Home - Word&Way

Featured

‘I’m seeing almost a revival of Christianity through what’s happening at Broadview in Chicago,’ said Rev. David Black, a Presbyterian Church (USA) minister.

Federal courts have ordered more than two dozen school districts to not hang the posters, including on Tuesday when a judge ruled that the mandate violates the First Amendment.

This issue of A Public Witness looks at the not-so-immaculate conception of Christ the King Sunday and the theological conflict today between different visions of Christ as King.

No posts were found.

Videos

Church

Rev. Jennifer S. Leath hopes to help her denomination avoid the schisms that ruptured many mainline Protestant denominations as they dismantled LBGTQ+ bans.

Leaders from a variety of denominations and organizations gathered on International Human Rights Day to call for Christians to stand for justice and dignity for Palestinians.

Even if members are politically active and many leaders are often outspoken about issues and candidates they support, most congregations make great efforts to keep politics out of the church when they gather.

Nation

Even so, many houses of worship ban guns on their property — and religious groups have been among the loudest calling for gun control legislation.

Protesters led by the Rev. Al Sharpton descended on Manhattan’s financial district to decry efforts by the Trump administration and corporations to abandon diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives.

Two children, 8 and 10, were killed in the latest horrific school shooting in the United States, this time inside a church emblazoned with the words ‘This is the house of God and the Gate of Heaven.’

World

'Usually people are joyful today and kids are excited. But when you compare children here who have water and food and a family to what’s happening in Gaza, how can you be happy?' said Fayaz Dakkak, a Palestinian storeowner.

‘We repent of the ways we have not stood alongside our Palestinian siblings in faithful witness in the midst of their grief, agony, and sorrow,’ the leaders wrote.

Istanbul-based Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I, the spiritual leader of the world’s Orthodox Christians, led the memorial service.

Editorials

The classic children’s song about Zacchaeus — a wee little man was he — strikes me as odd. The song ends just as the story really gets good. And it has parallels to the report released by Southern Seminary in Louisville, Ky., documenting the school’s ties to slavery and racism.

As often occurs when preachers give their pulpits over to a politician, they point to a Bible passage that does not actually justify their decision: 1 Timothy 2:1-2. But the passage does not actually say what proponents claim.

During the state legislative session in Missouri that ended in May, I found myself at the Capitol more than usual -- and I’ve learned a couple things about the impact of a Baptist minister showing up to speak out for those of minority faiths or no faith at all.

Word&Way Voices

Ethicist, pastor, author, and advocate David P. Gushee reflects on the recent Cooperative Baptist Fellowship General Assembly and what makes the denomination distinct from the Southern Baptist Convention.

Rev. Joy Martinez-Marshall reflects on both the heartbreaks and triumphs she encountered on the winding road to finding a new denominational family.

Contributing writer Greg Mamula walks us through the recent denominational gathering of the most ethnically diverse and politically balanced denomination in the United States.

E-Newsletter

In this season of New Year’s resolutions, here are four ways you can leverage your voice to make a difference.

This issue of A Public Witness offers short highlights from four notable reflections on the life of James Earl Carter Jr.

This issue of A Public Witness reflects on the moral exemplar Jimmy Carter offered not only after his presidency but also during his underappreciated time in the Oval Office.

Sign up to receive full essays in your inbox!

Recent Episodes

Books

Historian and former denominational executive Lee Spitzer spent years researching for his new book Sympathy, Solidarity, and Silence: Three European Baptist Responses to the Holocaust. The book tells inspiring and disappointing stories of how Baptists in England, France, and Germany

Robert D. Cornwall reviews "Father Abraham’s Many Children: The Bible in a World of Religious Difference" by Tyler D. Mayfield with a forward from Eboo Patel. This book invites us to read Genesis from the perspective of religious pluralism as

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