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Arkansas became the latest flashpoint in church-state politics this week as legislation introduced less than a month ago now only needs one more round of voting to make it to the desk of Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders.

Modern churches still gather on the traditions and teachings of the generations who went before us. This is important to remember in a time when some ‘prophets’ invent new theologies and ways of interpreting the Bible.

Hilary Rantisi, the associate director of the program, and the sole Palestinian American employed at the divinity school, said she was told her position was not renewed.

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Videos

Church

First Baptist Church of the City of Washington, D.C., Carter’s primary place of worship throughout his presidency, hosted an evening service that celebrated his life and played a recording from his final Sunday School lesson there.

No matter how many times one crammed into the modest sanctuary at Maranatha Baptist Church, there was always some wisdom to be gleaned from the measured, Bible-inspired words of Jimmy Carter.

The news that Trump may rescind a policy discouraging immigration officials from arresting people at churches is making some church leaders reconsider sanctuary.

Nation

As we enter a season of Lent amid the chaos of Elon Musk and an oligarchy-fueled administration, this issue of A Public Witness reads the Bible and the Forbes Billionaire List to decide this day who we will serve.

The Lenten season that began on Wednesday, normally one of introspection and personal spiritual observances, has become a season of resistance this year.

The hearing in the case comes in the wake of a Feb. 25 ruling which sided with Church World Service, HIAS, Lutheran Community Services Northwest, and individual refugees and their families.

World

Thanks to an automatic function on X, formerly Twitter, the team’s fleur-de-lis emoji is automatically added to the hashtag #Saints.

Thirty years after Eritrea revoked the citizenship of Jehovah’s Witnesses, a recent raid saw 23 members of the faith group imprisoned for practicing their faith.

Strikes in the traditionally ’safe’ areas where many displaced families have fled are raising fears among local Christian residents. Many feel they have to choose between helping compatriots and protecting themselves.

Editorials

Now that the trustees at Southwest Baptist University dropped their push for new governing documents, Brian Kaylor offers six next steps that leaders of the school and the Missouri Baptist Convention should take.

Editor-in-Chief Brian Kaylor responds to critics of a Word&Way clergy statement urging Christians to get a COVID-19 vaccine. And Kaylor challenges the anti-vaxxer message of “faith over fear.”

Editors Brian Kaylor and Beau Underwood outline the theological reasons for a COVID-19 vaccination outreach effort centered around clergy. Such an act is not only a matter of public health, it is also a witness to what we believe about the Gospel.

Word&Way Voices

Contributing writer Sarah Blackwell reflects on what spiritual practices we can take from this summer’s Olympics as we all move on to this next season of our lives.

As a Palestinian Christian, Daoud Kuttab has often felt that defending symbolism can be an easy replacement for the practice of faith in action. He argues that this is certainly the case with a recent Olympics controversy.

Contributing writer Greg Mamula walks through the various biblical, theological, and civic concerns raised by Louisiana’s attempt to mandate display of the Ten Commandments in every public school classroom.

E-Newsletter

Katherine Stewart has created a collection of dispatches from the front lines of the current assault on American democracy.

This issue of A Public Witness looks at numerous sermons by Episcopal and other mainline preachers across the country as they reflected on Luke 4, Bishop Budde, and showing mercy.

Amid the vitriol against Episcopal Bishop Mariann Budde from Trump and other Republicans this week, a few proposals stick out since they attempt to empower the federal government to decide which religious beliefs should be allowed or not.

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Recent Episodes

Books

In “Machen’s Hope: The Transformation of a Modernist in the New Princeton,” Richard E. Burnett crafts a nuanced narrative of J. Gresham Machen’s intellectual journey from enthusiastic modernist to stalwart conservative.

We’ve once again asked several Word&Way writers to each offer two books perfect for curling up with at the beach, on your couch, or in your backyard as you listen to the singing of the cicadas.

In "Thinking About Good and Evil: Jewish Views From Antiquity to Modernity," Rabbi Wayne Allen traces the most salient ideas about why innocent people suffer, why evil individuals prosper, and God’s role in such matters of (in)justice.

In "Miracles for Skeptics: Encountering the Paranormal Ministry of Jesus," Frank G. Honeycutt draws out the deeper truths in the weird incidents from the Bible.