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Rodney Kennedy writes about religious issues and character matters in the the U.S. Senate race in Texas between Democrat James Talarico and Republican Ken Paxton.

An influential Southern Baptist pastor stood Wednesday (Aug. 19) in the headquarters of the world’s largest military and, with no sense of irony, preached a message of hope for Pentagon leaders by pointing to multiple biblical passages where God miraculously delivered people by defeating a large imperial military.

Having a biography of an Episcopal Church nun, especially an African American Episcopal nun, is worth taking note of.

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Videos

Church

This issue of A Public Witness treks to The Six to cover the recent gathering of the Baptist World Alliance.

Latina United Methodist Church leaders in Texas are emerging with fresh models for ministry following years of schism, decline, and uncertainty within the denomination.

The largest Presbyterian denomination in the US and the prominent association of religious studies scholars both referred to Israel's war in Gaza as genocide in new resolutions condemning the war.

Nation

In light of advocacy from figures like Doug Wilson and Micah Beckwith, it’s worth remembering why the American experiment includes a ban on religious tests for office.

With a record-setting fundraising haul, Hamilton still faces an uphill battle to become Kansas' first Democratic senator in nearly a century.

Other attempts under federal law to prohibit the display of a highly edited version of the religious text in public schools — primarily the First Amendment’s guarantee of separation of church and state — have been unsuccessful so far.

World

In addition to heading the Church of England, the Archbishop of Canterbury is the spiritual leader of the worldwide Anglican Communion, including the Episcopal Church in the U.S.

This issue of A Public Witness considers some dangerous voices against climate action and then the Christians working to love their neighbors and the Creator by addressing our pressing environmental crisis.

Trump delivered an extraordinary online attack against Leo on Sunday night after the first U.S.-born pope suggested that a ‘delusion of omnipotence’ is fueling the U.S.-Israel war in Iran.

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

In significant sectors of American evangelical Christianity, Israel is a theological object beyond moral scrutiny. This is not political support for an ally. It is worship. And by Christianity’s own doctrinal standards, it is sin.

Stanley Hauerwas writes that ‘war is America’s central liturgical act necessary to renew our sense that we are a nation unlike any other nation.’ Contributing writer Rodney Kennedy connects this idea to our TV habits.

When Christianity becomes publicly associated with nationalist aggression and eagerness for war, it presents a face to the world that is, by any honest reading of the New Testament, a misrepresentation of the faith.

E-Newsletter

The first moment of the Quentin Tarantino film highlighted by the vice president during a recent interview occurs just seconds after the Samuel L. Jackson monologue used by Pete Hegseth as a prayer during a worship service at the Pentagon in April.

For this issue of A Public Witness, we virtually trek deep in the heart of Texas to see how “God and country” too often looks more like country as god at Prestonwood Baptist Church.

Jonathan Morris, a former priest and current Fox News commentator, and Washington Nationals pitcher Trevor Williams led the service in Pete Hegseth’s absence.

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Recent Episodes

Books

L. Daniel Hawk exposes the belief systems and practices that settlers developed to justify the displacement, destruction, and cultural erasure of Indigenous peoples, beginning in the early American colonial period and extending to the present day.

Amar D. Peterman explores how the common good can be cultivated through the practice of neighbor love and encourages Christians to join their neighbors at what he calls ‘the shared table.’

If HGTV decided to cast a show about fixing up your old religion, few could compete with James McGrath to be the star who transforms outdated edifices into contemporary spiritual structures.

Writing in a personal, conversational style, New Testament scholar James McGrath shares his experiences of outgrowing a narrowly defined Christianity and learning how to inhabit a more dynamic Christian faith.