This issue of A Public Witness explores the subversive power of public mourning — like what happened recently after the state murder of Russian political dissident Alexei Navalny — to better understand a Beatitude of Jesus.
One-third of white evangelical Protestants support the idea, significantly more than any other religious group.
The reflex to support certain types of violence has led to the quick canonization of vigilantes as new American saints. So this issue of A Public Witness documents this trend in recent political discourse and considers the dangerous gospel it preaches.
In this issue of A Public Witness, we look at politicians citing Ephesians 6 in ways that don’t fit with the meaning of the passage. Then we consider how this rhetoric adds to a political environment already filled with violence.
In episode 62 of Dangerous Dogma, Thomas Lecaque, professor of history at Grand View University, talks about alarming issues of religious and political support for violence. He also discusses the importance of studying history.