Conference to consider how he attempts to rewrite history and redefine Christianity to support his partisan gospel.

This issue of A Public Witness takes you to church to consider the dangers of transforming Sunday worship into a campaign rally.

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Podcasts

We had a lot of great podcast conversations this year. So let’s count down the top 10 most-downloaded of episodes of Dangerous Dogma in 2023.

In episode 104 of Dangerous Dogma, Jay Augustine, senior pastor at St. Joseph AME Church in Durham, North Carolina, talks about his book When Prophets Preach: Leadership and the Politics of the Pulpit. He also discusses preaching about current events,

In episode 103 of Dangerous Dogma, Craig Lamar Brown and Andrea Summer talk with about their movie Between Mercy and Me. They also discuss issues of racism, church worship, and creating music and movies. 

In episode 102 of Dangerous Dogma, Amanda Tyler, executive director of the Baptist Joint Committee for Religious Liberty, talks about attending the ReAwaken America Tour and a Pastors for Trump meeting at Trump Doral in Miami, Florida.

Books

In "The Emancipation of God: Postmarks on Cultural Prophecy," Walter Brueggemann grinds away at biblical texts that have been muffled, silenced, and disabled to free the text from its cultural entrapments.

In the face of a rising threat to both church and democracy, “Baptizing America: How Mainline Protestants Helped Build Christian Nationalism” exposes the undercurrents of a dangerous ideology.

In "The Scandal of Leadership: Unmasking the Powers of Domination in the Church," JR Woodward outlines why church leaders often fail and offers a robust theology of power.

This issue of A Public Witness addresses the ways in which American Christians are part of the problem as explored in “The Religion of Whiteness: How Racism Distorts Christian Faith.”