Opinion

Daoud Kuttab writes that while other churches have built majestic structures at the Baptismal site in Jordan, a wooden structure granted to Baptists is falling apart due to negligence and disregard. It is unclear who is to blame for the lack of progress in setting up a more permanent site at the location where Jesus was baptized.

Editor-in-Chief Brian Kaylor reflects on comments made about school prayer as the U.S. Supreme Court agrees to hear a significant church-state case. Some conservative Christian groups are wrongly calling public prayer just a “private” act.

Contributing writer Sarah Blackwell reflects on knowing and using names as a spiritual practice. Calling people by name can bond us to each other, create community, acknowledge the worth of each person, and share part of our story.

As a Jewish legal advocate and a Baptist minister, we support the arguments of Boston in this critical First Amendment case that Supreme Court justices will hear on Jan. 18. Read the Boston Globe op-ed by Rachel Laser (president/CEO of Americans United for Separation of Church and State) and Brian Kaylor (president & editor-in-chief of Word&Way).

Contributing writer Greg Mamula reflects on how the life of Martin Luther King Jr. has intersected with his own. He writes that as important as it is to name injustice, it is equally important to consider how we lean into the hope of God’s ongoing redemption story.

Contributing writer Rodney Kennedy makes the argument that 2021 is 1921 in Evangelical Land – the enemies are the same, but with new names. This means that Darwin, Darrow, and Fosdick are now Fauci, the ACLU, and liberal preachers.

Angela N. Parker uses the lens of Womanist theology to reflect on Epiphany in the shadow of the Jan. 6 Capitol insurrection. She asserts that the connections between the two reveal implications about the importance of experts and leadership that actually shepherds without causing obsequious or riotous behavior.

John Sianghio uses the lens of religious ethics to reflect on Epiphany in the shadow of the Jan. 6 Capitol insurrection. He argues that the connections between the two reveal a fundamental choice between two kings, different philosophies of leadership, and — most importantly — visions of the political good.

In day 18 of our Unsettling Advent devotional series, Word&Way Editor-in-Chief Brian Kaylor reflects on the news of a camel escaping from a live nativity in Kansas.

In day 26 of our Unsettling Advent devotional series, Voices Editor Jeremy Fuzy reflects on canceled Christmas plans due to Omicron and the teaching to love your neighbor as yourself.