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At least one other religious leader, Muslim hospital chaplain Ayman Soliman, had been detained earlier by ICE as part of President Donald Trump’s ongoing mass deportation effort.

While Christians are among those targeted, analysts say the majority of victims of armed groups are Muslims in Nigeria’s Muslim-majority north, where most attacks occur.

We’re excited to announce this year’s themes for our award-winning Unsettling Advent series, which begins in one month: Advent in a time of religious nationalism, starvation, and soldiers in the streets.

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Church

The guidelines surfaced even as the denomination, over the past decade-plus, has tried to stake out a more compassionate approach on LGBTQ+ issues.

Almost half of US Orthodox churches remained open during the COVID-19 pandemic compared to only 12% of all religious congregations.

Some 2,900 people have joined an ‘AMEs for Reform’ Facebook group and others have issued open letters as part of ‘AMEs for Justice and Accountability.’

Nation

This issue of A Public Witness explores what the ending of a significant comedy institution means in light of the fact that Stephen Colbert is one of the most prominent Christians in popular culture today.

The three-part docuseries explores the birth and sudden demise of Teen Mania, plus the gnarly underbelly of a ministry some former members consider abusive.

The grants aim to support historical spaces of ‘Black American joy, resilience, innovation, and activism’ in their preservation efforts, according to a news release.

World

This issue of A Public Witness considers Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s reference to Amalek from Deuteronomy and unpacks what it means when politicians invoke such passages during war.

Though he has allowed new houses of worship to be built and old ones to be reopened, President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan needs to do more, observers say, to restore respect for a truly pluralistic society as much as for church property.

Archbishop Welby spent several days in Jerusalem last week following the attack on Israelis by Hamas on Oct. 7 and the ensuing assaults on Gaza by Israeli forces.

Editorials

Bill WebbDo our personal (or corporate) prayers ever include the question, “Lord, how can you use me (or us) to improve or remedy this condition or this situation?

Bill WebbThe Southern Baptist Convention Annual Meeting and the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship Annual Gathering were held a little more than a week apart in June. SBCers and CBFers have much in common —

Bill WebbLarry Johnson, associated with The Baptist Home of Missouri since 1984 and the Baptist ministry’s president when he retired in 2005, was remembered May 21 for putting into practice in his last

Word&Way Voices

Contributing writer Sarah Blackwell believes we are teaching our young people a version of reading the Bible that resembles the game Operation. They often have little concept of “connective tissue” and can only pluck out quotations like the stylized versions of body parts in the board game.

Professor Greg Carey writes that hope is an essential strategy for Christians. As the apostle Paul said, three things abide: faith, hope, and love. Love may be the “greatest,” says Paul, but hope stands in the top three.

Terrell Carter writes that unfortunately, mass shootings and other acts of violence have become an ordinary experience in our world. Some might say that this upward trend in violence epitomizes the “ordinariness of suffering,” the fact that violent things regularly occur in the world.

E-Newsletter

This issue of A Public Witness treks to Latin America to consider the dangers arising from the political co-opting of sacred texts.

The conventions are over and it’s a 10-week political sprint to election day — but many churches don’t know how to talk about political rancor. One constructive way to address this is to focus on Christian Nationalism.

This issue of A Public Witness explores the religious ethics behind the Golden Rule and why it matters when Vice Presidential nominee Tim Walz declares that it means “mind your own damn business.”

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Books

Christian author Rachel Held Evans left behind a legion of loyal readers when she died in May 2019, at the age of 37. Next week, her final book for adults is being published, titled 'Wholehearted Faith.'

Terry Wildman hopes the new translation published Aug. 31 by InterVarsity Press, 'First Nations Version: An Indigenous Translation of the New Testament,' will help Christians and Indigenous peoples read it again in a fresh way.

One of the Vatican’s most important but least studied departments is actually one of its most extensive: the massive network of lay and religious people engaged in peacemaking, information gathering, and international diplomacy who throughout history have swayed governments and

In her new book, Shannon Dingle writes about leaning into grief, accepting uncertainty, connecting to feelings, expressing hard truths, and getting psychological help.