The Greatest Show on Earth is over. The Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus gave its final performance last night. The circus’s owner says his production could no longer compete with iPhones, the Internet, and video games.

Does it seem that the world is changing faster than ever?

The Roman Catholic Church remains committed to conservative moral values, but students at Notre Dame, its most prominent university, walked out of their own graduation yesterday to protest Vice President Mike Pence.

Texting while driving has become such an epidemic that police officers near Atlanta are dressing as construction workers to spy on passing cars. Authorities in Albany, Georgia have posed as panhandlers at street corners to find violators. Police in Michigan use unmarked vehicles to catch texters.

The Greek philosopher Heraclitus was right: we cannot step into the same river twice. Much of the change that dominates our lives is a two-edged sword. The Internet has enriched our lives enormously, but it also spawned our pornography epidemic. Air travel has made the world more accessible than ever, but it also speeds the spread of infectious diseases. Nuclear technology can fuel cities or destroy them.

St. Augustine called evil the “shadow side of good.” Wherever we find God at work, we find Satan at work as well. But it will not always be so: “The world is passing away along with its desires,” but “whoever does the will of God abides forever” (1 John 2:17).

Think about all that changes when we step from earth into heaven. No more cell phones. No more email or Internet or technology. What will remain?

Continue reading Denison Forum – Notre Dame students walk out on VP Pence →

During a press conference yesterday, President Trump was asked if he had urged then-FBI Director James Comey to slow or stop an investigation into Michael Flynn. His response: “No. No. Next question.” This morning’s CNN claims that “in those four words, Trump staked the viability of his presidency.”

Today’s news is dominated by the growing conflict in Washington. How are Christians responding? On the eve of the 2016 election, Christians were divided into seven camps:

1.    For Donald Trump because they believed he was the right person to be president.
2.    For Mr. Trump because of his party’s positions on the Supreme Court, abortion, tax reform, and other issues.
3.    For Mr. Trump because they opposed Hillary Clinton.
4.    For Hillary Clinton because they believed she was the right person to be president.
5.    For Mrs. Clinton because of her party’s positions on cultural and moral issues.
6.    For Mrs. Clinton because they opposed Donald Trump.
7.    For another candidate or not voting.

On the 118th day of the Trump administration, it seems to me that most Christians are still where they were when Mr. Trump was elected. As a result, we find ourselves divided over partisan politics and the issues they raise. Meanwhile, political turmoil in Washington is escalating with no end in sight.

Since our ministry engages cultural issues, we will need to address controversial political subjects even more frequently in the coming days. Therefore, it seems appropriate for me to state clearly my position regarding our seven options: none of the above.

The Denison Forum on Truth and Culture is called to fuel a movement of culture-changing Christians by engaging cultural issues with biblical truth. As a result, three principles motivate our work:

One: We focus on Kingdom issues.

We exist to help people know Christ and make him known. Our ultimate enemy is spiritual, so the ultimate answer to our challenges is spiritual (Ephesians 6:12). Therefore, we address cultural issues as a means of addressing the underlying spiritual issues of our day.

Two: We serve the Lord through his church.

The church is the body of Christ in the world today (1 Corinthians 12:27). As C. S. Lewis observed, “The whole mass of Christians are the physical organism through which Christ acts—we are his fingers and muscles, the cells of his body.” Therefore, we are called to help the church change the world.

Three: Our mission transcends politics.

In engaging cultural issues, there are times when we must address partisan topics and political leaders. When we do so, we sometimes frustrate readers who want us to be more supportive or more critical of the leader in question. We have received a few such letters since Mr. Trump’s election. We received similar letters when Mr. Obama was president and when Mr. Bush was president before him.

I believe strongly that God is calling more Christians into political service than are answering his call. However, our ministry exists to serve people across the political spectrum. Therefore, we seek to advance God’s Kingdom rather than political agendas.

As events in Washington unfold over coming days and weeks, “speaking the truth in love” remains our mission (Ephesians 4:15). It is a privilege to share this mission with you each day, to the glory of God.

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Yesterday, the stock market suffered its biggest one-day loss in eight months, a decline Reuters attributes to continued turmoil in Washington. We should not expect this turmoil to die down any time soon.

The Justice Department has appointed Robert J. Mueller, a former FBI director, as special counsel to oversee its investigation into alleged Russian meddling in the 2016 election. This after the Senate Intelligence Committee asked former FBI Director James Comey to testify during a public hearing.

They are also asking for memos prepared by Comey detailing his conversations with the White House and Justice Department about the FBI’s Russia investigations. Democrats are escalating their criticisms of his administration while Republicans are divided.

The president’s supporters blame the media and other groups they believe are aligned against his reform agenda. His critics see recent events as further evidence of his alleged shortcomings. We should not be surprised that a nation as polarized as ours would be polarized over these events.

This is a time for Christians to stand apart from the crowd.

As followers of the One who is the Truth (John 14:6), we are commanded to “speak the truth to one another” (Zechariah 8:16). As followers of the One who is love (1 John 4:8), we are commanded to do so “in love” (Ephesians 4:15). As followers of the “King of kings and Lord of lords” (Revelation 19:16), we are commanded to respect those in authority (Romans 13:1) while serving our highest authority (Acts 4:19–20).

Continue reading Denison Forum – How should Christians respond to political turmoil? →

Someone could retrieve Brad Pitt’s skin cells from a hotel bed and use them to make a baby. Two men could make a baby that is biologically related to both. A man could clone himself.

These are some of the possibilities with in vitro gametogenesis (IVG). Today’s New York Times tells the story: scientists take adult skin cells and reprogram them to become embryonic stem cells. Then they guide the cells to become eggs or sperm.

Researchers in Japan have already used the technique to produce healthy baby mice. Within a decade or two, the technique may be refined for use with humans.

In other news, technology experts say North Korean hackers could be behind the massive malware assaults that continue to impact the world. A teenager was killed Friday night when a woman repeatedly rammed her into a tree with her Jeep Liberty; a friend of the victim said the altercation escalated from a Facebook argument.

In the April issue of National Geographic, D. T. Max describes ways “humans are shaping our own evolution.” His article begins with Neil Harbisson, a color-blind “cyborg” with a color-sensing antenna implanted in his skull. The antenna’s fiber-optic sensor picks up colors that a microchip implanted in his skull converts into vibrations he senses as colors.

According to Max, around 20,000 people have implants in their bodies that can unlock doors. Last year, the CEO of a company called BioViva claimed that she successfully reversed some of the effects of aging in her body by using injections from a gene therapy her company created. A subject at the University of Pennsylvania was able to transmit electrical impulses from his brain through a computer to control a robotic arm and sense what its fingers were touching.

Continue reading Denison Forum – Making a baby from Brad Pitt’s skin cells? →

Columnist Emma Teitel is proposing that “we scrap both Mother’s Day and Father’s Day for good,” replacing them with “Guardian’s Day.” Her reason: both holidays assume that a parent is a female or a male.

Why is this a problem? Teitel: “The gendered holidays are . . . generally a drag for non-binary parents who don’t identify with a single gender.” The “Guardian’s Day” she proposes would be a “rotating statutory holiday—meaning you can celebrate it any day you please, and you can interpret it any way you like.” For instance, “A guardian can be a mom, a dad, a non-binary parent, a grandparent, an aunt, an uncle, a pet owner, or why the heck not—someone who takes really good care of his houseplants.”

I doubt that “Guardian’s Day” will catch on. But the cultural movement it symptomizes is a “tolerance” train that has already left the station.

Twenty-five years ago, Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy defined “liberty” as “the right to define one’s own concept of existence, of meaning, of the universe, and of the mystery of human life.” Two years ago, he enshrined this “right” in the ruling that legalized same-sex marriage: “The Constitution promises liberty to all within its reach, a liberty that includes certain specific rights that allow persons, within a lawful realm, to define and express their identity.”

Justice Kennedy’s decisions reflect and express the cultural narrative of our day. However, this supposed right to self-invention goes back to the beginning of human history. In the Garden of Eden, the serpent promised Eve that if she chose her will over God’s word, she would “be like God” (Genesis 3:5). Every temptation since is a variation on this lie.

Continue reading Denison Forum – Is it time to replace Mother’s Day? →

What do these four news stories have in common?

One: This Washington Post headline received global attention: “‘You are paddleboarding next to approximately 15 great white sharks,’ chopper tells Calif. beachgoers.”

Two: A computer virus locked up more than 200,000 computers over the weekend and threatens to wreak more havoc today. The virus, which exploits a security flaw in Windows XP, is “beyond anything we have seen before,” according to the director of Europe’s cybercrime center.

Three: Emmanuel Macron became France’s youngest leader since Napoleon when he was inaugurated as president on Sunday. He takes over a country beset by internal divisions and a sluggish economy; his party is so new it has no seats in Parliament.

Four: North Korea launched a missile Sunday morning that flew 430 miles and landed in the sea between North Korea and Japan. It announced today that this missile can carry a large, heavy nuclear warhead and warned that US bases in the Pacific were within its range.

If the world seems smaller than ever before, that’s because it is.

Continue reading Denison Forum – Paddleboarding next to 15 great white sharks →

“One of the hallmarks of higher education, and of democracy, is the ability to converse with and learn from those with whom we disagree.”

So stated Education Secretary Betsy DeVos during her commencement address at Bethune-Cookman University in Florida. Ironically, some in the audience had their backs turned to her as she made this statement. Others heckled her during her speech.

This is the season of graduations and commencement speeches. I’m honored to be delivering such an address at Truett Seminary tonight. Thousands of other schools and universities will be holding similar exercises across the month.

But we live in an era when many tolerance advocates refuse to tolerate those with whom they disagree. What happened to Secretary DeVos is a symptom of a much larger narrative.

The latest New York Times Magazine headlines, “Is an Open Marriage a Happier Marriage?” After reading the long article, it’s clear to me that the author wants us to answer, yes. The social media campaign, “#ShoutYourAbortion,” wants us to believe that “abortion is normal.”

According to The Smithsonian, alcohol placement ads in movies have nearly doubled over the last two decades. More than 80 percent of movies now contain depictions of alcohol use. This despite the fact that, according to JAMA Psychiatry, nearly one in three Americans have suffered from “problem drinking that becomes severe.”

Isaiah said of his nation, “Jerusalem has stumbled, and Judah has fallen, because their speech and their deeds are against the LORD, defying his glorious presence” (Isaiah 3:8). What “speech” and “deeds” did he mean? “They proclaim their sin like Sodom; they do not hide it. Woe to them! For they have brought evil on themselves” (v. 9).

Would he say the same of us?

The latest Harvard Business Review carries a fascinating article, “Preparing for the Cyberattack That Will Knock Out U.S. Power Grids.” If we lose electrical power, we lose everything connected to it. And that’s nearly everything today. Is our spiritual enemy following a similar strategy?

If the root problem we face is spiritual, the root answer must be spiritual as well.

1. S. Lewis: “Mere improvement is not redemption, though redemption always improves people even here and now and will, in the end, improve them to a degree we cannot yet imagine. God became man to turn creatures into sons: not simply to produce better men of the old kind but to produce a new kind of man. It is not like teaching a horse to jump better and better but like turning a horse into a winged creature.”

Scripture promises that “they who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles” (Isaiah 40:31). How high will you fly today?

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I still remember my first time on a carousel. Before the ride began, my father put me on a ceramic, multicolored horse. Then the platform started spinning and the horse began going up and down. It was all very exciting. But when it was over, I got off the ride where I got on it.

A carousel seems to me an apt metaphor for today’s headlines. What people think about political or cultural figures before they make the day’s news is usually what they think about them after they read the day’s news.

Take the James Comey firing, for example. According to today’s New York Times, the decision “deepened the sense of crisis swirling around the White House.” CNN‘s senior legal analyst went further, calling the move a “grotesque abuse of power.”

But Speaker of the House Paul Ryan supported the move, stating that “people had lost confidence” in Mr. Comey prior to his dismissal. Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham agreed: “Given the recent controversies surrounding the director, I believe a fresh start will serve the FBI and the nation well.”

Did the news about the Comey firing change your opinion about the president? If you’re like most people, the answer is no. Those who oppose Mr. Trump oppose his decision; those who support him support his decision.

This should not surprise us. The American media have become increasingly polarized in recent years. Gone are the days when a television news anchor was known primarily for objectivity. Now we have progressive TV stations and conservative TV stations, progressive radio talk shows and conservative radio talk shows, progressive print media and conservative print media.

Each knows the market it seeks to reach on behalf of advertisers who pay its bills. Pickup trucks are advertised during football games while luxury cars are advertised during golf tournaments. It’s the same with nearly all products today—they know their specific market and the media that enables them to reach that market. In turn, the media knows who their advertisers want to reach and how to reach them.

It’s no longer about telling the truth. It’s about telling the version of the truth that agrees with our opinion and advances the bottom line.

I often remind audiences that in the Bible, God is a king (Revelation 19:16); in our culture, he is a hobby. A hobby is inherently subjective while a kingdom is inherently objective. You cannot make me like your hobbies, but a king can make me submit to his authority.

The book of Judges ends with this cryptic statement: “In those days there was no king in Israel. Everyone did what was right in his own eyes” (Judges 21:25). Sound familiar?

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Lucie Bahetoukilae thought she was flying on United Airlines from Newark, New Jersey to Paris. She went to the gate number on her boarding pass, where the agent scanned her ticket and directed her onto the plane. She speaks only French and did not know that the gate for her flight had changed.

Someone else was in her seat, so a flight attendant directed her to a new seat. Once in San Francisco, she had to endure an eleven-hour layover before boarding a new flight to Paris. United apologized for the mishap.

Flying to the wrong city is a metaphor for our confused culture, illustrating the fact that sincerity is no substitute for truth. Lucie Bahetoukilae was sincerely convinced that she was flying to Paris when she was actually going the opposite direction. The same can happen to any of us spiritually.

We are returning home from Israel today. As God led us in the Holy Land, God will lead us in our homeland. Unlike the pagans of ancient times, we know that our Father is not limited to a specific locality: “The earth is the LORD’s and the fullness thereof, the world and those who dwell therein” (Psalm 24:1).

To experience our Lord’s leadership, however, we must listen for his voice.

In Numbers 9, the people brought a particularly perplexing problem to Moses. His response: “Wait, that I may hear what the Lord will command concerning you” (v. 8). Like Moses, wise Christians today know that they should consult with God on every challenge they face.

I know a CEO who leaves a large Bible on the corner of his desk to remind himself that God’s word is “a lamp to my feet and a light to my path” (Psalm 119:105). Another business leader has a small room behind his desk reserved for use as a prayer closet (Matthew 6:6).

Continue reading Denison Forum – United sends passenger to SF instead of Paris →

Centrist Emmanuel Macron won yesterday’s presidential election in France, decisively defeating the far-right candidate, Marine Le Pen. His victory caps a tumultuous campaign in which, for the first time in history, no major party fielded a candidate who qualified for the runoff election. Macron will be France’s youngest president in history.

France is not the only country undergoing tumultuous change these days. Fueled by refugee crises, discontent with immigration, and slow economic growth, more and more Europeans are turning to new political leaders and parties.

Meanwhile, inspections have been ordered at every German army barracks after Nazi-era memorabilia was found at two of them. Yesterday, North Korea detained another American citizen as tensions between the two countries continue to escalate. Violence in Syria killed four people and wounded a child, despite efforts to de-escalate the conflict there.

By contrast, consider the miracle that is the Jewish people.

I am writing today from Jerusalem, which I consider the most amazing city on earth. Holy to three faiths that total more than half the world’s population, this city is a testament to the enduring resolve and relevance of the Jewish people.

Though Jews comprise less than 0.2 percent of the world’s population, they have received 22.4 percent of the world’s Nobel Prizes. Some of our greatest scientists, doctors, philosophers, and artists are Jewish. How different would the world be without Albert Einstein, to cite just one example?

Continue reading Denison Forum – Reflecting on the French election from Jerusalem →

Yesterday, the House of Representatives passed the American Health Care Act, legislation promoted by President Trump that would repeal and replace Obamacare. Marking the National Day of Prayer, the president also issued an executive order strengthening religious liberty.

Meanwhile, a third news story involving Mr. Trump has received less notice: he is coming to Israel. A US delegation sent to prepare for an upcoming visit arrived in the Jewish homeland yesterday.

I have been to the Holy Land many times over the years and am leading a tour of Israel this week. If I were in charge of the president’s schedule, there is a surprising site I would urge him to visit.

Our group traveled yesterday to Caesarea Philippi. The area was home to the worship of Pan, the Greek half-man, half-goat. His worshipers believed that Pan was born in a massive cave at this site. A spring brought water into this cave from a depth the ancient world was never able to measure. As a result, they called it the “gates of the underworld” or the “gates of hell.”

Standing here, Jesus told his disciples, “On this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it” (Matthew 16:18). Why did he begin his church here?

Fourteen temples to Baal worship were scattered throughout the area. A massive white marble temple for the worship of Caesar stood at the mouth of the cave. A giant temple for the worship of Zeus stood adjacent to it. Niches carved in the rock wall held every idol imaginable. Worshipers of Pan engaged in unspeakable sexual sin.

Continue reading Denison Forum – Israel site I would advise Donald Trump to visit →

I am writing this morning from the Sea of Galilee. This small lake, only fourteen miles long by seven-and-a-half miles wide, is one of the most strategic bodies of water on Earth.

Jesus performed ten of his thirty-three miracles on this lake. He preached the most famous sermon in history on its northern shore. He performed three-quarters of his public ministry on lands I can see from my hotel balcony.

A movement that began with twelve men now comprises 2.2 billion followers. As one small example, this Daily Article is going to 112,000 subscribers in 203 countries. Christianity’s global reach was inconceivable when it began here twenty centuries ago.

God so often uses small places for big purposes. He used a bush in the wilderness to call Moses; he used a slingshot to defeat a giant and elevate a king; he used a cave on a prison island to give the world his Revelation.

First Corinthians 1 comes to mind: “Not many of you were wise according to worldly standards, not many were powerful, not many were of noble birth. But God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise; God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong. God chose what is low and despised in the world, even things that are not, to bring to nothing things that are, so that no human being might boast in the presence of God” (vv. 26–29).

As Paul later noted, “When I am weak, then I am strong” (2 Corinthians 12:10).

These are challenging times for followers of Jesus. An Arizona college student was ordered by his professor to leave the classroom because he was reading the Bible before class began. A recent survey shows that most Americans have read little or none of the Bible. In the midst of genocide, 16,000 South Sudanese Christians have sought refuge at a cathedral compound. A priest explained: “People said if they were going to be killed, they preferred to be killed in the church because this is the place where Jesus is present. They wanted to die in the church rather than die in their homes.”

When our faith is challenged, it is important to remember that God measures success not by circumstances but by obedience.

The Lord said to Baruch, the servant of the prophet Jeremiah: “Do you seek great things for yourself? Seek them not, for behold, I am bringing disaster upon all flesh, declares the Lord. But I will give you your life as a prize of war in all places to which you may go” (Jeremiah 45:5). Rather than seeking “great things” for ourselves, we should seek God’s will for today, secure in the knowledge that his will for us is better than our dreams for ourselves.

1. S. Lewis notes that our culture sees us as individuals of infinite value for whom God serves as a kind of employment committee working to find the best “job” for us. In fact, the reverse is true: God has a purpose for our lives, then he creates us to fulfill that purpose. Only our Creator knows why he made us and what purpose most fulfills his will for us.

I am at the Sea of Galilee today because of what Jesus did here twenty centuries ago. God is able to use your life for future purposes you cannot imagine today. Will you let him?

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I am writing this week from the Holy Land, where I spent yesterday watching Israelis celebrate their independence. Huge crowds gathered on the Tel Aviv beach to watch an air show performed by their nation’s military. Families filled every park I saw. The mood was upbeat and energetic.

I was especially moved by our visit to Independence Hall, the building where David ben Gurion read a statement in 1948 declaring the existence of the State of Israel. At the time, he and those who met with him knew that the nations surrounding their tiny sliver of land were likely to respond by declaring war. The country they created could be annihilated before it began. Meeting just a few years after the Holocaust, the people in the hall that day knew that their future was tenuous at best.

But they acted with courage and faith, believing in their cause and willing to sacrifice their lives in its service. Sixty-nine years later, the nation they birthed continues to thrive.

It can be hard to believe in ideals the world rejects. When fear and faith are at war, how do we choose faith?

One: Remember what matters most.

It is tempting to value the material over the spiritual. But as Alfred Lord Tennyson so famously noted, “Nothing worth proving can be proven.” Paul succinctly described the Christian’s response to our visible world: “We walk by faith, not by sight” (2 Corinthians 5:7). While we live in the present, it is hard to envision eternity. But one day soon, eternity will be all there is and we will be forever grateful that we chose faith.

Two: Refuse to quit.

Continue reading Denison Forum – Fear and faith at war in Israel →

I am writing today from Israel, where the nation is celebrating her sixty-ninth birthday. Independence Day in this land is an amazing experience. On Monday, Israelis completed their annual Memorial Day, a solemn tradition dedicated to their fallen soldiers and civilian victims of terrorism. They are following it today with a nationwide celebration of their independence.

There will be parades, air shows, family barbecues, and speeches. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu noted that the first Independence Day “was a moment of triumph for our people. We had been scattered around the world for millennia. And then we returned to our native homeland, to build a safe haven where we could live and thrive.

“Now, many doubted that this tiny State of Israel would survive. We were surrounded by hostile enemies who attacked us again and again. So perhaps, for some, this skepticism was warranted. But survive we did. Much more than that. We thrived.”

The people of Israel have indeed thrived. It’s been a year since I’ve been here. In that time, the Mediterranean Sea beachfront in Tel Aviv where we are staying has continued to expand. There are new recreational areas, restaurants, and sidewalks. Skyscrapers dot the horizon. The people of Israel are remarkably industrious and courageous. They embrace life in the knowledge that the future is guaranteed to no one. And they’re right.

Last Thursday evening, Janet and I were privileged to attend the tenth-anniversary celebration for Orphan Outreach, an outstanding ministry we are grateful to support. The featured speaker was former First Lady Laura Bush. We were honored to meet her beforehand; she was so very gracious and kind. Her remarks on behalf of orphans and the disadvantaged were truly inspirational.

Continue reading Denison Forum – Greetings from Independence Day in Israel →

Donald Trump’s “first 100 days in office” officially ended at noon last Saturday. Nearly all the media coverage leading up to this milestone, ranging from The Simpsons to late-night comedians, has been uniformly negative.
A study of the evening news on ABC, CBS, and NBC found that 89 percent of broadcast networks’ coverage of Mr. Trump has been negative. Eighty-four percent of Republicans and 54 percent of Independents say the media has “assumed the role of the opposition party in their coverage of President Trump.” Even 30 percent of Democrats agree with this assessment.
Most media reports of the president’s approval rating claim that it is the worst of any president at this time in his administration. However, a professional marketer who polled for President Clinton for six years has a different view. According to Mark Penn, Trump’s approval is likely higher than the 40 percent rating cited in the media. The major network polls survey “US adults” rather than people who voted in the last election or expect to vote in the next one. They include eleven million undocumented immigrants, many people who liked neither candidate and chose not to vote, and younger people who have lower rates of participation.

In addition, while only 42 percent say that Trump has accomplished either a great deal or a good amount so far, 37 percent said the same about President Clinton in 1993. When all the congressional votes from the last election were tallied, Republicans got three million more votes than Democrats and won a majority of both the popular vote and of the seats in Congress.

According to a Washington Post survey, 46 percent of respondents said they voted for Hillary Clinton and 43 percent for Trump, mirroring her national vote margin. But if the election were held today, 43 percent would vote for Trump and 40 percent for Clinton.

Continue reading Denison Forum – Why is the media so critical of President Trump? →

Kenneth Williams was serving a life sentence for killing a cheerleader. He escaped in 1999 and was involved in a traffic wreck which killed a man named Michael Greenwood. Williams then killed another man, Cecil Boren, while on the run. He was executed last night by the state of Arkansas for murdering Boren.

Michael Greenwood’s daughter, Kayla Greenwood, learned a few days ago that Williams had a twenty-one-year-old daughter he had not seen for seventeen years and a three-year-old granddaughter he had never met. Kayla’s mother then bought plane tickets so Williams’s daughter and granddaughter could fly from Washington state to Arkansas to see him a day before his execution.

Kayla Greenwood sent a message to Williams through his attorney: “I told him we forgive him and where I stood on it.” When Williams found out what they were doing, “he was crying to the attorney.”

Here’s the rest of the story.

Williams told an interviewer that he has been “stabilized and sustained by the inner peace and forgiveness I’ve received through a relationship with Jesus Christ.” He chose to appear before a prison review board, not because he expected to receive clemency but “so I could show them I was no longer the person I once was. God has transformed me, and even the worst of us can be reformed and renewed. Revealing these truths meant more to me than being granted clemency. I’m still going to eventually die someday, but to stand up for God in front of man, that’s my victory.”

Continue reading Denison Forum – Family buys tickets for condemned inmate’s family →

A diary kept by a young John F. Kennedy while he was a journalist after World War II has sold at auction for $718,750. The diary was mostly typed but includes twelve handwritten pages. In it, the twenty-eight-year-old Kennedy reflects on the devastation he saw in Berlin and questions the potential of the fledgling United Nations.

Few knew that fifteen years later he would be president of the United States.

Following his service in World War II, for which he received the Navy and Marine Corp Medal for leadership and courage, Kennedy considered becoming a writer or teacher. After his older brother’s tragic death, however, his father convinced him to run for Congress. His victory in 1946 led to two terms in the Senate and his election in 1960 as the youngest president in our nation’s history. His unwavering focus on his goal explains his political success and his enduring legacy.

Greg McKeown’s bestseller, Essentialism: The Disciplined Pursuit of Less, notes: “Essentialism is not about how to get more things done; it’s about how to get the right things done. It doesn’t mean just doing less for the sake of less either. It is about making the wisest possible investment of your time and energy in order to operate at our highest point of contribution by doing only what is essential.” He notes, “If you don’t prioritize your life, someone else will.”

McKeown encourages us to refuse the frustration of doing everything that is popular now, choosing instead to do the right thing for the right reason at the right time. He notes that a Non-essentialist thinks almost everything is essential, while an Essentialist thinks almost everything is nonessential. To this end, he cites Socrates’ warning, “Beware the barrenness of a busy life.”

Are you struggling with such barrenness today?

Your materialistic culture measures success by activity. The less we sleep and the more we work, the more applause we receive. But God measures our temporal activities by their eternal results. That’s why he calls us to fulfill his unique purpose for our lives at all costs:

“We do not lose heart. Though our outer self is wasting away, our inner self is being renewed day by day. For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison, as we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal” (2 Corinthians 4:16–18).

Missionary C. T. Studd prayed,

Give me Father, a purpose deep,
In joy or sorrow Thy word to keep;
Faithful and true what e’er the strife,
Pleasing Thee in my daily life;
Only one life, ’twill soon be past,
Only what’s done for Christ will last.

Greg McKeown quotes Anna Pavlova, the Russian ballet dancer: “To follow, without halt, one aim: there is the secret to success.” Will you be a success today?

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Smartphones are changing us.

According to recent research, 94 percent of us have one, demonstrating the device’s status as an essential tool for living today. Forty-six percent of men and 55 percent of women check their phone before getting out of bed each morning. More than half do the same when trying to fall asleep at night. The younger we are, the more likely we are to spend much or all of our free time on the phone. More than half of millennials admit that their phone makes them more distracted in life.

Here’s an antidote: according to Science Daily, engagement with the natural environment is a significant contributor to life satisfaction. Hiking regularly in a forest or otherwise spending time in nature is a proven factor in overall happiness.

Clearly, we need help in dealing with our chaotic culture. Consider a new transgender “fact sheet” produced by Harvard University. According to the document, the concept of gender is “fluid and changing,” can be expressed a number of ways, and can change on a daily basis. The office that produced the “fact sheet” hosts several annual events at Harvard, one of which is a “Queer Prom.”

Of course, sexual issues are not limited to homosexual or transgender concerns. New research indicates that 68 percent of men who attend worship services regularly also view pornography on a regular basis. In addition, 76 percent of religious young adults, ages eighteen to twenty-four, actively seek out porn. A ministry devoted to freeing men from pornography concludes, “Never before has such a large portion of the Church lived in contradiction of what we believe.”

Our culture is convinced that all truth claims are personal and subjective, elevating tolerance as the apex value of our day. Anything you do that doesn’t hurt me is now acceptable morality. Obviously, we cannot find truth in a society that doesn’t believe truth exists.

How should we respond?

Continue reading Denison Forum – The ancient antidote for smartphone distraction →

Today’s New York Times announces: “No Longer a Dream: Silicon Valley Takes on the Flying Car.” Uber is beginning the Elevate Summit today in Dallas, a three-day conference focusing on “the future of on-demand, urban air transportation.” Speakers include senators, governors, NASA scientists, and industry pioneers.

The Aeromobil was unveiled in Monaco on April 20. The flying car will cost more than a million dollars and is due out in three years. Other options are expected to be much less expensive.

Innovation proceeds at a breakneck pace, but human nature remains the same.

Sirens sounded across Israel yesterday as the nation paused for Holocaust Remembrance Day. I have been in Israel on this solemn day. Cars stop; business ceases; the entire nation remembers the “Shoah” (Hebrew for “catastrophe”) in which a third of the world’s Jews were annihilated.

Most of the world’s leaders routinely condemn anti-Semitism, yet violence against Jews continues to rise. In the US, assaults against Jews rose 50 percent over the last two years. Anti-Semitic incidents at colleges and universities nearly doubled last year. Anti-Semitism is rampant in Europe as well, where Jews were murdered in Paris and Copenhagen and synagogues were attacked by mobs and firebombed.

While science increasingly confirms that life begins at conception, abortion advocates continue to press their position. Democratic National Committee Chairman Tom Perez declared recently that “every Democrat” should be pro-choice. “That is not negotiable and should not change city by city or state by state,” he claimed.

Even Nancy Pelosi and Bernie Sanders disagreed, contending that Democrats could have varying opinions on this issue. Republican Sen. Ben Sasse tweeted a picture of a baby in the womb and the note, “@Tom Perez Your profile says you fight for the little guy. Please check out this little fella—special, isn’t he? (He’s 12 weeks old.)”

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Happy Days was one of the most popular shows on television when I was in high school. The sitcom idealized American life in the mid-1950s to mid-1960s. Ron Howard (“Richie Cunningham”) was the star; Erin Moran played his kid sister, “Joanie.” Now the actress has made headlines once again, but for a tragic reason: she was found dead last Saturday at the age of fifty-six. Moran had reportedly been living in a Holiday Inn Express after struggling with homelessness.

The death of a Happy Days star feels like a sign of the times, but there’s more to the story.

While Erin Moran’s life came to a tragic end, Ron Howard has become a very successful movie director and actor. Henry Winkler (“Fonzie”) is a multi-millionaire with regular television appearances and multiple credits as a director, producer, and author. Tom Bosley (“Mr. Cunningham”) frequently appeared on television; Marion Ross (“Mrs. Cunningham”) has been nominated for several Emmys and continues to act at the age of eighty-six.

How we choose to see the world is usually how we see the world. Consider three examples in today’s news.

One: The French elections

The New York Times calls Sunday’s vote a “full-throated rebuke of France’s traditional mainstream parties.” Since the country moved to a direct popular vote in 1965, the French presidency has been won each time by a candidate representing either the major center-right or the major center-left parties. For the first time, neither party survived to the second round of voting. The outcome would seem to presage more political turbulence for the global economy.

However, US stock futures rose sharply after the results came in. Centrist Emmanuel Macron is widely expected to defeat far-right candidate Marine Le Pen in the May 7 runoff. According to one analyst, yesterday’s outcome is “a solid vote in favor of a more solidly integrated Europe.”

Two: American politics
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