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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.

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.

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.

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Videos

Church

The discovery offers insight into how early Christians read and understood Scripture — and provides a point of connection for contemporary Christians.

Researchers from the Hartford Institute for Religion Research said the median congregation grew from 65 in 2020 to about 70 today. That is not enough to erase earlier declines, but it is noteworthy.

In response to the ‘All Are Neighbors’ event, the Baptist General Convention of Texas will revisit its relationship with the Christian university.

Nation

Unitarian Universalists and Deists, who were reportedly excluded from the latest list, are among two categories represented among signers of the Declaration of Independence.

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.

The situation escalated last month, when roughly 300 detainees launched a hunger and labor strike. DHS Secretary Markwayne Mullin has dismissed the situation as a dispute over ‘ethnic food.’

World

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.

The Church of England has countered with posters at bus stops and other locations that say ‘Christ has always been in Christmas’ and ‘Outsiders welcome.’

Christmas celebrations are slowly coming back to the traditional birthplace of Jesus in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, an area shaken by tragedy.

Editorials

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.

With the 27th United Nations Climate Change Conference beginning this coming Sunday in Egypt, we are offering a piece originally published as the cover story of Word&Way magazine in October 2019 but which has never been published online. In addition to making an argument for why Christians should care about

MAGAchurch preaching occurs in sanctuaries across the country. But the prominence of First Baptist in Atlanta and his involvement in an important Senate campaign makes Rev. Anthony George a particularly important case study. So, in this issue of A Public Witness, I introduce you to George and his sermons before

Word&Way Voices

As we sing Advent hymns, gather in community, light candles, and wait hopefully, may we also embody in our actions our coming Savior’s call — to feed the hungry and to provide compassion, love, and justice for all.

This Advent, we hold a simple question close: Where am I trusting the sword to do what only the cross can accomplish? Where have I expected political power to secure what only Jesus can give?

What will future Americans say about us 150+ years from now, when Bible verses are being used to cheerlead military action and aggressive immigration enforcement in ways that reveal how our theological imaginations have failed us once again?

E-Newsletter

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.

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.

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.

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Recent Episodes

Books

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.

In this new book, Brian Kaylor exposes the ways Christian Nationalism distorts scripture through seven different problematic approaches to interpreting and applying the biblical text.

Greg Carey, scholar of the New Testament and apocalyptic literature, invites readers to reconsider the Book of Revelation as a text that can speak meaningfully to contemporary resistance movements.

How do we make sense of our confusing political moment? Scripture is constantly warped to advance purely partisan agendas. The underlying goal is advancing power at seemingly any cost. Luckily, we have a new book that deciphers it all.