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James Ellis III reflects on how being a preacher these days feels different. It’s unsettling how many people are thoroughly consumed by rage — and we as Christians should know better.

Brian Kaylor didn’t expect World magazine to like his new book, "The Bible According to Christian Nationalists." But he did anticipate that if the influential conservative Christian publication reviewed it, they would at least do so honestly. Apparently, that was expecting too much.

This issue of A Public Witness looks at Lance Shockley’s extensive history of Christian leadership while in prison, as well as the role restorative justice should play in our criminal legal system.

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Church

Rollins, who had long suffered from health issues, accused SBC leader and GOP activist Paul Pressler of years of abuse.

A zoning hearing to build a homeless shelter at a New Jersey church ended without a vote, leaving the future of the shelter and of the church itself unclear.

‘We are honest about the conditions that we're facing, but we are not hopeless about what we're facing,' said Bishop W. Darin Moore of the African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church.

Nation

This comes as several different religious freedom lawsuits have been filed against the Trump administration by Christian denominations, organizations, and other faith groups over immigration raids and canceled refugee resettlement.

‘Whatever he may have been in the past, he’s not fringe now,’ said Brian Kaylor, a Baptist minister and Wilson critic who wrote the forthcoming book ‘The Bible According to Christian Nationalists.’

The National Conservatism Conference’s negative focus on Islam makes for a potential preview of what Christian Nationalists will be concerned with in the next year.

World

While Trump fantasizes about retaking the waterway, this issue of A Public Witness digs into American colonialism and the roles Christian leaders and denominations played.

He’s been widely quoted — and misquoted. People have claimed Bonhoeffer would support their side on issues ranging from the Vietnam War to post-9/11 militarism to same-sex marriage to the Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection.

Asked about Mike Huckabee potentially becoming the U.S. ambassador to Israel, the Rev. Munther Isaac called the prospect 'frightening,' adding, 'Huckabee presents himself, at least, as a man who does not live in reality.'

Editorials

Editor-in-Chief Brian Kaylor reacts to recent U.S. Supreme Court rulings on coronavirus restrictions and worship. He argues a majority of the justices wrongly compare worship gatherings to commercial activities.

Editor Brian Kaylor reflects on getting his second COVID-19 vaccine and recent polling showing that White evangelicals are the least likely demographic to get vaccinated. Thank God, love neighbors, and get vaccinated!

Editor Brian Kaylor tells the Good Friday story as if set this year in Richmond, Virginia. As the Bible tells the story, Barabbas and the two men crucified along with Jesus are insurrectionists (not thieves).

Word&Way Voices

For the first entry on Advent in a time of violence in Lebanon, Nabil Costa reflects on how Christmas should be about moving out of our comfort zone.

For our final entry on Advent in a time of dangerous pregnancies, Sarah Miller reflects on the places where new life feels improbable and suffering surpasses speech.

This action would ensure that no federal prisoner faces execution despite being intellectually disabled, mentally incompetent, or convicted in proceedings riddled with racial bias.

E-Newsletter

This issue of A Public Witness sails over to the church-state crash in the Department of Transportation to consider the problems with this made-for-TV controversy.

We are excited to announce a new book unpacking seven types of misuses of Scripture by influential preachers and politicians pushing Christian Nationalism today, officially out Oct. 7 from Chalice Press and available for pre-order now.

This issue of A Public Witness looks at what’s happening with U.S. refugee resettlement and the South African Christians pushing back against the apartheid theology propping up the Trump administration.

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Recent Episodes

Books

Matthew Taylor makes a compelling case that the New Apostolic Reformation, whose leaders and ideas have migrated from the fringes to the center of American evangelicalism, is a dangerous threat to democracy.

In “The Quest of the Historical Muhammad and Other Studies on Formative Islam,” scholar Stephen J. Shoemaker attempts to approach the figure of Muhammad in a manner comparable to efforts to recover the historical figure of Jesus.

In “One Lost Soul: Richard Nixon’s Search for Salvation,” Daniel Silliman cuts to the heart of Nixon’s tragedy: Nixon wanted to be loved by God but couldn’t figure out how.

In “The Hero and the Whore: Reclaiming Healing and Liberation Through the Stories of Sexual Exploitation in the Bible,” trauma-informed educator and minister Camille Hernandez dives deep into the Bible’s stories of abuse.