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This issue of A Public Witness considers some dangerous voices against climate action and then the Christians working to love their neighbors and the Creator by addressing our pressing environmental crisis.

Trump delivered an extraordinary online attack against Leo on Sunday night after the first U.S.-born pope suggested that a ‘delusion of omnipotence’ is fueling the U.S.-Israel war in Iran.

‘Our nation must be careful not to allow partisan agendas to undermine institutions built on merit, sacrifice, and service,’ said the president of the historically Black National Baptist Convention U.S.A. Inc.

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Church

Five churches organized the event out of a conviction of their faith, but as an invisible network.

The Southern Baptist Convention meeting this week in Dallas will also consider a proposed ban on churches with women pastors.

His books were influential primarily with clergy, but through their sermons Brueggeman’s concepts have become familiar to many churchgoers.

Nation

On Monday, the top federal judge in Minnesota issued a blistering critique of three Trump administration officials for repeatedly violating court orders. One of the three is David Easterwood, the acting director of the St. Paul ICE field office. Easterwood is also a pastor at Cities Churches in St. Paul.

Many faith leaders were dismayed when the government announced last January that federal immigration agencies can make arrests in churches, schools, and hospitals, ending the protection of people in sensitive spaces.

Hundreds of clergy from around the country gathered in Minneapolis to learn from Minnesota faith leaders how to protest against ICE enforcement. Then they took to the streets and helped block the city’s airport.

World

An event advocating for the treaty was organized as part of the Season of Creation, an event observed annually by Christian denominations and Christian climate activists from Sept. 1 to Oct. 4.

This issue of A Public Witness reflects on the current escalation of violent hostilities between Israel and Lebanon and the historic Christian population caught in the crossfire.

With more than 750,000 people displaced by annual flooding, churches in the country have become involved in constructing dikes to safeguard thousands of lives at risk.

Editorials

As the U.S. Supreme Court today (Jan. 22) hears arguments in a critical church-state case, Espinoza v. Montana Department of Revenue, one problematic phrase the justices will likely hear a lot is “Blaine amendments." The problem? The phrase tells an inaccurate story.

Across the country, state lawmakers recently returned to their chambers to pass important matters like putting up little signs in schools to magically make our society better. We should post this phrase everywhere and watch the miraculous transformation!

At the Christmas Eve service I attended recently, the Christ candle in the Advent wreath wouldn’t light. The pastor tried and tried. Eventually, as giggles worked their way down the crowded pews, he said everyone should just pretend it was lit.

Word&Way Voices

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.

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 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

This issue of A Public Witness explores a monument that upsets the political and historical stories being told (or not told) and challenges the religious claims we often make.

In “Pilgrim: A Theological Memoir,” readers are offered a glimpse into the late Tony Campolo’s unique faith journey that shaped him into an influential and prophetic religious leader.

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.

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Recent Episodes

Books

Henri Nouwen's "Community" provides a complete picture community and why it is such a necessary and integral part of the spiritual life.

In "Pluralism in Practice: Case Studies of Leadership in a Religiously Diverse America," Elinor J. Pierce invites close reading, reflection, and discussion on the dilemmas and disputes of our multireligious society.

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.

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.