Wednesday’s News & Ideas - 1/14/2026

How Minnesota faith communities are resisting aggressive immigration operations
NPR: As federal immigration enforcement actions intensify across the Twin Cities, communities of faith are at the forefront of resistance, organizing public witness, mutual aid and political action rooted in long-standing religious commitments.

Building a Palestinian theology amid the ruin*
America: Christian Palestinian theology cannot be concerned only with surviving but must move from “from mere preservation to active agency.”

Can James Talarico reclaim Christianity for the left?*
The New York Times: A state representative from Texas, Talarico began emerging as somebody who was breaking through on TikTok, Instagram and viral videos where he would talk about whether or not the Ten Commandments should be posted in schools.

What is Christian Reconstructionism — and why it matters in US politics
The Conversation: Christian Reconstructionism is a theological and political movement within conservative Protestantism that argues society should be governed by biblical principles, including the application of biblical law to both personal and public life.

For some Jewish women, ‘passing’ as Christian during the Holocaust could mean survival — but left scars all the same
The Conversation: Under Nazism, “passing” meant assuming a non-Jewish identity and performing it convincingly in hostile public places, whereas going into hiding meant concealing one’s physical existence.

The Spark

You’ve heard about who ICE is recruiting. The truth is far worse. I’m the proof.
What happens when you do minimal screening before hiring agents,* arming them, and sending them into the streets? We’re all finding out, Slate says.

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