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The Stronger Men’s Conference made headlines after Mark Driscoll was kicked off the stage. But the church’s women’s conference may actually undermine evangelical stereotypes.

This issue of A Public Witness looks at the problems with recent public school chaplaincy bills by considering what a chaplain really is and what religious freedom actually looks like.

Missing in all the jokes and news reports about the Trump Bible is that this isn’t the first time a presidential stamp of approval was sought for the Good Book.

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Dangerous Dogma

Church

Even after the departures, 24% of North Carolina clergy remaining in the denomination disagree with allowing LGBTQ people to get married and ordained within the denomination.

Kevin R. Johnson will be recommended for the congregation’s approval to lead the more than 200-year-old Abyssinian Baptist Church, considered by many to be the flagship of the Black church in America.

‘Our bodies recognize that we’re being activated and pushed into trauma responses and that the same abusive techniques are being used on us,’ said author Tia Levings.

Nation

A new film omits details of Flynn's career, including his pardons issued by his former boss, Donald Trump, and the existence of a network of conspiratorial websites and companies, with names like “Digital Soldiers LLC,” a term used by QAnon.

Opponents cite several problems with the new Florida law that takes effect July 1, including there being no training requirements for these public school chaplains.

This issue of A Public Witness takes you inside the Summit for Religious Freedom to hear about why church-state separation matters for democracy and the vitality of the Christian witness.

World

'Usually people are joyful today and kids are excited. But when you compare children here who have water and food and a family to what’s happening in Gaza, how can you be happy?' said Fayaz Dakkak, a Palestinian storeowner.

‘We repent of the ways we have not stood alongside our Palestinian siblings in faithful witness in the midst of their grief, agony, and sorrow,’ the leaders wrote.

Istanbul-based Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I, the spiritual leader of the world’s Orthodox Christians, led the memorial service.

Editorials

Brian Kaylor reflects on state executions during Christmastime and the modern parallels with a biblical character we often leave out of our nativity sets and pageants.

Lawmakers are arguing that if the federal government can restrict structures in the Rio Grande, then they could use the same Act everywhere because of Noah’s flood. Putting aside the legal silliness of the appeal to Genesis, this issue of A Public Witness joins the 22 Republican representatives in their

Focusing almost entirely on the SBC not only minimizes the theological (and political and racial) diversity of Baptists, but it also privileges a patriarchal body over others.

Word&Way Voices

Kansas City pastor Darron Edwards shares his thoughts on the mass shooting at the Super Bowl victory rally and suggests possible paths forward.

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.

E-Newsletter

This issue of A Public Witness explores the problem with Trump’s call for Nov. 5 and proposes an alternative date for a more authentic “Christian Visibility Day.”

This issue of A Public Witness looks at responses to Richard Dawkins recently claiming the label 'cultural Christian' despite his past tirades against religion to consider what this reveals about the unChristian nature of Christian Nationalism.

In the midst of this Holy Week, Lutheran minister and journalist Angela Denker had the chance to interview two authors of seemingly divergent books on White Christian Nationalism in America.

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Podcasts

In episode 97 of Dangerous Dogma, Bradley Onishi talks about his book Preparing for War: The Extremist History of White Christian Nationalism — and What Comes Next. He also discusses Jan. 6, evangelical racism, Ron DeSantis, and more.

In episode 96 of Dangerous Dogma, Kevin Nye talks about his book Grace Can Lead Us Home: A Christian Call to End Homelessness. He also discusses the importance of language and extravagance.

In episode 95 of Dangerous Dogma, Peter Jarrett-Schell, rector of Calvary Episcopal Church in Washington, D.C., talks about his book Reparations: A Plan for Churches. He also discusses his work as chair of the Reparations Task Force of the Episcopal

In episode 94 of Dangerous Dogma, Ilsup Ahn, a professor of professor of philosophy at North Park University in Chicago, talks about his book The Church in the Public: A Politics of Engagement for a Cruel and Indifferent Age. He also

Books

In "Reckoning With Power: Why the Church Fails When It's on the Wrong Side of Power," David E. Fitch argues that the church should cooperate with God's power through presence among the least powerful.

In "With the Best of Intentions: Interreligious Missteps and Mistakes" more than three dozen scholars and practitioners of many faiths explore cases of missteps and outright failures of interfaith encounters.

Contributing writer Rodney Kennedy pens a love letter to Tim Alberta's "The Kingdom, the Power, and the Glory: American Evangelicals in an Age of Extremism" for its masterful understanding of the Trump alliance.

In "Scenes with My Son: Love and Grief in the Wake of Suicide," Robert Hubbard takes readers on a journey with a family shaken by mental illness so they can share in hard-won joys in defiance of depression.