Unsettling Advent, Day 1
In day 1 of our Unsettling Advent devotional series, Word&Way Editor-in-Chief Brian Kaylor reflects on starting Advent amid a second year of COVID surges and deaths.
Israel to Give Gaza Christians Permits for Christmas Holiday
Israeli authorities on Wednesday said they would permit 500 members of the Gaza Strip’s tiny Christian community to enter Israel and the occupied West Bank to celebrate Christmas.
Judas Arrested for Capitol Insurrection
Editor-in-Chief Brian Kaylor reflects on the news that an actor who plays the part of Judas in Jesus Christ Superstar was arrested for his role in the Jan. 6 insurrection at the U.S. Capitol.
New Children’s Bibles Rethink How Christians Share Old, Old Story with Young Readers
Parents are calling attention to whitewashed illustrations, almost exclusively male characters and an emphasis on memorizing morals over engaging with the divine in many existing children's story Bibles.
A Hero in Too Many Stories
In this issue of A Public Witness, we cross-examine the rhetoric about Rittenhouse that moves from legal technicalities to dangerous promotions of vigilantism. And we rest our case with a call for Christians to reject the glorification of violence.
What Americans Hear About Social Justice at Church – & What They Do About It
When taking into account religious affiliation, party affiliation, and social demographics, people who hear social justice-themed sermons in their places of worship are more likely than other Americans to engage in political activism, regardless of their race.
Christ the King Sunday Blues
Contributing writer Rodney Kennedy writes that he is not sure churches in America should be celebrating Christ the King Sunday. Have our habits become too corrupt – Americanized, individualized, freedom-soaked – for us to obey a king?
Warnock, Sewell Discuss ‘Sacred’ Voting Rights — & Whether God is Black
U.S. Sen. Raphael Warnock and U.S. Rep. Terri Sewell, both Democrats and one an ordained minister, made the religious case for protecting and expanding voting rights on Thursday, championing the “sacred” right to vote in a wide-ranging discussion that also touched on whether God is
A Response to Ken Ham
Contributing writer Rodney Kennedy responds to Ken Ham's criticism of one of his Word&Way articles. He uses this as an opportunity to explore Ham's rhetorical strategies and how much they reveal about both him and the universe of far-right Christians.
Unsettling Advent
In this edition of A Public Witness, we set the stage for Advent and countdown ways in which the pandemic, oppression, and insurrection defining our contemporary moment are strikingly similar to when Jesus was first born so long ago.