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In a move the Arizona Republic has called unusual, a full panel of 11 judges reheard oral arguments in the case of Apache Stronghold v. United States on Tuesday in the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.

Opponents of the new ‘doctrinal note’ such as New Ways Ministry, a Catholic LGBTQ outreach organization, blasted the bishops’ statement as ‘neither good theology nor acceptable pastoral care.’

Comparing Trump to Jesus misses the point of what is happening to Trump. And, more importantly, misunderstands the treatment of Jesus in the leadup to the cross.

Daniel Buttry, retired global consultant for peace and justice with International Ministries of the American Baptist Church, talks about his new book Healing the World: Gustavo Parajón, Public Health and Peacemaking Pioneer. He also discusses nationalism, truth-telling, and conflict transformation.

Church

A North Carolina Superior Court judge dismissed a lawsuit filed last year by 36 United Methodist churches demanding to sever their ties to the denomination.

A disgraced former Southern Baptist president is suing the denomination he once led, saying he was defamed by allegations he assaulted another pastor’s wife. 

The United Methodist Judicial Council, the denomination’s top court, ruled again on the question of leaving the denomination in a decision released last week as the church goes through a slow-moving split over the ordination and marriage of its LGBTQ members.

Nation

In a move the Arizona Republic has called unusual, a full panel of 11 judges reheard oral arguments in the case of Apache Stronghold v. United States on Tuesday in the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.

Opponents of the new ‘doctrinal note’ such as New Ways Ministry, a Catholic LGBTQ outreach organization, blasted the bishops’ statement as ‘neither good theology nor acceptable pastoral care.’

Comparing Trump to Jesus misses the point of what is happening to Trump. And, more importantly, misunderstands the treatment of Jesus in the leadup to the cross.

World

Disagreements within the Methodist Church in Kenya are threatening to tear apart the denomination, with some senior clergy seeking to form independent regional conferences.

Pope Francis celebrates the 10th anniversary of his election Monday, far outpacing the “two or three” years he once envisioned for his papacy and showing no signs of slowing down.

France’s Catholic bishops’ conference agreed to provide reparations after a 2021 report estimated some 330,000 children were sexually abused over 70 years by priests or other church-related figures in France.

Editorials

Brian Kaylor takes a moment to thank everyone for being part of our 2022 journey. This includes a quick review of the year — including a countdown of the top 10 most-read pieces we published in our award-winning newsletter A Public Witness in 2022.

Brian Kaylor reflects on the 1914 “Christmas truce” during World War I and why it he does not find it to be an inspiring take on what “peace on Earth” could look like today.

Editor-in-Chief Brian Kaylor reflects on Russian pro-war propaganda dressed up like a Christmas decoration, which he calls a sacrilegious assault on celebrations of the birth of the Prince of Peace.

Word&Way Voices

Angela Denker writes about not wanting to waste the time she has on this earth and the strong desire to engage in important work. The ironic part, though, is that real meaning often comes in the minutia.

Wendell Griffen connects attacks on public schools in Arkansas, Florida, and other states to similar efforts in the past and argues that the current situation demands we unite against an effort to replace democracy with authoritarianism and fascism.

Contributing writer Rodney Kennedy challenges the presumptions of anyone claiming they hate what God hates. Such a statement, he argues, is a product of bad religion.

E-Newsletter

Comparing Trump to Jesus misses the point of what is happening to Trump. And, more importantly, misunderstands the treatment of Jesus in the leadup to the cross.

This issue of A Public Witness takes you on a trip to Puerto Rico to explore the development of this separate and unequal system of justice and economics, hear from Puerto Ricans about the impact of colonialization today, and consider the complicity of Christian churches.

This edition of A Public Witness revisits how too many American Christians decided to support an unjust war and considers what lessons the American Church can learn two decades later in the hopes of not repeating a sin of such consequence.

Sign up to receive full essays in your inbox!

Podcasts

Daniel Buttry, retired global consultant for peace and justice with International Ministries of the American Baptist Church, talks about his new book Healing the World: Gustavo Parajón, Public Health and Peacemaking Pioneer. He also discusses nationalism, truth-telling, and conflict transformation.

In episode 87 of Dangerous Dogma, Andrew Seidel, vice president of strategic communications for Americans United for Separation of Church and State, talks about his book American Crusade: How the Supreme Court Is Weaponizing Religious Freedom.

In episode 86 of Dangerous Dogma, Sara Billups talks about her new book Orphaned Believers: How a Generation of Christian Exiles Can Find the Way Home. She also discusses issues the impact of growing up with end-times theology, culture war politics,

Stephen Bullivant, a professor religion and sociology at St Mary's University in London and the University of Notre Dame in Sydney, talks about his new book Nonverts: The Making of Ex-Christian America.

Books

"Deliver Us: Salvation and the Liberating God of the Bible" by Walter Brueggemann is the first volume in a new series gathering the lesser-known works of one of the most influential figures in biblical studies and theology.

"Preaching and Praying as Though God Matters: In the Post-establishment Church" by Ronald P. Byars seeks to provide us with a word that ties preaching and worship together, with special attention given to the Lord's Table.

In "The Desert of Compassion: Devotions for the Lenten Journey" author Rachel M. Srubas draws on the images of the desert, which she knows so well as a pastor in southern Arizona, to provide the reader/spiritual seeker with a rich

Barbara Mahany's "The Book of Nature: The Astonishing Beauty of God’s First Sacred Text" serves to remind us that before there was scripture, there was nature. It was nature that spoke to humanity about the presence of God the creator.