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Featured
Review: Naming the Spirit
In this book, W. David O. Taylor and Daniel Train bring together a remarkable group of theologians, scholars, and artists to offer a fresh perspective on pneumatology through the creative lens of the arts.
Jerusalem Historic Churches Call Christian Zionism a ‘Damaging’ Ideology
Historic Christian churches representing the predominantly Arab Christian community and mostly U.S. evangelicals who support Israel are at odds with each other.
Christian Leaders Urge Protecting Worshippers’ Rights After Protesters Interrupt Service
Brian Kaylor, a Cooperative Baptist Fellowship-affiliated minister and leader of the Christian media organization Word&Way, called having an ICE official serve as a pastor ‘a serious moral failure.’
Church
Virginia’s Episcopal Bishop Says Diocese Identified Sources for $10M Reparations Fund
The announcement came after former Racial Reparations Task Force members expressed doubts over the diocese’s commitment to deliver on its 2021 promise and uncertainty about its ability to secure funding.
American Baptist Leaders Praise Clergy Protesting ICE
Leaders of the American Baptist Home Mission Societies issued a statement Tuesday (Nov. 18) offering support for clergy who have been arrested while protesting ICE, including an American Baptist pastor in the Chicago area.
Global Anglican Ties Are Under Stress. It’s Unclear if They’re at the Breaking Point
After decades of fierce controversies over sexuality and theology, some leaders of a conservative coalition say it's time to make a final break from what has long been one of the world's largest Protestant church families.
Nation
Two Events Remember the 5th Anniversary of the Jan. 6 Riot, Appealing to Two Divine Truths
A mile apart, supporters of the Jan. 6 rioters and clergy whose churches were assaulted five years ago, commemorated the historic events at the U.S. Capitol.
Judge Rules Americans United Can’t Intervene in ‘Johnson Amendment’ Case
Defenders of the IRS political campaign activity ban hope to block a proposed legal settlement that would allow churches to make partisan statements during worship services.
US Faith Leaders Supporting Targeted Immigrants Brace for a Tough Year Ahead
President Trump has become harsher with his contemptuous rhetoric and policy proposals, blaming immigrants for problems from crime to housing shortages and demanding “REVERSE MIGRATION.”
World
This Is Why the Story of Abraham Is Coming Up in the Push for Middle East Peace
Anyone trying to build a bridge between faiths is liable to invoke Abraham — revered as a founding figure in Christianity, Islam, and Judaism — as someone they hold in common.
The West Bank’s Dwindling Palestinian Christian Communities Continue to Struggle Amid Violence
Proudly Palestinian, Taybeh’s Christians struggle with the threats of violence from Jewish settlers and the intensifying restrictions on movement imposed by Israel. Many also say they fear Islamist radicalization will grow in the area as conflicts escalate across the region.
Deportation Flight to Iran Included Christians at Risk
The Trump administration’s deportation of more than a hundred Iranians held in ICE custody includes Christian converts and other religious minorities who may face harsh penalties for their religious beliefs upon return.
Editorials
On the SBC Sidewalk
While messengers to last week’s annual meeting of the Southern Baptist Convention debated how to treat churches with women in pastoral roles, Baptist Women in Ministry showed up to offer a counter witness.
United Methodists Condemning Christian Nationalism Should Address Their Complicity
The thinning of the UMC’s conservative ranks makes this week’s conference a perfect time to address the issue.
Before Trump Promoted a Bible, President Truman Blessed One
Missing in all the jokes and news reports about the Trump Bible is that this isn’t the first time a presidential stamp of approval was sought for the Good Book.
Word&Way Voices
Unsettling Advent 2025, Day 10
Advent teaches us that a shiny, gilded facade only serves to cover up the other side of the story. If we keep our focus on the child sleeping in an animal feeding trough, we might be unsettled — but the truth we see will compel us to live differently.
Unsettling Advent 2025, Day 9
Advent reminds us we are called to help bring the empire of God — not of any power or principality — into being. And as the Lord’s Prayer exhorts, resist the temptations and trappings of the unjust.
Unsettling Advent 2025, Day 8
As we sing Advent hymns, gather in community, light candles, and wait hopefully, may we also embody in our actions our coming Savior’s call — to feed the hungry and to provide compassion, love, and justice for all.
E-Newsletter
Christ the Christian Nationalist Sunday?
This issue of A Public Witness looks at the not-so-immaculate conception of Christ the King Sunday and the theological conflict today between different visions of Christ as King.
No Amazon for Advent
The Center on Faith & Justice at Georgetown University recently launched a campaign encouraging people to pledge not to shop on Amazon during this Advent season — and A Public Witness is one of the official partners.
The Church of the Department of Labor
This issue of A Public Witness looks at the DoL’s use of religion in its recent propaganda posters that push Christianity as part of a vision of a patriarchal, White nation.
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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: Hungry for Hope
In this timely book, young adults voice their concerns and laments about the church’s past and present, as well as their hopes and dreams for its future.
Review: Eating With Jesus
The latest book from Robert D. Cornwall laments how Christians have historically built ‘fences’ around the Eucharist and explores just how radical Jesus’s vision for table fellowship can be.
Review: Seeing the Gospel
This new book makes the case that learning to read Orthodox icons can offer Protestants an opportunity to engage with Scripture through the fresh lens of a visual biblical language.
Review: The Missionary Kids
Historian Holly Berkley Fletcher — herself a missionary kid — unmasks the myths of White evangelicalism with penetrating research, sly wit, and an empathic gaze.