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Fountain Street Church, founded in 1869 through the merger of two Baptist congregations, has a legacy of rejecting dogma and pushing the envelope.

When Christianity becomes publicly associated with nationalist aggression and eagerness for war, it presents a face to the world that is, by any honest reading of the New Testament, a misrepresentation of the faith.

While organizers claim the government-run church services are for everyone, the March event particularly demonstrated that this was a program crafted by and intended for Catholics.

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Church

Leaders of the American Baptist Home Mission Societies issued a statement Tuesday (Nov. 18) offering support for clergy who have been arrested while protesting ICE, including an American Baptist pastor in the Chicago area.

After decades of fierce controversies over sexuality and theology, some leaders of a conservative coalition say it's time to make a final break from what has long been one of the world's largest Protestant church families.

'Love that neighbor even when you don’t like ’em,' the former presiding bishop of the Episcopal Church said in a conversation with NYT reporter Ruth Graham at The Texas Tribune Festival.

Nation

The phrase is often used as ‘a declaration of Christian Nationalism’ asserting that ‘the nation should be brought under the dictates of Christ,’ said Brian Kaylor.

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.

Some Christian users said they planned to stop using Hallow because of its partnership with Carlson, while others praised the collaboration. Multiple users called for boycotts of the app and other sponsors.

World

The Trump administration’s deportation of more than a hundred Iranians held in ICE custody includes Christian converts and other religious minorities who may face harsh penalties for their religious beliefs upon return.

This issue of A Public Witness flips to the maps section of the Bible to see who should really control the ‘biblical heartland.’

The first American pope weighed in on a controversy roiling the Chicago diocese, telling journalists the Catholic Church’s political positions include more than opposing abortion.

Editorials

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.

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.

As the Jan. 6 insurrection showed, our democracy is under attack. And Christian nationalism, which seeks to privilege one faith tradition over others, has fueled the anti-democratic efforts. Rather than serving as a balm for our fractured nation, religion is being used to further divide us.

Word&Way Voices

Contributing writer Rodney Kennedy makes the case that the quest for secular political power has led to a conservative evangelical rejection of the clear teachings of Jesus.

James Ellis III reflects on how being a preacher these days feels different. It’s unsettling how many people are thoroughly consumed by rage — and we as Christians should know better.

Described as ‘Michael Scott meets Moses,’ the new workplace comedy from Mitch Hudson tells the story of the exodus from Egypt and the Israelites’ life in the wilderness with humor and grace.

E-Newsletter

William Schultz, a historian of American religion at the University of Chicago Divinity School, makes a compelling argument that there was a moment where Colorado Springs was a place of enormous cultural influence.

This issue of A Public Witness takes you inside a very Catholic governmental Christmas celebration that also featured a Trumpian rabbi commemorating Hanukkah.

For this issue of A Public Witness, we briefly highlight 15 of our favorite recent books beyond those from our longer giveaway reviews. It can be a great resource for gifts or your own wishlist.

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Recent Episodes

Books

In “Delivered Out of Empire: Pivotal Moments in the Book of Exodus,” Walter Brueggemann shows how Exodus consistently reveals a God in radical solidarity with the powerless.

In “Kingdom Racial Change: Overcoming Inequality, Injustice, and Indifference,” three authors combine personal narratives and sociological research to teach Christians how to work together for racial justice.

In this new book, Thomas A. Tweed offers a sweeping retelling of American religious history that shows how religion has enhanced and hindered human flourishing from the Ice Age to the Information Age.

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