Word&Way News: July 14
Here’s the weekly roundup from Word&Way. This week at A Public Witness, we published a report from a global Baptist conference in Norway and a national Mennonite convention in Kansas City.
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Top 5 at wordandway.org
Writing the Next Chapter in Church History. Sarah Blackwell wrote about how future Christians will recall those today who are navigating new waters by leading a church and serving as a wife and/or mothering a family at the same time.
CBF General Assembly 2023: A View From the Crowd. Laura Levens reflected on her experience at the recent meeting of the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship.
Many African American SBC Churches have Women Pastors on Staff. Will They Be Expelled Next? Bob Smietana reported on growing backlash to actions by the Southern Baptist Convention against female ministers.
Review: Wonder as a New Starting Point for Theological Anthropology. Robert D. Cornwall reviewed Wonder as a New Starting Point for Theological Anthropology by José Francisco Morales Torres.
Court Sides with Amish Families in Case that Pits Septic Tank Rules Against Religious Beliefs. Steve Karnowski reported on a religious liberty win for an Amish community in Minnesota.
Dangerous Dogma
This week: Sabrina Dent of the BJC Center for Faith, Justice, and Reconciliation
Other noteworthy shows this week:
Abigail Oduaol joined Footnotes host Jemar Tisby to discuss advocacy against environmental racism.
NPR’s All Things Considered looked at court cases as Native Americans argue mining projects would destroy sacred land.
by Brian Kaylor, Word&Way Editor-in-Chief
When it comes to efforts to foster international peace, there’s good news and bad news.
First the good. The U.S. on July 7 finally reached the milestone of destroying the last of our chemical weapons. An international treaty signed in 1993 banned chemical weapons and committed countries to destroying their supplies. But it took us a long time to safely eliminate our more than 30,000 tons of chemical agents. We should celebrate this milestone making the world officially free from chemical weapons. Blessed are the peacemakers!
But there’s also bad news. On literally the same day we eliminated our last chemical agents, the Biden administration announced it would send cluster bombs to Ukraine. These are also banned under an international treaty, but the U.S. hasn’t signed it (nor have Ukraine or Russia). These bombs scatter multiple explosive submunitions, making them more likely to hit civilians. Additionally, the fail rate means they pose risks for civilians for decades to come.
“In Laos, more than 25,000 people have been killed or injured by unexploded ordnance since the bombings ended in 1973,” Titus Peachey, who served as a Mennonite Central Committee relief worker in Laos, wrote in a USA Today editorial criticizing the Biden administration’s decision. “To come face-to-face with this human trauma was always a troubling experience for me. Why should my nation’s bombs be killing 10-year-olds decades after they had fallen?”
Russia’s war is immoral. Ukraine deserves a just peace. But we must not become the thing we hate. The Biden administration should reverse course. And the U.S. should join more than 120 other nations and finally ratify the treaty banning cluster bombs. Or else the horror of this moment will continue for decades.
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Other News of Note
In a financial disclosure, Donald Trump revealed he was paid more than $2 million from a Unification Church group for two virtual speeches (which were previously reported on by A Public Witness).
Ruth Graham of the New York Times wrote about how GOP presidential hopeful Vivek Ramaswamy is talking about his Hindu faith as he courts Christian voters.
Sally Goldenberg of Politico reported on how Ron DeSantis is trying to revive his lagging Republican presidential campaign by winning over evangelicals in Iowa.
GOP presidential candidate Tim Scott released a TV ad in Iowa where he claims the U.S. was “founded on a Judeo-Christian rock” and calls on America to have “faith in God.”
Rachel Pfeiffer of Christianity Today profiled pastor-turned-Colorado Springs mayor Yemi Mobolade.
“We don’t want culture wars. We don’t want Fox News appearances. … Our schools are not ideological battlegrounds. They’re not platforms for religious evangelism. These are institutions for learning and growth.” —a parent in Southern California as controversy erupts following a successful effort by a conservative pastor to take over the school board.
Delegates at the annual conference of the Church of the Brethren passed a resolution condemning the “Doctrine of Discovery.”
Alison Miller of the Washington Post profiled a small-town Baptist pastor in Georgia who is filling pews with an inclusive message about God’s love.
Although church attendance is down overall, megachurches are getting bigger.
Katelyn Beaty wrote at her Substack newsletter The Beaty Beat about why churches keep singing Hillsong and Bethel songs despite scandals (an issue raised at A Public Witness last year).
New Classified Listing
Good Faith Media is looking for a senior editor.
Photo of the Week
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