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Contributing writer Rodney Kennedy argues that Trump's war against Iran, like his entire presidency, is an exercise in blowing things up. He has shown that he is a demolition expert, not a deal maker.

Notably absent from the lineup are representatives from other non-Christian faiths, such as Islam or Indigenous spiritual traditions, or leaders from mainline Christian or historically Black denominations.

The ruling sets up a potential clash at the U.S. Supreme Court over the issue in the future. Arkansas and Louisiana have passed similar laws, which have also been challenged in courts.

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Church

The resolution shines a spotlight on a critical moment in the history of the Baptist church, signed two years after the issue of slavery prompted southern Baptists to split from northern Baptists and form the SBC.

This issue of A Public Witness features a guest essay centered on four creative proposals to disrupt Christian Nationalism within a distinctively Christian vernacular.

This issue of A Public Witness takes you inside the recent CBF annual gathering to consider how Christians can speak truthfully about the past and speak truth to power today.

Nation

Leon Benjamin, a charismatic preacher who frequently spoke at the ReAwaken America Tour, attended the ‘Stop the Steal’ rally on Jan. 6, 2021, and even walked with the crowd to the Capitol grounds.

DHS has openly mocked the largely mainline Protestant protesters. A spokesperson referred to a minister as ‘pastor’ in air-quotes, and the agency referred to demonstrators at a faith-led protest as ‘imbecilic morons’ who needed to ‘get a job.’

A new Pew Research survey found that Trump’s approval ratings have dropped among major religious groups. But White Christians support the president more than other Americans.

World

In September, he said Israel's attacks in Gaza and Lebanon have been immoral and disproportionate and that its military has gone beyond the rules of war.

An investigation found that he failed to tell police about serial physical and sexual abuse by a volunteer at Christian summer camps as soon as he became aware of it.

In the last two years, the number of religious activists who are being held as political prisoners has sharply increased — part of a broader escalation of a campaign of repression that has also led to the arrests of journalists and other opposition figures.

Editorials

There’s a famous line in C.S. Lewis’s The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe where a character laments that because of the White Witch’s rule over the land of Narnia, it is “always Winter but never Christmas.” But, what about a Spring without Easter?

In the disorienting last few days, it feels our society is reading Exodus 32 backward. We’ve started with a plague, moved to inappropriate revelry, and now seek to worship a statue of a cow.

Despite people hoarding toilet paper as the coronavirus pandemic sweeps the globe, I see hopeful signs that suggest deep down we know we’ve not been doing right as a society. We might call these moments of Jubilee.

Word&Way Voices

Rev. Dr. Mae Elise Cannon of Churches for Middle East Peace argues we need a new foreign policy that stops alienating young people, Muslim and Arab voters, and millions of American Christians committed to justice.

Levant Ministries CEO Dr. Fares Abraham makes the case that the Christian call for benevolence should not be contingent upon the intricacies of politics or theological disagreements.

Contributing writer Sarah Blackwell considers the religious implications of rare photos that capture in-between moments — when we do not know someone is watching — in which our lives are truly lived.

E-Newsletter

This issue of A Public Witness features a guest essay centered on four creative proposals to disrupt Christian Nationalism within a distinctively Christian vernacular.

This issue of A Public Witness takes you inside the recent CBF annual gathering to consider how Christians can speak truthfully about the past and speak truth to power today.

This issue of A Public Witness highlights a prominent progressive Christian voice as a case study in the dangers of election denialism festering in anti-Trump circles.

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Recent Episodes

Books

In "Hunting Magic Eels: Recovering an Enchanted Faith in a Skeptical Age," Richard Beck argues that modern malaise has profoundly dulled our religious imaginations — but it doesn't have to be this way.

In "Gratitude: Why Giving Thanks Is the Key to Our Well-Being," Cornelius Plantinga makes the case that being grateful is the key to understanding our relationships with one another, the world around us, and God.

In "Being Real: The Apostle Paul’s Hardship Narratives and the Stories We Tell Today," Philip Plyming argues that there are profound lessons we can learn from Paul's critiques of the prevailing culture of Corinth.

In "Nice Churchy Patriarchy: Reclaiming Women's Humanity from Evangelicalism," Liz Cooledge Jenkins takes an unflinching look at the ways misogyny's subtler forms impact every aspect of women’s experiences in church.