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This edition of A Public Witness looks at how our legal system has made it easier for municipalities and other governments to criminalize homelessness and explores how some religious leaders and faith communities are responding.

In “The Hero and the Whore: Reclaiming Healing and Liberation Through the Stories of Sexual Exploitation in the Bible,” trauma-informed educator and minister Camille Hernandez dives deep into the Bible’s stories of abuse.

The environment continues to be a top concern for many voters, especially younger ones, and the issue crosses lines of faith and politics in ways that others don’t.

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

Disqualified challengers hoped sufficient ‘no’ votes would cause the election process to restart.

Jackson described how faith, especially instilled by her now late grandmother, had undergirded her personal and professional life.

When the CCLI Top 100 chart first appeared in 1988, most of the songs had one writer. Today, the average hit worship song has at least two writers — who often have ties to the so-called Big Four megachurches.

Nation

This edition of A Public Witness looks at how our legal system has made it easier for municipalities and other governments to criminalize homelessness and explores how some religious leaders and faith communities are responding.

The environment continues to be a top concern for many voters, especially younger ones, and the issue crosses lines of faith and politics in ways that others don’t.

'I don’t just consider a candidate’s words, I look at their actions and what they have done,' said the Rev. Franklin Graham.

World

After a crackdown on unapproved churches, Christian leaders say the government's move encroaches on religious freedom and applies regulations unequally.

The first stop is an interfaith meeting with representatives of the six religions that are officially recognized in the world’s largest Muslim country: Islam, Buddhism, Confucianism, Hinduism, Catholicism, and Protestantism.

This issue of A Public Witness treks to Latin America to consider the dangers arising from the political co-opting of sacred texts.

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 a recent sermon from an influential pastor of the leading Protestant church in Cairo.

Contributing writer Rodney Kennedy discusses what led him to write “Dancing with Metaphors in the Pulpit” covering lessons preachers can learn from novelists, poets, philosophers, and rhetoricians.

Contributing writer Sarah Blackwell reflects on what spiritual practices we can take from this summer’s Olympics as we all move on to this next season of our lives.

E-Newsletter

This edition of A Public Witness looks at how our legal system has made it easier for municipalities and other governments to criminalize homelessness and explores how some religious leaders and faith communities are responding.

This issue of A Public Witness opens up the Bible to debunk hidden partisan codes popping up in social media posts and sermons.

This issue of A Public Witness treks to Latin America to consider the dangers arising from the political co-opting of sacred texts.

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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 Hero and the Whore: Reclaiming Healing and Liberation Through the Stories of Sexual Exploitation in the Bible,” trauma-informed educator and minister Camille Hernandez dives deep into the Bible’s stories of abuse.

In “Hope Restored: Biblical Imagination Against Empire,” Walter Brueggemann points us toward understanding hope not as easy optimism but as an honest facing of the unjust structures that human beings have created and a call to lean into Scripture for

In “The Widening of God’s Mercy: Sexuality Within the Biblical Story,” Christopher B. and Richard B. Hays — son and father — take us on a journey through the Bible, helping us gain a better perspective on God and LGBTQ+

Sociologist Jason Shelton’s new book explains what has happened — and is happening — in ways that call for revising how we perceive the Black Church as an institution and social force.