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A U.S. Supreme Court ruling in June 2022 has given new hope to those who want the Ten Commandments publicly displayed.

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.

After a four-year COVID-19 delay, and the departure of about 25% of its U.S. churches, the United Methodist Church is meeting again and the issue of human sexuality is back on the agenda.

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Dangerous Dogma

Church

In an open letter, the Chicago pastor compares the California pastor to King opponents George Wallace and J. Edgar Hoover, calling MacArthur 'them in postmodern dress.'

The happier, healthier future of ministry is in part-time clergy.

This issue of A Public Witness digs into the recent Paul Pressler news and responses from leaders to investigate the roots of the SBC’s “conservative resurgence” and consider a more appropriate response than just continuing to water the tree.

Nation

‘Everyone’s still kind of rattled and trying to figure things out,’ said the Rev. Joshua Messick, who has Bibles ‘in every conceivable language’ to distribute upon request.

Over the weekend, right-wing pundits fiercely debated whether the phrase ‘Christ is King’ is antisemitic.

The biggest change came among those who said they quit their religious upbringing because of its treatment or teachings of LGBTQ people.

World

'Israel’s right to self-defense has been invoked to justify that this operation is proportional, but with 30,000 dead, it’s not,' said Cardinal Pietro Parolin, the Vatican secretary of state.

With a bloody cleric adding Valentine’s Day to his culture (and literal) wars, this issue of A Public Witness looks deeper into the subversive mythology behind St. Valentine.

If approved by Parliament, the law will allow the government to “disapply” sections of U.K. human rights law when it comes to Rwanda-related asylum claims and make it harder to challenge the deportations in court.

Editorials

As Brian Kaylor thinks about modern-day refugees fleeing a genocidal foreign dictator, he also wonders where Joseph, Mary, and Jesus spent the night on their journey from Bethlehem to Egypt. Where was their safe place to sleep and to enjoy a nice meal from strangers? And how were those people

In this issue of A Public Witness, Brian Kaylor introduces us to 10 gifts the proud “Christian Nationalist” on your list will love. But please don’t buy these unless you want to end up on the naughty list (and make the baby Jesus cry). Instead, these gift suggestions show us

For day 1 of our Unsettling Advent devotionals, Brian Kaylor reflects on the importance of learning from those who have lived under authoritarian occupation like what is happening today in Ukraine.

Word&Way Voices

Azar Ajaj, president of Nazareth Evangelical College, brings our attention to overlooked Middle Eastern Christians as instruments that God is using to bring peace to the region.

Christmas reminds us it is precisely in the midst of the darkness of hatred that it is time for love to be born.

What does it mean to enter the Christmas story anew in these moments, as so many are desperate for God’s saving presence? To wrestle with this question is to live into this sacred season.

E-Newsletter

This issue of A Public Witness gives you an inside look at disgraced former Lt. General Michael Flynn’s latest QAnon crusade called “Get in the Fight” being held in sanctuaries around the country.

Word&Way’s own Brian Kaylor and Beau Underwood wrote a new book, “Baptizing America: How Mainline Protestants Helped Build Christian Nationalism,” which is available for pre-order now.

This issue of A Public Witness explores the subversive power of public mourning — like what happened recently after the state murder of Russian political dissident Alexei Navalny — to better understand a Beatitude of Jesus.

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Podcasts

In episode 89 of Dangerous Dogma, Jason Porterfield talks about his new book Fight Like Jesus: How Jesus Waged Peace. He also discusses what peacemaking involves and how we sometimes misread stories about Jesus and violence.

Daniel Buttry, retired global consultant for peace and justice with International Ministries of the American Baptist Church, talks about his new book Healing the World: Gustavo Parajón, Public Health and Peacemaking Pioneer. He also discusses nationalism, truth-telling, and conflict transformation.

In episode 87 of Dangerous Dogma, Andrew Seidel, vice president of strategic communications for Americans United for Separation of Church and State, talks about his book American Crusade: How the Supreme Court Is Weaponizing Religious Freedom.

In episode 86 of Dangerous Dogma, Sara Billups talks about her new book Orphaned Believers: How a Generation of Christian Exiles Can Find the Way Home. She also discusses issues the impact of growing up with end-times theology, culture war politics,

Books

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.

Walter Brueggemann has written scores of books. If one wants to understand the insights of this biblical scholar, where does one begin? Beau Underwood suggests the best way to dive into Brueggemann is not through a book he wrote but

In her book "The God of Monkey Science," science educator and evangelical Janet Kellogg Ray reveals the dangers of science denialism to the future of our planet and to the Christian faith itself.

In "Defending Democracy From Its Christian Enemies," David P. Gushee calls us to preserve key democratic norms — even as many Christians take a reactionary and antidemocratic stance.