Word&Way News: Jan. 17
Here’s the weekly roundup from Word&Way. In addition to a look at how progressive Episcopal churches are participating in Trump’s inauguration that is free for anyone to read, paid subscribers to A Public Witness received a reflection on the 500th anniversary of the Anabaptist movement.
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Top 5 at wordandway.org
Review: American Christianity Today. Robert D. Cornwall reviewed American Christianity Today: Establishment, Decline, and Revival by Dyron Daughrity.
National Baptists’ New President, Boise Kimber, Seeks To Include Women, Young Leaders. Adelle M. Banks reported on the new head of the largest Black Baptist denomination in the United States.
Speaker Mike Johnson Pushing To Replace House Chaplain. Jack Jenkins reported on an effort to replace a progressive Presbyterian minister with a conservative nondenominational pastor.
Some US Lawmakers Want More Christianity in the Classroom. Trump Could Embolden Their Plans. Moriah Balingit reported on efforts to push Christian Nationalism in public schools across the country.
1 in 7 Global Christians Faces ‘High-Level’ Persecution. Fiona André reported on a new report from Open Doors USA.
Dangerous Dogma
This week: Joe Blosser on To Love Our Neighbors
by Brian Kaylor, Word&Way Editor-in-Chief
When a former U.S. president dies, flags across the nation go to half-staff for 30 days. That’s what the U.S. Flag Code demands for flags on federal property. Businesses and other places that fly flags generally follow suit. This has been the tradition for decades. So when former President Jimmy Carter died on Jan. 29, President Joe Biden ordered flags lowered to half-staff until Jan 28.
That time period meant flags would be at half-staff to honor Carter on inauguration day. That’s actually not unprecedented. Flags were at half-staff for Richard Nixon’s second inauguration because of the death of former President Harry Truman on Dec. 26, 1972. But our next president isn’t happy when he’s not the center of attention.
“Nobody wants to see this, and no American can be happy about it,” Donald Trump complained while inaccurately claiming it had never happened before during an inauguration.
So Texas Gov. Greg Abbott decided to take action. On Monday (Jan. 13), he ordered flags on Texas state property to be raised on Jan. 20 to celebrate Trump's inauguration before returning to half-staff. Other governors quickly followed, including in Alabama, California, Idaho, Indiana, Iowa, Florida, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, Ohio, and Tennessee. More significantly, U.S. Speaker of the House Mike Johnson announced on Tuesday that flags at the Capitol — where the inauguration will be held — will go up even though it’s a federal building.
All of this raises an important issue for churches. While I’m not a fan of churches flying flags (as explained in Baptizing America), many do. For those with a flag outside on a pole, they now have a decision to make on Monday: Will they honor Jimmy Carter or Donald Trump? I hope churches will resist the politicking and instead show respect for a president who demonstrated his Christian character. But even as where to fly a flag gets caught up in partisan politics, it seems like one more reason for churches not to wave a national banner at all.
Other News of Note
John R. Vile wrote a review of Baptizing America for the Free Speech Center at Middle Tennessee State University, calling the book “well written and amply footnoted.”
The Center for the Study of Religion and American Culture featured Beau Underwood in a piece about how two pastors in Indiana are working to encourage loving conversations at their churches amid political polarization.
At Jimmy Carter’s funeral in Washington, D.C., Mike Pence spoke with Donald Trump for the first time in four years. Pence talked with Russell Moore of Christianity Today about that.
Robert Downen of the Texas Tribune reported on a worship service in the Texas Capitol by conservative Christians engaged in “spiritual war” in the legislature.
Alec MacGillis of ProPublica reported on an effort in Ohio to shift taxpayer dollars to private religious schools.
Robert P. Jones wrote at White Too Long about the lack of attention to Christian Nationalism in the Senate confirmation hearing for Secretary of Defense nominee Pete Hegseth.
“I would love to be wrong about this. The reason I’m saying these things is because I have been listening to what they (in this movement) have been saying and I have been reading what they have been writing for years.” —Kristin Du Mez in a CNN interview about the expected Christian Nationalistic efforts in the upcoming Trump administration.
A lawmaker in Oklahoma wants to make it illegal (other than in two cities) to provide shelters for unhoused persons, which would include barring churches from operating shelters.
A United Methodist church in Texas is hosting an art installation to highlight local victims of gun violence.
Ian Shapira of the Washington Post reported on a former Episcopal priest now being investigated by the FBI for sexual abuse of children after escaping scrutiny for decades.
A ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas has been reached, with Hamas to release hostages after 15 months and Israel to allow humanitarian aid into Gaza.
Hailey Branson-Potts of the Los Angeles Times reported on a Sunday worship service by a United Church of Christ congregation whose building burned in the Eaton wildfire in California.
Photo of the Week
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