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Claire Hoffman chronicles the dramatic rise, mysterious disappearance, and near-fall of Aimee Semple McPherson, America’s most famous woman evangelist.

Newly strained finances are just one reality that Latino immigrant churches are adjusting to as the Trump administration accelerates a promised mass deportation campaign and other aggressive changes to immigration policy.

This issue of A Public Witness explores what the ending of a significant comedy institution means in light of the fact that Stephen Colbert is one of the most prominent Christians in popular culture today.

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Videos

Church

Ben Boswell promises his new church will ‘dismantle systems of oppression and create justice, equity, and freedom for everybody — for all people.’

‘I do not personally believe The Rev. Robinson is a good representative of the Anglican Church in North America,’ said ACNA Archbishop Steve Wood.

‘In light of our church’s steadfast commitment to racial justice and reconciliation and our historic ties with the Anglican Church of Southern Africa, we are not able to take this step,’ the presiding bishop of the Episcopal Church said in a letter.

Nation

As today’s Supreme Court leans right, there is an ongoing push to infuse conservative Christianity into taxpayer-funded education. Advocates of religious diversity and church-state separation are countering it.

Religious summer camps date back to two parallel movements in the 19th century — the revivalist religious gatherings in tents and the “fresh-air movement” after the industrial revolution — and boomed after World War II.

The IRS hopes to settle a lawsuit brought by a pair of Texas churches and a group of religious broadcasters over rules that bar houses of worship and other nonprofits from getting involved in political campaigns.

World

He’s been widely quoted — and misquoted. People have claimed Bonhoeffer would support their side on issues ranging from the Vietnam War to post-9/11 militarism to same-sex marriage to the Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection.

Asked about Mike Huckabee potentially becoming the U.S. ambassador to Israel, the Rev. Munther Isaac called the prospect 'frightening,' adding, 'Huckabee presents himself, at least, as a man who does not live in reality.'

For the second straight year, Christmas celebrations will be somber and muted: no giant Christmas tree in Manger Square, no raucous scout marching bands, no public lights twinkling, and very few public decorations or displays.

Editorials

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.

Editor-in-Chief Brian Kaylor argues that as the delta variant of COVID-19 fuels a new spike in cases in some parts of the U.S., conservative Christians who refuse vaccination are putting people at risk and undermining the teachings of Jesus.

Word&Way Voices

Reflecting on Advent in a time of rulers clinging to power, Beau Underwood explores how the proclamation that ‘Jesus is Lord’ is still a radical statement today.

Exploring Advent in a time of rulers clinging to power, Andrew Whitehead reflects on how Jesus taught us to reject the promise of earthly authority focused on only serving ‘us’ at the expense of others.

The state will likely begin to fund private Christian academies while also funding Bibles in schools — promoting the idea that the U.S. is a Christian nation.

E-Newsletter

This issue of A Public Witness explores the “Let Freedom Ring!” initiative’s remembrance of the past, which also serves as a warning about contemporary tyrannical threats.

For years, Rev. Shannon Fleck has been challenging Christian Nationalists in Oklahoma. Now, she’s ready to mobilize on the national level.

This issue of A Public Witness looks at what we know so far about the targeting of international college students for deportation and what it could mean for Christian schools.

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Recent Episodes

Books

In “The Moral Teachings of Jesus: Radical Instruction in the Will of God,” leading Christian ethicist David Gushee examines forty teachings of Jesus to clarify exactly what Jesus said about the moral life.

In “Another Gospel: Christian Nationalism and the Crisis of Evangelical Identity,” Joel Looper communicates an insider’s perspective on how a false gospel has colonized American evangelicalism.

In “Defiant Hope, Active Love: What Young Adults Are Seeking in Places of Work, Faith, and Community,” scholars investigate how faith communities can be more hospitable to the next generation of Christians.

Matthew Taylor makes a compelling case that the New Apostolic Reformation, whose leaders and ideas have migrated from the fringes to the center of American evangelicalism, is a dangerous threat to democracy.