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Featured
Trapped Between ‘The Art of the Deal’ and ‘The Art of War’
Contributing writer Rodney Kennedy argues that Trump's war against Iran, like his entire presidency, is an exercise in blowing things up. He has shown that he is a demolition expert, not a deal maker.
Hegseth, Barron, Evangelical Leaders to Join Trump Event Rededicating America to God
Notably absent from the lineup are representatives from other non-Christian faiths, such as Islam or Indigenous spiritual traditions, or leaders from mainline Christian or historically Black denominations.
Texas Can Require Public Schools to Display ‘Ten Commandments’ in Classrooms, US Appeals Court Rules
The ruling sets up a potential clash at the U.S. Supreme Court over the issue in the future. Arkansas and Louisiana have passed similar laws, which have also been challenged in courts.
Church
The Fight for the Empty Tomb
This issue of A Public Witness explores an intra-Catholic Easter weekend as well as multiple Easter sermons from progressive ministers around the United States.
Black LGBTQ Christians Ask: Where Is the Black Church’s Prophetic Voice on Our Rights?
‘I think most of the major Black denominations, in terms of its membership, is divided,’ said Bishop Reginald Jackson, leader of mid-Atlantic African Methodist Episcopal churches.
From 65 Feet Above the Altar, Ukrainian Master Races To Finish Texas Church’s Easter Icon
Vladimir Grygorenko is decorating the dome of a North Texas Christian Orthodox Church with an iconic representation of the ascension of Christ.
Nation
Protesters Disrupt Southern Baptist Church of Pastor Who Leads ICE Office in Minnesota
‘Jesus — who they claim to worship — went into the so-called houses of God, he flipped over tables. … So that’s what we did today,’ said minister and organizer Nekima Levy Armstrong.
At Labor Prayer Service, Alveda King Tells Government Employees to Work (Without Complaining) or Don’t Eat
Amid an internal investigation into Secretary Lori Chavez-DeRemer, the Department of Labor held its second monthly worship service featuring the rightwing anti-abortion activist niece of MLK.
Faith Leaders Are Denied Access to Immigration Detainees in Minnesota
The question of offering pastoral care to immigrant detainees has become a theological and legal flashpoint since President Donald Trump launched his mass deportation effort last year.
World
Developing a ‘Biblical’ Foreign Policy
Given recent claims about how the Bible should guide U.S. policy decisions when it comes to Israel, this issue of A Public Witness reads through Scripture to determine how political leaders should treat various nations.
Far-Right Christians Blame Madonna’s ‘Satanic’ Concert for Floods in Southern Brazil
Christian pastors and social media influencers have connected the concert's sexual content with unprecedented floods that have devastated cities in Rio Grande do Sul state and killed 116 people.
Damaged in War, a Vibrant Church in Ukraine Rises as a Symbol of the Country’s Faith and Culture
The building, a striking fusion of the ancient and the modern, reflects a country determined to express its soul even in wartime.
Editorials
Religious Liberty Requires a Free Press
For more than 400 years, Baptists have urged religious liberty for all. The advocacy of Baptists like Isaac Backus and John Leland helped enshrine religious liberty rights in the First Amendment to
Global Hope
In the U.S. context, we often hear laments about the decline of Christianity, how younger generations are walking away from faith and about our culture’s increasing embrace of immorality. If we hear
Jesus Broke the Law. Hallelujah!
The top religious advisor to President Donald Trump defended his policies on detaining immigrant children, claiming Jesus never broke the law. Rather than an aberration, Paula White, the Florida megachurch “prosperity gospel”
Word&Way Voices
Will MBC Messengers Save SBU and HLGU?
Russell Jackson makes the case that the Missouri Baptist Convention’s Executive Director, John Yeats, and its Executive Board have presided over the ruination of two of the three remaining universities affiliated with the MBC.
Disciples Meet to Disrupt Business As Usual
The recent Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) General Assembly demonstrated the growing commitment within the denomination to social justice and inclusion as key Gospel mandates.
Reflecting on the Disciples General Assembly
At the 2023 General Assembly of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) in Louisville, Kentucky, one of the smallest Mainline denominations met to discuss some of the church's biggest issues.
E-Newsletter
Then They Came for Mahmoud
This issue of A Public Witness looks at the U.S. government coming for a Palestinian student activist for exercising his free speech rights and the Christian and other religious voices speaking out for him.
Rebel on Main
Historian David Swartz unpacks his new seven-episode narrative podcast series on conversations in his Kentucky community about a local Confederate statue.
Missouri Senator Attacks My Baptist Credentials
This issue of A Public Witness mounts a bully pulpit to warn about the dangerous Christian Nationalistic targeting of public schools.
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Faith & the 2026 Midterm Results
This episode of Dangerous Dogma features a conversation between Word&Way Editor Brian Kaylor, Lutheran minister and journalist Angela Denker, and Disciples pastor and author Beau Underwood. The conversation includes discussion about about the results of the 2026 midterms and the role religion played in various campaigns. You can watch a video version of the conversation… -
Claiming God's Name in Politics, War, & Sports
This episode of Dangerous Dogma features a conversation between Word&Way Editor Brian Kaylor, Lutheran minister and journalist Angela Denker, and Disciples pastor and author Beau Underwood. The conversation includes discussion about a botched execution in Tennessee, religious issues in political campaigns, and Pete Hegseth's misuse of the Bible. And Beau shows off his White Sox… -
Backslide with Robert P. Jones
This episode of Dangerous Dogma features a conversation between Word&Way Editor Brian Kaylor and Robert P. Jones, author of the forthcoming book Backslide: Reclaiming a Faith and a Nation After the Christian Turn Against Democracy. Jones is also the founder and president of PRRI. He previously appeared on Dangerous Dogma in 2023. You can watch a… -
DHS Spies on Churches & White Sox Honor Pope Leo
This episode of Dangerous Dogma features a conversation between Word&Way Editor Brian Kaylor, Lutheran minister and journalist Angela Denker, and Disciples pastor and author Beau Underwood. The conversation includes discussion about revelations that the Department of Homeland Security has been spying in churches, a controversial golf ad, and a White Sox night celebrating Pope Leo.… -
The State of the Senate, from SC to ME to TX to KS
This episode of Dangerous Dogma features a conversation between Word&Way Editor Brian Kaylor, Lutheran minister and journalist Angela Denker, and Disciples pastor and author Beau Underwood. The conversation includes discussion about the death of Sen. Lindsey Graham as well as issues of faith and morality in Senate races in Maine, Texas, and Kansas. You can… -
Southern Baptists, the Pentagon, & UFC
This episode of Dangerous Dogma features a conversation between Word&Way Editor Brian Kaylor, Lutheran minister and journalist Angela Denker, and Disciples pastor and author Beau Underwood. The conversation includes discussion about the Southern Baptist Convention's push against women in ministry, the Pentagon changing how it codes the faith of military members, and the latest in… -
Southern Baptists, Women in Ministry, & a Billboard
In this episode, Word&Way President Brian Kaylor talks with Meredith Stone, executive director of Baptist Women in Ministry. The conversation includes discussion of efforts in the Southern Baptist Convention to further target women serving in churches and how BWIM is advocating for women (including with a billboard to greet SBC messengers next week in Orlando,… -
Divergent Visions for Rededicating the Nation
This episode of Dangerous Dogma features a conversation between Word&Way Editor Brian Kaylor, Lutheran minister and journalist Angela Denker, and Disciples pastor and author Beau Underwood. The conversation includes discussion about Rededicate 250, gerrymandering, Adam Hamilton's Senate campaign in Kansas, and the MAHA movement. You can watch a video version of the conversation here. Here are a few pieces… -
The Christian Past That Wasn't
In this episode, Word&Way President Brian Kaylor talks with Warren Throckmorton, a retired professor who has spent years debunking false claims by Christian Nationalist pseudo-historian David Barton. Throckmorton is the author of the new book, The Christian Past that Wasn't: Debunking the Christian Nationalist Myths that Hijack History. You can watch a video version of… -
Trump vs. Leo
This episode of Dangerous Dogma features a conversation between Word&Way Editor Brian Kaylor, Lutheran minister and journalist Angela Denker, and Disciples pastor and author Beau Underwood. The conversation includes discussion about President Donald Trump's attacks on Pope Leo XIV, Leo's witness against the Iran war, Trump's AI image of himself as Jesus, and the electoral…
Books
Review: Second Thoughts About the Second Coming
Jeremy Fuzy reviews "Second Thoughts about the Second Coming: Understanding the End Times, Our Future, and Christian Hope" by Ronald J. Allen and Robert D. Cornwall. This book explores the apocalypse from a mainline Protestant perspective.
Review & Giveaway: What Do We Do When Nobody is Listening?
Christian ethicist Robin Lovin’s "What Do We Do When Nobody is Listening: Leading the Church in a Polarized Society" joins a growing number of important books warning of the threat tribalism poses to democratic society.
Review: Abraham Lincoln – Redeemer President
Robert D. Cornwall reviews "Abraham Lincoln: Redeemer President" by Allen C. Guelzo. This new book, an updated version of the 1999 first edition, offers one of the best portrayals of Lincoln the thinker, politician, and war-time leader.
Review: The Church After Innovation
Robert D. Cornwall reviews "The Church After Innovation: Questioning Our Obsession With Work, Creativity, and Entrepreneurship" by Andrew Root. This book is a philosophical conversation about whether being innovative and creative is the best way to be faithful as Christians.