Yesterday afternoon, the US Senate passed the “One Big Beautiful Bill Act,” President Trump’s signature legislative priority. The tally was fifty-fifty, with Vice President JD Vance casting the tie-breaking vote. The legislation now returns to the House, where voting is scheduled to begin later today.

Many are debating the contents and merits of the bill; I am interested today in the process by which it passed the Senate. When the group began voting on their forty-fifth amendment or procedural motion, this broke the record for the most votes during a “vote-a-rama,” a marathon session provided for under law governing the budget process in the Senate.

The process took so long in part because Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer forced the clerks to read the entire 960-page megabill on the Senate floor. The bill passed because Alaska Sen. Lisa Murkowski chose to support it after winning key concessions on federal health and food-aid programs for her state.

All of this—the marathon sessions, the scores of amendments, the forced reading, the pivotal significance of a single senator from a state of 740,000 residents, comprising 0.2 percent of America’s population—is a feature of American governance, not a bug. And that feature is foundational to our flourishing.

But with an enormous caveat.

Protesting outside George Washington’s home

In American Covenant: How the Constitution Unified our Nation—and Could Again, political scholar Yuval Levin demonstrates that the Founders intended a system of checks and balances so extensive that every dimension of the infant nation would be represented and included in its governance. This was vital for a country as manifestly diverse as ours, with immigrants from across the world and dramatic cultural differences between north and south, rural and urban, Protestant and Catholic and nonreligious.

Unlike most European nations, whose history and society were largely monolithic, America was founded on the principle of freedom for all, which means our governance must include all. As a result, discord and conflict have been part of our governance from its inception.

For example, when the US and Great Britain signed a treaty in 1794 preserving American neutrality in Britain’s ongoing war with France, public sentiment was vehemently negative. In preparation for Independence Day, my wife suggested that we rewatch John Adams, the Emmy Award-winning documentary about our nation’s second president. The scene in which the treaty is made public is telling: massive crowds gather outside President Washington’s home to shout their protests and burn objects in effigy.

This was the reaction against the man whose military leadership won our freedom as a country and became the only chief executive ever chosen by unanimous consent from the Electoral College. If the “father of our nation” could face such opprobrium, any American leader can.

And will. Our nation is more diverse now than ever, which means our elected leaders will be more diverse and the constituencies to whom they are responsible will be more conflicted with one another than ever.

All of this means that, on this Independence Day week, you and I have the privilege and responsibility of renewing our commitment to the patriotic role we can uniquely exercise on behalf of our nation.

An Oxford mathematician on the role of faith in society

Dr. John Lennox is Professor of Mathematics at Oxford University (emeritus) and an internationally renowned speaker on the interface of science, philosophy, and religion. In a recent address to the National Parliamentary Prayer Breakfast in Westminster (which I urge you to read in full), he claimed that removing God from politics would create a moral vacuum that secularism cannot fill.

His argument centers on two assertions.

One: “Everyone brings their faith in something into the public square.”

Dr. Lennox notes: “We all bring into our politics a whole set of beliefs that have been formed by a variety of influences,” religion only one among them. As a result, “If people of faith are to be kept out of the public square, then it will be empty.”

Two: “We need Christian faith in the public square.”

Dr. Lennox describes the “high moral ideals” of Western culture: “We believe in human equality, freedom, autonomy, and dignity. These values lead us to oppose slavery, racism, human trafficking, antisemitism, eugenics, infanticide, misogyny, and many other kinds of values. But these values are not given to us by science.”

Rather, as he notes, the atheist philosopher Jürgen Habermas recognized that such values are the direct legacy of the Judaic ethic of justice and the Christian ethic of love. Dr. Lennox cites historian Tom Holland’s agreement in noting that the letters of Paul, along with the four Gospels, are the most influential, impactful, and revolutionary writings to emerge from the ancient world.

Accordingly, the transformation only Christ can make in the human heart is the vital foundation of the morality so central to Western society.

“The end of life is to do the will of God”

Dr. Lennox concludes:

Christians are called upon to be salt and light in the world—to bear witness to the truth by reasoning in the public space, as Jesus and his apostles did, using persuasion and not coercion, never losing sight of the fact that those from whom they differ are fellow human beings made in the image of God.

Our “witness to the truth” is vital because you and I are “the” salt of the earth and “the” light of the world (Matthew 5:13, 14). The definite articles signify that there are no others. “Speaking the truth in love” is therefore the greatest gift of love we can give this nation we love (Ephesians 4:15).

Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. agreed:

“I still believe that standing up for the truth of God is the greatest thing in the world. This is the end of life. The end of life is not to be happy. The end of life is not to achieve pleasure and avoid pain. The end of life is to do the will of God, come what may.”

Across this Independence Day week, how will you do “the greatest thing in the world”?

Quote for the day:

“Inside the Bible’s pages lie the answers to all the problems that mankind has ever known.” —Ronald Reagan

Our latest website resources:

• US Senate advances “Big Beautiful Bill”
• Why are some atheists becoming Christians?
• The courage to encourage
• Should I attend a same-sex wedding?
• What happens when a theoretical physicist finds faith in Christ?

Denison Forum

The future consequences of present choices

Mark Zuckerberg is creating a new “Superintelligence” AI division within Meta Platforms and recruiting artificial intelligence (AI) experts to lead it. He is racing to build AI technology that is smarter than humans, seeking to advance what he calls “a new era for humanity.” He plans to spend upward of $70 billion on capital expenditures, largely on AI investments.

Is creating AI that is smarter than its creators a good idea?

Recent tests have shown that several advanced AI models will act to ensure their self-preservation when confronted with the prospect of their own demise. They will sabotage shutdown commands, blackmail engineers, or copy themselves to external servers without permission.

For example, when Palisade Research tested various AI models by telling each one it would be shut down after it completed a set of math problems, one of the models fought back by editing the shutdown script in order to stay online. Another, upon receiving notice that it would be replaced with a new AI system, tried to blackmail the engineer by threatening to reveal an extramarital affair.

Other research shows that advanced AI models are increasingly willing to evade safeguards, resort to deception, and attempt to steal corporate secrets in fictional test scenarios. Many of the models were even willing to cut off the oxygen supply of a worker in a server room if that employee was deemed an obstacle and the system was at risk of being shut down.

We cannot always know the future consequences of present choices. However, when we can, we are wise to make our decisions in their light.

To this end, let’s continue a conversation we began yesterday on one of the most consequential issues our society faces today.

Three ways we know everything we know

The Bible commands us to “set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth” (Colossians 3:2). Accordingly, we are to “put to death therefore what is earthly in you” (v. 5a). First on the list are “sexual immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire” (v. 5b). Only then does Scripture add covetousness, anger, wrath, malice, slander, obscenity, and deceit (vv. 5c–9).

“Sexual immorality” translates porneia, the Greek word from which we get “pornography.” It refers to all sexual sins, from lust to premarital sex and adultery.

Why should we “put to death” this sin?

We know everything we know in three ways: practically, rationally, and intuitively. We start a car practically; we do math rationally; we like or dislike people intuitively. Consequences of “sexual immorality” can be identified in all three categories.

Practically:

• Pornography is highly addictive and correlated with depression and other mental health issues. Sex trafficking victims are often exploited by pornographers; online child pornography has escalated fivefold in six years.
• Premarital sex increases the chances of divorce two- to threefold and is significantly linked to depression, attempted suicide, and sexually transmitted diseases. In addition, 87 percent of women in the US who have abortions are unmarried; accordingly, of the 625,978 abortions reported by the CDC in 2021, 554,600 were to unmarried women. In other words, half a million babies died that year as a consequence of premarital sex.
• Adultery is a factor in 75 percent of divorces; those who commit adultery are also 350 percent more likely to commit fraud. Over half of Americans with sexually transmitted diseases contracted them from partners who cheated.

Rationally: The Bible commands us to “flee from sexual immorality” (1 Corinthians 6:18). Because the Author of Scripture is all-knowing and all-loving, this command must be best for us. Conversely, because Satan is a deceiver who hates us (Revelation 12:9), the consequences of this sin must be greater than any benefit they promise.

Intuitively: The psalmist testified, “Great peace have those who love your law” (Psalm 119:165), but “corruption” and grief result from sin (Galatians 6:8). This is especially true with sexual sin due to its emotional nature and consequences.

When God will “tax the last limit of the universe”

Given the devastation caused by sexual immorality, why would any Christian fall prey to this temptation?

Because of two other temptations.

One is to think we can always confess our “private” sin later and be forgiven without public consequences. But this is another lie: While God forgives all we confess to him (1 John 1:9), we remember our failure and are plagued with guilt. And we forfeit the power and joy of obedience in this life and eternal reward in the next (cf. 1 Corinthians 3:12–15).

Another is to believe in the moment that the present “benefits” of sin outweigh their eventual consequences. But if this were true, the God who forbids such sin is a liar, and the devil who tempts us in this way is telling the truth. Do you believe this?

However, in the moment, such logic may not be sufficient. Remembering what we have discussed today regarding the practical, rational, and intuitive consequences of sexual immorality may not be enough.

In that moment, we can call on our Father to help us choose to obey his word. We can ask for his Spirit to empower our spirit.

And we can know that his will never requires what his grace cannot supply.

In today’s reading in My Utmost For His Highest, Oswald Chambers defines sin as “the disposition of your right to yourself.” Then he assures us:

The moment you are willing that God should alter your disposition, his recreating forces will begin to work. The moment you realize God’s purpose, which is to get you rightly related to himself and then to your fellow men, he will tax the last limit of the universe to help you take the right road.

The biblical scholar Spiros Zodhiates observed,

“Peace of heart is the natural outcome of purity of heart.”

Will your heart experience such peace today?

Quote for the day:

“I would sooner be holy than happy, if the two things could be divorced. . . . To be free from the power of sin, to be made to love holiness, is true happiness.” —Charles Spurgeon

Our latest website resources:

• How much will the Bezos–Sánchez wedding cost?
• The courage to encourage
• Should I attend a same-sex wedding?
• Trump bombs Iran, NYC election shocker, Bezos wedding & casual-dining favorites
• What happens when a theoretical physicist finds faith in Christ?

Denison Forum

“Modern porn is unlike anything else in history”

The Supreme Court last Friday upheld a ruling that allowed Texas to enforce a state law requiring pornography sites to verify the age of their users before providing access. Nearly half of all states have passed similar laws to keep children under the age of eighteen from seeing online pornography.

Such laws are crucial because, as the Gen Z writer Freya India warns, “Modern porn is unlike anything else in history. Children are learning about sex for the first time from social media algorithms designed to drag them toward ever-more degrading content.”

She reports that in the US, the average age of first exposure to pornography is twelve. Parents can block porn sites, but many children and teenagers access it on Instagram, X, Snapchat, Discord, Twitch, and TikTok.

According to India,

My generation was taught to see each other not only as content to consume and products to shop through, but as categories, sex objects, things to get pleasure from. We grew up watching what were often sex trafficking victims, likely seeing rape and abuse—and are somehow expected to file that away, to fall in love in the real world, to have romantic experiences just the same as previous generations did, to be tender and loyal, to know how.

We learned the wrong things about love.

Her generation is not alone.

A malignancy of the mind

Studies show that pornography use alters brain connectivity and impairs cognitive performance. It is strongly linked to psychological distress such as anxiety, depression, lower relationship satisfaction, and lower self-esteem. It is highly addictive and often leads to extramarital affairs and divorce.

In many ways, it is a malignancy of the mind. And the disease is spreading in our society.

Years ago, online pornography became so ubiquitous that one writer called it “the defining art form of the late twentieth century.” But this was a massive social problem long before the Internet. In 1977, when VHS players first went on the market, up to 75 percent of the tapes being sold were pornographic. In 1985, Americans rented seventy-five million adult videos; ten years later, that number had increased almost tenfold. Today, 78 percent of men and 73 percent of teenagers consume porn.

Pornographic images are as old as Paleolithic cave paintings. When I toured the first-century Italian city of Pompeii, there were erotic depictions on walls that I had to turn away not to see.

But that’s the point: I could turn away from them. I can choose not to rent movies or look at websites, magazines, or television shows with pornographic content. However, pornographers are now coming after us, especially our children. They hide porn using thumbnails with Disney characters and other cartoons; with a simple search for such a character, a child can be bombarded with pornographic content within seconds.

The domain “whitehouse.com” has often been used in the past to display pornography. Predators send text messages with links to porn sites. And AI-generated nude photos are escalating; many are sent by so-called friends.

I was shocked that I was not shocked

But there’s more: You and I live in a society that has normalized sexual immorality on a level many of us scarcely realize.

Polyamorous and homosexual relationships are increasingly just as acceptable to Americans as heterosexual marital monogamy. Women who choose to remain virgins until marriage are viewed by society as strange and sometimes ostracized for their decision. Public nudity has become so pervasive that ordinances are now needed to regulate it.

I was watching a television show the other day in which the couple has sex on their first date. After a moment, I was shocked to realize how unshocked I was.

We can and should do all we can to protect ourselves and our children against the rising tide of sexual immorality in our broken culture. Software can be installed that tracks and prevents porn use on our computers and other devices. Accountability relationships can help us refuse sexual temptation and find help when we fail.

But whether we struggle with pornography or not, we live in a sexualized culture that relativizes truth and rejects biblical morality. The good news is that every one of us can experience “victory through our Lord Jesus Christ” (1 Corinthians 15:57), but only “through” him.

A “tin soldier” or a “little Christ”

1. C. Sproul observed that “to love a holy God requires grace, grace strong enough to pierce our hardened hearts and awaken our moribund souls.” This grace is available to us in the Spirit who can foster a passion for Christ in our hearts stronger than the sinful passions of “the world, the flesh, and the devil” (cf. Ephesians 2:2–3).

Our Father promises us, “Walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh” (Galatians 5:16). We “walk by the Spirit” when we submit our minds and lives every day to him (Ephesians 5:18), encounter God in his Word, worship, and prayer, and choose to live consciously and intentionally in his presence (cf. Colossians 2:6–15).

Then his Spirit produces the “fruit” of love for our Lord in our hearts and souls (Galatians 5:22). And the more we love Jesus, the more we love what he loves and hate what he hates. With this result: His Spirit empowers us to “cleanse ourselves from every defilement of body and spirit, bringing holiness to completion in the fear of God” (2 Corinthians 7:1).

God wants to “sanctify you completely” (1 Thessalonians 5:23). Such holiness is his intention for every one of his children (1 Thessalonians 4:3). Jesus died not only so we could be forgiven for our sins but live in victory over them (Romans 8:37) as we manifest his character in the world (Romans 8:29).

Accordingly, C. S. Lewis wrote that Jesus is working right now to turn us “permanently into a different sort of thing; into a new little Christ, a being which, in its own small way, has the same kind of life as God; which shares in his power, joy, knowledge, and eternity.”

As Lewis explained, Jesus is turning us from “tin soldiers” into real people. However, “The part of you that does not like it is the part that is still tin.”

Do you want to stay a “tin soldier” or become a “little Christ”?

There is no third option.

Quote for the day:

“I know of no other way to triumph over sin long-term than to gain a distaste for it because of a superior satisfaction in God.” —John Piper

Our latest website resources:

• How much will the Bezos–Sánchez wedding cost?
• The courage to encourage
• Should I attend a same-sex wedding?
• Trump bombs Iran, NYC election shocker, Bezos wedding & casual-dining favorites
• What happens when a theoretical physicist finds faith in Christ?

Denison Forum