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One of the most popular worship songs, ‘How Great Is Our God,’ has moved from churches to political rallies in recent years.

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.

In ‘Magnifica Humanitas,’ Leo's 83-page manifesto on AI, the pope tackles the social, economic, and political challenges associated with artificial intelligence.

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Church

During the Faith250 kickoff dinner with fried chicken, mac and cheese, and sweet potato casserole, many congregants said they decided to participate because they felt disillusioned and dismayed at the direction of the country.

‘Throughout both of Trump’s terms, he’s done so many things that I thought were going to be over the line, and it never happens,’ said Matthew Sutton, a scholar of religious history at Washington State University. ‘But this moment, it does feel like a turning point.’

While some view the work of faith-based organizers and groups as part of a surge in activism by a new 'religious left,' others say the Black church and leaders rooted in its traditions don’t fit neatly within one pole or the other.

Nation

Through Freedom 250 initiatives, Hillsdale has been enlisted by the Trump White House to shape narratives about American history.

Given Pete Hegseth’s insistence on co-opting a biblical term and employing it out of context as an insult against reporters doing their job, this issue of A Public Witness takes a look at the real Pharisees and the lesson the ‘secretary of war’ is missing.

‘Most — nearly all — serious historians agree that America was not founded as a Christian nation in any meaningful legal, philosophical, or constitutional sense,’ says the group Americans United for Separation of Church and State.

World

While figures like Franklin Graham and Pete Hegseth bet on a holy war where God is on their side, many Christian leaders in the U.S. and around the world were quick to condemn the so-called ‘Operation Epic Fury.’

Mike Huckabee, the U.S. ambassador to Israel who calls himself a Christian Zionist, made the comments in an interview with conservative commentator Tucker Carlson that aired Friday.

The alleged pipeline is a sign that the Russian state is leveraging its national church’s expansion into Africa.

Editorials

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.

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.

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 difficult pregnancy made it feel like darkness was closing in. But still, there was a tiny burning ember of hope that kept glowing. In the midst of actual and metaphoric scar tissue from years of losses, something miraculous happened.

Jesus often appeared in places where he was unexpected. He hung out with supercilious religious folk, sinners, and publicans. But he would undoubtedly say some confrontational things to the crowd.

Jesus didn’t say ‘peace’ because the disciples were safe or because the soldiers went away, but precisely because they were waiting outside and yet peace was still possible.

E-Newsletter

This issue of A Public Witness considers how the military chaplain who authored a war prayer and the secretary of defense who appropriated it for himself performed violence against Scripture to justify violence against people.

In this edition of A Public Witness, we dig around between the couch cushions to explore the relationship between religion and politics as American Christians are confronted with what belongs to God when Caesar becomes more demanding.

We’re partnering with Moravian University’s School of Theology to offer a four-week online course (with synchronous and asynchronous options) to explore how religion is covered and communicated in the media today.

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Recent Episodes

Books

C.W. Howell’s book documents what transpired, unpacks the broader meaning, and illuminates the effects of the “Intelligent Design” movement that sought to shake the foundations of the scientific establishment.

Writing in a clear and accessible style, scholar Mark Goodacre takes a unique approach to showing that John knew and used the narratives of Matthew, Mark, and Luke.

This new book from Diana Butler Bass offers an essay for every week in the seasons of the Christian year — from Advent and Christmas to Lent and Easter, through the entire calendar.

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.