When to stand on conviction and when to compromise

When President Trump first announced his list of cabinet nominations, his selection of former representative Matt Gaetz to serve as Attorney General garnered most of the attention. By the time he dropped out and Pam Bondi took his place, much of the initial concern regarding three of the president’s other nominations had fallen to the background. However, that changed earlier this week as Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Kash Patel, and Tulsi Gabbard all went before their respective Senate approval committees in what proved to be a contentious affair for each.

Kennedy endured two days of questions, as the position for which he was nominated required meeting with both the Senate Finance Committee and the Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee. Neither proved overwhelmingly receptive, with his past comments on abortion and vaccines dominating much of the conversation. While he still has a path to confirmation, that outcome appears far from certain.

The same could be said for Kash Patel, Trump’s choice to lead the FBI. Going into his hearing, Patel had the reputation of a hard and fast supporter of the president whom many believed—and not without cause—would be willing to use his office to go after those who had opposed the president in the past. But while that outcome is still possible should Patel be confirmed, his time before the committee argued against that notion.

Patel was more than willing to match the confrontational tone of the senators who opposed his nomination, but he also argued that many of the comments that had stoked fears were taken out of context or misunderstood. Listening to him offer those arguments, the truth is likely somewhere in the middle. Important context was missing from what the senators quoted, but that context would not completely absolve Patel of the accusations levied against him.

Still, Patel appears to have enough support among Republicans on the committee that his nomination will likely go forward without issue. However, the same cannot be said for the third of Trump’s controversial selections to appear before the Senate on Thursday: Tulsi Gabbard.

What is FISA 702?

As former Democrats turned Trump supporters, Kennedy and Gabbard were always going to have the greatest difficulty among the president’s nominees in finding acceptance from Senate Republicans. However, Gabbard’s hearing for her nomination to be Director of National Intelligence was particularly interesting in that what many thought would be the most contentious issue—her past stance on FISA Section 702—proved to be something of an afterthought.

As it currently stands, Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) allows federal authorities to collect information and conversations without a warrant. But while the Act is ostensibly focused on foreign nationals, the basic framework often ends up capturing the private thoughts of American citizens as well. During her time in Congress, Gabbard repeatedly spoke out against the Act and even attempted to repeal it at one point.

Given that Section 702 provides much of the information with which the intelligence community makes its decisions, Gabbard’s past opposition to the Act put her at odds with those she would be charged with leading should she be confirmed as director of national intelligence. Yet, during the hearing, Gabbard repeatedly claimed that recent changes to the law have put many of those concerns to rest in her mind.

Ironically, it was the man who first revealed much of that government overreach—Edward Snowden—who may prove to be a far greater stumbling block to Gabbard’s confirmation.

Is Edward Snowden a traitor?

When pressed by both Republican and Democratic Senators to denounce Snowden as a traitor, Gabbard refused. Instead, she stated that he had “broken the law” and promised to advocate for steps to ensure that “we can prevent something like this from happening again.”

That response proved insufficient for the Senators who repeatedly pressed her to call Snowden a traitor. Such insistence seems like a strange stance to take considering Snowden has never been charged with treason. Moreover, constitutionally, treason is only possible when a person aids a country with whom Congress has declared war, which hasn’t happened since June 5, 1942.

Ultimately, Gabbard was right not to call Snowden a traitor, though it seems clear that the committee had a more nebulous understanding of treason in mind. Her choice not to do so, however, may cost her the confirmation.

Whether Gabbard’s decision not to denounce Snowden demonstrates courage and conviction or shortsighted obstinance is for each person to decide. And perhaps both can be true to some extent. Either way, though, her choice speaks to a principle that we would all do well to consider today.

Conviction or compromise? 

Some of the most influential people in the history of the church have been those willing to stand up for what they believe to be true regardless of how many people disagreed with them. From the apostle Paul to Martin Luther and a host of others, God has used that willingness to stand on an island to advance his kingdom in remarkable ways.

Of course, what God intends for good, Satan will always try to use for evil.

Many of those same people ended up driving others away or creating unnecessary conflict when they refused to prioritize common ground over relatively minor differences. In such moments, the key to knowing when to compromise and when to stand firm is letting God make that decision for you.

To be sure, there are certain truths to which the Lord has already said we must hold fast. Standing up for these core elements of the gospel with conviction will always be the right thing to do. But even then, the manner in which we share that truth will go a long way toward determining what the Lord can do through us.

For example, Satan is generally fine with us telling the truth so long as we don’t do it in love (Ephesians 4:15). Likewise, he’d surely prefer that we don’t share the gospel, but if our message is delivered with arrogance and derision rather than humility and grace then we are still likely to build barriers between the Lord and those he’s called us to reach.

While you and I are unlikely to ever stand before a congressional committee, God will make sure that all of us are given chances to stand for the gospel. So when your opportunity comes, will you be ready? Today is a great time to make sure your answer is yes.

Our latest website articles:

• The greatness and tragedy of Winston Churchill
• What to do when church members ghost your church
• “Nothing short of a nightmare”: Tragedy over the Potomac
• A TB outbreak and a more dangerous bird flu strain
• Woman still alive two months after receiving a pig kidney

Quote of the day:

“The virtue of courage is a prerequisite for the practice of all other virtues, otherwise one is virtuous only when virtue has no cost.” —C.S. Lewis

Denison Forum

Perception, reality, and transforming grace

Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is President Trump’s nominee for secretary of health and human services. If approved, he will become our nation’s top health official and control a $1.7 trillion agency that oversees food and hospital inspections, hundreds of health clinics, vaccine recommendations, and health insurance for roughly half the country.

His confirmation hearing yesterday before the Senate Finance Committee was highly contentious as he faced questions from both parties regarding vaccines, Medicare and Medicaid, and abortion. His hearing before the Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions committee is today.

Caroline Kennedy, cousin of Robert F. Kennedy Jr., wrote a letter to senators calling him a “predator” who is addicted to power. However, another cousin, Patrick J. Kennedy, wrote a letter to the editor of the Washington Post supporting his nomination.

The Gulf of Mexico or the Gulf of America?

In other news, Google announced it will change the name of the Gulf of Mexico to the Gulf of America on Google Maps following President Trump’s executive order to rename it. However, the president of Mexico says, “For us, it is still the Gulf of Mexico, and for the entire world it is still the Gulf of Mexico.”

The Associated Press will refer to the Gulf by both names. It notes that this is not unprecedented: what the US government calls the Gulf of California, Mexico recognizes as the Gulf of Cortez, so AP uses both names.

Google will also change the name of Denali to Mount McKinley. It notes that since the mountain lies solely in the US and the president has the authority to change federal geographical names within the country, they will recognize this name.

But even this issue is not fully settled: Alaska House members passed a resolution Monday urging the president not to rename the mountain, describing Denali as “a symbol of culture and a symbol of respect.”

Is the “loneliness epidemic” a myth?

Our postmodern culture is convinced that there is no such thing as objective reality, only your reality and mine. In this view, perception is reality.

Given the absolute authority of God as king and the objective truth of his revealed word, I disagree completely, of course. However, it is the case that perception can become reality if we believe the two to be the same.

For example: The US Consumer Confidence Index declined in January as consumers became less optimistic about future business and income conditions. Such pessimism may cause consumers to cut back on spending, which would further weaken the economy and become a self-fulfilling prophecy.

The Atlantic recently reported on an ongoing loneliness epidemic, writing that “self-imposed solitude might just be the most important social fact of the twenty-first century.” But another Atlantic article contradicts the first. Titled “The Myth of a Loneliness Epidemic,” it notes that Americans “may not actually feel more desolate than they did in the past.”

My guess is that if you believe yourself to be lonely, you are likely to feel lonely. If you believe yourself to be loved, you are likely to feel loved.

Therein lies my point today.

“The major strategy of Satan”

In Life of the Beloved: Spiritual Living in a Secular World, Henri J. W. Nouwen writes that you and I are God’s “Beloved” based not on our merit but on the fact that “God is a Lover.” Our Father loves us because it is his very nature to do so. He loves us right now as much as when he allowed his Son to die so we might live with him in eternity.

However, writer Neil T. Anderson warns:

The major strategy of Satan is to distort the character of God and the truth of who we are. He can’t change God and he can’t do anything to change our identity and position in Christ. If, however, he can get us to believe a lie, we will live as though our identity in Christ isn’t true.

If we can be persuaded that God does not exist, or that he is irrelevant to our daily lives, we will be closed to his transforming love. As a result, we will refuse to believe that such love exists.

And our perception becomes our reality.

In this case, since we were made in the image of the God who “is” love (Genesis 1:27; 1 John 4:8), we will seek to love and be loved in other ways. This is why the decline in religion and rise in sexual immorality across recent decades are related.

Martin Luther was right: “The sin underneath all our sins is to trust the lie of the serpent that we cannot trust the love and grace of Christ and must take matters into our own hands.” This lie explains every sin you and I commit.

The answer is to change our perception so as to change our reality. It is to see God as our loving Father, then trust him to be this in our lives. It is to believe that he answers our prayers with his best, then offer our prayers with confidence. It is to decide that his will is “good, pleasing and perfect” (Romans 12:2 NIV), then obey it with gratitude.

When we do, our perception becomes our reality.

“Like discovering a well in the desert”

Henri Nouwen assured us:

Every time you listen with great attentiveness to the voice that calls you the Beloved, you will discover within yourself a desire to hear that voice longer and more deeply. It is like discovering a well in the desert. Once you have touched wet ground, you want to dig deeper.

Will you listen to “the voice that calls you the Beloved” today?

(For more on our theme, please see my recent website article, “Court rules that elephants are not persons: A reflection on your deepest purpose and highest joy.”)

Our latest website articles:

• “A TB outbreak and a more dangerous bird flu strain: How God redeems death for an even greater good”
• “Woman still alive two months after receiving a pig kidney: ‘It’s like a new beginning’”

• “Why did Emilia Peréz actually receive 13 Oscar nominations? What the film about a transgender cartel leader could reveal about our culture”
• “Did China damage Taiwan’s internet service? Undersea cables and gray zone conflict”
• “Four reflections on Bishop Budde’s message to Donald Trump”

Quote for the day:

“Self-rejection is the greatest enemy of the spiritual life because it contradicts the sacred voice that calls us the ‘Beloved.’ Being the Beloved constitutes the core truth of our existence.” —Henry J. M. Nouwen

Denison Forum

The illusion of control and the power of grace

If you were to stack one trillion dollar bills together, the column would measure 67,866 miles high, more than a fourth of the way from Earth to the moon. That’s how much of the stock market’s value was wiped out Monday. Nearly $600 billion was lost by just one company, the biggest one-day fall in US history. While the markets largely recovered yesterday, the reverberations are continuing. At the heart of the crisis: Chinese AI model DeepSeek was released last week.

DeepSeek appeared to perform on par with counterparts from OpenAI, the US firm at the heart of the AI boom, but with far less computing power or money invested. This means AI models of the future might not need as many high-end chips from leading producer Nvidia. As the Wall Street Journal reported, this “turned tech and Wall Street upside down,” causing Nvidia’s stock to plunge more than $590 billion and tech stocks across the board to plummet.

In other scary news, the “Doomsday Clock” moved closer to midnight yesterday than ever before. This means atomic scientists think humanity is closer than we have ever been to destroying ourselves, whether through nuclear war, climate change, biological threats, and/or advances in disruptive technologies.

A culture built on the illusion of control is understandably shaken by events beyond our ability to forecast or manage. So much of what we are enticed to buy offers to help us control our appearance, health, finances, relationships, and happiness. The current Burger King ads end accordingly: “Have it your way. You rule!”

But we don’t.

And that’s the good news of the day.

When the world was magical

From Monday’s earthquake off the coast of Maine and New Hampshire, to the private bathhouse discovered recently in Pompeii that was destroyed along with the city by the Vesuvius eruption, to yesterday’s somber anniversary of the Challenger explosion, the news reminds us daily of our finitude.

There was a time when we would not have been shocked.

Humans used to live in a world where most was outside our agency, and we knew it. Devastating storms could not be predicted. Criminals and animals of prey threatened our daily lives. A broken bone could lead to a fatal infection.

So we prayed to God or the gods who could do what we could not, then we tried to live in ways that they would bless and protect. From Christianity’s invitation to “ask, and it will be given to you” (Matthew 7:7), to Islam’s five pillars, to Buddhism’s Four Noble Truths and Noble Eightfold Path, to Hindu rituals of purification such as the massive festival happening this week in India, to the worship of the various gods of the Greek and Roman pantheon, human experience was rife with supernaturalism in hopes of protection and prosperity.

In a way, this is magical thinking: Whatever the religion, the practitioner asks their deity to do what they are unable to do. We can neither understand nor duplicate their work on our behalf. But their miraculous “magic” was vital to our flourishing and thus became part of the fabric of our lives.

That was then—this is now.

Praying to our cell phones

Darwin debunked the “myth” of divine creation for millions; Marx derided religion as an “opiate” used to enslave the masses; Freud explained our faith in God as “wish fulfillment”; postmodern thinkers convinced us that all truth (including that of the Bible) is personal and subjective; the sexual revolution “liberated” us from the constraints of outdated biblical morality.

As a consequence, the triumph of secularism and decline of religion are now established facts in the minds of millions in our culture.

In a way, the science of our day is magic for most of us. When we ask our cell phones to make calls, give directions, or answer questions, the slab of glass in our hand responds in ways that previous generations would have considered magical if not miraculous. It’s almost as if we were praying to our devices and they were answering as gods. It is the same with airplanes, cars, and much of the technology we experience every day.

Along the way, we persuade ourselves that since these are our possessions, we possess the “magic” they produce, making us masters of the universe we inhabit. But in fact, we are not.

In truth, “You do not know what tomorrow will bring. What is your life? For you are a mist that appears for a little time and then vanishes” (James 4:14). What is the solution? “Instead you ought to say, ‘If the Lord wills, we will live and do this or that’” (v. 15).

Why should we make this wise choice each day?

The baptism of Lola Sheen

Humanity is a tale of two gardens.

• In the garden of Eden, our first parents sought to “be like God” (Genesis 3:5).
• In the garden of Gethsemane, Jesus prayed, “Not as I will, but as you will” (Matthew 26:39).

Now we must choose which example to follow. If we understand that the God who “is” love can only want our best (1 John 4:8; Romans 12:2), we no longer need to ask for anything other than that his will be done. As missionary Jim Elliot said,

“God always gives his best to those who leave the choice with him.”

Let’s close with an example.

Lola Sheen is the daughter of actors Charlie Sheen and Denise Richards. The nineteen-year-old recently shared a video of her January 3 baptism, then explained the reasons behind her decision:

When I was in my deepest depression, there was a moment where I realized I hit rock bottom. I felt so lost and hopeless, and was just doing my best to make it to the next day. I just accepted my life was going to be like that forever and thought I would genuinely never laugh again. Until I met not only my Savior but my best friend, Jesus.

I can’t really explain it other than it was supernatural, but Jesus met me exactly where I was, and he forever became my sun. I began to trust Jesus with my life, when he chose me when no one else did and loved me when I didn’t feel worthy of love. He gave me a light when I couldn’t find my own and rescued me from the darkness. . . .

Jesus is the only reason why I’m here today and made my life worth living. I chose to get baptized at the beginning of this year because I made it through this year only by the strength of Jesus, and I am so happy to go into this next year after publicly declaring Jesus as my Savior. I am forever saved by his grace, through faith.

Lola testified, “I began to trust Jesus with my life,” and that made all the difference.

It always does.

Our latest website articles:

• “Woman still alive two months after receiving a pig kidney: ‘It’s like a new beginning’”

• “Why did Emilia Peréz actually receive 13 Oscar nominations? What the film about a transgender cartel leader could reveal about our culture”
• “Court rules that elephants are not persons: A reflection on your deepest purpose and highest joy”
• “Did China damage Taiwan’s internet service? Undersea cables and gray zone conflict”
• “Four reflections on Bishop Budde’s message to Donald Trump”

Quote for the day:

“There is no failure in God’s will, and no future outside of God’s will.” —George W. Truett

Denison Forum