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Featured
Released Texas Pastors Say Immigration Agents Threatened Family Separation
At a Sunday service after their release, which was backed by a range of Latino evangelical groups, the Assemblies of God pastors urged Christians to speak out for immigrants.
South African Faith Leaders Respond to Prolonged Anti-Migrant Violence
Churches are calling for restraint, humanitarian support, and law and order as xenophobic unrest deepens.
Susannah Crockford Traces How Protestant Themes Frame Discourse Around Climate Change
The anthropologist discusses her new book, why many Western countries are having trouble responding to climate issues, and how theological motifs relate to fossil fuels and artificial intelligence.
Church
Cooperative Baptists Challenge Christian Nationalism, Advocate for Loving Neighbors
This issue of A Public Witness treks to Jacksonville to hear from an impressive lineup of speakers at the recent Cooperative Baptist Fellowship general assembly.
When Denominations Address Christian Nationalism
The Reformed Church in America is the latest group to speak out against the ideology, with regional United Methodist bodies and two Presbyterian denominations among those also addressing the issue this summer.
Southern Baptists Pass a Ban on Women Pastors Again. This Time, They Hope It Sticks.
The proposed ban on churches with women pastors or those that allow women to preach was approved by three-quarters of church messengers gathered in Orlando.
Nation
Pro-Palestinian Interfaith Coalition Protests Christian Zionist Summit
Interfaith Action for Palestine gathered around 200 people to protest Christians United for Israel and US military support for Israel.
Between July 4 and Nov. 3, Faith Leaders Seek Fair Access to the Voting Booth
'Our churches, our mosques, our synagogues, our places of worship will become democracy hubs,' said Minister JaNaé Bates Imari, co-executive director of the interfaith group ISAIAH Minnesota.
When Blasphemy Flashes on the National Mall
This issue of A Public Witness strikes at the heresy in Trump’s Fourth of July remarks and thunders some disapproval for similar rhetoric recently offered by Speaker Mike Johnson.
World
Easter Came to Empty Pews in Jerusalem. For Palestinian Christians, Orthodox Easter May Be No Different.
Restrictions imposed by Israel against large gatherings due to the Iran war is casting a long shadow on Easter celebrations, but Palestinian Christians may be feeling it most acutely.
Displaced by War, Lebanon’s Christians Mark Easter Far From Their Homes and Churches
Since hostilities erupted last month between Israel and Lebanon's Iran-backed Hezbollah militant group — in the shadow of the wider, U.S.-Israeli war on Iran — over 1,400 people have been killed in Lebanon, and more than 1 million have been forced to flee their homes.
Pope Leo XIV Rejects Claims That God Justifies War in Palm Sunday Mass Message
He said God doesn't listen to the prayers of those who make war or cite God to justify their violence, just after Israeli police prevented the Catholic Church’s top leadership from entering the Church of the Holy Sepulchre.
Editorials
Unsettling Advent 2024, Day 1
For the first devotional exploring Advent in a time of rulers clinging to power, Brian Kaylor reflects on Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro declaring Christmas in October to distract from his false election claims.
Speaker of the House Takes Southern Baptist Approach to Covering Up Gaetz’s Alleged Sex Crimes
Editor-in-Chief Brian Kaylor reflects on Speaker Mike Johnson working to cover up a House Ethics Committee report on former Rep. Matt Gaetz after President-elect Donald Trump nominated Gaetz to serve as U.S. attorney general.
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.
Word&Way Voices
A Pacifist Response to the Minnesota Killings
While each aspect of the killing of Renee Good and Alex Pretti has been dissected and analyzed under a microscope, contributing writer Rodney Kennedy takes a macro approach to examine how American Christians approach violence.
Saying Ouch or Amen: How Druski’s Jokes Can Help the Church
Comedian Druski’s latest viral church parody contains some truth in its critique, however uncomfortable it may be. The Church and the Christians within it should face that openly.
What ‘The Testament of Ann Lee’ Teaches Us About Religious Liberty Today
From the beginning, the U.S. has prided itself on being a haven for persecuted believers. But it has also demanded those believers demonstrate their loyalty in ways that blur the line between conscience and citizenship.
E-Newsletter
Summer Reads 2026
For this issue of A Public Witness, we offer our fifth annual list of books recommended by Word&Way writers that will be perfect for wherever you find your happy place this summer.
The Gospel According to Markwayne
This issue of A Public Witness considers how the Department of Homeland Security Secretary under Mullin continues to do violence to Scripture even after Kristi Noem was ousted.
Review & Giveaway: Chosen Land
Matthew Sutton’s expansive new book is the perfect resource for understanding what the United States has been over the past 250 years, not what some people wish it would be.
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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
Review: Jubilee Economics
Kelley Nikondeha uncovers recent scholarship that points to Jubilee’s robust capabilities for resetting just economic systems — much more than the framing it typically receives as being impractical and aspirational.
Review: Serving Up Scripture
Using the metaphor of cooking, scholars Jennifer Garcia Bashaw and Aaron Higashi explain how you, the chef (interpreter), can whip up meals (insightful interpretations) from the ingredients (chapters/verses) in your Bible.
Review: Reading the Bible on Turtle Island
Indigenous scholars Chris Hoklotubbe and Danny Zacharias explore what it means to read the Bible from the lens of Indigenous peoples in North America.
Review & Giveaway: Furious Minds
Political theorist Laura Field provides an intellectual tour of the MAGA New Right, a movement that has twice carried Donald Trump into the White House.