Word&Way News: Nov. 8
Here’s the weekly roundup from Word&Way. This week at A Public Witness, we featured a reflection on five months since the publication of Baptizing America, a look at possible impacts of voting in a church building, and a recap of some key election results.
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Top 5 at wordandway.org
Review: American Christian Nationalism. Robert D. Cornwall reviewed American Christian Nationalism: Neither American nor Christian by Michael W. Austin.
State Ecumenical Groups Ramp Up Efforts To Combat Christian Nationalism. Yonat Shimron reported on efforts in North Carolina, West Virginia, Wisconsin, and Arizona.
Faith Groups Resolve To Protect Migrants, Refugees After Trump Win. Aleja Hertzler-McCain reported on religious humanitarian organizations preparing for possible government actions targeting those they serve.
Godless Liberals? Not in Minnesota, Where the Religious Left Is a Driving Force for Democrats. Madison McVan reported on progressive religious advocacy in the Land of 10,000 Lakes.
Fans Flood @Pontifex Account After It Inadvertently Cites New Orleans Saints Amid Dreadful Season. The New Orleans Saints may be one of the worst NFL teams this year, but Pope Francis has been inadvertently rooting for them on social media.
Dangerous Dogma
This week: Drew Strait on Strange Worship
Another noteworthy podcast this week:
Beau Underwood appeared on Complex Creatures to talk about Baptizing America.
by Brian Kaylor, Word&Way Editor-in-Chief
On Wednesday (Nov. 6), Vice President Kamala Harris conceded the presidential race. In her remarks, she talked about the importance of continuing the work for justice and making the nation better. As she did, she invoked some tasks we don’t generally think of as political.
“We will continue to wage this fight in the voting booth, in the courts, and in the public square,” she said. “And we will also wage it in quieter ways: in how we live our lives by treating one another with kindness and respect, by looking in the face of a stranger and seeing a neighbor, by always using our strength to lift people up, to fight for the dignity that all people deserve.”
Harris urged people to resist, in part, by being kind and loving our neighbors. This isn’t a Pollyanna attitude. In a society rewarding hatred and bigotry, refusing to also adopt those values is counter-cultural. When someone wants you to hate migrants from Haiti, treating them with respect is a form of resistance.
Ross Kane addressed this approach to politics in his new book The Good News of Church Politics. He insists that how we treat people in our community is political, thus loving one’s neighbors, forgiving people, feeding the hungry, and much more are all political acts. He still sees the need to address big issues nationally as we work against injustices, but he noted, “Through ordinary political life we can participate in bringing heaven to earth.”
Other News of Note
Brian Kaylor wrote a Newsweek column on how the Catholic vote helped Donald Trump win the election.
Before Tuesday’s elections, the Daily Cardinal reported on religious groups most likely to impact the results in Wisconsin (with comments from Brian Kaylor).
Mike Hixenbaugh of NBC News reported on evangelical and charismatic Christians celebrating Trump’s victory as ordained by God.
Sarah McCrummen of The Atlantic reported on the mixing of “prophecies,” politics, and violent rhetoric on the charismatic show Flashpoint.
Robert Herguth of the Chicago Sun-Times reported on Democratic campaigns in Illinois donating money to churches.
Ahead of the election, NPR reported on a Methodist church in the Kansas City area that ran a “campaign for kindness” amid political polarization.
“Let us be an alternative community that models holiness through love of God, our neighbors, and even our enemies. — Ken Carter, bishop of the Western North Carolina Conference of the United Methodist Church, after Tuesday’s election.
The New York Times reported on Christians in southern Lebanon trying to stay out of the crossfire as Israel and Hezbollah fight.
John Blake of CNN profiled a conservative Christian couple in Georgia and their theological evolution after learning their son was gay.
A Catholic bishop in Missouri created a list of a dozen hymns to ban from use in worship — but then rescinded it amid controversy.
There’s a new luxury apartment tower at Union Theological Seminary in New York City that is reviving the school’s finances.
Photo of the Week
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