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This book follows Christy Berghoef on a journey from a conservative Christian upbringing in rural Michigan to the halls of Washington, D.C., and back again.

Even so, many houses of worship ban guns on their property — and religious groups have been among the loudest calling for gun control legislation.

This issue of A Public Witness heads to Florida with the zeal of Moses descending from the mountain to scrutinize the Christian Nationalist attempt to desacralize the Decalogue.

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Videos

Church

A long-simmering dispute over a proposed homeless shelter at a New Jersey church turned ugly last week, as leaders of Toms River voted to try to seize the church’s property.

The Southern Baptist Convention lost 259,090 members in 2024 — the 18th consecutive year of membership decline — according to the denomination’s Annual Church Profile report, released Wednesday.

Some reports suggest Target has seen decreases in foot traffic during the same period as the boycotts.

Nation

Texas and Louisiana have passed similar laws requiring public schools to display the religious directives, and the issue is expected to eventually reach the U.S. Supreme Court.

‘We think that it’s not a matter of if, but just a matter of when, the Supreme Court will overrule Obergefell,’ said Mathew Staver, head of Liberty Counsel.

This issue of A Public Witness opens up DHS’s social media in one hand and an actual Bible in the other to consider the competing faiths.

World

A letter with more than 200 signatories, organized by Churches for Middle East Peace in the United States and Embrace the Middle East in the United Kingdom, was provided to A Public Witness ahead of its formal release today.

Many Syrian Christians, who made up 10% of the population before Syria’s civil war, either fled the country or supported Assad out of fear of Islamist insurgents.

Travis Timmerman of Urbana, Missouri, said he had gone to Syria on a Christian pilgrimage and was not ill-treated while in Palestine Branch, a notorious detention facility operated by Syrian intelligence.

Editorials

Editor Brian Kaylor reflects on the Ever Given container ship that got stuck in the Suez Canal. And he connects this modern parable to biblical stories about Egyptian pharaohs and other rulers seeking more wealth and power.

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.

Word&Way Voices

Contributing writer Rodney Kennedy discusses what led him to write “Dancing with Metaphors in the Pulpit” covering lessons preachers can learn from novelists, poets, philosophers, and rhetoricians.

Contributing writer Sarah Blackwell reflects on what spiritual practices we can take from this summer’s Olympics as we all move on to this next season of our lives.

As a Palestinian Christian, Daoud Kuttab has often felt that defending symbolism can be an easy replacement for the practice of faith in action. He argues that this is certainly the case with a recent Olympics controversy.

E-Newsletter

This issue of A Public Witness explores an intra-Catholic Easter weekend as well as multiple Easter sermons from progressive ministers around the United States.

This issue of A Public Witness offers short highlights from four reflections by Catholic writers on Pope Francis and his papacy.

This issue of A Public Witness explores the “Let Freedom Ring!” initiative’s remembrance of the past, which also serves as a warning about contemporary tyrannical threats.

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Recent Episodes

Books

In "Hebrews (Commentaries for Christian Formation)," New Testament scholar Amy Peeler offers insights into Christology, the relationship between Judaism and Christianity, and the letter’s canonical resonances.

In "Irreverent Prayers: Talking to God When You’re Seriously Sick," Episcopal priests Elizabeth Felicetti and Samantha Vincent-Alexander offer readers a more candid way of communicating with God.

Theologian and pastor Ross Kane articulates a vision of how Christians can engage in public life that begins with the premise that all politics is local.

In "Judaism Is About Love: Recovering the Heart of Jewish Life," Shai Held explores how a dramatic misinterpretation of the Jewish tradition has shaped the history of the West.