Parents in Silicon Valley are spending up to $50,000 for new genetic-testing services that include promises to screen embryos for high IQ. In related news, a Chinese scientist who, six years ago, created the world’s first gene-edited babies has now set up a company in the US he’s calling the “Walmart of gene editing” to produce high-IQ babies. A woman who was briefly married to this scientist is also creating a company in New York City to compete with him in creating gene-edited babies.

Moral questions abound, of course, from the ethics of altering genes in ways that will be inherited and thus alter the species, to the fairness of using technology to benefit only those who can pay, to the wisdom of modifying genetics without knowing the unintended consequences of such experimentation.

Here’s what no one seems to be asking, however: Are the embryos being tested and modified human? No one is asking because the answer is so obvious.

And this fact points to the truth I want to highlight today.

Scientists record embryo implanting in a womb

First, let’s consider a second story in the same context. An article recently published on NPR begins this way: “For the first time, scientists have recorded a human embryo implanting into a womb in real time, a feat the researchers hope will lead to new ways to treat infertility and prevent miscarriages.”

The story quotes Samuel Ojosnegros, head of bioengineering in reproductive health at the Institute for Bioengineering of Catalonia in Spain: “Being able to record a movie of something that has never been seen before, which are the early steps of life—of human life—was mind-blowing.” The article then explains, “One of the most important steps in an embryo’s journey to becoming a baby is when the microscopic ball of cells implants in the uterus. But how a human embryo implants in the womb has long been a mystery.”

Here’s what struck me: the article (like others covering this story) consistently refers to the embryo being implanted as “human.” This is because it cannot be anything other. Its DNA, chromosomes, and cells clearly are not those of any other species or entity.

And yet the article states that implantation in the womb is “one of the most important steps” in the journey to “becoming a baby” (my emphasis). The embryo is already “human” but not yet a “baby”?

Abortion, Hamas, and mental gymnastics

This distinction is fundamental to legalized elective abortion. It was cited by the Supreme Court in Roe v. Wade: “We need not resolve the difficult question of when life begins.” It is the rationale for those who say they are “pro-choice” but not necessarily “pro-abortion”: since “no one knows for sure when life begins,” the choice should be with the mother, or so we’re told.

Consider the logic of such mental gymnastics. A human embryo is by definition human, whatever its stage of development. No one who came to this question with objectivity regarding abortion would think otherwise. A strong bias for elective abortion is required to outweigh and overcome what is otherwise obvious.

We can apply the same reasoning to the pro-Hamas demonstrations that broke out after the terrorist group committed horrific atrocities against Israeli civilians on October 7. Thousands were murdered; many were raped and mutilated; children were massacred. By what logic would we expect students who claim to support the “oppressed” to take the side of the oppressor who instigated such atrocities?

Once again, mental gymnastics are brought to bear. In this case, Critical Theory applies Marxist ideology to paint Israel as the oppressor and colonizer of Palestinians and then to defend any Palestinians who oppress their oppressor in their quest for “justice.” Massacred children and babies are ignored.

Why we committed our last sin

Our ability to justify whatever enables us to do what we want is at the center of the fallen human condition. In this sense, “The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately sick” (Jeremiah 17:9).

You and I are not exempt. The last time we sinned, we did what we knew not to do or did not do what we knew to do. But while we knew that “sin when it is fully grown brings forth death” (James 1:15), we somehow justified our behavior to ourselves.

This fact points to a theme we’ve been discussing all week: our only hope for resolving human conflict and improving human flourishing lies in the transformation Christ brings to the human heart. Ann Voskamp was right: “Peace isn’t a place to arrive at but a person to abide in.” This is why we’ve explored ways we can experience the risen Lord Jesus more intimately in our quest to love God with “all” our heart, soul, mind, and strength (Mark 12:30).

The same principle applies to ways we “love your neighbor as yourself” (v. 31).

I have quoted and preached on Jesus’ statement that we are the “salt of the earth” more times than I can count (Matthew 5:13). But recently I read a commentary on this phrase by St. John Chrysostom (c. 347–407) that gave me insight I had never considered before. He asked:

What do these words imply? Did the disciples restore what had already turned rotten? Not at all. Salt cannot help what is already corrupted. That is not what they did. But what had first been renewed and freed from corruption and then turned over to them, they salted and preserved in the newness the Lord had bestowed. It took the power of Christ to free men from the corruption caused by sin.

“The second most powerful force in the universe”

Human words cannot change human hearts. You and I cannot convict a single sinner of a single sin or save a single soul. This is the sovereign work of God’s Holy Spirit. But we can partner with the Spirit by speaking the words he leads us to speak and doing the things he leads us to do.

As we work, God works.

If we were engaged in editing genes, our work could change our species. If we are engaged in editing souls, our work will change eternity.

Billy Graham noted,

“Sin is the second most powerful force in the universe, for it sent Jesus to the cross. Only one force is greater—the love of God.”

With whom will you share the most powerful force in the universe today?

Quote for the day:

“To be a soul winner is the happiest thing in the world. And with every soul you bring to Jesus Christ, you seem to get a new heaven here upon earth.” —Charles Spurgeon

Our latest website resources:

• What does the Global Flourishing Study reveal about faith and well-being?
• When peace feels impossible:  Ceasefire talks, Christ’s hope, and summer’s biggest box office hits & misses
• Michigan Wolverines face NCAA sanctions for stealing signs
• A review of “Miracle in Progress” by Chip Waggoner: A powerful testimony of God’s redemption
• Public, private, homeschool, or online? A guide for Christian parents

Denison Forum

St. Catherine’s Monastery, 275 miles from Cairo in the depths of the Sinai desert, is the oldest continually inhabited Christian monastery in the world. Built at the foot of the mountain where many believe Moses saw the burning bush and subsequently received the Ten Commandments, it has served as a sanctuary of worship, refuge, and scholarship for more than 1,500 years.

I was privileged to visit the monastery some years ago, where I was deeply moved by the monks’ passion for worship, community, and scholarship. They are stewards of some of the world’s oldest biblical manuscripts, treasures they continue to study and make available to the world.

However, their future is now in peril.

In May, an Egyptian court issued a ruling that allows the state to control what is and is not allowed at St. Catherine’s, stripping the monks of all legal authority. The government has already taken control over academic access to the site and continues to undermine its autonomy. With enough pressure, the monks may be forced to abandon the ancient monastery altogether.

Ironically and tragically, this oppression is being conducted in the name of religion. Egypt’s Islamic government is gradually subsuming non-Sunni religious institutions and refuses to shield Coptic Christians, churches, and homes from attacks. It also refuses to permit renovations of churches while pouring enormous sums into building and renovating thousands of mosques.

What is the essence of Christianity?

Oppressing Christianity in the name of religion is nothing new, of course.

Jesus’ greatest persecutors were religious leaders convinced they were serving God by their actions. Saul of Tarsus was similarly certain that by persecuting Christians he was imprisoning heretics (cf. Acts 22:3–5). Jihadist Muslims see Christians as infidels who oppose the one true faith and must therefore be opposed in the name of Allah (cf. Qur’an 2:190).

However, we don’t have to persecute the church to fall prey to the temptation of religion that competes against a genuine relationship with Jesus.

I’m old enough to remember a day when church activities consisted primarily of worship and Bible study. Then churches discovered that they could add buildings and programs to attract the community and hopefully attract them to the Lord. Gymnasiums, family life centers, children’s and youth weekday activities, and need-based programs (AA, divorce recovery, and so on) proliferated. These strategies followed Jesus’ example as he met felt needs to meet spiritual needs, healing bodies to heal souls.

Such programs can be effective ways to reach people who likely would not come to a worship service or a Bible study. I know of pastors and other Christian leaders who reached for Christ through softball leagues, sports programs, recovery groups, and similar ministries.

But the downside of the upside is that we can confuse activities at church with a transforming relationship with Jesus himself. Our Great Commission is clear and simple: the church exists to “make disciples” of Jesus by evangelizing the lost and equipping the saved (Matthew 28:19–20). If we do anything else, we can be many things—but we are no longer the church.

Our Lord was clear: “Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest” (Matthew 11:28). Not “come to my teachings,” or “come to my movement, “ or “join my church,” but “come to me.”

Experiencing the risen Lord Jesus himself is the essence of Christianity.

“God is the strength of my heart”

In his Confessions, St. Augustine famously prayed, “You have made us for yourself, O Lord, and our heart is restless until it rests in you.” The second phrase explains the first.

God made you and me in his own image so we could have a personal relationship with our Maker (Genesis 1:27). This only makes sense. Humans can relate to humans on a level different from our relationship with any other living beings, not to mention inanimate objects.

Because “God is love” (1 John 4:8), he made us for intimacy with himself. This is why we are commanded to love God with “all” our heart, soul, mind, and strength (Mark 12:30). Everything “religious” we do is to be a means to this end: We worship God as our “Audience of one,” as Kierkegaard reminded us. We read Scripture to hear “God preaching,” as J. I. Packer noted. We pray to commune with our Lord. We serve others to serve him.

In fact, God says everything we do in life is to be a means to the end of knowing him and making him known:

Let not the wise man boast in his wisdom, let not the mighty man boast in his might, let not the rich man boast in his riches, but let him who boasts boast in this, that he understands and knows me (Jeremiah 9:23–24).

According to Paul, anything we must give up to know God personally and intimately is a cost worth paying: “I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord” (Philippians 3:8).

The psalmist agreed:

Whom have I in heaven but you? And there is nothing on earth that I desire besides you. My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever (Psalm 73:25–26).

“Let us run with confidence and joy”

On the Mount of Transfiguration, Peter said, “Lord, it is good for us to be here” (Matthew 17:4 NIV). St. Anastasius, the seventh-century abbot of St. Catherine’s Monastery at Mt. Sinai, commented on Peter’s declaration:

Let us run with confidence and joy to enter into the cloud like Moses and Elijah, or like James and John. Let us be caught up like Peter to behold the divine vision and to be transfigured by that glorious transfiguration. Let us retire from the world, stand aloof from the earth, rise above the body, detach ourselves from creatures and turn to the Creator, to whom Peter in ecstasy exclaimed: “Lord, it is good for us to be here.”

It is indeed good to be here, as you have said, Peter. It is good to be with Jesus and to remain here forever. What greater happiness or higher honor could we have than to be with God, to be made like him and to live in his light?

Therefore, since each of us possesses God in his heart and is being transformed into his divine image, we also should cry out with joy: “It is good for us to be here.”

When last did you “retire from the world” to “turn to the Creator”?

When last was it “good” for you to be with Jesus?

Why not today?

Quote for the day:

“Everything we do for God will be the overflow of intimacy with God.” —Dan Baumann

Our latest website resources:

• A review of “Miracle in Progress” by Chip Waggoner: A powerful testimony of God’s redemption
• Pro golfer Ben Griffin rebounds after “creatine overdose”: Why we need the faith to have faith
• Changed people change the world
• Public, private, homeschool, or online? A guide for Christian parents
• School bus crashes on the first day of school: A reflection on fear, evolution, and faith

Denison Forum

“I’m optimistic that collectively, we can reach an agreement that would deter any future aggression against Ukraine.” This was how President Donald Trump, meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and seven European leaders yesterday, expressed his belief that a way can be found to end the war.

While the leaders were gathered at the White House, Mr. Trump called Russian President Vladimir Putin to begin arrangements for a meeting between Mr. Putin and Mr. Zelensky, to be followed by a trilateral summit including himself.

In other news, we learned yesterday that Hamas has accepted an updated proposal for a ceasefire in Gaza. Sources say the proposal is a partial deal for a sixty-day ceasefire, the release of ten live hostages, eighteen deceased hostages, and the release of Palestinian prisoners. This is reportedly part of a last-ditch effort to reach a deal and avoid a major new Israeli offensive to occupy Gaza City. Several Hebrew media reports said Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu would examine the proposal.

The news comes after more than two hundred thousand Israelis took to the streets demanding that Mr. Netanyahu not launch a new offensive and instead sign a deal. It was the largest such demonstration since the beginning of the war.

14,513 wars over 5,500 years

Both stories point to a common denominator: our inability to resolve human conflict through human agency.

We can resolve specific conflicts, of course, as demonstrated by peace treaties that end wars. But we cannot resolve human conflict itself. From Cain and Abel to today, murder and violence are part of our story. From Isaac and Ishmael to today, conflicts between Jews and Arabs have persisted.

It has been estimated that in the last 5,500 years, there have been 14,513 wars in which approximately 2,640,000,000 people were killed. As of 2024, there were approximately thirty active armed conflicts worldwide.

Let’s step closer to home: What conflicts are you facing today? What relational issues exist in your marriage, family, friendships, school, or work?

At this point, you might expect me to point to religion as the answer to the question.

I intend to do the opposite.

“I really have to slow down”

In Democracy Needs Religion, German sociologist Hartmut Rosa writes:

Often, when speaking to a large audience, I’ll ask a question that might be of some interest here as well: How many of you sometimes say to yourselves, or have at least recently thought something like, “I really have to slow down a little next year” or “I have to reduce some of my responsibilities, or else I’ll suffer from burnout” or “I’m in danger of burning out”?

When I ask this question, it almost always happens that nearly everyone in the room raises a hand. This has been the case regardless of whether I’m speaking to students, professionals, or even to retirees. The sense that “things can’t carry on in this way” has become a culturally dominant feeling.

His prescription is for us to turn to religion, which he characterizes as having the ability to transport us from ourselves into “resonance” with others and our larger world. Rosa emphatically does not specify Christianity or any other particular religion, pointing instead to religiosity and religious rites and rituals regardless of their specific referent or content.

I have no doubt that his brilliant exposition of religiosity’s capacity for such resonance is correct. When we pray to anything or anyone, we are obviously focusing beyond ourselves. When we sing worship songs or participate in other religious activities, we are thinking about the object of our focus and those with whom we share it.

Here’s my question: Since the vast majority of the planet’s population is religious, why does conflict persist?

Spiritual tetanus shots

My doctor recently told me I may need to get a tetanus shot, depending on when I was last vaccinated. This inoculation uses a toxoid, a weakened version of the toxin released by the bacteria that cause tetanus. The toxoid creates an immune response that protects me if I’m exposed to the actual bacteria in the future.

In other words, the shot will give me enough of the disease to keep me from getting the real thing.

To my point: If we seek to be religious in the amorphous sense Hartmut Rosa prescribes, we might experience resonance with the world beyond ourselves. But nothing really changes. We are spiritually “inoculated” in a way that keeps us from experiencing the transformation we need most.

Jesus diagnosed the human condition this way:

From within, out of the heart of man, come evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, coveting, wickedness, deceit, sensuality, envy, slander, pride, foolishness. All these evil things come from within, and they defile a person (Mark 7:21–23).

Billy Graham commented on Jesus’ assessment:

The basic problem is in our hearts—and the reason is because we are alienated from our Creator. Instead of giving God his rightful place at the center of our lives, we have substituted the “god” of Self. Only Christ can change our hearts—and through us begin to change our world.

Questions I must often ask myself

You already knew that religion is no substitute for a genuine relationship with Jesus and that conflict with others can only truly be resolved by the transformation Christ alone can bring to our fallen hearts. As the axiom goes: Know God, know peace; no God, no peace.

But if you’re like me, you’re nonetheless tempted to substitute religion about Christ for an intimate relationship with him. You’re tempted to “check the box” of Bible study, prayer, and even reading articles like this one as religious acts done in the hope of divine favor in response. I’m just as tempted by religiosity as you are.

So, let me ask you what I must often ask myself:

• When last did you spend time with God for no reason except to be with him?
• When last did you read the Bible for no reason except to hear his voice?
• When last did you spend even ten minutes in silence listening to his Spirit?
• When last did you tell your Father from your heart that you love him?

Why not today?

Quote for the day:

“It is dangerous to be so busy that you have no time to wait on God.” —A. W. Tozer

Our latest website resources:

• A review of “Miracle in Progress” by Chip Waggoner: A powerful testimony of God’s redemption
• Pro golfer Ben Griffin rebounds after “creatine overdose”: Why we need the faith to have faith
• Changed people change the world
• Public, private, homeschool, or online? A guide for Christian parents
• School bus crashes on the first day of school: A reflection on fear, evolution, and faith

Denison Forum