Weekly Roundup: Aug. 14
Here’s the weekly roundup from A Public Witness. In addition to a look at the problem with religious tests for office and a report on the Trump administration sending undercover agents inside church buildings that are free for anyone to read, paid subscribers to A Public Witness received a piece on AI-generated social media posts about worship services at the Pentagon.
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Top 5 at wordandway.org
Review: Apocalypticism as a Worldview in Ancient Judaism. Robert D. Cornwall reviewed Apocalypticism as a Worldview in Ancient Judaism by John J. Collins.
With Three Prisoners Scheduled for Execution, Southern Churches Toll Their Bells. Aleja Hertzler-McCain reported on faith groups leading vigils this week as Tennessee, Oklahoma, and Alabama all executed someone on Thursday.
After Cuts, Trump Administration Gives $2B to Christian Groups for Global Aid. While some praised the administration for increasing global aid after significant cuts, others criticized the sectarian bias in who will get the money.
Johnny Hunt’s Last Defamation Claims Rejected by Federal Judge. A former president of the Southern Baptist Convention lost his lawsuit against the SBC, which had reported an allegation that he committed sexual assault against a pastor’s wife.
Pope Leo Hat Giveaway Turns White Sox Game Into the Church of Baseball. Bob Smietana reported from Rate Field about a celebration of a baseball team’s famous fan.
by Brian Kaylor, Word&Way Editor-in-Chief
This morning, I published a report about court documents that detail how the U.S. Department of Homeland Security sent undercover agents into Lutheran, Baptist, Episcopal, and Unitarian Universalist churches in Minnesota and Michigan. Church members who were not targets of an investigation and who did nothing wrong were spied on. And DHS entered one church despite a federal judge’s injunction protecting it from warrantless DHS actions.
Interfaith Alliance this morning quickly mobilized in response. Citing A Public Witness, they put together a petition calling on DHS to “stop spying on churches.” It declares, “Houses of worship are sacred sites. Government agents conducting undercover investigations risk desecrating our houses of worship. Americans of all beliefs across the political spectrum can unite in respecting the religious freedom rights of houses of worship. As Americans of diverse faiths, we call on DHS to stop its undercover spying on houses of worship. The Trump administration must hold anyone who infringes on Americans’ religious freedom rights accountable.” Amen!
You can add your name to Interfaith Alliance’s petition here.
Other News of Note
Allegra Hobbs of Texas Monthly reported on how James Talarico, the Democratic nominee for U.S. Senate in Texas, said last year he would not accept endorsements during a church service — and then did exactly that on Sunday in a move that helped the church violate IRS rules governing tax-exempt nonprofits.
Pillow-hugger Mike Lindell, who spent years speaking at rightwing Christian events to claim the 2020 presidential election was stolen (even though it was not), is claiming he lost the Republican primary for Minnesota governor because of voting irregularities.
Jonathan D. Cohen wrote for ARC about how the leading moralizing against gambling today is no longer coming from rightwing evangelicals like Jerry Falwell but liberal politicians like Sen. Chris Murphy.
Former U.S. Vice President Mike Pence is now a visiting professor at Colorado Christian University.
After pushback, a public school district in Colorado will remove the Bible-based content from controversial curriculum they had just adopted.
John Fritze of CNN wrote about an upcoming U.S. Supreme Court case that could impact where people are allowed to hold prayer gatherings.
“The Christian presence in the Holy Land is a vital part of the region’s DNA and has survived for more than 2,000 years. It would be a tragedy for Palestinians and Israelis alike if it were to disappear altogether.” —Catholic Bishop James Curry as he criticized the Israeli military for closing the Palestinian Christian village of Taybeh (known in the New Testament as Ephraim, where Jesus and his disciples stayed after Lazarus was raised from the dead)
Eve Sampson of Military Times reported that U.S. Marines have been given less than two months to update their religious affiliation after the Pentagon slashed nearly 200 options.
Rev. Stephanie Vader, a United Methodist pastor in Washington, D.C., is urging Christians to speak out against the growing National Guard presence in the nation’s capital.
Alex Hannaford of The Independent wrote about the “manosphere” trying to depict Jesus as a masculine “MAGA poster boy.”
Hernán Restrepo of Christianity Today reported on how pastors in the Spanish enclave of Ceuta ministered amid a recent swell of migrants.
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