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For the second time in a year, a federal judge has issued an injunction to block the Department of Homeland Security from conducting warrantless immigration enforcement actions at some houses of worship.

Given the importance of promoting religious liberty and addressing religious bigotry, this issue of A Public Witness delves into the debates swirling around the White House’s “Religious Liberty Commission.”

Leon Benjamin, a charismatic preacher who frequently spoke at the ReAwaken America Tour, attended the ‘Stop the Steal’ rally on Jan. 6, 2021, and even walked with the crowd to the Capitol grounds.

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Videos

Church

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.

The Rev. Tracey L. Brown of New Jersey became the first woman ever to preach at a worship service during the annual meeting, NBCUSA leaders said.

This issue of A Public Witness covers a 1979 Sunday School lesson from President Jimmy Carter — with concerns eerily fitting for 2025 — taught at the First Baptist Church of the City of Washington, D.C.

Nation

On Monday, the top federal judge in Minnesota issued a blistering critique of three Trump administration officials for repeatedly violating court orders. One of the three is David Easterwood, the acting director of the St. Paul ICE field office. Easterwood is also a pastor at Cities Churches in St. Paul.

Many faith leaders were dismayed when the government announced last January that federal immigration agencies can make arrests in churches, schools, and hospitals, ending the protection of people in sensitive spaces.

Hundreds of clergy from around the country gathered in Minneapolis to learn from Minnesota faith leaders how to protest against ICE enforcement. Then they took to the streets and helped block the city’s airport.

World

On a rare solidarity visit, Greek Orthodox Patriarch Theophilos III and Latin Patriarch Pierbattista Pizzaballa asserted that Israeli authorities ‘facilitate and enable’ the presence of settlers who have intensified attacks.

The attack has raised fears of a mass exodus of Christians similar to what happened in Iraq after the fall of Saddam Hussein in 2003 and the rise of sectarian violence.

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.

Editorials

In day 9 of our Unsettling Advent devotional series, Word&Way Editor-in-Chief Brian Kaylor reflects on racial injustices in the U.S. and how this helps us understand the birth of Jesus.

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.

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.

Word&Way Voices

A new film by Mike Flanagan, based on a Stephen King short story, deals with the power and significance of one life and points to the Story within the story.

The Trump administration often speaks of protecting Christians from discrimination worldwide. But that concern seems to vanish when Israel is involved — even with a Baptist pastor serving as the U.S. ambassador to Israel.

Contributing writer Rodney Kennedy argues that if our democracy has a chance to return to a vibrant life in the future, its ambiguous and messy universal principles will need to be in fighting form.

E-Newsletter

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.

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.

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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Recent Episodes

Books

In “Evangelical Idolatry: How Pastors Like Me Have Failed the People of God,” Jeff Mikels is concerned by the evangelical church’s embrace of cultural and political idols.

In her new book, journalist and pastor Angela Denker ventures into contested spaces to help readers understand what is going on with the radicalization of American boyhood.

In “The Fearless Christian University,” sociologist and educator John Hawthorne laments the fact that fear has become a defining characteristic of many Christian schools today.

In “Pilgrim: A Theological Memoir,” Tony Campolo traces his evolution as a believer, scholar, and evangelical leader who continually sought to engage thoughtfully with the challenges of his time.