Home - Word&Way

Featured

Rev. Dr. James Ellis III reflects on the often contentious issue of ordination in the Black Church — particularly the rift that can exist between women who feel called to vocational ministry and women who do not.

Indigenous scholars Chris Hoklotubbe and Danny Zacharias explore what it means to read the Bible from the lens of Indigenous peoples in North America.

Political theorist Laura Field provides an intellectual tour of the MAGA New Right, a movement that has twice carried Donald Trump into the White House.

No posts were found.

Videos

Church

The statement’s signers include a mix of denominational leaders, seminary presidents, scholars, and leaders of prominent congregations.

Often boosted by social media, many of them got their start with independent labels or by uploading self-made songs to streaming platforms. Now, bigger labels and streaming services are catching on.

Religious leaders representing congregations from across the U.S. attended the event, demanding an extension of the TPS that has allowed Haitian migrants to legally arrive in Springfield in recent years fleeing unrest and gang violence in their homeland.

Nation

During an address at the National Religious Broadcasters convention, the defense secretary told attendees that President Donald Trump is fighting for their faith and returning America to its Christian foundations.

The head of the Missouri Senate Education Committee thinks we should force public schools to teach that the Constitutional Convention prayed after Benjamin Franklin said they should — even though it very much never happened.

A virtual media briefing titled ‘America at 250: Religion, Democracy, and the Promise of Pluralism’ covered solutions to the pressing issues of social isolation, political polarization, and bridging divides in the workplace and on college campuses.

World

The worldwide Anglican Communion, which includes the Episcopal Church in the U.S., has no formal head, but the archbishop traditionally has been seen as its spiritual leader.

This issue of A Public Witness highlights important voices of opposition to imperial plotting from a variety of religious groups, ranging from Lutherans to Baptists, Anglicans, Catholics, and others.

Historic Christian churches representing the predominantly Arab Christian community and mostly U.S. evangelicals who support Israel are at odds with each other.

Editorials

Editor-in-Chief Brian Kaylor reacts to a Calvinist pastor in Minnesota to offered a blessing for ICE after the killing of Renee Good. Each generation has preachers excited to stand up as chaplains for the empire.

In these unsettling times of hatred and violence as rulers rage like Herod, may we stand in the ruins of the empire and lift our voices. For unto us a child is born.

We should all be concerned about government officials anointing themselves as the arbiters of what a Nativity scene should look like. Sadly, too many Christians today willingly side with Herod.

Word&Way Voices

From the beginning, the U.S. has prided itself on being a haven for persecuted believers. But it has also demanded those believers demonstrate their loyalty in ways that blur the line between conscience and citizenship.

In our familiarity with the birth narrative, we often do not consider the long-term consequences for the secondary figures in the story. It was an unsettling time that left long and permanent scars on their lives.

Advent reminds us that God comes into a world already organized by power and exclusion — and does not accept its terms. If Christianity is used today to justify separation, the gospel calls us back to its center.

E-Newsletter

The controversial ‘paleo-Confederate’ Christian Nationalist pastor stood at a podium on Tuesday as the guest preacher for the latest monthly Christian worship service held for leaders of the U.S. military.

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.”

Sign up to receive full essays in your inbox!

Recent Episodes

Books

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.

Sequola Dawson, senior pastor of St. Mary African Methodist Episcopal Church and a bereavement chaplain, offers a helpful discussion of death rituals, with a focus on honoring the environment while also acknowledging the traditions and needs of families.

In this book, W. David O. Taylor and Daniel Train bring together a remarkable group of theologians, scholars, and artists to offer a fresh perspective on pneumatology through the creative lens of the arts.

Through insightful reflections, practical exercises, and thought-provoking questions, Richard Voelz redefines how to do theology outside of a church context.