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Contributing writer Rodney Kennedy makes the case that the best approach to this question is investigating how Jesus interacted with the Pharisees, Sadducees, Herodians, and Zealots throughout the Gospels.

By appealing to maternal concerns about what kids eat or learn and offering a sense of clarity, community, and stability, conservative influencers are creating an on-ramp for political engagement framed as part of a spiritual war.

Catholic, Orthodox, and most historic Protestant groups accept the Nicene Creed. Despite later schisms over doctrine and other factors, Nicaea remains a point of agreement — the most widely accepted creed in Christendom.

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Church

‘New York was the center of the slave trade in the United States,’ said the Rt. Rev. Matthew F. Heyd, bishop coadjutor of the Episcopal Diocese of New York. ‘That evil is part of the fabric of the diocese, and we’re trying to repair this fabric.’

During a mid-June event at Otter Creek Church, musicians and activists praised PEPFAR for saving millions of lives and urged evangelicals to call their representatives and show their support for the program.

The resolution shines a spotlight on a critical moment in the history of the Baptist church, signed two years after the issue of slavery prompted southern Baptists to split from northern Baptists and form the SBC.

Nation

For the second time in six weeks, a pastor was struck in the head with a pepper round fired by a US immigration agent as faith leaders protested the arrival of more than 100 US Customs and Border Patrol agents.

More than 210 people, mostly Chicago-area Christian clergy, signed a letter titled “Jesus is Being Tear Gassed at Broadview.” The letter railed against ICE and agents “hunting and terrorizing of immigrant communities” in the city.

A diverse group of faith leaders gathered in Manhattan on Saturday morning (Oct. 18) to offer prayers at an interfaith prayer vigil before joining a massive “No Kings” march in Times Square.

World

In Africa’s most populous nation, a deadly cycle of violence has unfolded for several years, with Christian clergy and laypeople as well as moderate Muslims falling victim to murder and kidnapping.

One theologian said Africa’s celebrations of the Christian framework would exhibit the continent’s rich theological heritage and highlight new ways of thinking about faith unbound by colonial legacies.

Most Greenlanders are proudly Inuit, having survived and thrived in one of the most remote and climatically inhospitable places on Earth. And they’re Lutheran.

Editorials

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.”

Editors Brian Kaylor and Beau Underwood outline the theological reasons for a COVID-19 vaccination outreach effort centered around clergy. Such an act is not only a matter of public health, it is also a witness to what we believe about the Gospel.

Editor-in-Chief Brian Kaylor argues that as the delta variant of COVID-19 fuels a new spike in cases in some parts of the U.S., conservative Christians who refuse vaccination are putting people at risk and undermining the teachings of Jesus.

Word&Way Voices

Contributing writer Rodney Kennedy addresses climate denial among a subset of Christians and how this demonstrates a surrender of truth.

A delegation of young Palestinian Christian leaders are traveling through the American South to explore the deep parallels between racial injustice in the U.S. and the oppression Palestinians face in their homeland.

Biblical scholar Greg Carey makes the case that in a time of conspicuous Christian Nationalism, the rest of us need to articulate our most basic Christian values in ways that are affirmative rather than defensive.

E-Newsletter

This issue of A Public Witness explores what the ending of a significant comedy institution means in light of the fact that Stephen Colbert is one of the most prominent Christians in popular culture today.

This issue of A Public Witness heads to Australia to offer highlights from the Baptist World Congress, where Christians from 130 nations came to worship, fellowship, dialogue, learn, and strategize together.

This issue of A Public Witness opens up the Epstein case to explore the dangers of phony, conspiratorial self-righteousness and how it captured so many conservative Christian figures.

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Recent Episodes

Books

In his latest book “Religion for Realists: Why We All Need the Scientific Study of Religion,” Samuel Perry challenges some of our most cherished assumptions.

In “This Is Going to Hurt: Following Jesus in a Divided America,” Bekah McNeel analyzes the narratives surrounding six hot-button issues — immigration, COVID, abortion, critical race theory, gun violence, and climate change.

In “Dancing with Metaphors in the Pulpit,” Word&Way contributing writer Rodney Kennedy explores how the hard work of preaching takes place in the thinking, reading, and writing.

For this issue of A Public Witness, we briefly highlight 15 of our favorite books — beyond those from our monthly giveaway reviews.