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'This is one important step in our struggle for justice and my call to live out Jesus’s command to care for the captives,' said the Rev. Susie Hayward, who is cited in the legal case and was in court for the ruling.

This issue of A Public Witness heads down to Georgia to consider the devil in the details of the race to determine who will be the next Republican nominee for governor.

Mary, the mother of Jesus, has been historically revered throughout the Islamic tradition. This began in the Qur'an, where she is called by the name ‘Maryam.’

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Church

The ministers, mostly from Grand Rapids, are no longer willing to abide the denomination’s increasingly rigid stance on sexuality.

‘We are actively exploring other venues where we can continue to share our witness of the birth of Jesus Christ in the excellence and prophetic tradition of the Black Church,’ said Alfred Street Baptist Church.

The proposed database has been derailed by denominational apathy, legal worries, and a desire to protect donations to the Southern Baptist Convention’s mission programs.

Nation

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.

A letter from Democratic lawmakers warned that repealing the Johnson Amendment, set to be discussed in a hearing next week, would fracture a ‘foundation stone in the nation’s wall of separation between church and state.’

America has become less religious because white Americans are less religious. Most recent immigrants are religious, and many are Christians.

World

This issue of A Public Witness explores the subversive power of public mourning — like what happened recently after the state murder of Russian political dissident Alexei Navalny — to better understand a Beatitude of Jesus.

Judges across Europe are having a tough time deciding whether asylum-seekers claiming religious persecution are ‘genuine’ Christians.

Eastern Orthodox leadership, despite lacking a single doctrinal authority like a pope, has been united in opposing recognition of same-sex relationships both within its own rites and in the civil realm.

Editorials

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 —

Brian KaylorI recently lost a tooth. And the tooth fairy didn’t even bother to give me a quarter — or whatever the going rate is these days.

Brian KaylorA popular myth surrounds the hymn “Amazing Grace.” It illustrates that how we tell a story matters, because the details teach us the moral of the story. The simple version makes it

Word&Way Voices

Contributing writer Sarah Blackwell has watched a generation of young people she worked with over the last two decades walk away from the church and organized religion — and she's not alone. So, what did we do wrong?

May 15, 1948 — 75 years ago — a human rights travesty began. Palestinians and those of us who are in solidarity with their liberation and human rights movement commemorate what is referred to as the Nakba, which means “catastrophe” in Arabic.

Contributing writer Greg Mamula offers the final entry in a six-part series on the future of the church. In this article, he focuses on the importance of developing multiple revenue streams.

E-Newsletter

This issue of A Public Witness seeks sanctuary to understand the history of how ICE interacts with houses of worship and the pushback against Trump’s changes from various Christian groups.

The first week of the new Trump administration was filled with attacks on the religious liberty rights of Episcopalians and Catholics. Over the weekend, another Christian group found itself in crosshairs: the ELCA.

Few people have thought as much about faith and politics as Danforth, who served as Missouri’s attorney general, special counsel for the DOJ, special envoy to Sudan, and ambassador to the UN for George W. Bush.

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Books

Robert D. Cornwall reviews "The Messiah Confrontation: Pharisees Versus Sadducees and the Death of Jesus" by Israel Knohl translated by David Maisel. This book makes the case that the trial of Jesus should not be a point of contention between

Robert D. Cornwall reviews "Strength for the Fight: The Life and Faith of Jackie Robinson" by Gary Scott Smith. The book not only serves to demonstrate the importance of religion in this story but also comes at the right moment,

Robert D. Cornwall reviews "The First Advent in Palestine: Reversals, Resistance, and the Ongoing Complexity of Hope" by Kelley Nikondeha. This book is an expression of Nikondeha’s attempt to put the biblical Advent stories in a Palestinian context.

A review of Freeing Jesus: Rediscovering Jesus as Friend, Teacher, Savior, Lord, Way, and Presence by Diana Butler Bass. And information on how to win an autographed copy of it.