Home - Word&Way
logo
mobile-logo

Featured

A strong majority of Americans, and majorities of many religious groups, still broadly support LGBTQ rights.

This issue of A Public Witness digs into the recent Paul Pressler news and responses from leaders to investigate the roots of the SBC’s “conservative resurgence” and consider a more appropriate response than just continuing to water the tree.

Catholics, including El Paso Bishop Mark Seitz, have rallied around the volunteer-run network of migrant shelters, describing Ken Paxton’s legal actions as violating religious freedom.

No posts were found.

Dangerous Dogma

Church

What does Scripture say about the rights of children in an anti-child world?

The vote follows the House of Bishops’ agreement last month to commend ‘Prayers of Love and Faith,’ a collection of prayers and readings for use in existing services. The bishops also approved the prayers as the basis for stand-alone services for gay couples.

Strickland, 65, has emerged as a leading critic of Francis, accusing him in a tweet earlier this year of “undermining the deposit of faith.”

Nation

Initiatives such as 'Mama’s Day Bail Out' and the 'Freedom Day Project' — which occur in June, around Juneteenth and Father's Day — are a hallmark for some Black churches in Georgia.

The statement comes amid continuing calls for cease-fire and humanitarian aid for the victims of the war that began on Oct. 7.

The U.S. Constitution doesn’t mention Christianity or any specific religion. Yet large numbers of Americans believe the founders intended the U.S. to be a Christian nation, and many believe it should be one.

World

As the Israel-Hamas war continues, multiple Christian church buildings and facilities have been damaged. Rev. Hanna Massad shared an update about the war’s impact on the small Christian community on the day after the “devastating explosion” at the only Christian hospital in the besieged territory.

Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby spoke as news emerged of a deadly rocket attack on al-Ahli Hospital in Gaza, run by the Episcopal Diocese of Jerusalem.

This issue of A Public Witness looks at the unethical calls for leveling Gaza and how the Christian community in that land is responding during this time of tribulations.

Editorials

Word&Way Editor-in-Chief Brian Kaylor responds to the decision by Southwest Baptist University to bar Word&Way from attending an upcoming SBU trustee meeting. Kaylor questions the motivations behind the decision to limit media access.

Editor-in-Chief Brian Kaylor reacts to recent U.S. Supreme Court rulings on coronavirus restrictions and worship. He argues a majority of the justices wrongly compare worship gatherings to commercial activities.

Editor Brian Kaylor reflects on getting his second COVID-19 vaccine and recent polling showing that White evangelicals are the least likely demographic to get vaccinated. Thank God, love neighbors, and get vaccinated!

Word&Way Voices

Rev. Angela Denker reflects on the unjust and tragic death of sprinter Tori Bowie, one of the fastest women in America.

Contributing writer Sarah Blackwell makes the case that future Christians will point to the names of our colleagues and friends as those who first navigated the waters of leading a church and serving as a wife or mothering a family at the same time.

Contributing writer Laura Levens reflects on the recent denominational meeting of the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship and how the energy of people in attendance felt different than in previous years.

E-Newsletter

This issue of A Public Witness introduces you to the 56th speaker of the House — the founding dean of a failed Baptist law school, an attorney for three firms devoted to advancing Christian Nationalism, a crusader for prayer in public schools, an evangelist proclaiming the U.S. is “a Christian

In his timely new book, noted scholar David Gushee brings his incisive ethical lens to defending democratic commitments and articulating the need for Christians to recommit themselves to its practices.

While historian Jemar Tisby has been canceled from many conservative White Christian spaces, other Christians are willing to listen. So this issue of A Public Witness takes you to a special class session to learn about the need for churches to fight institutional racism.

Sign up to receive full essays in your inbox!

Podcasts

In episode 43 of Dangerous Dogma, Jonathan Hall and Beau Underwood talk with Word&Way President Brian Kaylor about their new book Dear Son: Raising Faithful, Just, and Compassionate Men.

In episode 42 of Dangerous Dogma, Ryan Burge, an assistant professor of political science at Eastern Illinois University and an American Baptist pastor, talks about his new book 20 Myths About Religion and Politics in America.

In episode 41 of Dangerous Dogma, Robert Wilson-Black, CEO of Sojourners, talks about his new book The End of College: Religion and the Transformation of Higher Education in the 20th Century. He also discusses issues of secularism, war, and cultural values.

In episode 40 of Dangerous Dogma, Wendell Griffen, an Arkansas circuit judge and pastor of New Millennium Church in Little Rock, talks about pastoring, racism, and justice.

Books

In "What Jesus Learned from Women" author James F. McGrath fleshes out the nature of Jesus’s person and helps us recognize the role of women in the biblical story.

Greg Carey's "Death, the End of History, and Beyond: Eschatology in the Bible" understands that we need to address the present, but the future does impact the present — thus, the study of Last Things is not something we can

In "Redeeming Vision: A Christian Guide to Looking at and Learning from Art," author Elissa Yukiko Weichbrodt helps us view art through a theological lens, whether the artwork is religious in orientation or not.

In "Christianity and Critical Race Theory: A Faithful and Constructive Conversation," authors Robert Chao Romero and Jeff M. Liou provide the foundation for a conversation that must take place if we wish to understand and address the ordinariness of racism