Word&Way News: Nov. 17
Here’s the weekly roundup from Word&Way. This week at A Public Witness, we published an announcement about our upcoming Unsettling Advent devotions and a reflection on the 30th anniversary of a landmark religious freedom law.
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Top 5 at wordandway.org
Knowing What We See and Remembering What We Know. Wendell Griffen wrote about the genocide against Palestinians in Gaza.
Jerusalem’s Church Leaders Call for Sober Christmas in Holy Land as War Rages. Fiona André reported on Israeli Christian leaders urging against “unnecessarily festive” Advent and Christmas because of the war in Gaza.
Review: Community. Robert D. Cornwall reviewed Community by Henri Nouwen.
Pope Francis Removes a Leading US Conservative Critic as Bishop of Tyler, Texas. Nicole Winfield reported on a bishop fired from his position after years of attacking the pope.
Church of England Synod Moves Forward With a Test of Prayers for Same-Sex Couples. Catherine Pepinster reported on the narrow vote to allow Church of England clergy to lead special ceremonies blessing same-sex unions.
Dangerous Dogma
This week: Liz Cooledge Jenkins on Nice Church Patriarchy
Other noteworthy podcasts this week:
Jalane Schmidt appeared on Straight White American Jesus to talk about the “Swords Into Plowshares” effort that recently melted down a statue of Robert E. Lee.
Ryan Burge appeared on Homebrewed Christianity to talk about religious demographic trends.
by Brian Kaylor, Word&Way Editor-in-Chief
After a deadly terrorist attack by Hamas killed about 1,200 Israelis, more than 11,200 people have been killed in Gaza over the last 40 days. That includes more than 4,600 children. More than 1 in 200 people in Gaza have died during this short war.
In the U.S., the deaths of Palestinians continue to receive much less media attention than the deaths of Israelis, as if some lives count more than others. But all are created in God’s image and loved by God. Despite the massive civilian death toll, some U.S. evangelicals insist Israel is waging a “just war.” But we must not call evil “good.”
'Eye for eye, Tooth for tooth' Seems barbaric. But life for life Would mean 10,000 People still living in Gaza.
Other News of Note
Richard Fausset of the New York Times reported on a legal fundraiser at an Illinois church for the pastor indicted with Donald Trump for trying to overturn the 2020 election.
Tim Dickinson of Rolling Stone reported on comments now-Speaker Mike Johnson made on a Christian Nationalistic prayer call about God’s coming wrath on the United States.
John Lavenburg of Crux wrote about a meeting of U.S. Catholic bishops where they reaffirmed abortion as their “preeminent issue” in politics.
Frederick Clarkson wrote for Salon about a conservative Christian political group in Oklahoma trying to build local chapters across the nation.
John Blake of CNN wrote about the social gospel and its appearance during the recent auto workers union strike.
“We do not accept displacement from our country, our land, and our churches. … I will not leave the church except to the grave.” —Diana Tarazi, a Palestinian Christian taking refuge in a Catholic church in Gaza.
Jayson Casper of Christianity Today reported on Christians in southern Lebanon impacted by recent clashes between Israel and Hezbollah.
A Finnish politician was acquitted of hate crime charges over comments in which she cited the Bible as she condemned homosexuality.
Vann R. Newkirk II wrote for The Atlantic about “how the Negro spiritual changed American popular music — and America itself.”
Mark Wingfield of Baptist News Global wrote about a new effort by some conservatives to fight what they call “secular liberalism” in mainline Protestant denominations.
Robert P. Jones wrote at his Substack newsletter White Too Long about Donald Trump’s dangerous rhetoric calling opponents “vermin”:
Photo of the Week
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