We are one day from the most chaotic presidential election I can remember, and we still aren’t sure who will win. Hillary Clinton is leading Donald Trump in the polls, but there’s more to the story.

Nate Silver, who correctly predicted forty-nine out of fifty states in 2008 and all fifty states in 2012, told ABC News yesterday that Clinton is one state away from losing the election. Then the FBI announced that their review of newly discovered emails has not changed their decision not to recommend charges against the Democratic candidate. Whether their announcement will change the race is yet to be known.

Then there’s the Senate, which confirms presidential nominations to the Supreme Court. Republicans went into this election defending twenty-four of the thirty-four seats being contested. If Clinton wins and Democrats can capture just four of the current Republican seats, she’ll have a clear pathway for her Court nominations. Many of these seats are too close to call today.

Meanwhile, Fortune reminds us that election polling is anything but infallible. Remember that polling before the Brexit election turned out to be dramatically wrong.

The angst Americans are feeling over tomorrow’s election is understandable, since so many tie their future to their country. If the economy falls back into recession, our incomes go down. If the nation goes to war, many of our children must fight. If the government legalizes unbiblical morality, Christians’ religious liberties become threatened. What our leaders do about abortion affects millions of unborn lives.

But let’s not make the mistake so many other Americans are making. Our nation is not the democracy (“rule of the people”) we think it is. Our future does not lie with tomorrow’s election or the one after that. It does not lie with either party or with any branch of the federal government. It does not lie with state or local leaders, or with multinational corporations, or with any other human enterprise.

Continue reading Denison Forum – Two mistakes to avoid on Election Eve →

One of the most powerful Christian witnesses of the twentieth century is coming to movie theaters today.

Desmond Doss served on Okinawa during one of the most horrific battles of World War II. His courage under fire was so astounding that he was awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor.

Mel Gibson’s Hacksaw Ridge tells his amazing story. I saw the film at a private screening a few months ago and was deeply moved by Doss’s humility and sacrificial faith. In my review, I noted that the movie is rated R for very realistic war violence. However, I strongly urge you to see it. I agree with Greg Laurie: “This is the most positive portrayal of a Christian in a mainstream film that I have seen since Chariots of Fire.”

When Christians trust God with our fears, others see our courage and are drawn to the Source of our strength. Our witness is especially vital in these days of escalating vitriol as the presidential candidates warn us of nuclear war or a constitutional crisis if their opponent is elected. It’s not surprising that the latest Atlantic magazine features an in-depth article on the “election anxiety” so many are feeling in these turbulent days.

Such distress is not new news. Cultural scholar Leo Braudy notes that fear, horror, and terror are reactions to a collective uncertainty over the future and nostalgia for a (supposedly) safer past. In his new book, Haunted, Braudy reports: “Social scientists have estimated that fear is seven times more likely to spread than any other social attitude.” Fears of terrorism, epidemic disease, escalating crime, and rising immigration are abetted in our day by “an ever expanding web of communications, manipulated by politicians and newscasters, liberals and conservatives alike.”

Fear is natural and even normal in the face of threats to our well-being. It’s a good thing for us to be afraid to pick up a rattlesnake. But fearing the unknown future shows that we’re trusting in ourselves rather than the God who knows the future.

This is idolatry, the gravest sin of all.

Continue reading Denison Forum – How ‘Hacksaw Ridge’ helps us overcome ‘election anxiety’ →

When the Chicago Cubs last won a World Series, Theodore Roosevelt was president. What has happened since?

• Radio and television were invented.
• Women won the right to vote.
• The National Basketball Association, National Hockey League, and National Football League were created.
• Major League Baseball added fourteen teams.
• The New York Yankees won seventeen world championships.
• The Soviet Union came and went.
• Sixteen US presidents were elected.
• Eleven amendments were added to the US Constitution.
• The Titanic was built, set sail, sank, and was discovered.
• The price of gasoline rose 1,400 percent.
• Chicago’s Wrigley Field was born and became the oldest park in the National League.
• The computer, cell phone, digital photography, microwave ovens, remote controls, polio vaccine, laser beam, super glue, Velcro, satellites, video games, cordless tools, GPS, ATM, the MRI, the MP3, the VCR, the DVD, and the Internet were invented.
• Alaska, Arizona, Hawaii, Oklahoma, and New Mexico were admitted to the Union.

Across 108 years, the Cubs have been famous for never winning the “big one.” When they went down three games to one in this year’s World Series, their fans had to be wondering if they would ever win a championship. When they blew a three-run lead late in last night’s Game 7, their fans had to be even more discouraged. Their team’s victory in the tenth inning was indeed one for the ages.

This year’s terrific World Series has been a welcome respite from the vitriol of the presidential campaign and the general negativity of our day. But I think there’s something more to the Cubs’ victory: they are a team of good players who play great baseball together. Their team unity is their greatest strength.

It’s not surprising that we are drawn to their story. We are a nation of immigrants committed to the belief that all people are created equal, a classless society that offers opportunity to those willing to pay the price to succeed. We have much further to go in making such opportunity a reality for people of every race and socioeconomic background. But we have never stopped trying to live up to our credo of equality for all, a fact that proves the enduring value of our founding promise.

Continue reading Denison Forum – Chicago Cubs end 108-year drought →

According to the latest Rasmussen poll, the race between Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton is tied. Each has 44 percent support among likely US voters. Among those who could change their minds, the two are tied at 36 percent each. And so the most contentious campaign in memory continues to trouble, fascinate, and polarize Americans.

Meanwhile, Game 7 of the most-watched World Series of all time is tonight. We want to know if Chicago can win the title for the first time since 1908, or if Cleveland will win for the first time since 1948.

And USA Today is reporting on new evidence supporting the theory that Amelia Earhart died as a castaway on a remote island. The International Group for Historic Aircraft Recovery says they have found evidence that Earhart made more than one hundred radio transmissions in the days after her plane went missing. They also claim that a partial skeleton discovered in 1940 on the island of Nikumaroro (located between Hawaii and Australia) could belong to Earhart.

The aviator disappeared on July 2, 1937, over the Pacific Ocean. It’s been nearly eighty years since she disappeared—why does her story still generate headlines today? I did the math: only 3.5 percent of the current American population was old enough to know her story when she vanished.

What do Amelia Earhart’s disappearance and this year’s World Series have to do with today’s political news?

Continue reading Denison Forum – The World Series, Amelia Earhart, and the presidency →

There’s very good news in today’s Cultural Commentary. But you’ll have to look beyond the news to find it.

Today’s headlines are not helpful to our quest for encouragement: Life expectancy for Americans is declining. Seventy-four percent of Americans say the country is on the wrong track, up nearly 50 percent from 2012. As the political season grinds to a conclusion, one woman quoted by The Washington Post spoke for many: “All of my friends and family are so ready for the country to move beyond this election. Me, too. I’d rather feel hopeful than hopeless.”

To feel hopeful on this All Saints Day, don’t look to your culture. Instead, look to your church. Here’s why: a Harvard professor has shown that religious attendance will increase your health, happiness, and sense of purpose in life.

Tyler VanderWeele is professor of epidemiology at the Harvard T. H. Chan School of Public Health. His research with Harvard colleagues indicates that attending religious services brings about better physical and mental health. Significantly better, in fact.

Adults who attend a religious service at least once a week have a much lower risk of dying over the next decade and a half. They are more optimistic and have lower rates of depression. Churchgoing protects against suicide and provides greater purpose in life. Attending religious services also increases the likelihood of a stable marriage and leads to greater charitable giving and civic engagement.

It’s especially noteworthy in our “spiritual but not religious” culture that general spirituality does not provide such benefits. As the author notes, “Research has shown that service attendance, rather than private spirituality or solitary practice, strongly predicts health. Something about communal religious participation appears to be essential” (his emphasis).

Continue reading Denison Forum – THE SURPRISING WAY TO LOWER YOUR RISK OF DYING →

A truckload of manure was dumped Saturday morning outside the Warren County Democratic Party headquarters in Ohio. The Clinton campaign probably sees this as a metaphor for the FBI’s announcement on Friday that it is reviewing more emails that may be linked to their candidate. Last night, federal investigators obtained a warrant to begin searching a large cache of emails belonging to Huma Abedin, a top Clinton aide.

A columnist for The Daily Beast is claiming today that Republicans have “weaponized” the FBI against Mrs. Clinton. Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid is accusing FBI Director James Comey of breaking federal law by disclosing the new email investigation.

Doesn’t it seem fitting that Halloween comes a week before the election?

Rather than comment on partisan politics, I’d like to turn in a different direction this morning. Consider this Halloween-appropriate item in the news: Families in Puerto Rico are arranging for the bodies of their deceased loved ones to be displayed at the pre-burial wake in real-life poses. One man was embalmed in a standing position with boxing gloves on his hands. Another was embalmed sitting at his mother’s bar and playing dominoes.

Meanwhile, a man in China arranged his own funeral to see who would attend the ceremony. A man in Serbia did the same thing. Like them, you can attend your own funeral if you wish. The New York Times tells us about a South Korean program in which participants sit beside caskets, write their last testaments, don burial shrouds, then lie down in coffins. A grim-looking man dressed in a black robe hammers the lids closed. The participants lie encased in total darkness for ten minutes before they are released back to life.

Continue reading Denison Forum – WHAT DO EMAILS, MANURE, AND HALLOWEEN HAVE IN COMMON? →

Donald Trump was given a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 2007. Yesterday a man dressed as a construction worker attacked it with a sledgehammer and an ax.

Doesn’t this feel like a metaphor for the politics of our day?

Joe Biden recently suggested that he’d like to fight Trump, a challenge the Republican nominee said he’d relish. Meanwhile, Trump is telling voters that Hillary Clinton’s Syria plan “will lead to World War Three.” Clinton is claiming that Trump represents “an unprecedented attack on our democracy.” And on it goes.

Why are our politics so combative? One answer is that successful politicians know what their constituents want. We live in a day consumed with conflict. Terrorism threatens our homeland; violence in our cities is escalating; chronic anxiety continues to rise. We want leaders who feel our pain and give voice to our fears. Those running for office know this. As a result, our politics are belligerent because our politicians reflect the conflicts our people feel.

In one sense, this is good news. The Founders knew firsthand the danger of monarchy without representation. As a result, they sought to establish a participatory democracy where leaders reflect the sentiments and desires of those they serve. Abraham Lincoln’s dream of “government of the people, by the people, for the people” was not his alone but the hope and goal of those who forged our great nation.

In another sense, however, our system of democracy can worsen the challenges it is intended to solve. Like throwing water on a grease fire, our voter-driven political process can turn a spark into a bonfire.

Here’s why: The Founders did not imagine a class of professional politicians whose only income would come from their elected office. Washington, Adams, Jefferson, and Madison all had financial sources outside their political income. Following Washington’s example, they imposed a two-term limit on themselves and viewed their service as a duty rather than a career.

Continue reading Denison Forum – MAN SLEDGEHAMMERS DONALD TRUMP’S HOLLYWOOD STAR →

A church bell rang for the first time in two years as Iraqi Kurdish forces continued their push toward Mosul. Located in Bartella, this primarily Christian town is nine miles from the ISIS stronghold. Kurdish forces secured around thirty-eight square miles and “a significant stretch” of the highway as they sought to retake the city from ISIS. The night was longer than expected, but the joyful ringing of the bell in the morning was sweeter than anticipated.

Around thirty thousand Iraqi security force personnel, assisted by US-led coalition air strikes, launched the long-awaited offensive to retake Mosul over a week ago. But tragically, these great gains accompanied heartbreaking losses.

UN reports indicate that ISIS fighters killed fifteen civilians and threw their bodies into a river to spread terror and send a signal. A Middle Eastern news service noted, “ISIS terrorist gangs executed nine of its members for fleeing the battle against the security forces in Mosul, by throwing them in trenches containing a burning oil.” In 2003, Iraq boasted an estimated 1.3 million Christians. Now, leaders put that number at fewer than four hundred thousand.

Despite their dwindling numbers and dire circumstances, the bell in Bartella rang. For those who have ears to hear, the ringing of the bell sounds like Jesus in Matthew 10:28: “Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul.” Jesus never promised his followers a comfortable life, but he did assure them he would provide comfort in this life (2 Corinthians 1:2–4).

The situation in Iraq provides perspective when considering the difficulties in the American context. Our circumstances are different, but our mission is the same: his kingdom come, his will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.

Christians take part in a global movement that seeks to make peace in the chaos and bring hope to the downcast. Peace never comes idly; rather it requires hard work against the status quo. Hope is not found in a political candidate but a resurrected King. Christians are more than a voting bloc; we are people who deeply believe that God is good regardless of what is happening and Jesus is Lord regardless of who is elected.

Continue reading Denison Forum – CHURCH BELL RINGS IN IRAQ FOR THE FIRST TIME IN TWO YEARS →

Activists at the University of Toronto disrupted a free speech rally led by a professor who refuses to address students with gender-neutral pronouns. In essence, activists exercised their free speech and in turn ended a free speech rally. The University Student Union wrote, “Tuesday’s rally was marred by bigotry and violence, and the Campus Police refused to intervene when they knew of and saw trans folks being assaulted.”

University of Toronto professor Jordan Petersen angered several people after releasing a presentation entitled, “Professor against political correctness.” In it, he condemned a new bill that could potentially punish individuals who “misgender” others.

In other free speech news, people are, shockingly, arguing on Facebook—or rather over Facebook policy. According to the Wall Street Journal, the 2016 election has ignited an intense internal debate about whether certain political posts should be removed for potentially violating the site’s rules regarding hate speech. Releasing a statement last week, Facebook said, “In the weeks ahead, we’re going to begin allowing more items that people find newsworthy, significant, or important to the public interest—even if they might otherwise violate our standards.” No word on whether they will be doing anything regarding the persistent Farmville invitations and Candy Crush requests.

A Gallup poll showed that 69 percent of college students said they would be in favor of prohibiting “intentionally offensive” speech on campus. 41 percent of Americans thirty-five and under think “the First Amendment is dangerous.”

George Washington noted, “If freedom of speech is taken away, then dumb and silent we may be led, like sheep to the slaughter.” French writer Alexis de Tocqueville said, “Nothing is more wonderful than the art of being free, but nothing is harder to learn how to use than freedom.”

This freedom makes America great according to de Tocqueville: “The greatness of America lies not in being more enlightened than any other nation, but rather in her ability to repair her faults.” By eliminating free speech, the government “compresses, enervates, extinguishes, and stupefies a people, till each nation is reduced to nothing better than a flock of timid and industrious animals, of which the government is the shepherd.”

For better or for worse, the ability to speak freely can enlighten us so that our footsteps may move toward a more perfect union. However, free speech may also mar the silence, proving Proverbs 10:19 true: when words abound, transgressions are inevitable.

Continue reading Denison Forum – ACTIVISTS USE FREE SPEECH TO DISRUPT FREE SPEECH RALLY →

Teachers’ significance is only exceeded by their patience. Holding one of the most important jobs in our communities today, teachers see potential, put up with antics, and relentlessly seek to bring out the best in every student. They work tirelessly in the present, yet not always seeing the fruit of their labor. However, the people at SoulPancake have sought to change this.

SoulPancake invited five teachers together to share their struggles and difficulties. Little did they know that instead of only sharing struggles, former students surprised their teachers by reading letters describing the impact their teachers made in their lives. The video has since gone viral, joining the likes of the color of a dress, Ken Bone, and the keyboard cat.Side note: the dress is blue.

The classroom is where curiosity meets knowledge. But lurking in the shadows is discouragement. The teacher is the caring curator who leads students on the journey to truth. Unfortunately, myself included, some of us weren’t the most willing participants. I surprised my teachers when I actually turned in my homework on time and didn’t talk for the entire class time.

Incidents such as this, among other things, can often bring discouragement. But what sets apart the teacher is their ability to get the best even when we give them the worst. The Cubs may have won the pennant, but day in and day out teachers win small victories for our future.

I am forever indebted to Mrs. Hall, Dr. Speck, and Dr. Welty. I almost failed kindergarten, but Mrs. Hall’s careful attention to me and care for me changed me. Dr. Speck’s demand for excellence made me want to be better even if my grade couldn’t get any higher. And Dr. Welty’s love for the Scriptures saturated his lectures on Western philosophy and forever changed the way I look for signposts of eternity in the everyday. Despite discouragement, they refused to settle.

Continue reading Denison Forum – STUDENTS SURPRISE TEACHERS AND VIDEO GOES VIRAL →

Nadine Baum turned one hundred last week and was honored with a surprise party at her local McDonald’s restaurant. Their present to her: free food for life. “I don’t know what I did to deserve all this,” she said. “I count my blessings every day.”

Nadine is on to something.

Every morning brings new reasons to be discouraged by today’s culture. Since our society decided decades ago that truth is subjective and morality is no one’s business but ours, we’ve seen Western culture continue to spiral downward.

Abortion is now celebrated; children and the mentally ill are being euthanized; racial conflict is rising; sexually-transmitted diseases continue to spread. Churches and Christian schools that defend biblical marriage are worried about their tax-exempt status; transgender bathrooms are just the latest battle in the sexual revolution.

It’s tempting to withdraw from our broken culture into a siege mentality that assumes the worst. What do we do when facing enemies who appear stronger and more numerous than we are?

David knew the feeling. King Saul was not only the sovereign ruler of the Jewish nation, he was also “taller than any of the people” (1 Samuel 9:2) and commander of the entire army. When he sought to murder David, the young shepherd’s life was in mortal peril.

Continue reading Denison Forum – MCDONALD’S GIVES 100-YEAR-OLD WOMAN FREE FOOD FOR LIFE →

The candidates began and ended last night’s presidential debate without shaking hands. The ninety minutes in between were filled with argument, name-calling, and vitriol. Donald Trump refused to say if he will accept the vote if he loses, a statement that is leading this morning’s news. Hillary Clinton called him a “puppet” of Russia, while he called her a “nasty woman.”

In eighteen days I will vote in my eleventh presidential election over four decades. I have never seen a campaign season as bitter as this one has been. Nor have I seen Christians as divided over an election as we seem to be today.

I receive emails regularly from believers who liken Donald Trump to Winston Churchill and characterize him as the war leader we need today. I also receive emails from believers who are convinced that no Christian could vote for Mr. Trump. Many evangelicals are convinced that electing Hillary Clinton would end America as we know it. Others believe that she would advance our status as leader of the free world.

Here’s what I know for sure: on November 9 the election will be over, but our witness—for good or for bad—will endure.

Christians are commissioned to reach all nations with the good news of God’s love (Matthew 28:19). Therefore, we must not limit our witness to the place we happen to inhabit today. In the same way, we must not limit our witness to the moment we happen to inhabit today.

Continue reading Denison Forum – HOW CHRISTIANS SHOULD RESPOND TO THE PRESIDENTIAL DEBATE →

Yesterday was National Coming Out Day. The “Human Rights Campaign” has published a “resource guide to coming out” as well as ways straight people can “demonstrate your support for LGBTQ people and equality worldwide.”

As I have discussed often, the Bible consistently forbids homosexual activity. Not because God hates gay people, but because he loves them. Their Creator wants what is best for them and knows that all sexual relationships outside of heterosexual marriage are damaging to those who engage in them.

My point this morning is not to revisit this issue, but to think with you about ways to relate biblically to LGBTQ people. God’s word has much to say not only about homosexual relationships but also about how best to relate to those who engage in them.

One: Agree with Scripture.

Whenever biblical truth is rejected by society, it is tempting to side with society. As I noted yesterday, only 52 percent of self-identified evangelicals agree strongly with the statement, “Sex outside of traditional marriage is a sin.” As our culture has decided that truth is personal and subjective, many have been persuaded that they can do with their bodies whatever they wish. This ethic affects abortion, sexual activity, euthanasia, and a host of other issues.

But it is still true that “all Scripture is breathed out by God” (2 Timothy 3:16). Neither God’s nature nor his truth have changed. What was wrong when the Bible was inspired is still wrong today. There’s an old saying, “God said it, I believe it, and that settles it.” Actually, we should say, “God said it and that settles it, whether I believe it or not.”

Two: Understand the issue.

Continue reading Denison Forum – ‘NATIONAL COMING OUT DAY’—4 WAYS TO RESPOND →