Sign up to receive full essays in your inbox!
Featured
Global Baptists Gather Down Under to Challenge Injustices and Nationalism
This issue of A Public Witness heads to Australia to offer highlights from the Baptist World Congress, where Christians from 130 nations came to worship, fellowship, dialogue, learn, and strategize together.
Review: Christology in Early Christianity
In this collection of essays, leading historical theologian Brian E. Daley, SJ, surveys the early Church’s profound thinking about Christ.
Trump Administration Releases FBI Records on MLK Jr. Despite His Family’s Opposition
The Southern Christian Leadership Conference, which King co-founded, also opposed the release since the FBI illegally surveilled civil rights figures in the hopes of discrediting them and their movement.
Church
Meet Gen Z’s Proselytizing Presbyterian Reformer
Richard Ackerman, a 21-year-old Presbyterian convert and conservative activist in the church, is the contemporary televangelist Zoomers can’t stop watching.
The Slow Fade of Denominational Publishing
Shrinking churches means the market for Christian print resources diminishes, too.
AME Zion Church Meeting Focuses on Voting Initiative, New Bishops
Among those elected during the meeting was Bishop Melanie Miller, the second and only living woman bishop in the historically Black denomination.
Nation
Federal Judge Sides With Trump in Allowing Immigration Enforcement in Houses of Worship
U.S. District Judge Dabney Friedrich in Washington refused to grant a preliminary injunction to the plaintiffs, more than two dozen Christian and Jewish groups representing millions of Americans.
In Win for Faith Groups, Federal Judge Rules Trump Must Begin Admitting Some Refugees
The judge’s ruling follows weeks of courtroom clashes between the government and three religious groups — HIAS, Church World Service, and Lutheran Community Services Northwest.
Supporting Church-State Separation With Faithful Challenges to Christian Nationalism
This issue of A Public Witness takes you inside the Summit for Religious Freedom to hear from leading advocates about what is needed in this moment and how Christians can help.
World
Jerusalem’s Church Leaders Call for Sober Christmas in Holy Land as War Rages
Leaders of Jordan’s Council of Churches issued a similar statement on Nov. 5, calling for the cancellation of Christmas celebrations in the kingdom.
Congolese Faith Leaders Step Up Efforts To Promote Dialogue Among Warring Groups
Church leaders are conducting weekly workshops to train traditional and church leadership in how to promote peace in their communities.
Pope Francis Mobilizing Vatican Diplomats to Quell a World War He Says Has Begun
Pope Francis and the Vatican are pursuing peace in the globe’s two major conflicts, working through official and unofficial channels.
Editorials
Meditate on What?!
On occasion, I write short devotionals for other publications. What could be a better, more blessed way to start your day than in prayer and with a few brilliant words from me?
House of Prayer
The forced resignation of Patrick Conroy as chaplain for the U.S. House of Representatives quickly sparked questions and concerns about the intermingling of religion and politics. Some lawmakers believe Speaker Paul Ryan pushed
Hypocrisy of Strikes on Syria
Watching the news Saturday night as missiles from the United States, United Kingdom and France struck Syria, I found myself pondering questions about the attack — and about how Christians should react
Word&Way Voices
Facing the Threat to Public Education
Wendell Griffen connects attacks on public schools in Arkansas, Florida, and other states to similar efforts in the past and argues that the current situation demands we unite against an effort to replace democracy with authoritarianism and fascism.
Presuming to Hate What God Hates
Contributing writer Rodney Kennedy challenges the presumptions of anyone claiming they hate what God hates. Such a statement, he argues, is a product of bad religion.
The Missed Step
Contributing writer Sarah Blackwell makes the case that in our emphasis over the last four decades to tell our girls that they could be anything they want to be, we missed a critical step: we forgot to liberate the boys as well.
E-Newsletter
The Blindness of Political Violence
This issue of A Public Witness addresses how two things can be true: Trump is a victim of political violence and he is a dangerous cheerleader for political violence today.
Josh Hawley’s Strange New Twist on Christian Nationalism
This issue of A Public Witness listens to Hawley’s recent speech at the National Conservatism Conference to consider how he attempts to rewrite history and redefine Christianity to support his partisan gospel.
Joseph Biden’s Coat of Many Colors
This issue of A Public Witness takes you to church to consider the dangers of transforming Sunday worship into a campaign rally.
-
198. American Christianity Divided in Responses to ICE
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 ICE actions in Minneapolis, how many clergy are leading protests against ICE while others are supporting ICE, and new research worried about the loss… -
197. Anna Piela and Michael Woolf on Confronting Islamophobia in the Church
In this episode, Word&Way President Brian Kaylor talks with American Baptist ministers Anna Piela and Michael Woolf on Islamophobia, immigration, and how Christians can better engage with interfaith efforts. Anna and Michael are coauthors of the new book, Confronting Islamophobia in the Church: Liturgical Tools for Justice. Watch a video version of this conversation here.… -
196. Martha Bardwell on Faith Communities Responding to ICE in Minneapolis
In this episode, Word&Way President Brian Kaylor talks with Martha Bardwell, pastor of Our Saviour's Lutheran Church in Minneapolis, Minnesota, on how faith communities are responding to ICE violence in the Twin Cities and the ICE killing of Renee Good. Watch a video version of this latest conversation here. The episode includes a discussion on… -
195. Attacking Venezuela & Gambling on Jesus
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 consideration of the U.S. attack on Venezuela and how Christians are responding, Pete Hegseth's pledge to change the military chaplaincy program, and how people are now… -
194. Dangers of Faith in the Pentagon & AI in Faith
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 consideration of U.S. strikes against Venezuelan boats, Pete Hegseth's Christian prayer services at the Pentagon, the use of AI in churches, and alarms about AI Christian… -
193. News Roundup: Elections, Government Shutdown, & Clergy Challenging ICE
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 consideration of religious attacks in elections this week, impacts of the ongoing government shutdown on churches, and clergy protesting against ICE. Watch a video version of… -
192. Hannah Kardon, United Methodist Pastor Arrested During Anti-ICE Protest
In this episode, Word&Way President Brian Kaylor talks with Hannah Kardon, a United Methodist minister in the Chicago area. Kardon was violently arrested during a protest outside an ICE facility on Oct. 17. Video of the incident can be viewed here. Other issues discussed in this episode include ICE actions at churches, the legal pushback… -
191. William Stell on Evangelicals & Antigay Christianity
In this episode, Word&Way President Brian Kaylor talks with William Stell, a religious studies professor and author of the forthcoming book, Born Again Queer: A History of Evangelical Gay Activism and the Making of Antigay Christianity. Kaylor is also joined by guest cohost Jared Burkholder, scholar in residence at Moravian Theological Seminary. This is the… -
190. Angela Parker on Evangelicals, Biblical Interpretation, & White Supremacy
In this episode, Word&Way President Brian Kaylor talks with Angela Parker, an associate professor of New Testament and Greek at the McAfee School of Theology at Mercer University, the author of If God Still Breathes, Why Can't I?: Black Lives Matter and Biblical Authority, and coauthor of the Unsettling Lent devotional. This is the second… -
189. Randall Balmer on Evangelicals & Church-State Separation
In this episode, Word&Way President Brian Kaylor talks with Randall Balmer, a historian of American religion and author of the new book, America's Best Idea: The Separation of Church and State. Kaylor is also joined by guest cohost Jared Burkholder, scholar in residence at Moravian Theological Seminary. This is the first in a three-part series…
Books
Review: The New Adam
Robert D. Cornwall reviews The New Adam: What the Early Church Can Teach Evangelicals (and Liberals) about the Atonement by Ron Highfield. The book explores how we should understand the death and resurrection of Jesus and what this means for
Review: The Mind in Another Place
Robert D. Cornwall reviews The Mind in Another Place: My Life as a Scholar by Luke Timothy Johnson. The book serves as a memoir about the life of a scholar, written both for potential academics and for those who wonder
Review: A Basic Guide to Eastern Orthodox Theology
Robert D. Cornwall reviews A Basic Guide to Eastern Orthodox Theology: Introducing Beliefs and Practices Paperback by Eve Tibbs. The book is written with Protestants in mind and offers readers who might be unfamiliar with Eastern Orthodoxy a basic introduction
Review & Giveaway: The Flag and the Cross
The Flag and the Cross: White Christian Nationalism and the Threat to American Democracy by sociologists Philip Gorski and Samuel Perry is so important that we’re not just highlighting it in this review, but we’re also giving away a copy autographed