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This issue of A Public Witness treks to The Six to cover the recent gathering of the Baptist World Alliance.

An hour before the faith leaders gave remarks to reporters at the Statehouse, Gov. Laura Kelly denied clemency requests from brothers Reginald and Jonathan Carr.

Latina United Methodist Church leaders in Texas are emerging with fresh models for ministry following years of schism, decline, and uncertainty within the denomination.

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Church

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.

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.

Nation

This issue of A Public Witness considers the theological problems with the defense secretary regularly quoting Isaiah 6:8 and how his use of Scripture aligns with Bible quotes in violent movies.

The fast-evolving list was met with blowback from critics who suggested its changes were an attempt to impose Christian Nationalism on the military.

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

World

Israeli strikes have decreased since the ceasefire agreement took effect in October, but deadly attacks have not entirely ended.

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.’

Editorials

This piece was originally published as the cover story of Word&Way magazine in October 2020, but which has never been published online. Read the piece online in our e-newsletter A Public Witness.

Word&Way Editor-in-Chief Brian Kaylor reflects on dangers of rhetoric by Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis as the Republican politician misquotes Ephesians 6 to demonize his opponents.

On Sunday evening, a man opened fire in a shopping mall in Greenwood, Indiana, killing three people and wounding two others before also being shot dead. What city officials said in response sparked some odd headlines.

Word&Way Voices

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?

As we enter this season, may we denounce attempts to use Bible verses to justify the oppression of our neighbors. May we reject the siren call of Herod’s court and worship the baby in the manger.

Advent proclaims that God does not arrive on the back of empire cloaked in Christian Nationalism but crying in the arms of a poor mother.

E-Newsletter

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.

In the first Defense Department service since the start of the Iran war, Pete Hegseth prayed that God would ‘break the teeth’ and kill those ‘who deserve no mercy’ and should be ‘delivered to the eternal damnation prepared for them.’

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Recent Episodes

Books

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.

In this timely book, young adults voice their concerns and laments about the church’s past and present, as well as their hopes and dreams for its future.

The latest book from Robert D. Cornwall laments how Christians have historically built ‘fences’ around the Eucharist and explores just how radical Jesus’s vision for table fellowship can be.