Reflecting on the American Baptist Mission Summit
Contributing writer Greg Mamula walks us through the recent denominational gathering of the most ethnically diverse and politically balanced denomination in the United States.
Review & Giveaway: Spiritual Care
Sociologist Wendy Cadge's "Spiritual Care: The Everyday Work of Chaplains" is an in-depth study that fills a gaping hole in understanding how religious care is provided within the United States.
Review: Oral Roberts and the Rise of the Prosperity Gospel
Jonathan Root's Oral Roberts biography offers insights into a significant element in American Christianity as well as a cautionary tale about crass materialism.
Ministers Reflect on Praying in Death Chambers
Four ministers who have been in a death chamber in recent months during state executions shared their experiences Saturday during the annual meeting of Missourians to Abolish the Death Penalty.
Josh Hawley’s Distorted History
Contributing writer Rodney Kennedy argues that a recent tweet from Senator Josh Hawley describing Christianity and America as the saviors who destroyed slavery represents a false history.
For Church Worship Teams, Auto-Tune Covers a Multitude of Sins. Especially Online.
The boom in livestreaming and the ubiquity of Auto-Tune and other technologies have led churches to up their game when it comes to sound technology. But has it gone too far?
In Europe’s Empty Churches, Prayer and Confessions Make Way for Drinking and Dancing
Across Europe, the continent that nurtured Christianity for most of two millennia, churches, convents, and chapels stand empty and increasingly derelict as faith and church attendance shriveled over the past half century.
Wrestling With History
This issue of A Public Witness provides a seat to listen to a recent lecture by Diana Butler Bass as she considers the stories we tell about history, especially about race and religion.
In Church Remains, German Archaeologists Discover the Truth of ‘Atlantis of the North Sea’
After a century, a legendary North Frisian city that has lived in church sermons, chronicles, and art across the region for six centuries has been found.
Review: Ancient Echoes
In "Ancient Echoes: Refusing the Fear-Filled, Greed-Driven Toxicity of the Far Right," influential biblical scholar Walter Brueggemann speaks to ideologies and efforts that are rooted in appeals to fear of the other, the one who is different.