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Review: The Strain of Other Blood
Having a biography of an Episcopal Church nun, especially an African American Episcopal nun, is worth taking note of.
If Jesus Showed Up Today, Would he Play Guitar?
During a gathering in Nashville, scholars looked at the theology, money, and music reshaping how Americans worship and experience God.
Supreme Court Asked to Review Texas Law Requiring the ‘Ten Commandments’ in Public Schools
Civil rights advocates on Monday asked the U.S. Supreme Court to review a Texas law requiring public schools to display the Ten Commandments, teeing up a potential new test of state-sponsored religious expression in classrooms.
Church
With Three Prisoners Scheduled for Execution, Southern Churches Toll Their Bells
On the first day in 16 years that three death row inmates were scheduled to be executed on the same day, faith groups in Tennessee, Georgia, Texas, Kentucky, Wisconsin, and Iowa tolled their bells as part of a campaign.
Johnny Hunt’s Last Defamation Claims Rejected by Federal Judge
The former Southern Baptist President's lawyers had argued he was a private figure and his misconduct was nobody's business. He also claimed a tweet criticizing him was defamatory.
‘A Gift Rather Than a Curse’: Married Couples in Ministry Navigate Sacred, Secret Spaces
'We too can have rough patches in our marriage,' said the Rev. Jamal Bryant, senior pastor of an Atlanta-area megachurch where is wife is an executive pastor.
Nation
Department of Homeland Security Spied on Churches in the Twin Cities
A surveillance incident at a Baptist church particularly raises questions since the congregation’s building is covered by a federal injunction blocking warrantless DHS actions there.
What We Can Learn From AI Slop Images Celebrating Pentagon Worship Services
This issue of A Public Witness dives into the weird world of AI-generated social media content that lifts up a distorted view of Christianity.
Paxton, Talarico Tap Contrary Versions of God and Christianity in Appeal to Texas Voters
In a state where two-thirds of the adult population identifies as Christian and 45% say religion is 'very important' in their life, the candidates are asking voters to choose between two dramatically different views of Christianity.
World
Archbishop Mullally Ends Africa Tour With Calls for Healing From Church’s Role in Slavery
The trip marked Mullally's first visit to Africa and highlighted the Church of England's controversial reparations fund to address its historic links to slavery.
South African Faith Leaders Respond to Prolonged Anti-Migrant Violence
Churches are calling for restraint, humanitarian support, and law and order as xenophobic unrest deepens.
Reeling From Venezuela’s Earthquakes, Churches Rush to Inspect Buildings, Distribute Supplies
Despite the fact that many Venezuelan faith leaders have been impacted themselves by the ongoing disaster, they’ve sprung into action to provide food, psychological support, and other basic needs to the large population of victims.
Editorials
Doug Wilson’s Wrong on Why I’m ‘Whizzed Up’ About His Pentagon Sermon
Editor-in-Chief Brian Kaylor responds to Doug Wilson’s defense of Pete Hegseth holding Christian worship services in the Pentagon, including the one Wilson preached at earlier this month.
Michael W. Smith Worshipwashes Trump’s Profanity and Lies
After President Donald Trump rambled, lied, and cursed for 77 minutes at the National Prayer Breakfast, a prominent Christian musician went to the piano to bless it.
The Line From Enslaver Missionaries to an ICE Pastor
In 1845, a group of pro-slavery Baptists created the Southern Baptist Convention to defend enslavers serving as missionaries. One hundred and eighty years later, SBC leaders defend a pastor serving as an ICE leader. Editor-in-Chief Brian Kaylor reflects on this through line.
Word&Way Voices
Susannah Crockford Traces How Protestant Themes Frame Discourse Around Climate Change
The anthropologist discusses her new book, why many Western countries are having trouble responding to climate issues, and how theological motifs relate to fossil fuels and artificial intelligence.
Not Your Mother’s ‘Little House’
A new Netflix series captures the edginess of Laura Ingalls Wilder’s books while also reconsidering the narrative in the face of frontier America’s actual history.
Let’s Make Texas Senate Race About Character
James Talarico’s attempt to make the election about ethos — character, credibility, and integrity — throws a Nolan Ryan fastball at Ken Paxton and MAGA and showcases their departure from 1990s conservative Christianity.
E-Newsletter
What We Can Learn From AI Slop Images Celebrating Pentagon Worship Services
This issue of A Public Witness dives into the weird world of AI-generated social media content that lifts up a distorted view of Christianity.
Flunk Those Who Want a Religious Test for Office
In light of advocacy from figures like Doug Wilson and Micah Beckwith, it’s worth remembering why the American experiment includes a ban on religious tests for office.
Nuclear Weapons as ‘God’s Grace and Mercy’?
This issue of A Public Witness looks at how the head of the Russian Orthodox Church nukes God’s grace and mercy before considering how it serves as a warning about militaristic Christian Nationalism more broadly.
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The State of the Senate, from SC to ME to TX to KS
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 death of Sen. Lindsey Graham as well as issues of faith and morality in Senate races in Maine, Texas, and Kansas. You can… -
Southern Baptists, the Pentagon, & UFC
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 Southern Baptist Convention's push against women in ministry, the Pentagon changing how it codes the faith of military members, and the latest in… -
Southern Baptists, Women in Ministry, & a Billboard
In this episode, Word&Way President Brian Kaylor talks with Meredith Stone, executive director of Baptist Women in Ministry. The conversation includes discussion of efforts in the Southern Baptist Convention to further target women serving in churches and how BWIM is advocating for women (including with a billboard to greet SBC messengers next week in Orlando,… -
Divergent Visions for Rededicating the Nation
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 Rededicate 250, gerrymandering, Adam Hamilton's Senate campaign in Kansas, and the MAHA movement. You can watch a video version of the conversation here. Here are a few pieces… -
The Christian Past That Wasn't
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 the author of the new book, The Christian Past that Wasn't: Debunking the Christian Nationalist Myths that Hijack History. You can watch a video version of… -
Trump vs. Leo
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 President Donald Trump's attacks on Pope Leo XIV, Leo's witness against the Iran war, Trump's AI image of himself as Jesus, and the electoral… -
Fight Like Jesus with Jason Porterfield (Reissue)
In this episode, Word&Way President Brian Kaylor talks with Jason Porterfield about his book Fight Like Jesus: How Jesus Waged Peace. This episode originally aired in 2023, except for a new introduction noting a violent prayer by Pete Hegseth during a recent Pentagon worship service and Palm Sunday comments by Pope Leo XIV. Note: Don't forget… -
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…
Books
Review: Biblical Outlaws
Scholar Anthony B. Pinn offers a revelatory exploration of what the Bible's underdogs and forgotten figures can teach us about our humanity.
Book Recommendation: Skipping School
In detailing the evolution of homeschooling in the United States, this book is an enjoyable and enlightening read that challenges preconceptions and invites new, more informed questions.
Review: Sacred Rebel
Author Jerry Zehr, a longtime interfaith leader, draws on his practical wisdom to explore the part of us that refuses to let fear have the final word.
Review: The Didache Discoveries
This groundbreaking study digs beneath the surface of one of early Christianity's most enigmatic documents and finds there two texts hidden side by side for nearly two millennia.