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The encounter between Christianity’s two most famous religious figures would have been unthinkable just a few years ago, given the divisions between their two churches over women’s ordination.

A court of appeals ruling just overturned Supreme Court precedent on posting the Ten Commandments in public schools — and the majority opinion conscripted a legendary colonial Baptist figure who fought for church-state separation to justify their actions.

The latest book from Amos Yong recasts what Christians call the missiological question first and foremost to those who would be true believers, including all who might wish to bear appropriate witness to their faith in a pluralistic world.

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Videos

Church

Rev. Jorge Bautista is seeking $5 million in damages from the federal government and plans to sue the unnnamed agent individually.

The statement’s signers include a mix of denominational leaders, seminary presidents, scholars, and leaders of prominent congregations.

Often boosted by social media, many of them got their start with independent labels or by uploading self-made songs to streaming platforms. Now, bigger labels and streaming services are catching on.

Nation

The Republican administrations of Nebraska, Arkansas, Texas, Oklahoma, Montana, Florida, Tennessee, and Indiana have each announced partnerships with Turning Point USA to promote school chapters in every high school.

‘Church-state separation ensures we are all free to live as ourselves and believe as we choose, as long as we don’t harm others,’ Rachel Laser of Americans United for Separation of Church and State countered.

‘Our nation must be careful not to allow partisan agendas to undermine institutions built on merit, sacrifice, and service,’ said the president of the historically Black National Baptist Convention U.S.A. Inc.

World

Israeli strikes have decreased since the ceasefire agreement took effect in October, but deadly attacks have not entirely ended.

Bolsonaro, who rose to power with the support of Brazilian evangelicals, is currently serving a 27-year prison sentence for plotting a coup against current President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva.

The Church of England has countered with posters at bus stops and other locations that say ‘Christ has always been in Christmas’ and ‘Outsiders welcome.’

Editorials

For the final devotional exploring Advent in a time of bloodshed in Israel, Brian Kaylor reflects on how Gaza is significant in a biblical story that doesn’t explicitly mention the place.

This devotional poses a question ringing through the ages: Will we choose to adopt the values of Herod or the way of Jesus?

Brian Kaylor reflects on state executions during Christmastime and the modern parallels with a biblical character we often leave out of our nativity sets and pageants.

Word&Way Voices

Advent teaches us that a shiny, gilded facade only serves to cover up the other side of the story. If we keep our focus on the child sleeping in an animal feeding trough, we might be unsettled — but the truth we see will compel us to live differently.

Advent reminds us we are called to help bring the empire of God — not of any power or principality — into being. And as the Lord’s Prayer exhorts, resist the temptations and trappings of the unjust.

As we sing Advent hymns, gather in community, light candles, and wait hopefully, may we also embody in our actions our coming Savior’s call — to feed the hungry and to provide compassion, love, and justice for all.

E-Newsletter

This issue of A Public Witness explores the theology behind viewing the United States as a nation that God asks to perform miracles, as expressed in the State of the Union address on Tuesday.

Political theorist Laura Field provides an intellectual tour of the MAGA New Right, a movement that has twice carried Donald Trump into the White House.

The head of the Missouri Senate Education Committee thinks we should force public schools to teach that the Constitutional Convention prayed after Benjamin Franklin said they should — even though it very much never happened.

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Recent Episodes

Books

Written by Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) pastors and scholars, this collection of essays explores the mainline Protestant denomination’s diverse history, theology, worship, and mission.

As the world’s attention is on the devastation of Gaza, this book offers a powerful and enlightening perspective through the eyes of Palestinian Christian leaders and thinkers.

With the weaponization of Scripture regularly making headline news, “The Bible According to Christian Nationalists” officially releases today to point to better ways of reading and applying sacred texts.

In this new book, Brian Kaylor exposes the ways Christian Nationalism distorts scripture through seven different problematic approaches to interpreting and applying the biblical text.