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Featured
In the White Shadows of Schirach and Kirk
Systematic theologian and ELCA pastor Duane Larson reflects on some troubling religious parallels between the late Charlie Kirk and Nazi Youth leader Baldur von Schirach.
Ending Wars
On Veterans Day, we honor and lament the lives lost in violent wars. We cherish the freedoms we have today. We strive to heal those wounded by battles. But we must also pray and work for peace.
Review: The Seven Mountains Mandate
Scholar Matthew Boedy exposes a dangerous plan driven by prosperity preachers, extremist politicians, and right-wing power brokers to destroy democracy and turn America into a Christian Nationalist state.
Church
Would Jesus Park in a Bike Lane? For Philadelphia Churches, It’s a Real Question
A dispute over weekend parking in bike lanes has left a group of inner-city congregations — four churches, a pair of synagogues and the Philadelphia Ethical Society — in Philadelphia dealing with a tricky urban dilemma.
Owning Up to Our Own Responsibility for the Growth in Christian Nationalism
During a recent installment of A Matter of Faith: A Presby Podcast, hosts Simon Doong and the Rev. Lee Catoe asked pastor and author the Rev. Dr. Brian Kaylor to talk about how mainline Protestants have helped build Christian Nationalism.
Sterling College Faculty Members Vote ‘No Confidence’ in President
When faculty and staff at Sterling College received an updated employee handbook in August 2023, they were quickly alarmed by changes made without their input. Those concerns sparked a year of frustration with president Scott Rich’s leadership, frustration that continues as a new school year approaches.
Nation
Churches, Seminaries Among US Cultural Sites Awarded Funds to Preserve Black History
The grants aim to support historical spaces of ‘Black American joy, resilience, innovation, and activism’ in their preservation efforts, according to a news release.
Trump Administration Releases FBI Records on MLK Jr. Despite His Family’s Opposition
The Southern Christian Leadership Conference, which King co-founded, also opposed the release since the FBI illegally surveilled civil rights figures in the hopes of discrediting them and their movement.
When Conspiracies Backfire
This issue of A Public Witness opens up the Epstein case to explore the dangers of phony, conspiratorial self-righteousness and how it captured so many conservative Christian figures.
World
Death Comes in Clusters
The U.S. continues to not only ignore the Convention on Cluster Munitions but also to ship the weapons to Ukraine. So this issue of A Public Witness uncovers the history of cluster bombs and the moral failure of nations that continue to utilize them.
African Churches Urge US Congress to Reauthorize PEPFAR
The leaders are writing in response to a letter sent to Congress in June by religious groups and legislators asserting that the funds for the program were financing family planning and reproductive health programs, including abortion.
Catholics in Ukraine Struggle as Pope Francis’ Approval Rating Is at an All-Time Low
Pope Francis and Ukraine have a different vision for peace in the region.
Editorials
Joys, challenges of fatherhood
Fathers draw a lot of pleasure when they see the right decisions, character growth and responsible maturation that come in the lives of their children and they realize their good examples have born
Celebrate — and support — grads
The spring school term has come to an end at virtually all levels.
The end of the term means different things to students at different levels.
Are we really interested in teaching the needy how to fish?
“Give a man a fish, and you’ll feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish, and you’ve fed him for a lifetime.”
The proverb is no magic wand, of course. The words have no power
Word&Way Voices
Unsettling Advent 2022, Day 13
Beau Underwood writes that if we will listen to the full story, Advent holds a reorienting power. It can call us away from ourselves and refocus our attention on God’s priorities. Too often, the story of Jesus’s birth is narrowly interpreted as a personal gift. God coming to be with
Unsettling Advent 2022, Day 12
Contributing writer Sarah Blackwell writes that some of the greatest blessings she has received are the love and care of refugees. Once she got over her own need to be the one always giving, she learned that receiving the blessings of others, in whatever form they come in, is what
The Inherent Narcissism of ‘Love is Blind’
Angela Denker writes that "Love is Blind" is the reality television show she loves to hate. The premise of the show is that they’re going to prove if love can be grounded in things other than appearance. But she argues this idea that we can escape and transcend our bodies
E-Newsletter
Southern Baptists and the Unholy Gale
This issue of A Public Witness takes off on a quest to understand what the recent Southern Baptist Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission Brent Leatherwood debacle tells us about religion and politics.
Review & Giveaway: The Good News of Church Politics
Theologian and pastor Ross Kane articulates a vision of how Christians can engage in public life that begins with the premise that all politics is local.
The Next Baptist President of the United States?
This issue of A Public Witness details the religious background of Kamala Harris, now one of the two leading contenders to be the 47th president of the United States.
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The State of the Senate, from SC to ME to TX to KS
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 the death of Sen. Lindsey Graham as well as issues of faith and morality in Senate races in Maine, Texas, and Kansas. You can… -
Southern Baptists, the Pentagon, & UFC
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 the Southern Baptist Convention's push against women in ministry, the Pentagon changing how it codes the faith of military members, and the latest in… -
Southern Baptists, Women in Ministry, & a Billboard
In this episode, Word&Way President Brian Kaylor talks with Meredith Stone, executive director of Baptist Women in Ministry. The conversation includes discussion of efforts in the Southern Baptist Convention to further target women serving in churches and how BWIM is advocating for women (including with a billboard to greet SBC messengers next week in Orlando,… -
Divergent Visions for Rededicating the Nation
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 Rededicate 250, gerrymandering, Adam Hamilton's Senate campaign in Kansas, and the MAHA movement. You can watch a video version of the conversation here. Here are a few pieces… -
The Christian Past That Wasn't
In this episode, Word&Way President Brian Kaylor talks with Warren Throckmorton, a retired professor who has spent years debunking false claims by Christian Nationalist pseudo-historian David Barton. Throckmorton is the author of the new book, The Christian Past that Wasn't: Debunking the Christian Nationalist Myths that Hijack History. You can watch a video version of… -
Trump vs. Leo
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 President Donald Trump's attacks on Pope Leo XIV, Leo's witness against the Iran war, Trump's AI image of himself as Jesus, and the electoral… -
Fight Like Jesus with Jason Porterfield (Reissue)
In this episode, Word&Way President Brian Kaylor talks with Jason Porterfield about his book Fight Like Jesus: How Jesus Waged Peace. This episode originally aired in 2023, except for a new introduction noting a violent prayer by Pete Hegseth during a recent Pentagon worship service and Palm Sunday comments by Pope Leo XIV. Note: Don't forget… -
Pete Hegseth's Crusader Bible (A Trick of State)
In this episode, Word&Way President Brian Kaylor considers Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth's use of the English Standard Version of the Bible, patriarchy in the faith communities Hegseth has been a part of, and his Christian Nationalism. It also reveals that Hegseth's ESV Bible includes two Crusader symbols stamped onto the cover (and that match… -
An Unholy War
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 the Iran war, Christian opposition to the war, and viral claims of military leaders claiming this will bring "Armageddon." It also includes consideration of… -
Rewriting the Ten Commandments (A Trick of State)
In this episode, Word&Way President Brian Kaylor looks at legislation across the country that purports to want the Ten Commandments in public school classrooms. But the version mandated by lawmakers cannot be found in any Bible. Kaylor unpacks where the edited language came from, why such legislation is an attack on religious liberty, and the…
Books
South African Theologian Blasts Obama for Attacking ‘Preacher in a Wheelchair’
South African liberation theologian and anti-Apartheid activist Allan Boesak recently offered a blistering critique of former U.S. President Barack Obama, comparing the popular politician to biblical tyrants like Pharaoh and Herod. Boesak delivered his comments in response to Obama’s new
Pope Book Backs George Floyd Protests, Blasts Virus Skeptics
Pope Francis is supporting demands for racial justice in the wake of the U.S. police killing of George Floyd and is blasting COVID-19 skeptics and media organizations that spread their conspiracies in a new book penned during the Vatican’s coronavirus
LifeWay, Rainer Settle Contract Dispute
LifeWay Christian Resources and Thom Rainer have agreed to settlement terms in a breach of contract lawsuit between the SBC entity and its former CEO. This ends the legal action filed recently by LifeWay.
Southern Baptist Publishing Arm, LifeWay, Sues Former President Thom Rainer
LifeWay Christian Resources, the publishing arm of the Southern Baptist Convention, has sued its former president and CEO, accusing him of violating a noncompete clause in his contract.