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Review: The Accessorized Bible
Drawing on cutting-edge work in biblical studies and ethics, David Dault makes the case that the recent rise in Christian Nationalism and religious violence demands new approaches to scriptural interpretation.
Blessed Are the Pepper-Sprayers?
This issue of A Public Witness explores biblical ‘peacemaker’ rhetoric from the Trump administration and how it wildly misrepresents what Jesus actually taught.
Judge Stops Noem From Ending Haitians’ Protected Status, but Fear of ICE Remains
Monday’s ruling came just over 24 hours before TPS status was set to expire for some 350,000 Haitians. The U.S. district judge wrote that DHS Secretary Noem’s ‘approach is many things—in the public interest is not one of them.’
Church
Southern Baptist Convention Breaks With the Evangelical Immigration Table
The split reflects the dilemma immigration poses for evangelical leaders. Most evangelicals want reform that both secures the border and provides a path to citizenship — and want limited deportation. But few leaders want to clash with the MAGA movement.
Predominantly White Church Dedicates Memorial to the Enslaved Who Worked on Its Land
‘‘Forever in the Path’ calls us to renew our covenant to seek justice, love mercy, and walk humbly with our God,’ said the church’s pastor.
Palestinian Christians at Chicago Conference Ask Fellow Believers to Stand Against Gaza War
The Church at the Crossroads conference, organizers said, is aimed at moving US Christians from feeling bad about the war in Gaza to taking action to end it.
Nation
Christian Leaders Urge Protecting Worshippers’ Rights After Protesters Interrupt Service
Brian Kaylor, a Cooperative Baptist Fellowship-affiliated minister and leader of the Christian media organization Word&Way, called having an ICE official serve as a pastor ‘a serious moral failure.’
Protesters Disrupt Southern Baptist Church of Pastor Who Leads ICE Office in Minnesota
‘Jesus — who they claim to worship — went into the so-called houses of God, he flipped over tables. … So that’s what we did today,’ said minister and organizer Nekima Levy Armstrong.
At Labor Prayer Service, Alveda King Tells Government Employees to Work (Without Complaining) or Don’t Eat
Amid an internal investigation into Secretary Lori Chavez-DeRemer, the Department of Labor held its second monthly worship service featuring the rightwing anti-abortion activist niece of MLK.
World
As Germany’s Far Right Builds Ties With US Conservatives, Churches Push Back
Catholic and Protestant leaders in Germany are challenging a connection among far-right politicians in Germany and the U.S. that is built on a common rejection of immigrants.
Kenyan Christians Adapt as Churches Are Destroyed by Climate-Impacted Flooding
‘This is not just about Kenya,’ said climate researcher Godfrey Khamala. ‘This is about how climate change is eroding not only coastlines and crops, but culture, heritage and spiritual life. These churches are the canaries in the coal mine.’
Bombing God’s Love
This issue of A Public Witness unpacks President Donald Trump’s invoking of God during his speech announcing the U.S. had dropped massive bombs on Iran, thus joining Israel recent war against Iran.
Editorials
A Private Definition
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.
Boston was Right to Refuse to Fly Christian Flag
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
Unsettling Advent, Day 27
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
Molly Worthen Reveals the Hidden Truths Behind American Charismatic Leaders
In her new book, ‘Spellbound,’ the historian of religion traces the mysterious force that is charisma from the Puritans to Donald Trump.
The Angels Are Playing Armstrong
Contributing writer Sarah Blackwell reflects on the connections between jazz, supporting young people, church life, and the kingdom of God.
One of the Last Remaining Christian Villages in Palestine Is Under Attack
Unless the international community acts decisively and swiftly, Al-Taybeh risks being overrun by Israeli settlers, its lands confiscated, and its people forcibly displaced.
E-Newsletter
The Impending Execution of a Prison Pastor
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.
Reading the Bible in Ways That Challenge White Supremacy and Patriarchy
Some Christians today argue that empathy is wrong, even calling it a sin and unbiblical. For Angela Parker, associate professor of New Testament and Greek at the McAfee School of Theology at Mercer University, this idea is absurd.
Out in the World
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.
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Pete Hegseth's Crusader Bible (A Trick of State)
In this episode, Word&Way President Brian Kaylor considers Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth's use of the English Standard Version of the Bible, patriarchy in the faith communities Hegseth has been a part of, and his Christian Nationalism. It also reveals that Hegseth's ESV Bible includes two Crusader symbols stamped onto the cover (and that match… -
An Unholy War
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 discussion about the Iran war, Christian opposition to the war, and viral claims of military leaders claiming this will bring "Armageddon." It also includes consideration of… -
Rewriting the Ten Commandments (A Trick of State)
In this episode, Word&Way President Brian Kaylor looks at legislation across the country that purports to want the Ten Commandments in public school classrooms. But the version mandated by lawmakers cannot be found in any Bible. Kaylor unpacks where the edited language came from, why such legislation is an attack on religious liberty, and the… -
198. American Christianity Divided in Responses to 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 discussion about ICE actions in Minneapolis, how many clergy are leading protests against ICE while others are supporting ICE, and new research worried about the loss… -
197. Anna Piela and Michael Woolf on Confronting Islamophobia in the Church
In this episode, Word&Way President Brian Kaylor talks with American Baptist ministers Anna Piela and Michael Woolf on Islamophobia, immigration, and how Christians can better engage with interfaith efforts. Anna and Michael are coauthors of the new book, Confronting Islamophobia in the Church: Liturgical Tools for Justice. Watch a video version of this conversation here.… -
196. Martha Bardwell on Faith Communities Responding to ICE in Minneapolis
In this episode, Word&Way President Brian Kaylor talks with Martha Bardwell, pastor of Our Saviour's Lutheran Church in Minneapolis, Minnesota, on how faith communities are responding to ICE violence in the Twin Cities and the ICE killing of Renee Good. Watch a video version of this latest conversation here. The episode includes a discussion on… -
195. Attacking Venezuela & Gambling on Jesus
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 the U.S. attack on Venezuela and how Christians are responding, Pete Hegseth's pledge to change the military chaplaincy program, and how people are now… -
194. Dangers of Faith in the Pentagon & AI in Faith
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 U.S. strikes against Venezuelan boats, Pete Hegseth's Christian prayer services at the Pentagon, the use of AI in churches, and alarms about AI Christian… -
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…
Books
Review & Giveaway: Blessed Minds
A congregational pastor who also serves as the UCC’s Minister for Disabilities and Mental Health Justice, Sarah Griffith Lund has long been a voice helping Christians gently and wisely wrestle with neurodiversity.
Review: The Church Must Grow or Perish
“The Church Must Grow or Perish: Robert H. Schuller and the Business of American Christianity” examines Schuller's indelible imprint on the American church.
Review: Becoming the Pastor’s Wife
In “Becoming the Pastor’s Wife: How Marriage Replaced Ordination as a Woman’s Path to Ministry,” Beth Allison Barr traces the history of the role, showing how it both helped and hurt women in conservative Protestant traditions.
Review: Latter-Day Saint Theology Among Christian Theologies
In “Latter-Day Saint Theology Among Christian Theologies,” Grant Underwood asks the question: How do the beliefs of Latter-day Saints compare with traditional Christian theology?