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The season of Advent urges us to slow down; to dwell in the fullness of God’s good news. God offers us life-affirming joy even as calamity follows crisis like an ever-unspooling tragedy.

William Schultz, a historian of American religion at the University of Chicago Divinity School, makes a compelling argument that there was a moment where Colorado Springs was a place of enormous cultural influence.

At least six white clergy and one seminarian — some from evangelical Christian backgrounds and others from mainline Protestant denominations — have declared to run as Democrats in 2026.

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Videos

Church

'One missed sign or one missed concept can prevent others from working out their service salvation on that day', said Bronte Stewart, who founded an ASL interpretation program at her church in 2014.

This issue of A Public Witness considers the act of removing a saint and what it might teach us about other religious symbols that have also been co-opted.

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

Nation

Even so, many houses of worship ban guns on their property — and religious groups have been among the loudest calling for gun control legislation.

Protesters led by the Rev. Al Sharpton descended on Manhattan’s financial district to decry efforts by the Trump administration and corporations to abandon diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives.

Two children, 8 and 10, were killed in the latest horrific school shooting in the United States, this time inside a church emblazoned with the words ‘This is the house of God and the Gate of Heaven.’

World

Vatican officials said about 70,000 people filled St. Peter's Square for Francis' noonday speech and blessing. They included many people flying Palestinian flags, as well as some Ukrainian ones.

Palestinian Christians have felt abandoned by global Christian church leaders’ statements on the Israel-Hamas war, with some viewing the war as a moment for Western denominations to reckon with their colonialist past.

Editorials

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

Brian KaylorAs a journalist, there are stories I love to write. Like the stories from the annual gathering of the Baptist World Alliance last month in Bangkok, Thailand. These types of events inspire

Word&Way Voices

Multigenerational Texan and seminarian Christopher Symms details the religious aspects of the political fight in his state over what Governor Greg Abbott calls the “woke agendas in schools."

Nabil Costa details a ludicrous conflict that surfaced when the caretaker Prime Minister, in a surge of “altruistic” enthusiasm to ease Ramadan’s rituals on the fasting populace, decided to postpone daylight saving time.

Darron LaMonte Edwards argues that Christians should be opposed to harmful conversion therapy, which is more concerned with changing who a teen is sexually attracted to than with modeling how to live faithfully.

E-Newsletter

This issue of A Public Witness considers the act of removing a saint and what it might teach us about other religious symbols that have also been co-opted.

This issue of A Public Witness looks at the failed efforts to convert White evangelicals in the ballot box and what it means going forward.

We’re excited to announce that Unsettling Advent is returning with new themes: rulers clinging to power, dangerous pregnancies, and violence in Lebanon.

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Recent Episodes

Books

Robert D. Cornwall reviews What Is My Calling?: A Biblical and Theological Exploration of Christian Identity by William W. Klein and Daniel J. Steiner. The book’s message can be helpful for those who are struggling to make sense of their

Robert D. Cornwall reviews A Curious Faith: The Questions God Asks, We Ask, and We Wish Someone Would Ask Us by Lore Ferguson Wilbert. The book is written from an evangelical perspective that is open to learning new things by

We review a book each month at A Public Witness and for this installment, Beau Underwood examines a memoir on family histories, racism, and what our society needs to do now. He highly recommends Lisa Sharon Harper.'s Fortune:

Robert D. Cornwall reviews Psalms: The Prayer Book of the Bible by Dietrich Bonhoeffer with a new introduction from Walter Brueggemann. While Bonhoeffer was thoroughly trained in the historical-critical method of biblical interpretation, in his book on the Psalms he