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This issue of A Public Witness heads deep in the heart of Texas to track the campaign of U.S. Rep. Colin Allred as he shows up in pulpits hoping to unseat U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz.

Queen is the first SBC leader to be charged in an ongoing DOJ investigation into the nation's largest Protestant denomination.

Pastors and leaders in the Asian American Christian community say younger evangelicals are moving away from their parents’ and grandparents’ more unconditional loyalty to the Republican Party.

This issue of A Public Witness details the religious background of Kamala Harris, now one of the two leading contenders to be the 47th president of the United States.

Dangerous Dogma

Church

Queen is the first SBC leader to be charged in an ongoing DOJ investigation into the nation's largest Protestant denomination.

At St. Paul's Episcopal Church, the Rev. Jean Beniste, a Haitian immigrant and Episcopal priest turned internet curses into blessings during an annual blessing of the animals, held in honor of St. Francis.

Nation

This issue of A Public Witness heads deep in the heart of Texas to track the campaign of U.S. Rep. Colin Allred as he shows up in pulpits hoping to unseat U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz.

Pastors and leaders in the Asian American Christian community say younger evangelicals are moving away from their parents’ and grandparents’ more unconditional loyalty to the Republican Party.

The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, the Episcopal Church, and the United Methodist Church — among other Christian denominations — have committed to divestment from the fossil fuel industry. 

World

Protests broke out on Sunday at the New Georgia United Methodist Church in Monrovia over the suspension of an outspoken critic of same-sex marriage. The protests spread to other churches in the capital, prompting riot police to intervene.

The Ulmer Münster in southern Germany is the world's tallest church. For now, anyway. The Gothic-style Lutheran church's reign — begun in May 31, 1890 — could end in 2025.

Christians in Jordan compose about 2% of the population and many are committed to the boycott, driven by ethical principles and a desire to show empathy and a shared sense of humanity with suffering Palestinians.

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

Palestinian journalist Daoud Kuttab documents how a leading evangelical group recently took a bold step away from pro-Trump American evangelicals.

Contributing writer Rodney Kennedy connects recent racist rhetoric aimed at immigrants to the early 20th-century Baptist pastor J. Frank Norris.

Contributing writer Sarah Blackwell reflects on ancient understandings of the heart and how they relate to our modern grief.

E-Newsletter

This issue of A Public Witness heads deep in the heart of Texas to track the campaign of U.S. Rep. Colin Allred as he shows up in pulpits hoping to unseat U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz.

This issue of A Public Witness explores how challenging White supremacy and Christian Nationalism requires both honesty and repair.

This issue of A Public Witness looks at the origins of the unbiblical phrase ‘Jezebel Spirit’ and the danger it poses in today’s politics.

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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 Moral Teachings of Jesus: Radical Instruction in the Will of God,” leading Christian ethicist David Gushee examines forty teachings of Jesus to clarify exactly what Jesus said about the moral life.

In “Another Gospel: Christian Nationalism and the Crisis of Evangelical Identity,” Joel Looper communicates an insider’s perspective on how a false gospel has colonized American evangelicalism.

In “Defiant Hope, Active Love: What Young Adults Are Seeking in Places of Work, Faith, and Community,” scholars investigate how faith communities can be more hospitable to the next generation of Christians.

Matthew Taylor makes a compelling case that the New Apostolic Reformation, whose leaders and ideas have migrated from the fringes to the center of American evangelicalism, is a dangerous threat to democracy.