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Featured
Not Your Mother’s ‘Little House’
A new Netflix series captures the edginess of Laura Ingalls Wilder’s books while also reconsidering the narrative in the face of frontier America’s actual history.
Let’s Make Texas Senate Race About Character
James Talarico’s attempt to make the election about ethos — character, credibility, and integrity — throws a Nolan Ryan fastball at Ken Paxton and MAGA and showcases their departure from 1990s conservative Christianity.
Review: The Didache Discoveries
This groundbreaking study digs beneath the surface of one of early Christianity's most enigmatic documents and finds there two texts hidden side by side for nearly two millennia.
Church
‘Which Side Are You Going to Be on?’ Kansas Faith Leaders Urge Churches to Protect Immigrants
After President Trump took office, a Presbyterian church retreated underground — abandoning their sanctuary for the basement in response to the administration’s decision to allow ICE officers to enter places of worship.
Evangelical Groups Warn Trump’s Deportations Could Leave 1.3M ‘Torn Apart’ From Families
‘What might have been an abstract policy decision that's taking place in Washington now is actually impacting communities,’ said Walter Kim, head of the National Association of Evangelicals.
Newsboys Co-Founder Sues Julie Roys, World Vision, and Rival Christian Concert Promoters
In a lawsuit filed in federal court, Wes Campbell, a music promoter and co-founder of the popular Christian band, said rival promoters created false accusations of misconduct for anticompetitive reasons.
Nation
Defense Department Rejiggers List of Recognized Religions After Backlash, Narrows It to 30
The fast-evolving list was met with blowback from critics who suggested its changes were an attempt to impose Christian Nationalism on the military.
Defense Department to Drop Atheists, Pagans, 175 Others From List of Military Faiths
Unitarian Universalists and Deists, who were reportedly excluded from the latest list, are among two categories represented among signers of the Declaration of Independence.
Catholic and Baptist Scholars Critique Christian Nationalism at Villanova Conference
This issue of A Public Witness takes you inside a recent gathering to hear from leading scholars as they offer constructive ways to push back against a dangerous and heretical ideology.
World
Can Evangelical Faith in Israel Survive MAGA and the Gaza War? Israel Is Betting Millions on It
Conservatives have long seen supporting Israel as an act of faith. Now, critics such as Tucker Carlson say Christian Zionism is a heresy, while more progressive Christian voices denounce Israel’s treatment of Palestinians.
Gaza’s Tiny Christian Community Tries to Capture the Holiday Spirit During the Ceasefire
Israeli strikes have decreased since the ceasefire agreement took effect in October, but deadly attacks have not entirely ended.
Jim Caviezel of ‘The Passion of the Christ’ to Play Jair Bolsonaro in 2026 Biopic
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.
Editorials
Holiday Gift Guide for the Christian Nationalist on Your List
In this issue of A Public Witness, Brian Kaylor introduces us to 10 gifts the proud “Christian Nationalist” on your list will love. But please don’t buy these unless you want to end up on the naughty list (and make the baby Jesus cry). Instead, these gift suggestions show us
Unsettling Advent 2022, Day 1
For day 1 of our Unsettling Advent devotionals, Brian Kaylor reflects on the importance of learning from those who have lived under authoritarian occupation like what is happening today in Ukraine.
How I Became a Marxist Pastor
Editor-in-Chief Brian Kaylor reacts to being called a "Marxist pastor" by political trickster Roger Stone. The incident arose because of Kaylor's critiques of the ReAwaken America Tour at which Stone has spoken.
Word&Way Voices
Unsettling Advent 2025, Day 12
The good news of Advent is this: Christ entered the violence of human life, the very violence that says some folks are more valuable than others, and took on these abstractions.
Unsettling Advent 2025, Day 10
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.
Unsettling Advent 2025, Day 9
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.
E-Newsletter
Mad Libs Mashup of Biblical Violence
This issue of A Public Witness considers how the military chaplain who authored a war prayer and the secretary of defense who appropriated it for himself performed violence against Scripture to justify violence against people.
Trump’s Imperial Currency
In this edition of A Public Witness, we dig around between the couch cushions to explore the relationship between religion and politics as American Christians are confronted with what belongs to God when Caesar becomes more demanding.
Join Us for an Online Class on Media & Religion
We’re partnering with Moravian University’s School of Theology to offer a four-week online course (with synchronous and asynchronous options) to explore how religion is covered and communicated in the media today.
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The State of the Senate, from SC to ME to TX to KS
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 death of Sen. Lindsey Graham as well as issues of faith and morality in Senate races in Maine, Texas, and Kansas. You can… -
Southern Baptists, the Pentagon, & UFC
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 Southern Baptist Convention's push against women in ministry, the Pentagon changing how it codes the faith of military members, and the latest in… -
Southern Baptists, Women in Ministry, & a Billboard
In this episode, Word&Way President Brian Kaylor talks with Meredith Stone, executive director of Baptist Women in Ministry. The conversation includes discussion of efforts in the Southern Baptist Convention to further target women serving in churches and how BWIM is advocating for women (including with a billboard to greet SBC messengers next week in Orlando,… -
Divergent Visions for Rededicating the Nation
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 Rededicate 250, gerrymandering, Adam Hamilton's Senate campaign in Kansas, and the MAHA movement. You can watch a video version of the conversation here. Here are a few pieces… -
The Christian Past That Wasn't
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 the author of the new book, The Christian Past that Wasn't: Debunking the Christian Nationalist Myths that Hijack History. You can watch a video version of… -
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…
Books
Review & Giveaway: The Seven Mountains Mandate
Beau Underwood reviews The Seven Mountains Mandate: Exposing the Dangerous Plan to Christianize America and Destroy Democracy, which Matthew Boedy wrote to alert those who were ignorant or complacent about what was going on and what was at stake.
Review: We Call Ourselves Disciples
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.
Review: Rooted in Faith and Justice
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.
Out in the World
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.