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Featured
Review & Giveaway: Beyond Deconstruction
If HGTV decided to cast a show about fixing up your old religion, few could compete with James McGrath to be the star who transforms outdated edifices into contemporary spiritual structures.
His Arrest Went Viral. Now Rev. Michael Woolf Is Preaching What He Calls ‘Sanctuary Values.’
The photo of his arrest during a protest against ICE has given the Chicago-area pastor a platform to share a theology that centers immigrants and that harkens back to the Sanctuary Movement of the 1980's.
Pope Leo XIV Rejects Claims That God Justifies War in Palm Sunday Mass Message
He said God doesn't listen to the prayers of those who make war or cite God to justify their violence, just after Israeli police prevented the Catholic Church’s top leadership from entering the Church of the Holy Sepulchre.
Church
On the Sunday After Renee Good’s Killing, Minnesotans Grieve Through Worship and Song
Worshippers took a moment to pause, mourn, and sing, even as they continued to organize resistance efforts against ICE's escalated presence in Minneapolis.
Philip Yancey, Beloved Evangelical Author, Retires After Admitting Affair
In books such as ‘What's So Amazing About Grace?’ and ‘Where Is God When It Hurts?,’ Yancey spoke to evangelicals struggling with doubts and dealing with hardship.
Joy Moore Steps Down As Northern Seminary President After Months of Confusion Over Status
School officials say a misunderstanding and distrust led to Moore's departure.
Nation
From Bush to Obama to Trump, White House Faith Office Persists at 25 Years
‘It’s unusual for a president to continue a signature White House office of his predecessor of a different political party,’ said Melissa Rogers, twice director of the White House faith-based office.
3 Democratic Pastors in Iowa Are Running for Congress, a Snapshot of a National Trend
After years of white Christians overwhelmingly supporting Republican Donald Trump, a striking number of clergy are currently running for political office as Democrats.
Interrupting Worship for a Candidate
This issue of A Public Witness heads down to Georgia to consider the devil in the details of the race to determine who will be the next Republican nominee for governor.
World
African Christian Leaders and Health Nonprofits Seek to Fill Gaps After USAID Cuts
The leaders from 10 countries on the continent called for more local funding to restore essential resources to fight malaria, HIV, and tuberculosis.
Groups Urge Christians to Light Red Candle During Advent for Palestine
A coalition of Catholic, mainline Protestant, historic peace church, and advocacy groups want Christians in the U.S. to remember Palestinian Christians this Advent by lighting a red candle.
Orthodox Christian Clergy’s Visits With US Officials Draw Accusations of Russian Influence
The visits have caused feuds among both US Orthodox Christian groups and Republicans.
Editorials
Reading Genesis Literally … in Texas
Lawmakers are arguing that if the federal government can restrict structures in the Rio Grande, then they could use the same Act everywhere because of Noah’s flood. Putting aside the legal silliness of the appeal to Genesis, this issue of A Public Witness joins the 22 Republican representatives in their
Some Baptists Debate About Women Preaching, Others Listen to Women Preach
Focusing almost entirely on the SBC not only minimizes the theological (and political and racial) diversity of Baptists, but it also privileges a patriarchal body over others.
Cracks in Our History
Word&Way Editor-in-Chief Brian Kaylor reflects on two memorials to an enslaved man on the campus of Samford University, and what this could teach us about telling the truth about the histories of our institutions and churches.
Word&Way Voices
Unsettling Advent 2025, Day 5
As we enter this season, may we denounce attempts to use Bible verses to justify the oppression of our neighbors. May we reject the siren call of Herod’s court and worship the baby in the manger.
Unsettling Advent 2025, Day 4
Advent proclaims that God does not arrive on the back of empire cloaked in Christian Nationalism but crying in the arms of a poor mother.
Unsettling Advent 2025, Day 3
The first candle we light during Advent symbolizes hope: the hope of Christ’s coming, the hope of light always shining for the oppressed and the marginalized.
E-Newsletter
US, Global Christians Resist Trump’s Greenland Threats
This issue of A Public Witness highlights important voices of opposition to imperial plotting from a variety of religious groups, ranging from Lutherans to Baptists, Anglicans, Catholics, and others.
Hegseth Shares War Psalm He Prayed During Venezuela Attack
During the first Christian worship service at the Pentagon in 2026 — and the first since the operation that resulted in the capture of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro — the Secretary of War framed that U.S. military action as a godly mission.
Protesters Disrupt Southern Baptist Church of Pastor Who Leads ICE Office in Minnesota
‘Jesus — who they claim to worship — went into the so-called houses of God, he flipped over tables. … So that’s what we did today,’ said minister and organizer Nekima Levy Armstrong.
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Trump vs. Leo
This episode of Dangerous Dogma features a conversation between Word&Way Editor Brian Kaylor, Lutheran minister and journalist Angela Denker, and Disciples pastor and author Beau Underwood. The conversation includes discussion about President Donald Trump's attacks on Pope Leo XIV, Leo's witness against the Iran war, Trump's AI image of himself as Jesus, and the electoral… -
Fight Like Jesus with Jason Porterfield (Reissue)
In this episode, Word&Way President Brian Kaylor talks with Jason Porterfield about his book Fight Like Jesus: How Jesus Waged Peace. This episode originally aired in 2023, except for a new introduction noting a violent prayer by Pete Hegseth during a recent Pentagon worship service and Palm Sunday comments by Pope Leo XIV. Note: Don't forget… -
Pete Hegseth's Crusader Bible (A Trick of State)
In this episode, Word&Way President Brian Kaylor considers Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth's use of the English Standard Version of the Bible, patriarchy in the faith communities Hegseth has been a part of, and his Christian Nationalism. It also reveals that Hegseth's ESV Bible includes two Crusader symbols stamped onto the cover (and that match… -
An Unholy War
This episode of Dangerous Dogma features a conversation between Word&Way Editor Brian Kaylor, Lutheran minister and journalist Angela Denker, and Disciples pastor and author Beau Underwood. The conversation includes discussion about the Iran war, Christian opposition to the war, and viral claims of military leaders claiming this will bring "Armageddon." It also includes consideration of… -
Rewriting the Ten Commandments (A Trick of State)
In this episode, Word&Way President Brian Kaylor looks at legislation across the country that purports to want the Ten Commandments in public school classrooms. But the version mandated by lawmakers cannot be found in any Bible. Kaylor unpacks where the edited language came from, why such legislation is an attack on religious liberty, and the… -
198. American Christianity Divided in Responses to ICE
This episode of Dangerous Dogma features a conversation between Word&Way Editor Brian Kaylor, Lutheran minister and journalist Angela Denker, and Disciples pastor and author Beau Underwood. The conversation includes discussion about ICE actions in Minneapolis, how many clergy are leading protests against ICE while others are supporting ICE, and new research worried about the loss… -
197. Anna Piela and Michael Woolf on Confronting Islamophobia in the Church
In this episode, Word&Way President Brian Kaylor talks with American Baptist ministers Anna Piela and Michael Woolf on Islamophobia, immigration, and how Christians can better engage with interfaith efforts. Anna and Michael are coauthors of the new book, Confronting Islamophobia in the Church: Liturgical Tools for Justice. Watch a video version of this conversation here.… -
196. Martha Bardwell on Faith Communities Responding to ICE in Minneapolis
In this episode, Word&Way President Brian Kaylor talks with Martha Bardwell, pastor of Our Saviour's Lutheran Church in Minneapolis, Minnesota, on how faith communities are responding to ICE violence in the Twin Cities and the ICE killing of Renee Good. Watch a video version of this latest conversation here. The episode includes a discussion on… -
195. Attacking Venezuela & Gambling on Jesus
This episode of Dangerous Dogma features a conversation between Word&Way Editor Brian Kaylor, Lutheran minister and journalist Angela Denker, and Disciples pastor and author Beau Underwood. The conversation includes consideration of the U.S. attack on Venezuela and how Christians are responding, Pete Hegseth's pledge to change the military chaplaincy program, and how people are now… -
194. Dangers of Faith in the Pentagon & AI in Faith
This episode of Dangerous Dogma features a conversation between Word&Way Editor Brian Kaylor, Lutheran minister and journalist Angela Denker, and Disciples pastor and author Beau Underwood. The conversation includes consideration of U.S. strikes against Venezuelan boats, Pete Hegseth's Christian prayer services at the Pentagon, the use of AI in churches, and alarms about AI Christian…
Books
Review: The Missionary Kids
Historian Holly Berkley Fletcher — herself a missionary kid — unmasks the myths of White evangelicalism with penetrating research, sly wit, and an empathic gaze.
An ‘Essential,’ ‘Must-Read’ Book
With ‘The Bible According to Christian Nationalists’ coming out soon, we’re honored to share these prepublication endorsements. Trust these experts on why you should pre-order the book today!
Review: Rooted — A Spiritual Memoir of Homecoming
This book follows Christy Berghoef on a journey from a conservative Christian upbringing in rural Michigan to the halls of Washington, D.C., and back again.
Review & Giveaway: Rereading Revelation
Greg Carey, a scholar of the New Testament and apocalyptic literature, shows how the Book of Revelation can serve as a guide to resisting imperial culture.