Word&Way News: Oct. 4
Here’s the weekly roundup from Word&Way. In addition to a look at Christian Nationalistic efforts in states that is free for anyone to read, paid subscribers to A Public Witness received a report on a political embrace of Michael the Archangel.
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Top 5 at wordandway.org
At Vice Presidential Debate Event, Religious Leaders Elevate Moral Stakes. Jeremy Fuzy reported on a virtual event with comments from Rev. Jen Butler, Rev. Angela Denker, Dr. Anthea Butler, and others.
Conservative Christians Were Skeptical of Mail-In Ballots. Now They Are Gathering Them in Churches. Deepa Bharath reported on churches embracing the controversial idea of ballot harvesting.
Influential Prophesizing Pastors Believe Reelecting Trump Is a Win in the War of Angels and Demons. Peter Smith reported from a charismatic political conference in Iowa.
Review: Defiant Hope, Active Love. Robert D. Cornwall reviewed Defiant Hope, Active Love: What Young Adults Are Seeking in Places of Work, Faith, and Community edited by Jeffrey F. Keuss.
In North Carolina, Sound of Chainsaws Brings Hope As Faith-Based Workers Clear Roads. Bob Smietana reported on faith-based efforts to help after Hurricane Helene.
Dangerous Dogma
This week: Blake Chastain on Exvangelical and Beyond
Another noteworthy podcast this week:
C-SPAN’s The Weekly podcast looked at one year of congressional prayers since the Oct. 7 attack on Israel by Hamas.
by Brian Kaylor, Word&Way Editor-in-Chief
Last week, Oklahoma State Superintendent of Public Schools Ryan Walter outlined his plan to spend $6 million on Bibles for public schools in the state. As we pointed out at A Public Witness earlier this week, that amount seems too much for the number of Bibles he wants. We also noted the problems with him pushing his preferred translation, the New King James Version.
In the piece, we joked that at least he wasn’t trying to fill public schools with the Donald Trump-endorsed “God Bless the U.S.A. Bible” since it only comes in the King James Version. Turns out, it wasn’t so funny after all.
In the official bid documents from the Oklahoma State Department of Education, the requested translation for the Bibles is not the NKJV but the KJV. Additionally, the request for 55,000 Bibles adds that the Bibles “must include copies of the United States Pledge of Allegiance, the U.S. Declaration of Independence, the U.S. Constitution, and the U.S. Bill of Rights.” You know, just like Lee Greenwood’s “God Bless the U.S.A. Bible” heretically does.
Putting aside the problem of cramming U.S. documents along with sacred texts (and the absurdity of doing so in a translation named for a British king), this might be a way of using state funds to benefit the former president. After all, few Bibles actually meet the requirements. The Oklahoma-based faith retail company Mardel Christian & Education told Oklahoma Watch that they carry about 2,900 Bibles but none match the requirements (kudos to Mardel). They don’t carry the “God Bless the U.S.A. Bible” or a similar “We the People Bible” previously endorsed by Donald Trump Jr.
To be clear, the State of Oklahoma should not be buying any Bible to put in every public school classroom. But it would be even more egregious to do so while transferring taxpayer funds to Trump and Greenwood. It might be funny if it weren’t so outrageous.
Other News of Note
Russell Contreras of Axios reported on data showing Gen Z women less religious than men (with quotes from Brian Kaylor).
Kelsey Dallas of Deseret News reported on the Bible reference during the vice presidential debate (with a quote from Brian Kaylor).
The New York Times reported on the women from a North Carolina charismatic church who have been traveling around the country to help set up at Donald Trump rallies.
Stephanie McCrummen of The Atlantic reported on the Courage Tour, a charismatic political worship tour in battleground states.
Eric Killelea of the Houston Chronicle reported on comments by Rev. Rafael Cruz (father of U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz) calling pastors “a bunch of wimps” for not being more partisan.
Samuel Perry wrote for The Revealer about connections between Christian Nationalism and a push for higher fertility rates.
“It’s harder to get into political antagonism and polarization when you are talking about politics with the person who brought you a casserole when your wife was going into surgery.” —Curtis Chang on efforts to help churches constructively talking about divisive political issues.
A Baptist church in Fort Worth, Texas, with a reputation today as a progressive congregation is taking actions to honor a Black man who served as custodian early in the 20th century but was barred from worship in the then-segregated church.
Mitchell Atencio of Sojourners wrote about the controversy that erupted at a global evangelical conference after a speaker criticized Israel's actions in Gaza.
A retired professor who spent 32 years teaching at the seminary of Cornerstone University (a fundamentalist Baptist school in Michigan) lost his emeritus status after criticizing the controversial president of the school.
Baptizing America hit #1 on the Oklahoma nonfiction bestsellers list (and marks the sixth week on the list since July).
Photo of the Week
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