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This issue of A Public Witness heads to the Cheese State to consider the church politicking of an Elon Musk-backed court hopeful.

In “The Fearless Christian University,” sociologist and educator John Hawthorne laments the fact that fear has become a defining characteristic of many Christian schools today.

Lutheran Social Services of the National Capital Area, a crucial resettlement agency, is in disarray. The organization is waiting on $3.7 million in federal reimbursements for work it has already provided.

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Church

On Thursday (Oct. 31), Curry, 71, completed his nine-year term as presiding bishop of the Episcopal Church, and it’s his casual style and his capacity to adapt and improvise that may be his signature.

Fear of violence recently prompted Grace United Methodist Church’s pastor to join Choices and Voices for Peace, a coalition of faith leaders from across the state.

The site of colonial America's break with the Church of England and the mother church of the nation’s first Black denomination sit less than a mile from each other.

Nation

Despite a judge’s order on Feb. 10 — which called the spending freeze ‘likely unconstitutional’ and directed funds to resume — grant recipients said funding remains paused.

‘We cannot become a government that normalizes cruelty,’ Rep. Jesús G. Garcia, an Illinois Democrat, said while discussing the bill on the House floor.

As Trump claims he’s creating a task force to fight ‘anti-Christian bias,’ it is worth examining the various legal challenges that major Christian denominations have filed seeking protection from Trump’s administration.

World

Surf Church was established by an ordained Baptist pastor to spread the Gospel in a once-devoutly Catholic country where about half of young people today say they have no religion.

The Salvation Army is exploiting a connection to the Beatles to draw more visitors to fund its mission and encourage people who would never consider stepping inside a church to find out about Christianity.

A large majority of Ukrainians are Orthodox, but they are divided between two main groups with similar names: the Ukrainian Orthodox Church and the Orthodox Church of Ukraine.

Editorials

Editor Brian Kaylor reflects on the painting behind Georgia Governor Brian Kemp during the signing ceremony for a new law making it harder for people to exercise their right to vote.

Editor Brian Kaylor reflects on the quick move by a Baptist church in Georgia to kick out the man who killed eight people at three massage parlors. And Kaylor wonders where Jesus would have instead shown up in Atlanta on Sunday.

Editor Brian Kaylor responds to a “reparations” plan unveiled by the Society of Jesuits on Monday due to their legacy of owning and selling enslaved persons. While Kaylor applauds reparations efforts, he argues this plan falls short.

Word&Way Voices

Contributing writer Rodney Kennedy argues that the acceptance of Trump's consistent lies as a legitimate political strategy has become an addictive drug for our culture and is starting to impact our children.

Lutheran theologian Duane Larson writes that with bad faith, an incorrect interpretation of history, and just plain wrong theo-logic, MAGA-sympathetic theologians are arguing to undo the U.S. Constitution.

Contributing writer Sarah Blackwell explores 'hidden' stories that stood right next to the biblical scriptures as having a valuable word to say about who we are as a people of faith.

E-Newsletter

This issue of A Public Witness reconsiders King Herod to move beyond a flat, culture wars depiction of the religious-nationalism-pushing ruler.

This issue of A Public Witness recommends some recent documentary films on issues of faith in the public square, Christian Nationalism, and patriarchy.

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

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Recent Episodes

Books

In "Gratitude: Why Giving Thanks Is the Key to Our Well-Being," Cornelius Plantinga makes the case that being grateful is the key to understanding our relationships with one another, the world around us, and God.

In "Being Real: The Apostle Paul’s Hardship Narratives and the Stories We Tell Today," Philip Plyming argues that there are profound lessons we can learn from Paul's critiques of the prevailing culture of Corinth.

In "Nice Churchy Patriarchy: Reclaiming Women's Humanity from Evangelicalism," Liz Cooledge Jenkins takes an unflinching look at the ways misogyny's subtler forms impact every aspect of women’s experiences in church.

Walter Brueggemann has written scores of books. If one wants to understand the insights of this biblical scholar, where does one begin? Beau Underwood suggests the best way to dive into Brueggemann is not through a book he wrote but