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Featured
Largest US Lutheran Denomination Installs Yehiel Curry As Its First Black Presiding Bishop
Curry succeeds the Rev. Elizabeth Eaton, who served the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America for 12 years and was the first woman to lead the mainline Protestant denomination.
The Danger of Doing Theology by Cartography
This issue of A Public Witness flips to the maps section of the Bible to see who should really control the ‘biblical heartland.’
Defending America’s Best Idea
In the first of a three-part special podcast series produced in partnership with Moravian Theological Seminary, Randall Balmer discusses how church-state separation has been good for both government and religion.
Church
‘Lift Every Voice and Sing,’ the Unofficial Black National Anthem, Celebrates 125 Years
‘It is featured in over 40 different Christian hymnals and sung in churches all across America, not just during Black History Month or Juneteenth,’ said musician Theodore Thorpe III.
10 Years After Charleston Church Massacre, Faith Leaders Lament That the Country Hasn’t Changed
As survivors gathered Tuesday, they invited another congregation that knows the pain of murderous hatred to join them: members of the Tree of Life synagogue.
Nine Events To Check Out for a Faith-Centered Juneteenth
Across the country, faith groups are gearing up for Juneteenth celebrations that weave spirituality and history.
Nation
Department of War Quotes Bible on Social Media. Some Link It to Christian Nationalism.
'Those verses were not about the United States military,' said Brian Kaylor, a Baptist minister and author. 'They weren't really even about any imperial military force, and quite the opposite.'
Trump Task Force Report Says Biden Administration Discriminated Against Christians
This comes as several different religious freedom lawsuits have been filed against the Trump administration by Christian denominations, organizations, and other faith groups over immigration raids and canceled refugee resettlement.
Pastor Doug Wilson’s Fringe Teachings Go Mainstream in Trump’s Washington
‘Whatever he may have been in the past, he’s not fringe now,’ said Brian Kaylor, a Baptist minister and Wilson critic who wrote the forthcoming book ‘The Bible According to Christian Nationalists.’
World
African Theologians Look to Nicene Creed’s Anniversary Year To Reshape Spiritual Future
One theologian said Africa’s celebrations of the Christian framework would exhibit the continent’s rich theological heritage and highlight new ways of thinking about faith unbound by colonial legacies.
Most Greenlanders Are Lutheran, 300 Years After a Missionary Brought the Faith to the Remote Island
Most Greenlanders are proudly Inuit, having survived and thrived in one of the most remote and climatically inhospitable places on Earth. And they’re Lutheran.
Palestinian Pastor Confronts Empire Theology in U.S. Politics & Churches
A Lutheran pastor in Bethlehem — yes, that Bethlehem — Rev. Munther Isaac denounced Trump’s recent Gaza proposal as “evil” on this week’s episode of Dangerous Dogma.
Editorials
Unsettling Advent, Day 1
In day 1 of our Unsettling Advent devotional series, Word&Way Editor-in-Chief Brian Kaylor reflects on starting Advent amid a second year of COVID surges and deaths.
Judas Arrested for Capitol Insurrection
Editor-in-Chief Brian Kaylor reflects on the news that an actor who plays the part of Judas in Jesus Christ Superstar was arrested for his role in the Jan. 6 insurrection at the U.S. Capitol.
Do Not Conform?
Editor-in-Chief Brian Kaylor reflects on the choice of Robert Jeffress as the keynote preacher for the 2021 Missouri Baptist Pastors’ Conference organized with the theme of Romans 12:2, a passage where Paul warned against conforming to the patterns of this world.
Word&Way Voices
To Preserve Life, Promote Equity, and Facilitate Redemption, President Biden Should Commute All Federal Death Sentences
This action would ensure that no federal prisoner faces execution despite being intellectually disabled, mentally incompetent, or convicted in proceedings riddled with racial bias.
Unsettling Advent 2024, Day 13
Exploring Advent in a time of dangerous pregnancies, Kristel Clayville reflects on spiritual needs related to the act of creating new life.
Unsettling Advent 2024, Day 12
Reflecting on the dangerous pregnancies of Mary and Elizabeth, Traci Blackmon writes that God’s miracles required not just their wombs but their entire beings.
E-Newsletter
How to Challenge MAGA’s Biblical Authoritarianism
This issue of A Public Witness features a guest essay centered on four creative proposals to disrupt Christian Nationalism within a distinctively Christian vernacular.
Cooperative Baptists Remember Historical Injustices, Confront Contemporary Ones
This issue of A Public Witness takes you inside the recent CBF annual gathering to consider how Christians can speak truthfully about the past and speak truth to power today.
John Pavlovitz Has Jumped the Shark
This issue of A Public Witness highlights a prominent progressive Christian voice as a case study in the dangers of election denialism festering in anti-Trump circles.
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193. News Roundup: Elections, Government Shutdown, & Clergy Challenging ICE
This episode of Dangerous Dogma features a conversation between Word&Way Editor Brian Kaylor, Lutheran minister and journalist Angela Denker, and Disciples pastor and author Beau Underwood. The conversation includes consideration of religious attacks in elections this week, impacts of the ongoing government shutdown on churches, and clergy protesting against ICE. Watch a video version of… -
192. Hannah Kardon, United Methodist Pastor Arrested During Anti-ICE Protest
In this episode, Word&Way President Brian Kaylor talks with Hannah Kardon, a United Methodist minister in the Chicago area. Kardon was violently arrested during a protest outside an ICE facility on Oct. 17. Video of the incident can be viewed here. Other issues discussed in this episode include ICE actions at churches, the legal pushback… -
191. William Stell on Evangelicals & Antigay Christianity
In this episode, Word&Way President Brian Kaylor talks with William Stell, a religious studies professor and author of the forthcoming book, Born Again Queer: A History of Evangelical Gay Activism and the Making of Antigay Christianity. Kaylor is also joined by guest cohost Jared Burkholder, scholar in residence at Moravian Theological Seminary. This is the… -
190. Angela Parker on Evangelicals, Biblical Interpretation, & White Supremacy
In this episode, Word&Way President Brian Kaylor talks with Angela Parker, an associate professor of New Testament and Greek at the McAfee School of Theology at Mercer University, the author of If God Still Breathes, Why Can't I?: Black Lives Matter and Biblical Authority, and coauthor of the Unsettling Lent devotional. This is the second… -
189. Randall Balmer on Evangelicals & Church-State Separation
In this episode, Word&Way President Brian Kaylor talks with Randall Balmer, a historian of American religion and author of the new book, America's Best Idea: The Separation of Church and State. Kaylor is also joined by guest cohost Jared Burkholder, scholar in residence at Moravian Theological Seminary. This is the first in a three-part series… -
188. Brian Kaylor on The Bible According to Christian Nationalists (with guest host Beau Underwood)
In this episode, guest host Beau Underwood interviews Word&Way President Brian Kaylor about his new book The Bible According to Christian Nationalists: Exploiting Scripture for Political Power. You can watch a video version of this conversation on YouTube. Note: Don't forget to subscribe to our award-winning e-newsletter A Public Witness that helps you make sense… -
187. Rep. Emanuel Cleaver on Faith & Politics [Reissue]
In this episode originally recorded in 2021, Word&Way President Brian Kaylor talks with Rep. Emanuel Cleaver (D-Mo.) about faith and politics as a United Methodist minister and U.S. congressman. Cleaver also discusses his experience on Jan. 6, attacks on voting rights, and what gives him hope. First released four years ago, this episode is being… -
186. Elizabeth Hinson-Hasty on Authentic Christian Freedom
In this episode, Word&Way President Brian Kaylor talks with Elizabeth Hinson-Hasty, a professor at Union Presbyterian Seminary in North Carolina and author of the new book Authentic Christian Freedom: Deconstructing the American Gospel of Liberty. She discusses issues of Christian ethics, liberty, fundamentalism, ministry, and seminary education. Note: Don't forget to subscribe to our award-winning e-newsletter… -
185. Mara Richards Bim on Holding Prayer Vigils Outside an ICE Office
In this episode, Word&Way President Brian Kaylor talks with Mara Richards Bim about a weekly interfaith prayer vigil being held outside an ICE office in Dallas, Texas. She talks about how denominations are fighting back in court and the how Department of Homeland Security is co-opting Bible verses to justify ICE actions. She also discusses… -
184. Warren Throckmorton on Getting Jefferson Right
In this episode, Word&Way President Brian Kaylor talks with Warren Throckmorton, a retired professor who has spent years debunking false claims by Christian Nationalist pseudo-historian David Barton. Throckmorton is coauthor of Getting Jefferson Right: Fact-Checking Claims About Thomas Jefferson and author of the forthcoming The Christian Past That Wasn't: Debunking the Christian Nationalist Myths That…
![Listen to 187. Rep. Emanuel Cleaver on Faith & Politics [Reissue]](http://images.weserv.nl/?url=static.libsyn.com/p/assets/d/c/4/8/dc48d37e1c129b96d959afa2a1bf1c87/DANGEROUSDOGMA-20250903-9imi1p7mi1.jpg&w=100)
Books
Review: The Anti-Greed Gospel
In “The Anti-Greed Gospel: Why the Love of Money Is the Root of Racism and How the Church Can Create a New Way Forward,” Black Christian historian Malcolm Foley explores racial capitalism.
Review: American Christianity Today
In “American Christianity Today: Establishment, Decline, and Revival,” Dyron Daughrity gives readers a panoramic view of current Christianity in the U.S. — its people, conflicts, differences, and common ground.
Review: John of History, Baptist of Faith
In “John of History, Baptist of Faith: The Quest for the Historical Baptizer,” James F. McGrath sheds new light on the historical John the Baptist and his world.
Review: How to End Christian Nationalism
Amanda Tyler draws on her experiences, conversations with pastors and laypeople, research, Scripture, her Baptist convictions, and her work as a constitutional law expert to help us confront Christian Nationalist fervor.