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Trump Threatens Nigeria With Potential Military Action, Escalates Claim of Christian Persecution
While Christians are among those targeted, analysts say the majority of victims of armed groups are Muslims in Nigeria’s Muslim-majority north, where most attacks occur.
Unsettling Advent Returning for an Unsettling Year
We’re excited to announce this year’s themes for our award-winning Unsettling Advent series, which begins in one month: Advent in a time of religious nationalism, starvation, and soldiers in the streets.
‘Exvangelical’ Women Are Leaving Their Churches. But Is It Decline or Renewal?
Dissenting former evangelical Christian women are forging a path different from those who have left the church in the decades-long decline in institutional faith.
Church
Boycotts Accompany Prayer As Faith Leaders Prepare for a Lent of Protest
The Rev. Jamal Bryant said he hopes 100,000 ‘conscientious Christians’ will have signed up by March 5 to mark the ‘season of denial’ by fasting from shopping at Target.
Historic Black Churches Receive $8.5 Million in Preservation Grants
The grants will help the churches avoid demolition, pay for maintenance, and fix structural problems.
Texas ACNA Congregation Becomes Second To Join Episcopal Church
Resurrection South Austin’s rector, Shawn McCain Tirres, said his congregants ‘wanted rootedness and wanted to feel connected to something ancient and global’ in joining the long-established form of American Anglicanism.
Nation
After Minneapolis Shooting, Security Firms See Influx of Interest From Faith Groups
Even so, many houses of worship ban guns on their property — and religious groups have been among the loudest calling for gun control legislation.
Black Faith Leaders March on Wall Street to Denounce Anti-DEI Campaign
Protesters led by the Rev. Al Sharpton descended on Manhattan’s financial district to decry efforts by the Trump administration and corporations to abandon diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives.
Minneapolis Catholic Schoolchildren Listened to a Prayer, Then Ducked for Cover From Gunfire
Two children, 8 and 10, were killed in the latest horrific school shooting in the United States, this time inside a church emblazoned with the words ‘This is the house of God and the Gate of Heaven.’
World
Nearly Half of World’s Migrants Are Christian, Pew Research Shows
US migrants are much more likely to have a religious identity than the American-born population.
Rwanda Government Shuts More Than 5,000 Churches, Claiming Code Violations
‘The government gave us five years to comply and kept giving us reminders. That ended last year in September,’ said Anglican Archbishop Laurent Mbanda.
Bethlehem Moravian Church Settlement in Pennsylvania Named World Heritage Site
Founded in 1741 by a small band of Moravian Church immigrants, the historic district joins a list that includes the Great Wall of China, the Pyramids of Giza, and the Eiffel Tower.
Editorials
Taking the Lord’s Name in Vain (Amid Tear Gas)
It played out like a scene straight out of Isaiah 6. Apocalyptic, vision-like stuff. But then the script changed.
Essential Worship
Perhaps we shouldn’t applaud being called “essential.” A government with the power to designate us as “essential” also has the power to designate us as not.
Treating Costco Like My Church
Some people wanting to reopen their church amid coronavirus restrictions say churches should be treated like Costco. So, I decided to test this theory out. What if my church service could operate like a Costco?
Word&Way Voices
Theology Confronts Wrongdoing in Eagle Pass
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.
Sitting at the Adult Table
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.
The False Prophets of a Failed Insurrection
The story of this former youth pastor and Jan. 6 insurrectionist is worth highlighting because his more recent words show a person facing the prospect of prison and also now confronting the notion that he was duped by his religious elders.
E-Newsletter
Setting the Standard for Christian Nationalism in Schools
This issue of A Public Witness cracks opens the books to study problems with the new social studies standards where the wind comes sweepin’ down the plain.
Review & Giveaway: To Love Our Neighbors
Joe Blosser’s recent book is challenging because it takes seriously the idea that the only way to love God well is to love our neighbors more by re-evaluating how much we’ve fallen in love with ourselves.
State Senator Spanks Proverbs
A debate in the Oklahoma Senate yesterday over the use of corporal punishment against children with disabilities turned into a lesson about how not to read the Bible.
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Rewriting the Ten Commandments (A Trick of State)
In this episode, Word&Way President Brian Kaylor looks at legislation across the country that purports to want the Ten Commandments in public school classrooms. But the version mandated by lawmakers cannot be found in any Bible. Kaylor unpacks where the edited language came from, why such legislation is an attack on religious liberty, and the… -
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…
Books
Review: God’s Monsters
In "God's Monsters: Vengeful Spirits, Deadly Angels, Hybrid Creatures, and Divine Hitmen of the Bible," Esther J. Hamori offers an entertaining deep dive into the creaturely strangeness of scripture.
Review & Giveaway: Defending Democracy From Its Christian Enemies
In his timely new book, noted scholar David Gushee brings his incisive ethical lens to defending democratic commitments and articulating the need for Christians to recommit themselves to its practices.
Review: Every Step Is Home
In "Every Step Is Home: A Spiritual Geography from Appalachia to Alaska," globetrotting travel writer Lori Erickson explores spiritual sites and experiences closer to home.
Review: bell hooks’ Spiritual Vision
In "bell hooks' Spiritual Vision: Buddhist, Christian, and Feminist," Nadra Nittle offers readers a window into religion's role throughout the prominent social critic's writings.