“It was like hell,” said an eyewitness to the Istanbul airport attacks. “It looked like a disaster movie,” said another.

As you watch the continuing covering of the tragedy in Turkey, what do you feel? Grief for those who are in shock and mourning? Anger at the deluded murderers who slaughtered innocent people in the service of an ideology that is a lie from hell? I share your pain and outrage.

But there’s an unstated realization in the back of our minds as well: we know we could be next. If terrorists could kill Muslims in Turkey and Americans in Boston and San Bernardino and Orlando, they can strike anywhere. This is something new and insidious for us.

I recently saw Free State of Jones, a film portraying an uprising against Confederate hostilities in Mississippi. I had not realized the degree to which innocent civilians were brutalized during the Civil War, many by troops on their side of the conflict. During World War II, artillery was stationed along the West Coast to combat a possible Japanese invasion, but few Americans worried that foreign soldiers would attack them as they went about their daily lives.

Now for the first time, we live in the knowledge that the next airport bombing or workplace terrorism attack could find us. How should we respond to this reality?

Some choose fiction. They deny the reality of their mortality and refuse to think about death and the beyond. A recent poll asked unchurched Americans how often they thought about whether they would go to heaven when they die. Only eighteen percent said they consider their eternal destination daily or even weekly. But denying mortality, like denying you have cancer, doesn’t make its reality less real.

I was listening to sports talk radio this week and heard a conversation regarding the death of NFL coach Buddy Ryan. His twin sons Rex and Rob are coaching on the same NFL team for the first time, but he didn’t live long enough to see their first game. One radio commentator stated, “Wherever he is, he’s watching them.”

Continue reading Denison Forum – ISTANBUL ATTACK: DON’T LET THE TERRORISTS WIN →

I was in a staff meeting yesterday afternoon when news broke of another terrorist attack in Istanbul. As of this morning, forty-one are dead and 239 are injured. The Turkish prime minister has announced that ISIS is likely responsible for this atrocity.

If this seems like another chapter in the same horrific story, you’re right.

Yesterday’s airport bombing is the eighth terrorist attack in Turkey this year. Radical Islamists have struck tourist areas in Istanbul and the capitol city of Ankara as well as cities in southeastern Turkey. I have been everywhere terrorists have struck and have flown into and out of Istanbul’s airport numerous times. Any of the dead could have been me.

Sixteen other terrorist attacks this year have been linked to ISIS. Yesterday’s tragedy came after an ISIS spokesman called for renewed atrocities during the last ten days of Ramadan. As with numerous other attacks, Muslims were on the front lines of the assault, proving that radical Muslims will kill other Muslims as readily as they target anyone else.

Let’s remember why this is happening. ISIS and other radical Islamists are convinced that the West has been attacking Islam since the Crusades. The Qur’an requires Muslims to defend Islam. Therefore, they believe that attacking Western targets is a defense of Islam. Civilians are on the front lines since they support their governments with their taxes and military service. To radicalized Muslims, every killing yesterday advanced Islam.

As a result, no place is safe. The more ISIS loses territory in Iraq and Syria, the more it will sponsor and incite terrorism abroad. Yesterday’s atrocity is by no means the last we should expect as this “war on terror” continues.

It’s easy to become numb to the carnage. We were initially shocked by reports of ISIS beheadings, but now they are common news stories. Bombings that slaughter innocent people used to outrage the world, but now they numb us with their frequency.

Therein lies my point.

Continue reading Denison Forum – ISTANBUL BOMBING: DON’T LET TERRORISM BE THE ‘NEW NORMAL’ →

Brexit continues to shake the world. Markets lost more than $2 trillion last Friday, the worst single day for the global economy in history. In the aftermath of what one expert called “the biggest global monetary shock since 2008,” two facts seem clear.

One: There is a simple explanation for this shocking event.

CNN’s Nic Robertson interpreted Brexit this way: “The message from the shires of England is that they no longer trust their leadership.” As a result, many in the U.K. “see a rich upper class that has grown ridiculously rich, intertwined with a political elite in their pocket and their thrall.”

Chris Patten, Chancellor of the University of Oxford, agreed: “Growing social inequality has contributed to a revolt against a perceived metropolitan elite. Old industrial England . . . voted against better-off London. Globalization, these voters were told, benefits only those at the top—comfortable working with the rest of the world—at the expense of everyone else.”

Nationalist movements are gaining popularity in Sweden, Finland, Denmark, Germany, Hungary, Austria, France, Switzerland, Slovakia, Italy, and Greece. Radical Islam continues to gain adherents around the world. Brazilians recently voted to impeach their president. Anger against the establishment is growing in scope and severity. Brexit is just the first of many dominoes that will fall in coming months and years.

Two: Simple explanations are usually too simple.

Many who voted to leave the EU are now expressing regret on Twitter with the #Regrexit hashtag. A petition to force another referendum is gathering momentum with more than three million signatures.

Brexit was widely seen as a repudiation of establishment figures such as President Obama, who openly urged British voters to remain in the European Union. However, the president’s approval rating is at its highest level since the death of Osama bin Laden in May 2011.

Continue reading Denison Forum – THE SIMPLE EXPLANATION FOR BREXIT ISN’T SO SIMPLE →

Britain has voted to leave the European Union. Most global leaders had expected the U.K. to stay in the EU, but the vote was fifty-two percent for exiting the twenty-eight-member bloc.

The withdrawal process will take up to two years, so nothing will change immediately. But make no mistake—this is a historic event. One British lawmaker called the outcome “a seismic moment for our country.” Prime Minister David Cameron has announced that he will resign. Global markets plunged; the Dow Jones is projected to fall more than 500 points when it opens this morning.

Brexit proponents were especially frustrated about immigration. With a net migration of 330,000 people to the U.K. in 2015, more than half from the EU, many felt their national identity was under attack and that the influx endangered schools, housing, and health care.

“Take control” was the slogan of the “Leave” campaign, and it clearly resonated with the people. As The New York Times noted, “referendums are not about the question asked but the political mood at the time, and the political mood is sour.”

That may be an understatement.

In the U.S., Democrats and Republicans are condemning each other for inaction on gun control. The president is condemning the Supreme Court’s decision that thwarted his efforts to expand immigration through executive action.

We are anxious about the economy. Writing for Foreign Affairs, Dartmouth economist Douglas Irwin notes that productivity gains from technology caused eighty-five percent of the manufacturing job losses between 2000 and 2010. Such jobs are not coming back. Globalization and innovation are making a new economy that victimizes those who cannot adapt.

Many Christians are anxious about religious freedom. There’s been a national uproar after a thirty-three year veteran of the Air Force was forcibly removed from a retirement ceremony because he invoked God in a speech. (For more, see Nick Pitt’s article.) More than three-quarters of evangelicals feel religious liberty is more threatened than it was ten years ago.

Continue reading Denison Forum – BREXIT VOTE SHOCKS THE WORLD         →

People in Britain are voting today on whether their nation should stay in the European Union (EU). For the rest of us, this seems like an issue with little relevance outside of Europe.

Actually, what British voters decide today will affect all of us tomorrow.

Dubbed the “Brexit,” the question of Britain’s leaving the EU has been debated for months. Economists fear that a vote to leave would undermine London’s position in the world financial order. The chief of the NATO alliance says trans-Atlantic security would be stronger if Britain remained in the European Union.

If it left, however, Britain could establish its own trade agreements. It would no longer contribute to the EU budget, saving a net of 8.5 billion pounds per year. Brexit supporters say leaving would give the nation greater control over immigration as well.

Here’s why their vote affects us all. According to The Washington Post, a Brexit threatens more than a trillion dollars in investment and trade with the U.S. The International Monetary Fund predicts that a Brexit could reduce economic growth by up to 5.6 percent over the next three years. However, Brexit supporters say that leaving would strengthen the EU’s unity around the Euro and make Europe a better trading partner for the world.

Our planet is still 24,874 miles around (at the equator), but it feels smaller than ever. A radical Muslim leader in Iraq inspired terrorism in San Bernardino and Orlando. The Zika virus began in Uganda, but the World Health Organization says it is now a global public health emergency. Authorities warn that Mexican drug cartels currently pose a greater threat to Americans than ISIS.

We are connected morally to the world as well. A worldview shift called “postmodernism” began in Europe but is now just as powerful in America. Its central thesis: since our minds interpret our senses, “truth” is personal and subjective. As a result, there can be no objective moral standard on issues ranging from abortion to euthanasia. It seems that everything is now in play: support for polygamy is rising quickly, genetic engineering is on the horizon, and virtual reality pornography is here.

Continue reading Denison Forum – WHY BREXIT AFFECTS YOU →

Donald Trump met yesterday in Manhattan with nearly a thousand evangelical leaders. Nick Pitts, our Director of Cultural Engagement, attended the meeting as an observer. Trump was asked questions about religious liberty, national security, leadership, immigration, marriage, racial tensions, and America’s policy toward Israel. According to Nick, the meeting was civil, with no endorsement of the Trump campaign. Though some were clearly supportive of him, others were obviously skeptical.

However, a large group of pastors have made clear their personal endorsement of the presumptive Republican nominee. Pastors supporting Hillary Clinton have done the same. One group of ministers made news when they gathered around “President-to-be Clinton” to “decree and declare the favor of the Lord upon her.”

Pastors supporting politicians is a phenomenon with a long history. Leading up to the 1800 election, some ministers warned that Thomas Jefferson was an atheist who could not be trusted as president. Prior to the 1960 election, Norman Vincent Peale led a consortium of ministers who were opposed to John Kennedy because he was a Catholic.

I am not writing today to encourage or discourage ministers from supporting political candidates. There is no law against such personal endorsements, so long as ministers do not use their churches for political purposes. Some of my pastoral mentors make their political commitments public, while others (like me) choose not to do so.

Continue reading Denison Forum – EVANGELICAL LEADERS MEET WITH TRUMP: MY THOUGHTS →

Christopher Andrew Leinonen was one of the victims of the Orlando massacre. As thousands gathered for his funeral last Saturday, a handful of protesters from Westboro Baptist Church arrived. The tiny church has made itself famous over the years by picketing the funerals of military personnel and anyone else with whom it disagrees.

But this time the protesters were met by a group of men and women dressed as angels. Their large wings formed a wall that shielded mourners from the picketers. The tactic worked: one attendee said, “We couldn’t even hear WBC. All you could hear was peace and love.”

As a theologian who is convinced that the Bible forbids same-sex activity, I am saddened by the success of LGBT advocates in promoting their unbiblical agenda in our culture. But as a Christian who is convinced that God loves us all, no matter our sexual orientation or lifestyle, I am also saddened by the response of some Christians to the Orlando tragedy. A pastor in Sacramento said in a sermon, “The tragedy is that more of them didn’t die.” A pastor in Arizona said of the massacre, “I’m not sad about it; I’m not going to cry about it.”

God disagrees.

Do you love anyone enough to send your child to die for them? Does anyone love you that much? The Lord does: “God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us” (Romans 5:8). As a result, “anyone who does not love does not know God, because God is love” (1 John 4:8).

Continue reading Denison Forum – ‘ANGELS’ BLOCK PROTESTERS AT ORLANDO FUNERAL →

Anton Yelchin played Pavel Chekhov in the rebooted “Star Trek” film series. He and his family emigrated from Russia seeking political asylum when he was just six months old. Anton began acting at the age of nine. With critical acclaim for his work in the “Star Wars” series, his future was bright.

Yesterday morning, friends became concerned when he did not show up for a band performance. They found Yelchin dead at his home. His car pinned him against a brick mailbox pillar and a security fence. According to the LAPD, “It appears he had exited his car and was behind it when the vehicle rolled down a steep driveway.” He was twenty-seven years old.

The future is promised to no one. And yet it is human nature to focus on tomorrow’s challenges when today is the only day that exists. If we are faithful to the opportunities of this day, our future legacy will take care of itself.

Last night, the Cleveland Cavaliers won their first NBA title. They made history as the first team to come back from a 3-1 deficit to win the championship. Their secret: they focused on each game as it came. By ignoring their legacy, they created it.

Meanwhile, Dustin Johnson won golf’s U.S. Open Championship. It was his first major title. He won it by focusing on each shot as it came. By ignoring his legacy, he created it. That’s how legacies are made.

There’s another reason to focus on the present: the law of unintended consequences shows that we cannot predict the future.

Continue reading Denison Forum – ‘STAR TREK’ ACTOR DIES IN FREAK ACCIDENT →

The Cleveland Cavaliers defeated the Golden State Warriors last night to force Game 7 in the NBA Finals. But my favorite figure on the court wasn’t Stephen Curry or LeBron James. It was a television reporter appearing in his first NBA Finals game. His story of courage is one we need in these discouraging days.

Craig Sager has been a sports reporter for forty-four years. Known by viewers for the loud suits he wears on air, he is better known by colleagues for his journalistic excellence. He has interviewed athletes from the sidelines of NBA games for seventeen years. However, his network has never broadcasted the NBA Finals.

Sager has also been battling leukemia. When the cancer recently returned, doctors gave him three to six months to live. So ESPN, the network broadcasting the championship series, inviting him to join their team for last night’s game. It was an emotional time for players, fans, and especially for Sager.

When his leukemia returned, Sager told reporters, “Still kicking, still fighting. I haven’t won the battle. It’s not over yet. But I haven’t lost it, either. There have been some victories and some setbacks, but I still have to fight it. A lot of work to do.”

We need more Craig Sagers today.

This has been a grief-filled week. The murder of Christian singer Christina Grimmie was followed by the Orlando massacre and the Disney tragedy. Yesterday, CIA Director John Brennan told Congress that despite recent progress against ISIS, “our efforts have not reduced the group’s terrorism capability and global reach.” Economists warn that a vote by British citizens next week in favor of leaving the European Union could damage the global economy.

In discouraging times, courage can be our most powerful witness. If others see us strong in faith, firm in resolve, and optimistic in spirit, they are drawn to the One who empowers us. When authorities persecuting the apostles “saw the courage of Peter and John,” “they were astonished and they took note that these men had been with Jesus” (Acts 4:13).

Courage is an especially powerful witness for fathers. If our children see us trust God in hard times, they are more likely to trust him as well. I will always remember being with Dr. Gary Cook, then president of Dallas Baptist University, when doctors told him he had leukemia. His immediate response was to trust his life and future to God. His courage in the face of death glorified the Lord he loves. It is no surprise that his sons have followed his example with their own commitment to Christ and to ministry.

Continue reading Denison Forum – CRAIG SAGER: COURAGE ON AN NBA SIDELINE →

We woke up yesterday to the horrific news that an alligator dragged a two-year-old boy into a lake at Walt Disney World Tuesday evening. Disney closed all the beaches at its resorts. More than fifty law-enforcement personnel searched the lake. They eventually found the boy’s body and presume that he drowned.

Some blamed Disney for not posting signs warning about alligators in the water. Others were quick to blame the parents. As with the boy who fell into a gorilla pit in Cincinnati, people on social media lambasted the mother and father who allowed their son to play in the water.

Why do we feel such a need to assign blame when tragedy strikes?

Moments after the Orlando shooting, the media began looking for motives. The investigation has continued all week—was Omar Mateen conflicted about his sexuality? Was he truly inspired by ISIS? Meanwhile, authorities are still seeking a motive for the killing of singer Christina Grimmie. Since the murderer killed himself, we may never know his reasons.

We want to know why tragedy strikes so we can prevent future tragedies. If Disney or the parents could have done something to prevent the alligator attack, people could be saved in the future. If we can understand why murderers kill, we could prevent homicides in the future.

But there’s more to the story.

According to the United Nations, 437,000 people around the world were murdered in 2012 (their most recent report). However, National Geographic reports that 725,000 people die every year from diseases transmitted by mosquitoes. Freshwater snails transmit schistosomiasis, which kills between 20,000 and 200,000 a year. Annually, snakes kill 94,000 to 125,000; scorpions kill 3,250; sharks kill six people. And there’s no one to accuse for any of these tragedies.

Continue reading Denison Forum – DISNEY TRAGEDY: BLAME AND REDEMPTION →

Last Monday morning I drove to the building where our ministry offices are located and rode the elevator to our floor. All the while, I thought about how easy it would be for another Omar Mateen to attack our building. After Orlando, many are thinking the same as they enter movie theaters, shopping malls, bars—anywhere a crowd is present but armed security is not.

The New York Times tells us that we can expect increased security at public events as a result of the Orlando massacre. Bomb-sniffing dogs, metal detectors, and searches will become more common. But experts question whether such measures really work. And how would we enforce them everywhere they’re needed? Would they simply drive terrorists from a guarded venue to a less secure one?

We can defer the question. Since I never go to gay nightclubs, I can feel safer than those who do. But Christianity Today’s Mark Galli is right: mass murderers can attack anywhere, any time. Nearly a year ago, nine people were murdered at a prayer meeting in a Charleston, South Carolina, church. On December 9, 2007, two people were killed at a ministry training center in Arvada, Colorado, and another two at a church in Colorado Springs.

I’ve been to prayer meetings, ministry centers, and churches. I’m guessing you have as well.

We can pray for protection, as people often do when they confront danger. The Washington Post has a wonderful story about a chaplain at Reagan National Airport who prays with those who worry before their flights. But the chaplain recently lost his ten-year-old son to brain cancer. I’m sure he prayed for his son to live.

I have prayed every day since our sons were born that God would protect them. Nonetheless, one of them developed cancer. He’s doing well today. But I still struggle with the fact that God didn’t prevent the cancer he used medical science to heal. If our son had died, I hope I would continue to trust God as the airport chaplain does.

Continue reading Denison Forum – WHAT WILL PROTECT US FROM THE NEXT OMAR MATEEN? →

What Satan uses for evil, God uses for good.

In the wake of the Orlando tragedy, investigators are trying to learn how Omar Mateen became radicalized. A key element is the Internet. Criminology professor Scott Decker: “The Internet has played a central role in the spread of terrorism, particularly individuals in the U.S. who have become radicalized or adopted extremist views.”

Jeffrey Simon, author of a book on “lone wolf” terrorism, agrees: “The Internet is really the game-changer in today’s terrorism, especially for the lone wolves.” He added that “ISIS has proven incredibly savvy in using social media and the Internet to spread their ideology, to call for violent attacks.”

That’s why the man at the top of America’s “most wanted” list is someone most Americans have never heard of. Abu Muhammad al-Adnani is director of external operations for ISIS. He is widely considered to be the author of a strategy that has murdered more than 500 people in attacks around the world since last October 10. Al-Adnani apparently helped inspired the massacre in San Bernardino last December. And he issued the call to violence during Ramadan that apparently inspired Omar Mateen to massacre forty-nine people in Orlando.

The terrorists’ strategy to gain followers is clearly working. Bangladesh has detained more than 5,000 people in efforts to counter extremist violence in that country. Israeli authorities continue to investigate last week’s attacks in Tel Aviv that killed four and wounded sixteen. Suicide bombers struck a Damascus suburb last Saturday, killing at least twenty and injuring dozens more. ISIS immediately claimed responsibility.

But there’s good news in the news.

Continue reading Denison Forum – GOOD NEWS IN THE WAR ON TERROR DR. JIM DENISON →

I am writing this Cultural Commentary on Sunday morning as reports continue to come in from Orlando. At this point, we know that the Pulse nightclub tragedy is the deadliest mass shooting in U.S. history. We know that the shooter has been identified as Omar Mateen and that authorities are investigating his possible ties to Islamic terrorism.

Tomorrow I will write another Cultural Commentary on this horrific event, perhaps looking at possible ISIS-inspired motivations and future attacks on the West. For now, I feel compelled to write this essay from my heart.

As I have watched the news reports, I have sensed the grief of our Father for his children. While Pulse is one of the best-known gay nightclubs in Orlando, Baptist ethicist Russell Moore was exactly right when he tweeted, “Christian, your gay or lesbian neighbor is probably really scared right now. Whatever our genuine disagreements, let’s love and pray.”

Here’s how you and I can “love and pray” for Orlando right now:

One: With hearts broken as God’s heart is broken. Scripture is clear: “The LORD is near to the brokenhearted and saves the crushed in spirit” (Psalm 34:18; see Psalm 147:3).

Our Father wants us to love all our neighbors as ourselves (Matthew 22:39). If people had to be perfect to deserve our intercession, for whom could we pray? Who could pray for us? We are all broken people who need each other and our Lord.

Two: With honesty as we share the pain of those who grieve. David prayed, “Be gracious to me, O LORD, for I am in distress; my eye is wasted from grief; my soul and my body also” (Psalm 31:9).

We can be this honest with God. In fact, it is biblical to pray words of anger and frustration. If Jesus could cry, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” (Matthew 27:46), we can ask our questions and express our pain. The Lord already knows our hearts. He wants us to open them to him and to each other.

Three: With hope as we trust the redemptive power of God. The psalmist proclaimed, “God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear though the earth gives way” (Psalm 46:1–2).

Whatever comes of this tragedy and others that may come in the future, our Father is still our Father. Jesus is the same yesterday, today, and forever (Hebrews 13:8). He loves us as much today as when he died on the cross for us. Our Lord promises, “When you pass through the waters, I will be with you” (Isaiah 43:2). No matter how deep the river, his love is deeper still.

As he stood at the grave of Lazarus, “Jesus wept” (John 11:35). I am convinced that he weeps today over Orlando. Let us join him now.

Denison Forum

A bill working its way through the California legislature would drastically undermine the religious liberty of Christian universities in the state. If passed, it could become a model for attacks on Christian schools across the country.

In recent years, the government has required that educational institutions not “discriminate” against LGBT students lest they lose federal funding. However, religious schools have been exempted from this requirement if their “religious tenets” affirmed biblical sexuality and marriage.

Now this exemption is at risk.

If Senate Bill 1146 is enacted, the religious liberty exemption would apply only to “educational programs or activities . . . to prepare students to become ministers of the religion, to enter upon some other vocation of the religion, or to teach theological subjects pertaining to the religion.” In other words, only theological seminaries would retain their religious liberty protections.

As Biola University warns, the bill “functionally eliminates the religious liberty of all California faith-based colleges and universities who integrate spiritual life with the entire campus educational experience.” It would “eliminate religious liberty in California higher education as we know it and rob tens of thousands of students of their access to a distinctly faith-based higher education.”

All this to fix what Andrew Walker correctly calls a “non-existent problem.” As he notes, “Students who apply and attend colleges do so voluntarily. There are no victims here—unless victimhood is measured in terms of institutions singled out for their countercultural religious convictions.”

There’s even more to the story.

Continue reading Denison Forum – LEGISLATION ATTACKS RELIGIOUS LIBERTY OF CHRISTIAN SCHOOLS →

Last Thursday, a former Stanford student was sentenced to six months in prison for sexual assault. A week later, the public is still outraged.

It’s not just the facts of the case. (For more, see Nick Pitts’s The Need for and Loss of Sacredness.) Brock Turner was found guilty on three felony counts, but this story is, tragically, not unique on America’s campuses. Nearly 100 colleges and universities had at least ten reports of rape on their main campuses in 2014; at Stanford alone, there were twenty-six reports of rape that year.

The case is generating headlines for a number of reasons.

In part, it’s because the crime was so horrific, a fact made clear by the victim’s extremely moving letter, which she read aloud to her attacker at his sentencing. Her letter describes what happened in graphic detail, giving voice to her horrible trauma and ongoing suffering.

In part, it’s because the perpetrator was a member of the Stanford swimming team and has been viewed as a child of privilege. His father’s claim that his son should not have to go to prison for “twenty minutes of action” was especially reprehensible to many.

But I think the continuing outrage over this crime has to do especially with the sentence imposed. Judge Aaron Persky of the Santa Clara County Superior Court sentenced Turner to six months in jail and three years probation. Turner should have received between eight and twenty years in prison for his crime, according to recommendations from the United States Sentencing Commission. The judge cited mitigating factors and determined that a longer jail sentence would not suit Turner’s rehabilitation as a sex offender.

Continue reading Denison Forum – WHY OUTCRY OVER STANFORD ASSAULT CASE CONTINUES →

Hillary Clinton has won the Democratic Party’s nomination for president. She won last night’s primaries in New Jersey, New Mexico, South Dakota, and California. CNN estimates that she now has 2740 delegates, far exceeding the 2383 needed to win.

So much of life is unpredictable. Who would have imagined a year ago that Donald Trump would clinch his party’s nomination before Hillary Clinton won hers? When Golden State was down three games to one against Oklahoma City in the NBA playoffs, who would have predicted that they would now be up two games to none in the finals? Who would have thought that a tech giant like Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg could have his Twitter and Pinterest accounts hacked?

While change seems to be the unchanging principle of the universe, human nature doesn’t change. We still feel the same fears our ancestors felt. We still cherish the same desires for ourselves and our families. We still fight the same basic temptations. And we can still choose to live by God’s unchanging, perfect principles for our lives.

Consider the changing sexual ethics of our day. It’s conventional wisdom today that premarital sex is morally acceptable. However, a new study shows that women who were virgins when they married are far less likely to divorce than those with multiple partners.

Only six percent of women who were virgins when they married were divorced within five years. But thirty-three percent of women with ten or more sexual partners before marriage were divorced within that time. God can redeem our mistakes, but these findings reinforce the wisdom of his perfect will for us.

Continue reading Denison Forum – HILLARY CLINTON WINS NOMINATION—WHAT’S NEXT?          →

Neveah Thompson is a student at Liberty Middle School in Spanaway, Washington. She was being interviewed for a video on classroom technology, or so she thought. The topic turned to her mother, 2nd Lt. Cherie Thompson, who had been gone for seven months of military training. The interviewer asked Neveah if she’d seen “surprise military” return videos, and she said she had. Then he asked if she’d like to be in one. She quickly said she would.

At that moment, Neveah heard the door close behind her. Her mother had entered the room holding a bouquet of roses. She flew into her mother’s arms and the two embraced and cried together. The fact that Neveah couldn’t see her mother in the room made her presence no less real.

The video makes a point that is larger than the moving story it tells.

It’s easy to be discouraged in times like these. Voters are increasingly frustrated by the presidential race. The economy may be slowing, as last Friday’s bad employment report indicates. Atheists gathered over the weekend in Washington, DC for another so-called “Reason Rally.” (For more, see Nick Pitts’s Thousands of Atheists in DC for Reason Rally.) ISIS is shooting civilians trying to flee Fallujah as fighting intensifies there. There’s much bad news in the news.

But here’s the truth: When it seems that good is outnumbered by evil, it’s not. When it seems that God is absent, he isn’t. You may not see him in the room, but that fact makes him no less present.

Continue reading Denison Forum – AN ENCOURAGING VIDEO YOU NEED TO SEE   DR. JIM DENISON →

The date was October 29, 1974. My brother and I were in Houston’s Astrodome along with 50,000 others, there to watch a closed circuit telecast of Muhammad Ali’s fight with George Foreman. Even though Houston was Foreman’s hometown, ninety percent of the crowd chanted “Ali! Ali! Ali!” through the entire fight.

Such was the global celebrity of Muhammad Ali. As the world knows, Ali died last Friday at the age of 74. Testimonials about his life and significance made global headlines across the weekend. Born Cassius Clay, he converted to the Nation of Islam in the early 1960s and to Sunni Islam in 1975. He was perhaps the most famous American convert to Islam in our nation’s history. (For more on Ali, see Nick Pitts’s The Fight and Faith of Muhammad Ali.)

As many as 20,000 Americans convert to Islam every year. However, it is estimated that seventy-five percent of new Muslim converts in the U.S. leave Islam within five years. Meanwhile, more Muslims are coming to Christ than ever before, many after seeing visions and dreams of Jesus. (For more, see my friend Tom Doyle’s excellent book, Dreams and Visions.)

Muslim authorities in Indonesia are warning that two million Muslims in their country convert to Christianity every year. At this rate, the world’s largest Muslim nation will be mostly Christian by 2035. Over six million Muslims in Africa convert to Christianity every year. More Muslims around the world have become Christians in the last fifteen years than in the previous fifteen centuries.

Here’s how you can help.

Continue reading Denison Forum – MUHAMMAD ALI AND GOOD NEWS IN THE MUSLIM WORLD   →