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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.

Brian Kaylor didn’t expect World magazine to like his new book, "The Bible According to Christian Nationalists." But he did anticipate that if the influential conservative Christian publication reviewed it, they would at least do so honestly. Apparently, that was expecting too much.

This issue of A Public Witness looks at Lance Shockley’s extensive history of Christian leadership while in prison, as well as the role restorative justice should play in our criminal legal system.

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Videos

Church

This issue of A Public Witness takes you inside the UCC synod to explore the specific issues that were discussed and how they are relevant to all ecumenical Christians in these troubling times.

This issue of A Public Witness treks to the Cornhusker State to consider a lost scroll that gained widespread news coverage and a denominational gathering that didn’t.

‘New York was the center of the slave trade in the United States,’ said the Rt. Rev. Matthew F. Heyd, bishop coadjutor of the Episcopal Diocese of New York. ‘That evil is part of the fabric of the diocese, and we’re trying to repair this fabric.’

Nation

This issue of A Public Witness takes you to the heart of Texas to consider the promise of public education and church-state separation.

‘Him,’ the Jordan Peele-produced horror film reaching theaters Friday, is the latest testament to the fact that, in cinema at least, the devil’s offer never goes out of style.

As immigrants increasingly fear detention at ICE check-ins, many faith groups have doubled down on accompaniment strategies to support them at those appointments.

World

This issue of A Public Witness offers short highlights from four reflections by Catholic writers on Pope Francis and his papacy.

Francis demanded his bishops apply mercy and charity to their flocks, pressed the world to protect God’s creation from climate disaster, and challenged countries to welcome those fleeing war, poverty, and oppression.

Libya’s move signals its determination not to become a resettlement zone for migrants fleeing violence in East Africa. 

Editorials

Editor-in-Chief Brian Kaylor reflects on comments made about school prayer as the U.S. Supreme Court agrees to hear a significant church-state case. Some conservative Christian groups are wrongly calling public prayer just a “private” act.

As a Jewish legal advocate and a Baptist minister, we support the arguments of Boston in this critical First Amendment case that Supreme Court justices will hear on Jan. 18. Read the Boston Globe op-ed by Rachel Laser (president/CEO of Americans United for Separation of Church and State) and Brian

In day 18 of our Unsettling Advent devotional series, Word&Way Editor-in-Chief Brian Kaylor reflects on the news of a camel escaping from a live nativity in Kansas.

Word&Way Voices

Exploring Advent in a time of violence in Lebanon, Wissam Nasrallah reflects on how caring for others requires stepping into the messiness of their lives.

Exploring Advent in a time of violence in Lebanon, Daoud Kuttab reflects on how war and suffering are never part of God’s will for his children.

Exploring Advent in a time of violence in Lebanon, Mae Elise Cannon reflects on what it means to wait in hope.

E-Newsletter

Malcolm Foley makes a bold argument about the ways our historical sins continue to reverberate into the present and how the Church is compelled to respond.

This issue of A Public Witness explores what the ending of a significant comedy institution means in light of the fact that Stephen Colbert is one of the most prominent Christians in popular culture today.

This issue of A Public Witness heads to Australia to offer highlights from the Baptist World Congress, where Christians from 130 nations came to worship, fellowship, dialogue, learn, and strategize together.

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Recent Episodes

Books

In “Knock at the Sky: Seeking God in Genesis After Losing Faith in the Bible,” Liz Charlotte Grant interprets the Bible’s inspired book of beginnings as a work of art.

Joe Blosser’s recent book is challenging because it takes seriously the idea that the only way to love God well is to love our neighbors more by re-evaluating how much we’ve fallen in love with ourselves.

In “Bring Back Your People: Ten Ways Regular Folks Can Put a Dent in White Christian Nationalism,” preacher and Poor People's Campaign leader Aaron Scott offers a practical guide to resisting and organizing.

In “Trust in Atonement: God, Creation, and Reconciliation,” Teresa Morgan offers a fresh exploration of what it means to restore a right relationship with God.