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It's at least the second lawsuit challenging the federal government's policy of barring faith leaders from accessing some Department of Homeland Security facilities.

In the opinion released Friday, the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals said it was too early to make a judgment call on the constitutionality of displaying a highly edited version of the Ten Commandments in public schools.

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.

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Church

A new White House initiative encouraging people to pray for America claims to have the backing of the nation’s largest Protestant denomination. But a spokesperson for the Southern Baptist Convention’s Executive Committee told Word&Way that’s not accurate.

Churches across Chicago braced for Trump’s threat of a National Guard deployment and apocalyptic force, even as Chicago’s rates of violent crime have dropped substantially in recent years as part of a national trend.

A report from the Louisville Institute found that the kinds of discrimination faced include gender bias, limited opportunities for leadership, and adverse expectations related to work/family balance.

Nation

This issue of A Public Witness explores biblical ‘peacemaker’ rhetoric from the Trump administration and how it wildly misrepresents what Jesus actually taught.

Monday’s ruling came just over 24 hours before TPS status was set to expire for some 350,000 Haitians. The U.S. district judge wrote that DHS Secretary Noem’s ‘approach is many things—in the public interest is not one of them.’

The Justice Department’s swift investigation into the church disruption stands in contrast to its decision not to open civil rights investigations into killings by ICE officers.

World

This issue of A Public Witness opens a Bible and a (digital) newspaper to consider Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s roaring use of scripture to start a war.

At a three-day conference, African theologians and scholars considered how colonizing countries can make amends for historical wrongs and the place of forgiveness.

The Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, created within the past year, is a private group, formed with Israel’s blessing after it sought to circumvent the aid relief previously provided by the United Nations.

Editorials

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.

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.

Word&Way Voices

Since the popular screen adaptation of “Pride & Prejudice” is back in theaters for its 20th anniversary, it is worth thinking about how this enemies-to-lovers story can offer us a unique glimpse into peacemaking.

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.

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.

E-Newsletter

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.

This issue of A Public Witness flips to the maps section of the Bible to see who should really control the ‘biblical heartland.’

In the first of a three-part special podcast series produced in partnership with Moravian Theological Seminary, Randall Balmer discusses how church-state separation has been good for both government and religion.

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Recent Episodes

Books

In “Bring Back Your People: Ten Ways Regular Folks Can Put a Dent in White Christian Nationalism,” preacher and Poor People's Campaign leader Aaron Scott offers a practical guide to resisting and organizing.

In “Trust in Atonement: God, Creation, and Reconciliation,” Teresa Morgan offers a fresh exploration of what it means to restore a right relationship with God.

In “The Wounds Are the Witness: Black Faith Weaving Memory into Justice and Healing,” Yolanda Pierce, dean of Vanderbilt University Divinity School, weaves together her own memories, vignettes from Black life, and scenes from scripture.

In “Karl Barth — A Life in Conflict,” Christiane Tietz compellingly explores the interactions between Barth's personal and political biography and his theology.