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Featured
America Has Eye Trouble
The ICE shooting in Minneapolis, like the Jan. 6 insurrection, brings into sharp relief two different visions in America. Many of us now filter what we see through a pair of political eyeglasses, blurring facts with ideology.
Renee Good Was a Martyr for Her Faith, Like MLK, Say Presbyterians
The Presbyterian Office of Public Witness, part of the Presbyterian Church (USA), says Good is part of ‘a sacred lineage of faithful witnesses who have risked and lost their lives in defense of human dignity.’
Faith Leaders Are Denied Access to Immigration Detainees in Minnesota
The question of offering pastoral care to immigrant detainees has become a theological and legal flashpoint since President Donald Trump launched his mass deportation effort last year.
Church
Brent Leatherwood, Head of Embattled SBC Public Policy Arm, Steps Down
The Southern Baptist Convention’s Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission has been criticized for failing to fall in line with the MAGA agenda.
ELCA Elects First Black Presiding Bishop, Calls Israel’s Actions in Gaza a Genocide
The Rev. Yehiel Curry, bishop of the ELCA’s Metropolitan Chicago Synod since 2019, will serve a six-year term as presiding bishop of the 2.7 million-member denomination.
New Jersey Church Threatened by Eminent Domain Gets a Reprieve – for Now
The mayor mentioned the decline in attendance and membership in local churches as one reason why he wanted the city to take over the Christ Church property, saying the Episcopal diocese has more church buildings than it needs.
Nation
West Virginia Again Bans Religious Reasons for School Vaccine Exemptions
West Virginia’s school vaccination policy has long been heralded by medical experts as one of the most protective in the country for children.
Pentagon Preachers Proclaim a Lord of War
With Pentagon prayer services continuing into the Christmas season, this issue of A Public Witness peeks inside Pete Hegseth’s monthly effort to establish his brand of rightwing Christianity inside the government.
Rian Johnson on Miracles, Mystery, and His Own Faith Story in ‘Wake Up Dead Man’
The third installment of the ‘Knives Out’ series examines the spiritual warfare within American Christianity and looks at writer-director Rian Johnson’s struggle with the essence of faith.
World
Tributes to Pope Francis
This issue of A Public Witness offers short highlights from four reflections by Catholic writers on Pope Francis and his papacy.
Pope Francis, First Latin American Pontiff Who Ministered With a Charming, Humble Style, Dies at 88
Francis demanded his bishops apply mercy and charity to their flocks, pressed the world to protect God’s creation from climate disaster, and challenged countries to welcome those fleeing war, poverty, and oppression.
African Church Leaders Defend Migrants After Libya Bans Humanitarian Aid Agencies
Libya’s move signals its determination not to become a resettlement zone for migrants fleeing violence in East Africa.
Editorials
Before Never Forget
Editor-in-Chief Brian Kaylor reflects on the call to “never forget” 9/11, as well as the ways we seem to struggle to even remember or acknowledge deaths today.
A Zacchaeus Moment for Southwest Baptist
Now that the trustees at Southwest Baptist University dropped their push for new governing documents, Brian Kaylor offers six next steps that leaders of the school and the Missouri Baptist Convention should take.
Messages from Hell
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.”
Word&Way Voices
When ‘Wrong’ Is on the Throne
Contributing writer Rodney Kennedy makes the case that there is more to the recent Pete Hegseth national security breaches than just political blunders — we are experiencing a shift in the moral universe of right and wrong.
Stop Flopping
Contributing writer Sarah Blackwell makes the case that the culture of flopping has spread beyond sports. Who are the biggest floppers right now? Christian Nationalists.
The Weird Evangelical Dance With Science
Contributing writer Rodney Kennedy addresses climate denial among a subset of Christians and how this demonstrates a surrender of truth.
E-Newsletter
Review & Giveaway: Rereading Revelation
Greg Carey, a scholar of the New Testament and apocalyptic literature, shows how the Book of Revelation can serve as a guide to resisting imperial culture.
Alarm Bells to Start the School Year
This issue of A Public Witness looks at the need for those who oppose Christian Nationalism to fight not just with lawsuits but also in the court of public opinion, so we can effectively protect religious liberty.
Three New Documentary Projects Warn About Abusive, Nationalistic Faith
This issue of A Public Witness recommends two films and one miniseries exploring important issues of Christian Nationalism and religious abuse.
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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… -
198. American Christianity Divided in Responses to ICE
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 ICE actions in Minneapolis, how many clergy are leading protests against ICE while others are supporting ICE, and new research worried about the loss… -
197. Anna Piela and Michael Woolf on Confronting Islamophobia in the Church
In this episode, Word&Way President Brian Kaylor talks with American Baptist ministers Anna Piela and Michael Woolf on Islamophobia, immigration, and how Christians can better engage with interfaith efforts. Anna and Michael are coauthors of the new book, Confronting Islamophobia in the Church: Liturgical Tools for Justice. Watch a video version of this conversation here.… -
196. Martha Bardwell on Faith Communities Responding to ICE in Minneapolis
In this episode, Word&Way President Brian Kaylor talks with Martha Bardwell, pastor of Our Saviour's Lutheran Church in Minneapolis, Minnesota, on how faith communities are responding to ICE violence in the Twin Cities and the ICE killing of Renee Good. Watch a video version of this latest conversation here. The episode includes a discussion on… -
195. Attacking Venezuela & Gambling on Jesus
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 consideration of the U.S. attack on Venezuela and how Christians are responding, Pete Hegseth's pledge to change the military chaplaincy program, and how people are now… -
194. Dangers of Faith in the Pentagon & AI in Faith
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 consideration of U.S. strikes against Venezuelan boats, Pete Hegseth's Christian prayer services at the Pentagon, the use of AI in churches, and alarms about AI Christian… -
193. News Roundup: Elections, Government Shutdown, & Clergy Challenging ICE
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 consideration of religious attacks in elections this week, impacts of the ongoing government shutdown on churches, and clergy protesting against ICE. Watch a video version of… -
192. Hannah Kardon, United Methodist Pastor Arrested During Anti-ICE Protest
In this episode, Word&Way President Brian Kaylor talks with Hannah Kardon, a United Methodist minister in the Chicago area. Kardon was violently arrested during a protest outside an ICE facility on Oct. 17. Video of the incident can be viewed here. Other issues discussed in this episode include ICE actions at churches, the legal pushback… -
191. William Stell on Evangelicals & Antigay Christianity
In this episode, Word&Way President Brian Kaylor talks with William Stell, a religious studies professor and author of the forthcoming book, Born Again Queer: A History of Evangelical Gay Activism and the Making of Antigay Christianity. Kaylor is also joined by guest cohost Jared Burkholder, scholar in residence at Moravian Theological Seminary. This is the… -
190. Angela Parker on Evangelicals, Biblical Interpretation, & White Supremacy
In this episode, Word&Way President Brian Kaylor talks with Angela Parker, an associate professor of New Testament and Greek at the McAfee School of Theology at Mercer University, the author of If God Still Breathes, Why Can't I?: Black Lives Matter and Biblical Authority, and coauthor of the Unsettling Lent devotional. This is the second…
Books
Review & Giveaway: Money, Lies, and God
Katherine Stewart has created a collection of dispatches from the front lines of the current assault on American democracy.
Review: Journey to Eloheh
In “Journey to Eloheh: How Indigenous Values Lead Us to Harmony and Well-Being,” Randy and Edith Woodley help readers learn lifeways that lead to true wholeness and justice.
Review: The Anti-Greed Gospel
In “The Anti-Greed Gospel: Why the Love of Money Is the Root of Racism and How the Church Can Create a New Way Forward,” Black Christian historian Malcolm Foley explores racial capitalism.
Review: American Christianity Today
In “American Christianity Today: Establishment, Decline, and Revival,” Dyron Daughrity gives readers a panoramic view of current Christianity in the U.S. — its people, conflicts, differences, and common ground.