Home - Word&Way
logo
mobile-logo

Featured

In an open letter, a group of survivors and advocates say that comments by SBC President Willy Rice and Texas pastor Jack Graham make it harder to address the issue of abuse in churches.

In detailing the evolution of homeschooling in the United States, this book is an enjoyable and enlightening read that challenges preconceptions and invites new, more informed questions.

'The Supreme Court, not too far from here, decided that it was OK for Black folks to not deserve representation in Congress,' said its social justice commission co-chair.

No posts were found.

Videos

Church

Nearly half of Americans who left religion cite the mistreatment or rejection of LGBTQ+ people as an important reason. But how do the LGBTQ+ people who stay find healing?

The decision was attributed to Asbury’s objections to the new version of the denomination’s social principles that no longer solely affirm heterosexual marriage.

Southern Baptists have long believed that only men can be pastors. But for decades, the denomination took no action to expel churches where women pastors served. Then, in the middle of an abuse controversy, it became a denominational crisis.

Nation

This issue of A Public Witness strikes at the heresy in Trump’s Fourth of July remarks and thunders some disapproval for similar rhetoric recently offered by Speaker Mike Johnson.

On the anniversary of a Supreme Court ruling reinstating the US death penalty, faith leaders, those affected by murder, and activists organize to call for an end to the death penalty.

'He told me that Matthew 25 was about individuals, and not nations,' Sen. Raphael Warnock said, referring to Speaker Mike Johnson. 'The text actually says nations.' Warnock added: “It's a very narrow individualistic faith, and I think it has consequences for the kind of policy you end up with.”

World

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.

The General Staff of Ukraine’s armed forces said in a statement Sunday that it had recorded 2,299 ceasefire violations by 7 a.m., including assaults, shelling, and small drone launches.

Editorials

On Saturday (Oct. 18), millions of people attended “No Kings” rallies at about 2,600 locations across the country. Here are the remarks by Brian Kaylor at No Kings rally on the steps of the Missouri Capitol in Jefferson City.

Brian Kaylor didn’t expect World magazine to like his new book, "The Bible According to Christian Nationalists." But he did anticipate that if the influential conservative Christian publication reviewed it, they would at least do so honestly. Apparently, that was expecting too much.

Somehow, the plan allegedly rooted in faith values to represent Christians means driving out of office one of only three ministers in the U.S. House of Representatives.

Word&Way Voices

The commercialized American church has arrived at a form of religious life in which institutional maintenance and spiritual fidelity become indistinguishable, and where questioning the institution is easily recoded as questioning God.

Across this country, Black women are dying from pregnancy-related causes at nearly three times the rate of White women. These cases are about much more than just numbers.

The CEO of the Public Religion Research Institute makes the case that there is simply no evidence to suggest Americans are becoming more religious, either in their affiliation with a particular faith tradition or in terms of attending religious services more regularly.

E-Newsletter

The Reformed Church in America is the latest group to speak out against the ideology, with regional United Methodist bodies and two Presbyterian denominations among those also addressing the issue this summer.

After complaints by Mormon politicians, a revised list of recognized religions now excludes denominations like the Disciples of Christ and United Church of Christ — whose churches boast membership among the founding fathers.

This issue of A Public Witness considers the theological problems with the defense secretary regularly quoting Isaiah 6:8 and how his use of Scripture aligns with Bible quotes in violent movies.

Sign up to receive full essays in your inbox!

Recent Episodes

Books

Writing with an experienced teacher's gift for making history meaningful, J. Warren Smith explains the development of Christianity in terms of diverse efforts to make sense of intellectual and spiritual complexities within Scripture.

Amar Peterman’s new book makes the case that how we interact with our neighbors forms who we are as Christians. It contains wisdom for scholars, pastors, and lay Christians working to remain steadfast to the hope they profess.

Through sharing her personal story of deep loss, Hannah Miller King reflects on how the ancient Christian practice of communion can reframe our grief by embedding it in a larger picture of gospel hope.

The latest book from Amos Yong recasts what Christians call the missiological question first and foremost to those who would be true believers, including all who might wish to bear appropriate witness to their faith in a pluralistic world.