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U.S. Senator Ted Cruz publicly criticized fellow prominent Southern Baptist Tom Ascol for defending legislation that includes the death penalty for “aggravated homosexuality.”

A state school board in Oklahoma voted Monday to approve the first publicly funded Christian school in the nation, despite a warning from the state’s attorney general that the decision was unconstitutional.

At the height of the Islamic State group’s rampage across Syria, the world watched in horror as the militants blew up an iconic arch and temple in the country’s famed Roman ruins in Palmyra. Eight years later, IS has lost its hold but restoration work on the site has been held up by security issues, leftover IS land mines, and lack of funding.

In episode 98 of Dangerous Dogma, Cody Sanders and Mikeal Parsons about their book Corpse Care: Ethics for Tending the Dead. They also discuss issues related to green burials, funeral practices, and COVID.

Church

With Flag Day coming on June 14, several Christian groups hope pastors across the country will lift up a different standard during church services on June 11. The “Preach and Pray to Confront Christian Nationalism” initiative is urging pastors to warn against efforts to conflate Christian and American identities.

Once an evangelical insider with a textbook conversion story, Tisby has become persona non grata in some Christian circles for his books on race and religion.

Hundreds of people flocked to a small town in Missouri this week and last to see a Black nun whose body has barely decomposed since 2019. Some say it's a sign of holiness in Catholicism, while others say the lack of decomposition may not be as rare as people think. 

Nation

U.S. Senator Ted Cruz publicly criticized fellow prominent Southern Baptist Tom Ascol for defending legislation that includes the death penalty for “aggravated homosexuality.”

A state school board in Oklahoma voted Monday to approve the first publicly funded Christian school in the nation, despite a warning from the state’s attorney general that the decision was unconstitutional.

This issue of A Public Witness tastes the newest corporate controversy being fried up on social media and then digests the warning this “anti-woke” effort should signal for Christians.

World

At the height of the Islamic State group’s rampage across Syria, the world watched in horror as the militants blew up an iconic arch and temple in the country’s famed Roman ruins in Palmyra. Eight years later, IS has lost its hold but restoration work on the site has been held up by security issues, leftover IS land mines, and lack of funding.

The use of hand tools to rebuild the roof that flames turned into ashes in 2019 is a deliberate, considered choice, especially since power tools would undoubtedly have done the work more quickly.

LGBTQ+ rights campaigners say the new legislation is unnecessary in a country where homosexuality has long been illegal under a colonial-era law.

Editorials

Word&Way Editor-in-Chief Brian Kaylor reflects on two memorials to an enslaved man on the campus of Samford University, and what this could teach us about telling the truth about the histories of our institutions and churches.

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.

Word&Way Voices

A recent op-ed published in the Washington Post about Christian Nationalism engaged in dangerous historical revisionism, failing to listen to and learn from the lessons of the past.

Contributing writer Rodney Kennedy argues that we should see the cross and the rainbow flag together and identify Christ with a community of excluded people.

Marijuana will almost certainly be legalized throughout the United States and we should have a conversation about how we deal with church members who use it for medical or recreational purposes.

E-Newsletter

This issue of A Public Witness tastes the newest corporate controversy being fried up on social media and then digests the warning this “anti-woke” effort should signal for Christians.

Even though this piece for A Public Witness starts as a story about one college, it deals with something many churches, schools, and organizations need to consider: taking steps to address their history.

Every month we review and give away a signed copy of a book to a paid subscriber of A Public Witness. This month, we’re happy to make available a signed copy of what Kristin Kobes Du Mez called “an essential read.”

Sign up to receive full essays in your inbox!

Podcasts

In episode 98 of Dangerous Dogma, Cody Sanders and Mikeal Parsons about their book Corpse Care: Ethics for Tending the Dead. They also discuss issues related to green burials, funeral practices, and COVID.

In episode 97 of Dangerous Dogma, Bradley Onishi talks about his book Preparing for War: The Extremist History of White Christian Nationalism — and What Comes Next. He also discusses Jan. 6, evangelical racism, Ron DeSantis, and more.

In episode 96 of Dangerous Dogma, Kevin Nye talks about his book Grace Can Lead Us Home: A Christian Call to End Homelessness. He also discusses the importance of language and extravagance.

In episode 95 of Dangerous Dogma, Peter Jarrett-Schell, rector of Calvary Episcopal Church in Washington, D.C., talks about his book Reparations: A Plan for Churches. He also discusses his work as chair of the Reparations Task Force of the Episcopal

Books

In his book "Good and Evil in the Garden of Democracy," author Rodney Kennedy brings his reading of scripture and philosophy into conversation with rhetorical criticism in order to better understand Trump's threat to democracy.

Every month we review and give away a signed copy of a book to a paid subscriber of A Public Witness. This month, we’re happy to make available a signed copy of what Kristin Kobes Du Mez called “an essential

In his book "The Sacred Meaning of Every Day Work," author Robert H. Tribken seeks to answer the question of how faith and work might relate to each other.

In "What Jesus Learned from Women" author James F. McGrath fleshes out the nature of Jesus’s person and helps us recognize the role of women in the biblical story.