Word&Way News: Nov. 23
Discover more from A Public Witness
Here’s the weekly roundup from Word&Way, which we’re sending out early so we can go enjoy some turkey, cranberries, and pumpkin pie. This week at A Public Witness, we published a review of Christopher Beem’s The Seven Democratic Virtues.
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Top 5 at wordandway.org
A Different Kind of Pilgrim. Sarah Blackwell reflected on how she is thinking in new ways about what it means to be a pilgrim.
The Social Gospel vs. Individualism in the Georgia Runoff. Rodney Kennedy looked at religious messages at odds in the ongoing race between Sen. Raphael Warnock and Herschel Walker.
How the Museum of the Bible Produces a White Evangelical Bible. Yonat Shimron talked with two scholars who have examined how a museum in Washington, D.C, depicts the Bible.
Review: Buried Seeds. Robert D. Cornwall reviewed Buried Seeds: Learning from the Vibrant Resilience of Marginalized Christian Communities by Alexia Salvatierra and Brandon Wrencher.
A Once-Dying Church Hopes to Reinvent Itself with Coffee and Kindness. Bob Smietana reported on the transformation of Community Covenant Church in Kirkwood, Missouri.
Dangerous Dogma
This week: Adriene Thorne of Riverside Church
Another noteworthy podcast this week:
Lee Spitzer appeared on our show Baptist Without An Adjective to talk about his new book Sympathy, Solidarity, and Silence: Three European Baptist Responses to the Holocaust.
by Brian Kaylor, Word&Way Editor-in-Chief
When election day arrived earlier this month, I breathed a sigh of relief that candidates would take a break from campaigning during Sunday worship services. Alas, that reprieve only lasted one week. The 2024 presidential campaign might soon play in a sanctuary near you.
Several presidential hopefuls have been unofficially campaigning for months (as we documented over the summer). But with the midterms over, the quest for the White House will heat up. The loser of the last campaign already announced his candidacy. Former Vice President Mike Pence is doing the media rounds to promote his new book and push his presidential dream — apparently believing his party will shift from praising those who wanted to hang him to instead voting for him. And several potential candidates spoke at the Republican Jewish Coalition’s conference over the weekend.
Former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley addressed the RJC and then spoke during the Sunday night service at Cornerstone Church in San Antonio, Texas. Pastor John Hagee, who John McCain once rejected as too extreme, introduced her at his church that last year hosted the ReAwaken America Tour.
After common praise songs, the service shifted to “The Battle Hymn of the Republic,” “God Bless the USA,” and Haley’s sermon. She praised Hagee and declared her support for Israel before hitting predictable notes. She claimed it’s hard to be a Christian in America, espoused Christian Nationalist ideas, criticized unnamed American leaders for making the country “weak” so that it has “hit rock bottom,” and promised she will fight to “save America.” Then the congregation sang “God Bless America.”
It was a far cry from the “Christ the King Sunday” focus in many churches around the world.
Advent Starts Sunday
The season of Advent begins this coming Sunday (Nov. 27). And we’re back for the second year with our Unsettling Advent devotionals. These short daily email devotionals will connect the social context of Jesus’s time with unsettling news from our world this year. More than 20 writers will help us all consider Advent in light of the war in Ukraine, the global refugee crisis, and the plague of gun violence.
The Unsettling Advent devotionals are free, but you have to sign up to receive them.
Other News of Note
After the deadly shooting at an LGBTQ nightclub, the New York Times looked at the evangelical influence on the city of Colorado Springs.
Rob Schenck alleged that Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito leaked news of the important Hobby Lobby contraception case back in 2014.
Beau Underwood reviewed two books for a recent issue of Christian Century.
Baylor University professor Greg Garrett wrote for Baptist News Global to question why Baylor has remained silent about Russia’s imprisonment of former Baylor Bears basketball star Brittney Griner.
Hannah McClellan of Christianity Today reported on a new lawsuit by a former Liberty University dean who claims he was fired for whistleblowing.
The Baptist Standard reported on a webinar by Mariah Humphries on the physical and cultural removals that Native Americans have experienced.
The Church of England suggested congregations consider the World Cup final day schedule on Sunday, Dec. 18, when planning Christmas carol services out of a fear people won’t show up if England’s national team is still playing.
Laura Meckler of the Washington Post reported on an effort to help Afghan refugees understand American culture with a Thanksgiving community meal featuring turkey, stuffing, and lentils.
Photo of the Week
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