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Featured
John Pavlovitz Has Jumped the Shark
This issue of A Public Witness highlights a prominent progressive Christian voice as a case study in the dangers of election denialism festering in anti-Trump circles.
Review: Bearing Witness
Questions about slavery and abolitionism stand at the heart of Daniel Lee Hill’s book, "Bearing Witness: What the Church Can Learn from Early Abolitionists." Hill seeks to retrieve resources from America's abolitionists, while thinking theologically about the church's public witness in the present and future.
Bombing God’s Love
This issue of A Public Witness unpacks President Donald Trump’s invoking of God during his speech announcing the U.S. had dropped massive bombs on Iran, thus joining Israel recent war against Iran.
Church
Resettling Afrikaners Is a ‘Faustian Bargain,’ Says Episcopal Church’s Sean Rowe
‘Afrikaners don’t fit any definition of refugee,’ said the Most Rev. Sean Rowe, the presiding bishop of the Episcopal Church.
Calvin Robinson, Dismissed for Nazi-Like Salute, Has Priestly License Rescinded, Again
Robinson responded in an Instagram story, saying that ‘perhaps God is sending me a message.’
Can the SBC’s Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission Survive Trump 2.0?
Years of controversy during the Trump era have some Southern Baptists arguing that the Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission is more trouble than it is worth.
Nation
An Unhealthy Blue ‘Sermon’
This issue of A Public Witness heads to “the land of 10,000 lakes” to consider Christian Nationalism and how it can emerge on the left as well as the right.
In LA, Faith Leaders Protest to Stand Up for the Detained and Keep the Peace
At one demonstration, faith leaders spread out in front of the line of officers, held hands, and occasionally burst into song.
Faith Leaders, Lawmakers Argue GOP Bill Benefits the Ultra-Wealthy by Hurting the Poor
‘May your will be done, and may this bill be killed,’ said the Rev. Teresa Hord Owens, general minister and president of the Disciples of Christ.
World
A Christian Town in Syria Keeps the Biblical Language of Aramaic Alive. But It Fears for Its Future
Maaloula is one of the world's few places where residents still speak Aramaic, the language that Jesus is believed to have used.
Russia, Ukraine, & the Truth
On this somber anniversary, many are remembering the hundreds of thousands of Ukrainians and Russians who have been killed in fighting over the last three years. But the president of the United States is instead trying to rewrite the facts of the war.
Trump Renamed the Gulf of Mexico. Pro-Israel Christian Groups Hope the West Bank Is Next.
Pro-Israel evangelicals and some members of Congress want to use the biblical names Judea and Samaria for what is now known as the West Bank.
Editorials
What is Truth?
This piece was originally published as the cover story of Word&Way magazine in October 2020, but which has never been published online. Read the piece online in our e-newsletter A Public Witness.
DeSantis Preaches Dangerous Armor of God
Word&Way Editor-in-Chief Brian Kaylor reflects on dangers of rhetoric by Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis as the Republican politician misquotes Ephesians 6 to demonize his opponents.
Good Samaritan with a Handgun?
On Sunday evening, a man opened fire in a shopping mall in Greenwood, Indiana, killing three people and wounding two others before also being shot dead. What city officials said in response sparked some odd headlines.
Word&Way Voices
Unsettling Advent 2024, Day 13
Exploring Advent in a time of dangerous pregnancies, Kristel Clayville reflects on spiritual needs related to the act of creating new life.
Unsettling Advent 2024, Day 12
Reflecting on the dangerous pregnancies of Mary and Elizabeth, Traci Blackmon writes that God’s miracles required not just their wombs but their entire beings.
This Advent, We Cannot Forget the Millions Suffering in the Holy Land
The story of Christ’s birth is deeply intertwined with the realities of occupation, displacement, and struggle.
E-Newsletter
‘Baptizing America’ Wins Top Award From Religion Communicators Council
Our ‘A Public Witness’ newsletter also garners two Best in Class awards in the Specialized Writing and Artwork categories, and Unsettling Advent wins top editorial series for the fourth straight year.
Review & Giveaway: Blessed Minds
A congregational pastor who also serves as the UCC’s Minister for Disabilities and Mental Health Justice, Sarah Griffith Lund has long been a voice helping Christians gently and wisely wrestle with neurodiversity.
The Fight for the Empty Tomb
This issue of A Public Witness explores an intra-Catholic Easter weekend as well as multiple Easter sermons from progressive ministers around the United States.
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184. Warren Throckmorton on Getting Jefferson Right
In this episode, Word&Way President Brian Kaylor talks with Warren Throckmorton, a retired professor who has spent years debunking false claims by Christian Nationalist pseudo-historian David Barton. Throckmorton is coauthor of Getting Jefferson Right: Fact-Checking Claims About Thomas Jefferson and author of the forthcoming The Christian Past That Wasn't: Debunking the Christian Nationalist Myths That… -
183. Shannon Fleck of Faithful America
In this episode, Word&Way President Brian Kaylor talks with Shannon Fleck, the new executive director of Faithful America. She discusses Christian Nationalism in Oklahoma and nationally. You can watch a video version of his conversation on YouTube. Fleck's predecessor, Rev. Nathan Empsall, previously appeared on episode 61 of Dangerous Dogma. He also wrote several columns… -
182. Ruth Braunstein on When the Wolves Came
In this episode, Word&Way President Brian Kaylor talks with sociologist Ruth Braunstein about her documentary podcast When the Wolves Came. You can also find her writings at her Substack newsletter Democracy Is Hard. Mentioned in the episode is Caleb Campbell, who previously appeared on episode 150 of Dangerous Dogma. Note: Don't forget to subscribe to… -
181. Angela Denker on Disciples of White Jesus
In this episode, Word&Way President Brian Kaylor talks with journalist and Lutheran minister Angela Denker about her forthcoming book Disciples of White Jesus: The Radicalization of American Boyhood. You can watch a video version of this conversation here. You can also hear an earlier conversation with Denker in episode 68, and a conversation with Caleb Campbell… -
180. David Swartz on Rebel on Main
In this episode, Word&Way President Brian Kaylor talks with historian David Swartz about his new narrative podcast project Rebel on Main, which offers a historical and contemporary exploration of a Kentucky county and its unusual Confederate statue. You can watch a video version of this conversation here. (You can also hear an earlier episode with… -
179. Munther Isaac on Christ in the Rubble
In this episode, Word&Way President Brian Kaylor talks with Rev. Munther Isaac, pastor of the Evangelical Lutheran Christmas Church in Bethlehem, about his forthcoming book Christ in the Rubble: Faith, the Bible, and the Genocide in Gaza. He also talks about Donald Trump's plan to "take over" Gaza, the importance of using the terms "genocide"… -
178. State Senator Shows How NOT to Read Proverbs
On Tuesday (Feb. 25), a session of the Oklahoma Senate transformed into a spontaneous Bible study. Or perhaps more of a Bible study cosplay demonstrating how not to read the Bible, specifically how not to read the Book of Proverbs. In this episode, Word&Way President Brian Kaylor unpacks the errors in how Proverbs was cited… -
177. Countering Sean Feucht with Karrie Gaspard-Hogewood
In this episode, Word&Way President Brian Kaylor talks with Karrie Gaspard-Hogewood, a sociology doctoral fellow at Tulane University, about a protest march she organized to counter an event by Christian Nationalistic musician Sean Feucht in New Orleans on Feb. 8, 2025. You can learn more about Feucht at A Public Witness, including reports on his… -
176. Paul Raushenbush & Trump's Targeting of Christians
In this episode, Word&Way President Brian Kaylor talks with Rev. Paul Raushenbush, president and CEO of Interfaith Alliance, about various ways the Trump administration has targeted Christian groups, including Episcopalians, Catholics, and Lutherans. You can read more about the recent attacks on Lutheran charity work in a report at A Public Witness and in a memo from… -
175. Mariann Budde, John Danforth, & Prophetic Preaching
In this episode, Word&Way President Brian Kaylor talks with John Danforth, a former U.S. Senator and Episcopal priest, about the controversy over Episcopal Bishop Mariann Budde's sermon during an inauguration prayer service at the Washington National Cathedral. You can read more about the issue at A Public Witness, including a report on the sermon, a look…
Books
Review: How to End Christian Nationalism
Amanda Tyler draws on her experiences, conversations with pastors and laypeople, research, Scripture, her Baptist convictions, and her work as a constitutional law expert to help us confront Christian Nationalist fervor.
Review & Giveaway: Religion for Realists
In his latest book “Religion for Realists: Why We All Need the Scientific Study of Religion,” Samuel Perry challenges some of our most cherished assumptions.
Review: This Is Going to Hurt
In “This Is Going to Hurt: Following Jesus in a Divided America,” Bekah McNeel analyzes the narratives surrounding six hot-button issues — immigration, COVID, abortion, critical race theory, gun violence, and climate change.
Review: Dancing with Metaphors in the Pulpit
In “Dancing with Metaphors in the Pulpit,” Word&Way contributing writer Rodney Kennedy explores how the hard work of preaching takes place in the thinking, reading, and writing.