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For decades, Western Christian leaders have avoided visiting the Church of the Holy Sepulcher — the most revered site in all of Christianity. So Vice President JD Vance’s recent visit stood out.

For the second time in six weeks, a pastor was struck in the head with a pepper round fired by a US immigration agent as faith leaders protested the arrival of more than 100 US Customs and Border Patrol agents.

The Gaza Humanitarian Foundation is being phased out, said Samaritan's Purse CEO Franklin Graham. Johnnie Moore, the evangelical PR guru who has served as GHF chairman, recently stepped down.

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Videos

Church

For some churches, starting a dog park turns underused church property into a place for community.

Known as a powerful evangelist and social justice preacher, Campolo had long advocated that Christian faith can transform the world — and people’s everyday lives.

Despite the growth of trauma-informed ministry, religious leaders believe that more needs to be done for the church and other sacred spaces to be healthy, safe places of connection for congregations.

Nation

Clergy are accompanying immigrants to court appointments to provide comfort and information and, in cases where their worst fears are realized, to pick up the pieces of a shattered American dream.

This issue of A Public Witness looks at how one Calvinist voice with connections to Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth is publicly doing violence to Scripture to justify some disturbingly unChristlike behavior.

The opening chapter to “The Bible According to Christian Nationalists,” which officially releases in eight weeks, is fortunately (and unfortunately) quite timely. We are sharing an excerpt from it here.

World

‘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.

The commitment falls short of demands from some campaigners for institutions that benefited from slavery to pay compensation to descendants of the enslaved.

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

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

Contributing writer Rodney Kennedy argues that a recent tweet from Senator Josh Hawley describing Christianity and America as the saviors who destroyed slavery represents a false history.

Contributing writer Sarah Blackwell argues that the unfortunate consequence of separating ministries into silos based on age and stage of life means churches miss out on one of their biggest monopolies in the world today: being a place of true intergenerational community.

E-Newsletter

A letter with more than 200 signatories, organized by Churches for Middle East Peace in the United States and Embrace the Middle East in the United Kingdom, was provided to A Public Witness ahead of its formal release today.

This issue of A Public Witness reconsiders King Herod to move beyond a flat, culture wars depiction of the religious-nationalism-pushing ruler.

This issue of A Public Witness recommends some recent documentary films on issues of faith in the public square, Christian Nationalism, and patriarchy.

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Recent Episodes

Books

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

Robert D. Cornwall reviews "You Never Step into the Same Pulpit Twice: Preaching from a Perspective of Process Theology" by Ronald J. Allen. This book seeks to offer guidance to preachers who approach questions from a particular vantage point: Process