Word&Way News: March 3
Discover more from A Public Witness
Here’s the weekly roundup from Word&Way. In addition to a review of a book on Christians in a polarized society that is free for anyone to read, paid subscribers to A Public Witness received a look at efforts to put government prayer in public schools.
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Top 5 at wordandway.org
Review: Second Thoughts About the Second Coming. Jeremy Fuzy reviewed Second Thoughts about the Second Coming: Understanding the End Times, Our Future, and Christian Hope by Ronald J. Allen and Robert D. Cornwall.
Saddleback Church Doubles Down on Support for Female Pastors. The megachurch founded by Rick Warren isn’t backing down as Southern Baptist Convention leaders oust the congregation.
Review: The Book of Nature. Robert D. Cornwall reviewed Barbara Mahany’s The Book of Nature: The Astonishing Beauty of God’s First Sacred Text.
For Many Congregations, Wiping Out Medical Debt has Become a Popular Calling. Yonat Shimron wrote about churches raising funds to cancel medical debt as a social justice project.
Faith Leaders Urge Biden to Sign Executive Order for Reparations Study by Juneteenth. Adelle M. Banks reported on a push by more than 200 clergy leaders in an effort co-organized by the National Council of Churches and Faith for Black Lives.
Dangerous Dogma
This week: Jennifer Garcia Bashaw on Scapegoats
Other noteworthy programs this week:
On State of Belief, host Paul Raushenbush interviewed Adam Taylor of Sojourners about faith and advocacy.
On Respecting Religion, Amanda Tyler and Holly Hollman talked about public schools and Christian Nationalism.
A webinar sponsored last week by Christians Against Christian Nationalism featured presentations by Brian Kaylor and Maggie Siddiqi (director of the Center for Faith-based and Neighborhood Partnerships at the U.S. Department of Education). The video is now available online.
by Brian Kaylor, Word&Way Editor-in-Chief
As former Vice President Mike Pence tests the waters for a 2024 presidential run, he’s been traveling to key states to talk about his memoir. In recent weeks he visited Iowa, New Hampshire, South Carolina, and other states that vote early in the primary process. But who he speaks to also shows us his vision for America.
On Thursday (March 2), Pence spoke at Bob Jones University in Greenville, South Carolina. It’s a fundamentalist Christian school long known for its history of segregation and anti-Catholicism. Because of that, it sparked a big controversy in 2000 when George W. Bush spoke on campus as he sought the Republican presidential nomination. He eventually apologized after losing the Michigan primary amid the uproar.
After the public criticism surrounding Bush’s visit, BJU made some changes, including ending its ban on interracial dating among students and scrubbing some anti-Catholic remarks from its website. But the school remained centered on its fundamentalist foundation.
BJU’s time in the political wilderness didn’t last long. In 2015, many GOP hopefuls made pilgrimages there. And the next year the school even hosted a presidential forum with most of the remaining GOP candidates in attendance.
Today, as Pence imagines himself replacing the U.S.’s second Catholic president, he prioritizes the support of fundamentalist Christians with records of anti-Catholicism. For instance, in January he spoke at the churches of Robert Jeffress and John Hagee, both of whom have been criticized for anti-Catholic comments. And now he appeared at Bob Jones University. When someone shows you who they are, believe them.
Other News of Note
Kelsey Dallas of Deseret News reported on the religious freedom conflict at the University of Colorado because of prayers by new football coach Deion Sanders.
Jennifer Hawks of the Baptist Joint Committee for Religious Liberty wrote for Good Faith Media about the conflict between Christian Nationalism and public schools.
Ariana Eunjung Cha of the Washington Post wrote about Jewish and Christian clergy in Missouri who are parents of transgender children and are pushing back against state legislation targeting their kids.
Chrissy Stroop wrote for openDemocracy about the controversy over the religious views of a Scottish politician.
“It’s been an amazing program. … It’s been incredibly, wildly successful beyond anyone’s expectations.” —Kellie Moss, an associate director for global health and HIV policy at the Kaiser Family Foundation, about the U.S. President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief as the program started by President George W. Bush reaches its 20th anniversary.
Pastor and writer Jim Burklo discovered that a key public relations consultant behind the “He Gets Us” ads also was behind controversial ads attacking presidential candidates John Kerry in 2004 and Barack Obama in 2008.
Emily Belz reported for Christianity Today about the severe financial woes of The King’s College, a Christian school in New York City.
Research by the Lewis Center for Church Leadership at Wesley Theological Seminary found that churches leaving the United Methodist Church are more likely to be in the South, pastored by men, majority White congregations, and rural than those staying so far.
Episcopal churches in Texas discovered the unmarked grave of a pioneering Black priest who was born in slavery and died over a century ago.
Mike Glenn wrote at the Substack newsletter of Scot McKnight about why COVID should help churches and pastors focus on discipleship over attendance numbers.
New Classified Listing
First Baptist Church in Scottsbluff, Nebraska, is looking for a lead pastor.
Photo of the Week
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