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In this edition of A Public Witness, we go deeper than our feet could ever wander into the scandal-plagued events surrounding Hillsong. Then we stand with our arms high and hearts abandoned to consider the role worship plays in Christian formation. 

In this edition of A Public Witness, we read the texts of messianic and apocalyptic ideas animating parts of the Trumpian movement. Then we take advantage of your unlimited data to warn about the danger of half-baked religious prophecies masked as partisan politics.

Robert D. Cornwall reviews Tradition and Apocalypse: An Essay on the Future of Christian Belief by David Bentley Hart. He argues that the book challenges our certainties and pushes our buttons, but with the war in Ukraine raising the profile of Orthodoxy it is helpful to get a sense of the diversity of perspectives within the tradition.

An ancient tablet discovered near the Palestinian city of Nablus may contain the earliest known mention of God’s name in proto-alphabetic Hebrew. Scott Stripling, director of the Archaeological Studies Institute at The Bible Seminary in Katy, Texas, announced the discovery of the lead tablet Thursday.

Allegations that two evangelical pastors have used their influence with Brazil’s Education Ministry to steer federal funding to friends — and in at least one case seek a bribe — are causing a new election-year controversy for the government of President Jair Bolsonaro.

Senior Editor Beau Underwood interviews Vince Amlin, co-pastor of Gilead Church in Chicago, Illinois, for the latest installment of our “Behind the Pulpit” series intended to pull back the curtain on the minister’s life.

The Supreme Court said Thursday that states must grant the wishes of death row inmates who want to have their pastors pray aloud and even touch them during their executions. 

We interpret the Constitution and rule Graham’s questions out-of-bounds. Then we give a second hearing to a related misstep by Sen. Dianne Feinstein in questioning now-Justice Amy Coney Barrett. Finally, we render our verdict about the role religion should play in U.S. judicial hearings. 

For years, Calvin University, a leading evangelical school in Grand Rapids, Michigan, has tried to walk a fine line of being welcoming to LGBTQ students while still enforcing traditional Christian Reformed Church views on sexuality. But a same-sex wedding led the university to split with its longtime research center over Christian teaching on sexuality.

In this edition of A Public Witness we’ll consider the church politics going on in the Tar Heel state, detail how one Baptist-preacher-turned-candidate is taking the Lord’s name in vain, and analyze why campaigns are corrupting congregational life.