Sign up to receive full essays in your inbox!
Featured
New Jersey Episcopal Diocese Gives $1 Million to Treat Palestinian Children
Part of a little-used fund in the Diocese of New Jersey established 100 years ago to support medical care for children will now help Palestinian youth in Gaza.
Orthodox Christian Clergy’s Visits With US Officials Draw Accusations of Russian Influence
The visits have caused feuds among both US Orthodox Christian groups and Republicans.
The Rev. David Black’s ICE Protest Arises From His Chicago Church’s Long Tradition
‘I’m seeing almost a revival of Christianity through what’s happening at Broadview in Chicago,’ said Rev. David Black, a Presbyterian Church (USA) minister.
Church
LGBTQ Teens Wanted a Pride Festival in Their Town. How Five Churches Made It Happen.
Five churches organized the event out of a conviction of their faith, but as an invisible network.
Southern Baptists Target Porn, Sports Betting, Same-Sex Marriage, and ‘Willful Childlessness’
The Southern Baptist Convention meeting this week in Dallas will also consider a proposed ban on churches with women pastors.
Walter Brueggemann, Influential Biblical Scholar, Dies at 92
His books were influential primarily with clergy, but through their sermons Brueggeman’s concepts have become familiar to many churchgoers.
Nation
Nearly All State Funding for Missouri School Vouchers Used for Religious Schools
In the first month of direct state aid for Missouri’s K-12 scholarship program, 98% of funds went to Christian, Jewish, and Islamic institutions.
Missouri Blocks Spiritual Advisor Request for Prison Pastor’s Execution
With the execution of Lance Shockley approaching, this issue of A Public Witness unpacks the debate over his religious freedom rights for his final moments.
In Dallas, 6,700 Women Rally for Culture War Battles After Kirk’s Death
The ‘Share the Arrows’ conference founded by commentator Allie Beth Stuckey emboldened women to carry on Charlie Kirk’s conservative fight.
World
1 in 7 Global Christians Faces ‘High-Level’ Persecution: Open Doors Report
Christians around the world are being attacked and killed, forced to flee and driven underground, the annual report finds.
Despite Growing Consensus, Many Jewish and Christian Groups Loath To Admit Genocide in Gaza
A growing list including the United Nations, Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, Doctors Without Borders, and dozens of Holocaust scholars have concluded that Israel is committing genocide.
How Churches Helped Build and Give Away the Panama Canal
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.
Editorials
Thank God. Love Neighbors. Get Vaccinated.
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!
Crucified Between Two Proud Boys
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).
It’s Ever Given for Greed to Crash
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.
Word&Way Voices
Unsettling Advent 2024, Day 15
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.
Unsettling Advent 2024, Day 14
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.
To Preserve Life, Promote Equity, and Facilitate Redemption, President Biden Should Commute All Federal Death Sentences
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
Raining on the King’s Parade
While a few sprinkles dampened Trump’s birthday military parade, millions of Americans across the country showed up at rallies to declare “No Kings” and show opposition to the administration’s authoritarian rule.
An Unhealthy Blue ‘Sermon’
This issue of A Public Witness heads to “the land of 10,000 lakes” to consider Christian Nationalism and how it can emerge on the left as well as the right.
Summer Reads 2025
We’ve once again asked several Word&Way writers to recommend books perfect for wherever you find your happy place this summer.
-
198. American Christianity Divided in Responses to ICE
This episode of Dangerous Dogma features a conversation between Word&Way Editor Brian Kaylor, Lutheran minister and journalist Angela Denker, and Disciples pastor and author Beau Underwood. The conversation includes discussion about ICE actions in Minneapolis, how many clergy are leading protests against ICE while others are supporting ICE, and new research worried about the loss… -
197. Anna Piela and Michael Woolf on Confronting Islamophobia in the Church
In this episode, Word&Way President Brian Kaylor talks with American Baptist ministers Anna Piela and Michael Woolf on Islamophobia, immigration, and how Christians can better engage with interfaith efforts. Anna and Michael are coauthors of the new book, Confronting Islamophobia in the Church: Liturgical Tools for Justice. Watch a video version of this conversation here.… -
196. Martha Bardwell on Faith Communities Responding to ICE in Minneapolis
In this episode, Word&Way President Brian Kaylor talks with Martha Bardwell, pastor of Our Saviour's Lutheran Church in Minneapolis, Minnesota, on how faith communities are responding to ICE violence in the Twin Cities and the ICE killing of Renee Good. Watch a video version of this latest conversation here. The episode includes a discussion on… -
195. Attacking Venezuela & Gambling on Jesus
This episode of Dangerous Dogma features a conversation between Word&Way Editor Brian Kaylor, Lutheran minister and journalist Angela Denker, and Disciples pastor and author Beau Underwood. The conversation includes consideration of the U.S. attack on Venezuela and how Christians are responding, Pete Hegseth's pledge to change the military chaplaincy program, and how people are now… -
194. Dangers of Faith in the Pentagon & AI in Faith
This episode of Dangerous Dogma features a conversation between Word&Way Editor Brian Kaylor, Lutheran minister and journalist Angela Denker, and Disciples pastor and author Beau Underwood. The conversation includes consideration of U.S. strikes against Venezuelan boats, Pete Hegseth's Christian prayer services at the Pentagon, the use of AI in churches, and alarms about AI Christian… -
193. News Roundup: Elections, Government Shutdown, & Clergy Challenging ICE
This episode of Dangerous Dogma features a conversation between Word&Way Editor Brian Kaylor, Lutheran minister and journalist Angela Denker, and Disciples pastor and author Beau Underwood. The conversation includes consideration of religious attacks in elections this week, impacts of the ongoing government shutdown on churches, and clergy protesting against ICE. Watch a video version of… -
192. Hannah Kardon, United Methodist Pastor Arrested During Anti-ICE Protest
In this episode, Word&Way President Brian Kaylor talks with Hannah Kardon, a United Methodist minister in the Chicago area. Kardon was violently arrested during a protest outside an ICE facility on Oct. 17. Video of the incident can be viewed here. Other issues discussed in this episode include ICE actions at churches, the legal pushback… -
191. William Stell on Evangelicals & Antigay Christianity
In this episode, Word&Way President Brian Kaylor talks with William Stell, a religious studies professor and author of the forthcoming book, Born Again Queer: A History of Evangelical Gay Activism and the Making of Antigay Christianity. Kaylor is also joined by guest cohost Jared Burkholder, scholar in residence at Moravian Theological Seminary. This is the… -
190. Angela Parker on Evangelicals, Biblical Interpretation, & White Supremacy
In this episode, Word&Way President Brian Kaylor talks with Angela Parker, an associate professor of New Testament and Greek at the McAfee School of Theology at Mercer University, the author of If God Still Breathes, Why Can't I?: Black Lives Matter and Biblical Authority, and coauthor of the Unsettling Lent devotional. This is the second… -
189. Randall Balmer on Evangelicals & Church-State Separation
In this episode, Word&Way President Brian Kaylor talks with Randall Balmer, a historian of American religion and author of the new book, America's Best Idea: The Separation of Church and State. Kaylor is also joined by guest cohost Jared Burkholder, scholar in residence at Moravian Theological Seminary. This is the first in a three-part series…
Books
Review: The Quest of the Historical Muhammad
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.
Review: One Lost Soul
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.
Review: The Hero and the Whore
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.
Review: Hope Restored
In “Hope Restored: Biblical Imagination Against Empire,” Walter Brueggemann points us toward understanding hope not as easy optimism but as an honest facing of the unjust structures that human beings have created and a call to lean into Scripture for