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Empathy is usually regarded as a virtue, a key to human decency and kindness. And yet, with increasing momentum, voices on the Christian right are preaching that it has become a vice.

A federal judge temporarily halted a law requiring public schools to display a version of the Ten Commandments in every classroom, echoing faith leaders and others who argue the statute violates the First Amendment.

This issue of A Public Witness recommends two films and one miniseries exploring important issues of Christian Nationalism and religious abuse.

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Videos

Church

The building, built in 1923, was funded entirely by women.

A defamation lawsuit filed by Hunt has cost the nation's largest Protestant denomination $3 million so far. A trial date is set for Nov. 12 in Nashville.

At its 2024 synod in June, the Christian Reformed Church instructed LGBTQ-affirming congregations to repent and comply with the denomination’s beliefs on sexuality. Some are now choosing to leave.

Nation

This issue of A Public Witness takes a stroll through President Donald Trump’s proposed Medicaid cuts and the deadly theology preached by a Republican senator from Iowa.

The group Freedom From Religion condemned the ruling, saying that ‘treating religiously affiliated nonprofits the same as all other nonprofits is not a violation of the First Amendment.’

The allegations raised questions about Feucht’s use of finances and accused him of ‘spiritual, emotional, and psychological abuse.’

World

Eastern Orthodox leadership, despite lacking a single doctrinal authority like a pope, has been united in opposing recognition of same-sex relationships both within its own rites and in the civil realm.

'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.

Editorials

As Christians, we are to be people of the Truth. We are to people who speak truthfully, who bear truthful witness about neighbors. And part of that requires us to be willing to call a thing a thing, to call racism racism.

Around significant anniversaries, churches will often produce a write-up of their history. But what if we’ve left out some important details? Does your church need to reconsider the ugly parts of our history we may have left out?

We are a nation led by people crossing by on the other side of the road.

Word&Way Voices

Rev. Angela Denker reflects on the unjust and tragic death of sprinter Tori Bowie, one of the fastest women in America.

Contributing writer Sarah Blackwell makes the case that future Christians will point to the names of our colleagues and friends as those who first navigated the waters of leading a church and serving as a wife or mothering a family at the same time.

Contributing writer Laura Levens reflects on the recent denominational meeting of the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship and how the energy of people in attendance felt different than in previous years.

E-Newsletter

This issue of A Public Witness looks at how Trump, along with several pastors and conservative Christian activists, lied about shouts of “Lies!” at a recent Harris rally — and his supporters responded by taking the Lord’s name in vain.

Jerome Copulsky’s “American Heretics: Religious Adversaries of Liberal Order” is a tour de force documenting the religious illiberalism that has challenged democratic values from the very beginning.

This issue of A Public Witness heads deep in the heart of Texas to track the campaign of U.S. Rep. Colin Allred as he shows up in pulpits hoping to unseat U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz.

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Recent Episodes

Books

Robert D. Cornwall reviews "Unruly Saint: Dorothy Day's Radical Vision and its Challenge for Our Times" by D.L. Mayfield. This book recognizes a degree of saintliness about Day's life but fears she might get domesticated by a church that might

Robert D. Cornwall reviews "The Book of Revolutions: The Battles of Priests, Prophets, and Kings That Birthed the Torah" by Edward Feld. This book provides us with an intriguing picture of early Judaism by focusing not on historical narrative but

Robert D. Cornwall reviews "Choosing Hope: The Heritage of Judaism" by David Arnow. This book asserts that hope stands at the center of Jewish theology. That’s understandable since Judaism, historically, has had to navigate tremendous challenges when it comes to

Here at A Public Witness, it’s an annual tradition to share the best books we’ve read during the last calendar year. The table of contents is as follows: 1. Five books featured on our podcast Dangerous Dogma, 2. Five books