Oh! Christmas Tree? Cardboard Display is the Talk of a Town
A fresh-cut natural Christmas tree usually graces the Grand Arcade at Convention Hall on Asbury Park’s historic boardwalk. But this year, in its place is art made of cardboard in the shape of a tree.
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.
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.
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 Black.
Christmas in Bethlehem: Gilded Treasures, but Few Tourists
Ahead of Christmas, a towering wooden screen — once blackened with soot from millions of worshipers’ candles — is being restored to its gilded glory in the Church of the Nativity, built at the site where many believe Jesus was born. But few visitors are expected to see it this Christmas holiday season.
Russia Added to State Department List of Worst Religious Liberty Violators
The U.S. State Department has added Russia to its list of nations it considers among the world’s most egregious violators of religious freedom. Russia joins Myanmar, China, Eritrea, Iran, North Korea, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Tajikistan, and Turkmenistan on the list of “countries of particular concern.”
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.
New Revised Standard Version Bible Updated with Consideration for ‘Modern Sensibilities’
An updated edition of the New Revised Standard Version of the Bible includes thousands of changes in language, reflecting the research of a wide range of scholars who spent four years reviewing its contents as well as taking into consideration “modern sensibilities.”