Review: Elusive Grace
In "Elusive Grace: Loving Your Enemies While Striving for God’s Justice," Scott Black Johnston brings healing to the divides present in our congregations so that together we might become agents of justice and voices of healing.
Americans Like Jews, Catholics and Mainline Protestants. Evangelicals, Not So Much.
Political partisanship may explain why evangelicals are viewed negatively by non evangelicals. The overwhelming majority of evangelicals identify with the Republican Party and this bloc is usually highly correlated with the so-called religious right.
Christian Nationalism and a Bagel
Given the questions about the event throughout its seven-decade history, the National Prayer Breakfast deserves greater attention. So in this issue of A Public Witness, Brian Kaylor recalls its history and recent controversies before considering what this year's new changes could mean.
Sometimes I Want To Be a Christian Nationalist
Rev. Angela Denker reflects on the church life her kids don't get to live and how at times it feels like it would be easier to uncompromisingly champion a strong and central Church, one that can afford to take for granted its place at the
‘Not a Real Schism’: Four Years Later, UMC Exodus Less a Gush, More a Trickle
Nearly four years ago, the United Methodist Church approved an exit plan for churches wishing to break away from the global denomination over differing beliefs about sexuality, setting in motion what many believed would be a modern-day schism. Since then, a new analysis has found,
Review & Giveaway: Christianity’s American Fate
In his new book, David Hollinger argues that conservative evangelical churches flourished by providing a safe harbor for White Americans who wanted to be counted as Christian while avoiding a challenge that mainline leaders insisted must be faced: living a Christian life in a racially
David Hollinger on Christianity’s American Fate
David Hollinger, an emeritus history professor at the University of California, Berkeley, about his new book Christianity's American Fate: How Religion Became More Conservative and Society More Secular. He also discusses why evangelicals grew in the 20th century, what Donald Trump reveals, and a better
United Methodist Church Announces Date, Location for Thrice-Postponed General Conference
Perhaps the third time will be the charm for United Methodists awaiting a vote to officially split the denomination. The United Methodist Church has announced the dates for the next meeting of its global decision-making body after postponing its 2020 General Conference meeting three times
Samford University Cuts Ties With LGBTQ-Affirming Ministries Amid Student Outcry
Several students, faculty, and staff held a protest outside an event being held by Samford’s Office of Spiritual Life. The protest requested that LGBTQ-affirming churches be welcome at the ministry fair, that the school approve a gay/straight alliance, and that the school pass anti-discrimination policy
Samford, Slavery, & Scripture
In this edition of A Public Witness, we take a look at Samford University’s past and find that its current justifications for excluding other Christians from campus rest on a revisionist whitewashing of its own history. After naming Samford’s struggle to face the ghosts in