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Arkansas became the latest flashpoint in church-state politics this week as legislation introduced less than a month ago now only needs one more round of voting to make it to the desk of Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders.

Modern churches still gather on the traditions and teachings of the generations who went before us. This is important to remember in a time when some ‘prophets’ invent new theologies and ways of interpreting the Bible.

Hilary Rantisi, the associate director of the program, and the sole Palestinian American employed at the divinity school, said she was told her position was not renewed.

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Videos

Church

Kristin Stoneking will replace Bishop Karen Oliveto, the denomination’s first openly gay married bishop, who, at age 66, is retiring.

The same factors that have caused a crisis in the homeowner's insurance market are also affecting churches, who have to choose between paying for insurance or running programs.

This issue of A Public Witness takes you to church to consider the dangers of transforming Sunday worship into a campaign rally.

Nation

Few people have thought as much about faith and politics as Danforth, who served as Missouri’s attorney general, special counsel for the DOJ, special envoy to Sudan, and ambassador to the UN for George W. Bush.

Facing misinformation and decreases in attendance, clergy whose congregations include immigrants are working to prepare their flocks for potential ICE raids while at worship.

Trump's first term crippled much of the nation's resettlement infrastructure. Now a new executive order threatens to do the same.

World

The lush Cedars of God Forest, some 2000 meters (6,560 feet) above sea level near the northern town of Bcharre, is part of a landscape cherished by Christians.

Inspired by Palestinian Christians canceling Christmas lights and festivities in Bethlehem, British Christians urge Christians elsewhere to show solidarity by not lighting the “peace candle” that is traditionally lit on the second Sunday in Advent.

The Rev. Lydia Chituku Neshangwe, a Presbyterian minister, became the first woman to lead the ecumenical All Africa Conference of Churches.

Editorials

Finding the moral courage to be first can be difficult. We need more Deborahs, Jaels, and Jackies.

In the book The Last Week, Marcus J. Borg and John Dominic Crossan suggest that on that Palm Sunday there were actually two processions entering Jerusalem. "The two processions, they state, "embody the central conflict of the week that led to Jesus’s crucifixion.”

Last week, a majority of justices on the U.S. Supreme Court decided to flip to a calendar in their quest to discover truth. Well, they didn’t admit that, but that’s essentially what they did in the case of the 94-year-old cross in Bladensburg, Md.

Word&Way Voices

Rev. Angela Denker reflects on the church life her kids don't get to live and how at times it feels like it would be easier to uncompromisingly champion a strong and central Church, one that can afford to take for granted its place at the center of American community and

Contributing writer Rodney Kennedy argues that the bully pulpit of yesteryear has effectively been replaced by bully politics — but we will never fully understand how this happened until we examine how cruelty is often disguised as a form of humor.

Contributing writer Sarah Blackwell makes the case that this MLK day, we should honor his great teacher Dr. Howard Thurman by walking in nature, sitting in reflective silence, looking at the ways creation works together, and then applying these lessons to our lives. We might even find ourselves talking to

E-Newsletter

As we mark the anniversary of a powerful confessional statement, this issue of A Public Witness considers how it still speaks to us today with a deep theological assessment of the dangers of uniting church and state.

This Saturday marks four years since the photo op where Trump awkwardly held a Bible outside a church after police teargassed BLM protesters. Despite all the attention to evangelicals, if you look at the photos all you will see is the influence of mainline Protestantism.

This edition of A Public Witness looks at how denying the problem of Christian Nationalism or putting the blame on the shoulders of others avoids the discomfort of identifying our own complicity and having to alter our practices.

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Recent Episodes

Books

Robert D. Cornwall reviews Indigenous Theology and the Western Worldview: A Decolonized Approach to Christian Doctrine by Randy S. Woodley. This book serves as a helpful introduction for those who are not familiar with an indigenous/Native American vision of Christianity

Robert D. Cornwall reviews That We May Be One: Practicing Unity in a Divided Church by Gary B. Agee. In this book, Agee reminds us that unity is not easy to achieve and that shortcuts that avoid difficult conversations about

Robert D. Cornwall reviews Rethinking the Dates of the New Testament: The Evidence for Early Composition by Jonathan Bernier. This fascinating book is written in a way that does not get too caught up in academic language and is accessible

Robert D. Cornwall reviews What Is My Calling?: A Biblical and Theological Exploration of Christian Identity by William W. Klein and Daniel J. Steiner. The book’s message can be helpful for those who are struggling to make sense of their