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In 1845, a group of pro-slavery Baptists created the Southern Baptist Convention to defend enslavers serving as missionaries. One hundred and eighty years later, SBC leaders defend a pastor serving as an ICE leader. Editor-in-Chief Brian Kaylor reflects on this through line.

Comedian Druski’s latest viral church parody contains some truth in its critique, however uncomfortable it may be. The Church and the Christians within it should face that openly.

The faith leaders, who hail from across the country and represent a range of religious traditions, deployed to neighborhoods with significant immigrant populations, where DHS agents have been most active.

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Videos

Church

First Baptist Church of the City of Washington, D.C., Carter’s primary place of worship throughout his presidency, hosted an evening service that celebrated his life and played a recording from his final Sunday School lesson there.

No matter how many times one crammed into the modest sanctuary at Maranatha Baptist Church, there was always some wisdom to be gleaned from the measured, Bible-inspired words of Jimmy Carter.

The news that Trump may rescind a policy discouraging immigration officials from arresting people at churches is making some church leaders reconsider sanctuary.

Nation

This issue of A Public Witness looks at four recent promotional videos created by the DoW that co-opt Bible verses to glorify the U.S. military.

The superintendent of public instruction, who recently pledged to put a Turning Point USA chapter in every high school to honor Charlie Kirk, will now ‘destroy the teachers unions’ from the private sector.

Many Black pastors in the largest African American Christian denominations linked the veneration of Kirk — who used his platform to denigrate Black people, immigrants, women, Muslims, and LGBTQ+ people — to the history of weaponizing faith to justify colonialism, enslavement, and bigotry.

World

The weeklong gathering outside Kenya's capital focused on gender-based violence, teenage pregnancy, and HIV/AIDS, saying the Anglican churches in Africa have been silent on these issues affecting many African women.

Nicaragua’s government released a prominent Catholic bishop and 18 other clergy members imprisoned in a crackdown by President Daniel Ortega and handed them over to Vatican authorities who welcomed them in Rome. 

This issue of A Public Witness takes a look at past efforts from Christian clergy to bless weapons of war before returning to a current conflict to hear from a pastor in the little town of Bethlehem.

Editorials

Brian KaylorWith the start of a new year, state lawmakers will return to their chambers for a new legislative session. Christians should pay attention to bills under consideration. Although the debates and tweets

Brian KaylorThere is a scene in the biblical Christmas story that bugs me. I didn’t notice it for years. But one Christmas as I was preparing a couple of sermons, I was struggling

Brian KaylorLast month, news headlines called the shooting in Las Vegas the “deadliest mass shooting in US history.” That’s the fifth time in my life that such a tragedy claimed that title —

Word&Way Voices

For Earth Day, Lauren Graeber reflects on the spiritual practice of working the land and the deep wisdom it can offer about where and how to encounter a life of faith.

Evangelicals place great stress on the authority of the Bible and have often labeled their interpretation “the biblical view.” Contributing writer Rodney Kennedy outlines the problems with this framing and offers some helpful tips for combating it.

Dr. Gregory Shay, a pediatric pulmonologist, deliberates on anecdotes of sickness and tragedy through a faith-based lens, arguing that it is inherently Christian to show solidarity with vulnerable populations — especially children.

E-Newsletter

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.

In this review of 2024, we count down our most popular pieces and reflect on some other highlights from the year.

Clergy blast Missouri Gov. Mike Parson for freeing the police officer who was convicted of killing 26-year-old Cameron Lamb.

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Recent Episodes

Books

Robert D. Cornwall reviews "Bonhoeffer’s Religionless Christianity in Its Christological Context" by Peter Hooton. This book centers on the writings that appeared near the end of Bonhoeffer’s life that sought to envision what a non-institutionalized Christianity might look like. This

Robert D. Cornwall reviews What Do We Do When Nobody Is Listening?: Leading the Church in a Polarized Society by Robin W. Lovin. This book, written by a United Methodist minister and Christian ethicist, tackles the question of how churches

Robert D. Cornwall reviews Azusa Reimagined: A Radical Vision of Religious and Democratic Belonging by Keri Day. The book explores how the Azusa Street Revival that began in Los Angeles in 1906 served as the foundation of Pentecostalism and the

Robert D. Cornwall reviews Freeing Jesus: Rediscovering Jesus as Friend, Teacher, Savior, Lord, Way, and Presence by Diana Butler Bass. This book is her attempt to free Jesus from the captivity she has experienced in life and in doing so