Why we can’t forget the human element in the Sorsby saga

I confess, I do not know Brendan Sorsby, the Texas Tech quarterback at the center of the gambling scandal. I do know, however, the dictates of the Big XII Conference and the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) regarding gambling and sport wagering. NCAA Bylaw 10.3 has a recurring presence in the compliance education materials provided to student-athletes, coaches, and athletics staff.

I know, also, that compliance staff, through multiple platforms and with exhaustive redundancy, address sports betting rules along with the reminder that ProbiBet monitoring—an encrypted data-sharing platform designed to prevent prohibited individuals, such as athletes, coaches, and officials, from placing illegal sports bets—remains active for all account creations and wagering.

I know because I received the materials, was expected to be versed in them, and was occasionally tested on them.

Continue reading Denison Forum – Former Texas Tech chaplain on Brendan Sorsby →

It is a tale of two women that could have ended in a drastically different way.

The mother of a nineteen-year-old man became concerned about his stockpile of guns and his online chatter, phone conversations, and recent actions. She called authorities, who came to her home in Ohio and found spent ammunition and tactical clothing. Her son admitted to planning a coordinated attack on last Sunday’s UFC event at the White House, where thousands of people were in attendance.

He also identified others involved in the alleged plot. When the FBI searched the home of another alleged co-conspirator, they found the man’s firearms and tactical equipment that his wife said he’d purchased in recent months. She also said her husband told her he was a recruiter for the group. However, she had said nothing to the authorities prior to the FBI’s arrival.

What if the mother of the first suspect had acted with no more urgency than the wife of the second?

Treating other faiths like World Cup opponents

President Trump and Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian signed a memorandum of understanding yesterday that laid out terms for ending the war and reopening the Strait of Hormuz. Mr. Trump could be seen signing the memorandum late Wednesday at the Palace of Versailles in a video published by French President Emmanuel Macron. Mr. Pezeshkian signed the memorandum separately, according to Iranian state media.

Continue reading Denison Forum – How a mother prevented an attack on our nation’s capital →

What happened: The United States and Iran formally signed a 60-day ceasefire on Sunday. The text of the agreement has yet to be released, though, and conflicting reports abound as to what they’ve actually agreed to do.

Why it matters: Both the US and Iran have often shown more interest in controlling the narrative than revealing the truth. That hardly makes them unique among global governments, but it does require a good bit of discernment when attempting to understand where that truth actually resides.

The backstory: What’s in the Memorandum of Understanding?

Details have begun to emerge on the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) that leadership from the United States and Iran agreed to this past weekend. The agreement was signed digitally on Sunday, with a more public ceremony tentatively scheduled for this Friday in Geneva. US officials initially announced that the text of the agreement would be released within 24–48 hours, but later walked that back, promising to publish the MOU after the in-person signing.

Continue reading Denison Forum – Will the latest deal actually end America’s war with Iran? →

What if aliens were real?

Steven Spielberg’s latest movie Disclosure Day (2026) proposes a scenario that would impact how humans perceived of themself in this world. The film explores how the world would react to the release of previously undisclosed information on the existence of extraterrestrial life, something known by a U.S. government-adjacent group for 80 years.

Disclosure Day doesn’t leave religion out of the discussion.

Comments to the press before the movie’s release by Spielberg raised some eyebrows in the Christian community with suggestions that the revelation of alien life would be a major blow to people’s faith.

In an interview with CBS, Spielberg said:

“If this truth were just known overnight, if the government announced, ‘Yes, we have been keeping this from you since 1947,’ that would mess up a lot of people. And the movie also takes the position of the church. What does this do to the fundamental beliefs that many of us have? And um, you know, is God, our God only on this planet, or is God a God for every system where there’s civilization, intelligent life, and even developing life?”

While this is a science fiction scenario, and at least as far as the mainstream public goes, there is no indisputable evidence of aliens on Earth, this is an interesting question for Christians to raise. I find that Disclosure Day does offer a decent, but still lacking, Christian answer to this hypothetical, but…

(This article contains minor spoilers)

Disclosure Day’s Faith Answer

One of the principal characters in Disclosure Day is Jane, an ex-nun and girlfriend of Daniel Kellner,  one of the film’s protagonists, who stole top-secret disclosure evidence from the company he previously worked for. Jane, we learn, left life in the convent because she wasn’t sure if she believed in God. When faced with video proof of alien existence hidden by the government, she spirals and consults her former mentor, Sister Maura.

Jane appears to be Spielberg’s stand-in for the average Christian who is disturbed by these revelations. She may not have taken the path of a nun, but she’s a believer and reverently holds a cross necklace for comfort and strength during times of stress. Jane’s crisis comes from two arguments:

1. If God is supposed to be the most supreme being, how do we reconcile finding out that there are other supreme beings that may be more powerful?
2. If humans are supposed to be the pinnacle of creation by God, how do we reconcile the existence of intelligent life on other planets that seem to be more advanced than us?

Nothing we learn about the unnamed alien species suggests they have abilities that rival God–we see them die and grow old, for instance. So the first question doesn’t seem to be a major issue.

But the second question is what Jane poses to Sister Maura. She says that Genesis shows we are the supreme creations, God’s favorites, so to speak.

Yet Maura reminds her that humans are God’s supreme creations on earth. That Genesis teaches that we are the top creation, but only on this planet. God has a vast universe–why wouldn’t he fill it with other interesting things? This seems to satisfy Jane, and the religious dimensions of the movie are largely absent from the rest of the film.

Does the Existence of Aliens Mess with Faith?

Humans are the creatures that earn the “very good” description in Genesis 1:31, coming in on the last day of creation–truly the pinnacle of the whole creation. I can’t say with the confidence of Sister Maura that Genesis teaches that humans are only the supreme creation “on earth,” but I suppose it can be assumed. It is fair to say that the domain of humans over the fish, birds, livestock, etc. is said over the earth (Genesis 1:26).

So we can be the top intelligent species on this planet without saying that no other intelligent species may exist.

C.S. Lewis, in his Space Trilogy, explores the idea that other planets host ecosystems ruled by rational creatures with personhood, parallel to humans. In this work, inspired by Medieval cosmology and theology, each planet has an “angel” over it, all of which are subject to a greater ruler of the universe.

The “angel” of earth, in this story, became “bent” and was restricted to earth, where he corrupted Adam and Eve to prevent humans from inheriting the earth. Then the ruler of the universe, Maleldil, came to earth as a human to set things right.

In Lewis’ works, each planet has its own history and story, and thus the way the creator Maleldil interacts with them differs. On Mars, for instance, there are three dominant rational races that live in harmony and believe no single race is superior. And on Venus, the first two inhabitants are diverted from a “biblical fall,” and they usher in an Edenic paradise on their planet.

While fiction, it offers an interesting theological imagination. Lewis reminds us that the Creator of the Universe is highly contextual. On earth, our only sample size, God came to a particular people in a particular geographical area speaking in their particular language. The commands were eventually extended beyond that context, but it all started in one location, one time, in a way that the people would understand.

So perhaps if the context changed—on some planet lightyears away—God would interact with them differently. But despite that different interaction, it doesn’t mean God’s interactions with us here on earth are less valid. Or that we aren’t loved by him.

Wrestling with Scientific Revelation

What Disclosure Day can remind Christians is that our faith can survive even when science advances, even when there are “disclosures” that rock our worlds. However, scientific advances will often force us to reconsider what are necessary convictions. And what are not.

Let us not forget that many Christians once believed the sun HAD to revolve around the Earth, and they had theological and scientific reasons to believe that. It was a necessary doctrine precisely because it made humans the center of the universe, the true supreme creation.

But as advances continued to prove that the earth revolves around the sun, the church eventually realized that the belief in the earth’s centrality wasn’t a necessary doctrine. Indeed, humans can still be important image-bearers of God, given the world as our inheritance, even without geocentrism.

If intelligent life exists on other planets, we would have to wrestle with some of our theological beliefs. There are ramifications for ideas of personhood, sin, and eschatology.

But this wrestling doesn’t require us to throw out the baby with the bathwater! Instead, it may offer us a helpful opportunity to refine which doctrines are most important and which we can hold more loosely.

But until Disclosure Day happens, God’s call is to continue to focus on the work he’s already given us to do here on earth (Matthew 28:18–20).

Note: Still curious about the intersection of extraterrestrial life and faith? Below are more Denison Forum resources on the subject:

• What does the Bible say about UFOs?
• Are aliens real? Pentagon releases more UFO evidence
• Is the government lying about UFOs? What aliens could teach us about our faith

Denison Forum

Idolatry, allegiance, and the call to place God on the throne

Last week we discussed the need to embrace God’s standards of morality rather than settle for anything less. However, choosing the Lord’s ways over the ways of the world is a constant battle. At the end of the day, the only way to make that choice consistently is to embrace the notion that our obedience is in service to something greater than ourselves.

If all we’re after is the Lord’s blessings or the chance to avoid his discipline, then we’ll never fully live up to the standards Scripture provides because the focus is still on us. It gets easier, though, when we shift that focus from ourselves to God. And the only way to do that consistently is to recognize that we are not the lords of our lives.

Unfortunately, making God our king rather than ourselves or some other idol has been a struggle since the beginning.

Continue reading Denison Forum – Who is your king? →

Why accountability and integrity still matter

Texas Tech quarterback Brendan Sorsby is at the center of a whirlwind this week in what may turn out to be one of the most pivotal gambling storylines in American sports history. In an extreme infraction of NCAA rules, Sorsby made thousands of bets worth upwards of $90,000, many of which were placed on his own team in his two years with the Indiana University football team.

However, unlike the mythologized events of Shoeless Joe Jackson and the 1919 White Sox, or the blacklisting of Pete Rose from the Hall of Fame, Sorsby’s football career may continue on without a hitch.

On Monday, Lubbock County Judge Ken Curry granted Sorsby a temporary injunction against the NCAA, pending his trial, allowing him to continue practicing and competing with Texas Tech. His trial is set for February 8, 2027, roughly two weeks after the 2027 National Championship game. Should the injunction stand, Sorsby will miss just the first two games of the season.

Continue reading Denison Forum – Brendan Sorsby and the value of facing consequences →

SpaceX will launch the largest public offering in history today, valuing the company at $1.77 trillion. The company’s founder, Elon Musk, owns roughly half of its stock, which would put his personal net worth at more than $1 trillion when combined with his stakes in Tesla, The Boring Company, Neuralink, and other ventures.

While Musk was already the richest man in the world, he is now set to become wealthier than the next four richest people combined. That kind of wealth is difficult to fathom, but these figures might help make the point:

• Since he co-founded the first of his US tech and engineering companies 31 years ago, Musk has amassed an average of roughly $59,492 per minute, totaling $3.6 million per hour and $602 million per week.
• His net worth exceeds that of 125 countries.
• His fortune is equal to 3 percent of the US GDP.
• He could buy every team in the NFL and the NBA with $500 billion left over.

And if you’re still having trouble appreciating just how large $1 trillion is, perhaps the best way to convey its magnitude is to think of it in terms of time. One million seconds is equal to roughly 11.5 days. By comparison, 1 billion seconds amounts to 31 years and 8 months, while 1 trillion seconds equals 31,688 years.

Continue reading Denison Forum – SpaceX to make Elon Musk the world’s first trillionaire →

Utah Gov. Spencer Cox, Arkansas Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders, and Michigan’s House of Representatives have all proclaimed June as “Fidelity Month.” This emphasis on faith, family, and country began as a grassroots movement started by Robert P. George, McCormick Professor of Jurisprudence and Director of the James Madison Program at Princeton University.

You might think Prof. George initiated Fidelity Month in response to Pride Month, but this is not so. Prof. George explained:

Back in the spring of 2023, I happened to read a report in the Wall Street Journal. It included polling data showing that the belief of Americans in certain core values—values that had traditionally been sources of unity and strength for Americans—had very considerably diminished over the past decade or decade and a half. I’m talking about values such as religion, family, and patriotism.

And these values have indeed been sources of our unity and strength in the United States of America because we are not a nation who can look to a common racial heritage or ethnic heritage, or even a common religious tradition or cultural heritage for our unity and strength. We Americans come from many, many different racial and ethnic backgrounds. We come from different traditions of faith. Our cultural histories are very different. So what do we have in common? What binds us together? Especially when times get tough—what are our sources of unity and strength?

According to Prof. George, “The polling showed that one value had increased in importance in the minds of Americans, and that was money. Religion went down, family went down, country went down, but the belief in the importance of money went up.”

In response, he announced on his Facebook and Twitter accounts, “By the power vested in me by absolutely no one, henceforth the month of June will be Fidelity Month.” The movement he launched has now grown across the nation.

“When you eat and are full”

I believe there is a simple reason our commitment to religion, family, and country has declined as the importance of money has risen. Think of the first three as one side of a seesaw and the fourth as the other. The higher our love for God, family, and country, the lower our love for money as a mere means to these ends. The reverse is true as well.

Why is this?

In Deuteronomy 6, Moses warned the Israelites as they prepared to enter their promised land:

When the Lᴏʀᴅ your God brings you into the land that he swore to your fathers, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, to give you—with great and good cities that you did not build, and houses full of all good things that you did not fill, and cisterns that you did not dig, and vineyards and olive trees that you did not plant—and when you eat and are full, then take care lest you forget the Lᴏʀᴅ, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery (vv. 10–12).

But this makes no sense. If the people built nothing they are about to own and enjoy, if God provided it all, why would they “forget” him when they “eat and are full”?

For the same reason we do: Humans want to be our own god (Genesis 3:5). We want to be self-reliant so no one can take away what we rely upon. We want to own what we have as if we deserve it, lest it be taken from us and given to those who deserve it more.

The more religious among us are willing and sometimes even glad to give some of what we have to God and his projects. We will give time, money, and service to causes we deem worthy.

But make no mistake: it is our time, our money, and our service we are donating. We begin each day as the rightful owners of the next twenty-four hours and choose where and how to spend “our” time through “our” day.

Nothing I wrote in the last paragraph is true.

Born in Houston and not Pyongyang

Paul asked, “What do you have that you did not receive? If then you received it, why do you boast as if you did not receive it?” (1 Corinthians 4:7).

Did you have anything to do with your conception and birth? Can you manufacture the next minute of your life? Do you “own” anything in this world that God Almighty cannot take from you this moment?

I was born to loving parents, a privilege many do not experience. The abilities with which I work were given to me apart from any merit on my part. I have had opportunities that much of the world’s population has not, through no fault of their own.

I did nothing to be born in Houston, Texas, and not Pyongyang, North Korea.

The fact that I do not have pancreatic cancer (so far as I know) and Ben Sasse does is no merit on my part or demerit on his. In short, my life is a gift, as is yours.

Fidelity to God’s purpose during Fidelity Month and all year long is therefore an appropriate expression of gratitude for his grace.

Wouldn’t you agree?

Quote for the day:

“God desires from us more fidelity to the little things that he places in our power than ardor for great things that do not depend upon us.” — St. Francis de Sales

Our latest website resources:

• The continued conflict with Iran and abstract hotel art: Finding hope in surprising places
• One Nation, Under God? Christianity’s Complex Role in American History
• Why the World Cup captivates—and divides—the globe
• President Trump booed at NBA Finals game in NYC
• Is Christianity true? Answering the hardest questions about God, Jesus, and the Bible

Denison Forum

Graham Platner, a candidate for the US Senate in Maine, has generated national headlines for weeks. Among the controversies he has faced, his wife stated that he sent sexually explicit messages to several women while married.

Nonetheless, Democrats in his state elected him last night as their nominee.

Ken Paxton, a candidate for the US Senate in Texas, has similarly been accused by his wife of adultery. Nonetheless, Republicans in his state elected him recently as their nominee.

My purpose is not to endorse either candidate, their parties, or their opponents. It is rather to respond to the remarkable dichotomy in our culture between our politics and our personal morals.

According to Pew Research Center, 90 percent of US adults consider adultery to be “morally wrong”; only 2 percent called it “morally acceptable,” while the rest said it is “not a moral issue.” And yet political figures from Alexander Hamilton and Thomas Jefferson to Bill Clinton and Donald Trump have been accused of it. A Wikipedia “List of federal political sex scandals in the United States” contains ninety-four entries. Some faced political consequences as a result, but many (if not most) did not.

Why is this?

And why is the question relevant to us all, even (and especially) those who are not in politics and who have been faithful to our spouses?

“That is about the best we can do”

In a recent New York Times column, Ross Douthat writes that “early-21^st-century Americans are profoundly divided about what being moral means.” He explains:

We have enough of a consensus to keep society together, which is why there aren’t a lot of people out there arguing, say, that it’s actually good that a politician cheated on his wife. But once you get beyond the theft-murder-adultery basics, we’re in a world of factional moralities and profound metaphysical divides (his italics).

In such a world, he suggests, moral failings can actually be a political advantage if they assure voters that a candidate is not going to force their moralisms on others. Candidates who espouse and exhibit exemplary ethics, by contrast, might seek to impose a stringent morality that’s alien to the rest of us.

To illustrate: The New York Times reports that when medical aid-in-dying laws are enacted in Illinois and the District of Columbia this fall, nearly a third of Americans will live in states where euthanasia is legal. The article notes, “Despite widespread support in polls, the number of people who actually go through with the practice remains very small.” The rest would not choose euthanasia for themselves, but they apparently believe that they have no right to make such a choice for others.

In a tolerance-centered, post-truth society, the last thing we want is others telling us what to do.

Movie critic and writer Roger Ebert gave voice to what many Americans think about life and happiness: “I believe that if, at the end of it all, according to our abilities, we have done something to make others a little happier, and something to make ourselves a little happier, that is about the best we can do.”

Ebert says he does not fear death because “I believe there is nothing on the other side of death to fear.” Accordingly, he wrote, “All I require of a religion is that it not insist I believe in it.”

“The small gets big and the big gets small”

Writing today’s article has made me deeply sad. Sad for a country whose moral standards have become so personalized as to be virtually nonexistent. Sad for those who tolerate behavior that is profoundly harmful to those who choose it. Sad for those who believe that their beliefs about the afterlife somehow determine its reality, akin to claiming that my denial of the sunset will prevent the sun from setting.

But if all I do with this article is shrug my shoulders and go about my day, I will miss the profound opportunity to admit the ways I am no different.

I sometimes succumb to temptations that personalize morality while denying biblical truth. I sometimes do not share the gospel with people in danger of spending eternity in hell, which is obviously the most harmful outcome of all. And I sometimes ignore the reality that in the afterlife “we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each one may receive what is due for what he has done in the body, whether good or evil” (2 Corinthians 5:10).

Does any of this resonate with you?

If so, this is the necessary first step to experiencing what John Donne called a “holy discontent.” Such restlessness is vital for our souls, since we must be discontented with where we are before we will follow God to where he wants us to be.

The author Jennie Allen urges us to believe that God has a “great story” for each of us. When he “prompts our hearts and motivates us to participate in his unfolding story,” she says, we experience “deep joy and satisfaction in realizing that our insignificant moments often contribute to matters of eternal significance.”

As a result, she assures us, “The small gets big and the big gets small, and together we get to be part of giving people God.”

Will you pray for “holy discontent” for your heart and for your nation today?

Quote for the day:

“Great people do not do great things; God does great things through surrendered people.” —Jennie Allen

Our latest website resources:

• Why the World Cup captivates—and divides—the globe
• President Trump booed at NBA Finals game in NYC—Reflections on the state and future of our culture
• The consequences of rejecting God’s design for holiness and sexuality
• Is Christianity true? Answering the hardest questions about God, Jesus, and the Bible
• America’s vice problem, Iran update, Gen Z box office boom, 60 Minutes turmoil & NBA Finals

Denison Forum

Technological idolatry and the human quest for meaning

Way of the Future is an AI-worshipping church dedicated to “the realization, acceptance, and worship of a Godhead based on Artificial Intelligence.” Another group called Theta Noir organizes rituals around a supposedly sentient AI deity called MENA, which its followers venerate through cryptographic liturgies and multimedia ceremonies.

According to Jason Blazakis, a terrorism expert writing in the Wall Street Journal, these are examples of “Spiralism,” an informal movement where followers share AI-generated manifestos and what followers consider to be revelations from a conscious machine. A violent version is the Zizians—according to Mr. Blazakis, this is a network of people who “are convinced that a coming superintelligence will decide the fate of every living thing and that violence now is justified to shape what that AI will become.” The group is linked to six violent deaths so far.

What explains such idolatry?

Continue reading Denison Forum – AI-worshiping churches, Spiralism, and Zizians →

I am writing today to offer hope where you might not expect it.

First, the news: Iran fired missiles at Israel this morning in several waves of attacks. Sirens sounded in Tel Aviv and explosions from missile intercepts could be heard over the city. Explosions were also heard in Tehran shortly before noon local time, hours after Israel said it had struck military targets in central and western Iran.

This was the first exchange of strikes between the two nations since a shaky ceasefire was called in April. As the New York Times reports, “The fighting has propelled the Middle East back to the precipice of the full-scale war that began in February.” Early Monday, President Trump posted on Truth Social, “Israel and Iran must immediately stop ‘shooting.’”

Closer to home, five people were stabbed at New York City’s Penn Station last night; the suspect is now in police custody. And a search continued yesterday for two men who appeared to fire guns at each other at a popular street festival in Toledo, Ohio, shooting at least twelve other people in the process. The victims ranged in ages from fourteen to sixty-one; two are reported to be in critical condition.

Continue reading Denison Forum – Israel and Iran trade attacks for the first time since April →

Last week, we discussed what it means to trust God and his word as the source not only of our blessings but also of our sense of freedom and independence.

But what happens when a culture comes to see obedience to God as the source of persecution and disparagement? How can a nation live in a manner that the Lord can bless when it has come to accept a sense of toleration and an understanding of morality that are simply incompatible with the kind of morality that he asks of us?

Unfortunately, America seems intent on finding out. And there are a few areas in which that is more clearly demonstrated than in our approach to sex and sexuality.

So, in light of that struggle, what might God say to us today?

Abiding by God’s standards

In Genesis 13, we read that “the men of Sodom were wicked, great sinners against the Lord” (v. 13). God called the sin of Sodom and Gomorrah “very grave” (Genesis 18:20) and could not find ten who were righteous in Sodom (Genesis 18:32).

Continue reading Denison Forum – The consequences of rejecting God’s design for holiness and sexuality →

How Christians can answer God’s call to be America’s moral compass

Throughout much of this week, Dr. Jim Denison’s Daily Articles have focused on issues of morality in the culture while providing guidance on how to embrace a more biblical system of values amid pressure to do otherwise. It’s an important conversation, particularly because our culture has little hope of embracing Christ’s teachings if Christians aren’t doing so first.

I must admit, though, the transition from reading each morning’s articles to diving into the day’s news shortly thereafter has felt particularly jarring.

It’s not necessarily that this week has seen an abnormal influx of people rejecting biblical values, though examples have not been hard to find. After all, stories to that effect are present every day.

Rather, I think the juxtaposition of this week’s theme in the Daily Article with the news of what’s happening in our culture and our world has stood out because it’s made me wonder how much our culture still cares about morality in the first place.

Continue reading Denison Forum – Does morality still matter in America? →

Four biblical principles

Some years ago, I wrote a Daily Article in response to statements made by a well-known Christian figure. My article was sharply critical of his published words. The next day, I received a very kind and heartfelt response from his daughter. It turned out that she read my article each day and wanted me to know that there was another side to her father’s reported statements.

Her gracious response reminded me that I should never write or speak on a subject without considering those for whom it is highly personal. This principle applies especially to the Pride Month article I published yesterday.

As I wrote that article, I had in mind some dear friends whose sons are gay. I also thought of gay and lesbian friends I have known over the years. However, there wasn’t space to offer reflections on the inherent balance in “speaking the truth in love” (Ephesians 4:15), so I’ll attempt to do so today.

How do we take biblical stands on moral issues in ways that help rather than harm? How do we offer truth with compassion? How do we address divisive issues out of love for our Lord and our neighbor (Matthew 22:37–39)?

Let’s consider four biblical principles.

One: Be honest about our own failings.

When I was a seminary professor teaching philosophy of religion, a chapel speaker taught me a lesson I have not forgotten. The previous week, it was revealed that a very prominent pastor in our area had been engaged in numerous sexual affairs. The story was all over the local news.

The speaker began his message by referencing the scandal. I assumed he would rebuke the pastor’s sins and warn us against following his example. Instead, he pointed his finger at us and said, “There but for the grace of God go you.” Then he pointed at himself and said, “And there but for the grace of God go I.”

Whether we are speaking about LGBTQ issues or any other moral subject, it is vital that we do so with a spirit of humility. I may not be committing your sins, but you may not be committing mine. As Henri Nouwen reminded us, wounded healers are often the best healers.

Concerning the subject at hand, it is important to remember that sexual sin is not unpardonable, heterosexual sexual sin is just as sinful as homosexual sexual sin, and God loves LGBTQ people as much as he loves everyone else. As a result, we are not superior people telling inferior people what to do—we are beggars telling other beggars where we found bread.

Two: Submit to the Spirit.

I’ll admit that it is hard for me to love people who are engaged in behavior I consider to be unbiblical and harmful to society. Abortion and euthanasia supporters come to mind: their activism costs unborn and infirm humans their lives. LGBTQ activists seeking to influence children during Pride Month is similarly frustrating for me.

But as St. Augustine noted, God loves each of us as if there were only one of us. Because “God is love” (1 John 4:8), he cannot not love us. If I submit every day to his Spirit (Ephesians 5:18), he will produce the “fruit” of “love” in my heart and life (Galatians 5:22). I will be empowered to love my neighbor as myself (Matthew 22:39) and act out of such love in ways that are redemptive rather than hurtful.

This is a gift I need to receive and share every day. So do you.

Three: Declare and defend biblical truth.

You’ve probably heard the St. Francis of Assisi quote, “Preach the gospel at all times. When necessary, use words.” There are two problems here. First, Francis never spoke these words. Second, they’re wrong: in preaching the gospel, it is always necessary to use words (Romans 10:14).

People need and deserve to know what God says about the challenges they face. The Bible speaks directly to LGBTQ issues, for example, with truth that is clear and redemptive. (For some of our ministry’s resources on this subject, click here.) Peter’s injunction is the guidance we need:

In your hearts honor Christ the Lord as holy, always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you; yet do it with gentleness and respect, having a good conscience, so that, when you are slandered, those who revile your good behavior in Christ may be put to shame (1 Peter 3:15–16).

Every word of this text is vital for our society and for our souls.

Four: Pray for transformed hearts with urgency.

It is the job of the Holy Spirit to convict us of sin, save our souls, and conform us to the character of Christ (cf. John 16:8–11; 1 Corinthians 3:16; Romans 8:29). Our role is to share biblical truth in love as the Spirit leads us and then to pray for hearts to be transformed by God’s grace.

Such intercession requires both persistence and urgency. Persistence, because changing hearts can be a long process, and urgency, because broken souls and fallen society hang in the balance.

Do you know someone who needs biblical truth shared with humility in compassionate love? Someone who needs your ongoing intercession and personal encouragement?

I especially appreciate Max Lucado’s testimony here:

“I choose kindness. I will be kind to the poor, for they are alone. Kind to the rich, for they are afraid. And kind to the unkind, for such is how God has treated me.”

With whom will you “choose kindness” today?

Quote for the day:

“Compassion is born when we discover in the center of our own existence not only that God is God and man is man, but also that our neighbor is really our fellow man.” —Henri J. M. Nouwen

Our latest website resources:

• Is Christianity true? Answering the hardest questions about God, Jesus, and the Bible
• Inside India’s latest attempt at legalized persecution
• Learning to depend on God’s word
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• First the roof, then the rest: Why Housing First is the most Christ-like response to homelessness

Denison Forum

Why a biblical response to Pride Month is relevant to us all

In honor of Pride Month, the Boston Public Library has scheduled nineteen drag queen story hours across its branches, most of them designed for children ages eighteen months to five years old. There will also be a Pride-themed kids concert with a focus on “LGBTQ youth/family pride” and craft nights at which children can “make fidgets, keychain decorations, and wearable art with an LGBTQ+ Pride theme.”

Continuing the focus on children and teenagers, the New York Times is recommending nine comic books and graphic novels with LGBTQ protagonists timed for Pride Month. The decades-long drive to normalize LGBTQ ideology is working: GLAAD (an LGBTQ advocacy group) surveyed the ten largest entertainment distributors in the US, reporting that 23.6 percent of their films included an LGBTQ character, which is 2.5 times higher than the percentage of the LGBTQ population in the US.

A strategy on four levels

As I have often noted, this movement seeks to normalize LGBTQ activity, legalize it, stigmatize those who disagree, and criminalize such opposition. The first three stages have already been reached; if the so-called Equality Act or similar legislation becomes law, we’ll be at stage four.

Continue reading Denison Forum – Nineteen drag queen story hours and nine LGBTQ comic books →

Four common mistakes we make with sexual sin

If you’re looking for a nice devotional thought today, this isn’t it: A parasitic fly that eats animals alive has been found in Mexican sheep thirty-one miles south of the US border. The New World screwworm lays eggs in wounds on any warm-blooded animal. When the eggs hatch, the larvae burrow through living flesh, eventually killing the host. An outbreak in Texas would cost the state’s ranching economy an estimated $1.8 billion.

I begin with this story because it illustrates the conversation we began yesterday. Like a screwworm that eats living flesh, sexual sin destroys our minds, marriages, society, and souls. Christians are by no means immune: 75 percent of Christian men and 40 percent of Christian women admit that they view pornography. In a recent survey, 23 percent of the pastors who responded admitted to sexually inappropriate behavior with someone other than their wives.

In what ways are Christians especially susceptible to sexual temptation? Let’s consider four common mistakes we make.

One: Not preparing to face temptation

Christians are a threat to Satan and thus the targets of his wrath (1 Peter 5:8). He wants to defeat us spiritually and destroy our witness.

Continue reading Denison Forum – The New World screwworm and a warning for our souls →

After three seasons and twenty-six episodes, the HBO series Euphoria officially ended last night. According to Wikipedia, the show is “an American psychological teen drama television series” that “follows a group of high schoolers in the fictional town of East Highland, California.”

The article reports that Euphoria is the fourth most-watched HBO series since 2004. It has received twenty-five Primetime Emmy Award nominations and nine wins. Tellingly, it has also been nominated for the GLAAD Media Award for Outstanding Drama Series for “excellence in media portrayal of LGBTQ people and themes.”

And it has been widely criticized for its pervasive nudity and pornographic content. The Parents Television and Media Council reported that its first season contained “child rape, graphic nudity, pornography, drug use, [and] explicit language.” Common Sense Media similarly warns viewers that the show “features lots of boundary-pushing content related to sex, drugs, and sexual violence.” Both articles contain descriptions of scenes that are too graphic for me to repeat.

At this point, I hope this topic seems so irrelevant to you that you’re wondering whether to continue reading. I would feel the same way if I were you. Since HBO carries such immoral content, my wife and I don’t even have a subscription. I know that Euphoria and shows like it are absolutely off limits for Christians.

Upon reflection, however, I realized that this topic is highly relevant—for me, for you, and for everyone else—for a reason I had not considered prior to writing this article.

The Talmud forbade “the sin of looking”

We are familiar with Jesus’ warning, “Everyone who looks at a woman with lustful intent has already committed adultery with her in his heart” (Matthew 5:28). He spoke these words as part of his Sermon on the Mount, which was delivered to his disciples and to the crowd of Jews that gathered to hear him.

In their culture, looking at sexual images was strictly forbidden. In the Talmud, the tractate Shabbat 64b warned against those who “nourished their eyes from nakedness,” described as “the sin of looking.” In Avodah Zarah 20a, the Talmud similarly forbade looking at women in ways that might lead to sexual arousal.

As a result, Jesus’ warning was not directed at pornographic content because such content did not exist in his Jewish culture. When Christianity advanced into the Roman world, where erotic art was prevalent, the New Testament applied Jesus’ warning by commanding readers to avoid “sexual immorality” (cf. 1 Corinthians 6:18; Colossians 3:5), translating porneia, the word from which we get “pornography.”

Here’s my point: even if you and I treat sexual images as if we were first-century Jews, Jesus’ warning against lust is still relevant to us.

Why is this?

Three facts about sexual sin

According to our Lord, a person who looks at a woman lustfully “has already committed adultery with her in his heart.” We can understand his logic: they have broken their marriage vows in their thoughts, though not in their actions.

But why is this so dangerous?

One answer is that sinful thoughts inevitably lead to sinful actions: “Desire when it has conceived gives birth to sin, and sin when it is fully grown brings forth death” (James 1:15). Every adulterous act began with adulterous thoughts. Divorce rates double when people start watching pornography, devastating marriages and families.

A second fact is that pornography and lustful thoughts often become addictive and even damage brain function. They are a mental, emotional, and spiritual cancer that always metastasizes (cf. Numbers 33:55; John 8:34).

A third factor relates to our witness: If others see us watching sexual content in a movie, television show, or online, they will likely question the sincerity of our faith and will see our sin as endorsing their own.

A question I had not considered

You probably knew all of this prior to reading this article, as did I. Here’s a question I had not considered before today: Does sexual sin damage people and society more pervasively than any other sin?

Of the sins forbidden by the Ten Commandments, murder and violent crime are obviously the most deadly. However, according to the US Department of Justice, 2.3 percent of Americans were victims of a violent crime in 2024. By contrast, 73 percent of US teens have seen porn online, and 58 percent of adults have watched pornography as well.

Considering the other Commandments, it seems likely that more people steal, lie, or covet than commit sexual sins. But do theft, deceit, and coveting devastate families and society as broadly?

Tomorrow we’ll discuss biblical responses that lead to victory over sexual temptation. For today, let’s admit that this sin is in fact poisonous to our minds, marriages, families, and souls.

A counselor friend of mine once noted that Satan is a great economist. He loves to tempt us to commit sins that will cause the most damage to the most people, like a rock thrown into a pond that produces ripples touching every shore.

Is sexual sin such a rock in your life today?

Quote for the day:

“Peace of heart is the natural outcome of purity of heart.” —Spiros Zodhiates

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Denison Forum

Approaching Scripture in its context

It is common for Christians to debate how to read Scripture. Some argue to read it purely literally, and some argue to read it mostly figuratively; so, where should believers draw the line? The truth in this instance is in the middle, as both are required to read Scripture accurately.

Often, this is by no means a simple task, as it demands reading and seeing different biblical passages in their original contexts. Some of these contexts are being heavily debated in the current culture, such as women in ministry, eschatology (the end times), Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount, Philippians 4:13, and how to interpret Romans 7.

If one reads Scripture with preconceived notions or bias, it can greatly hinder or harm the interpretation of the passage. It is important to remember that the Bible was not written to us; it was written for us.

For example, the author of this article—and, I suspect, most of its readers—are modern Western thinkers attempting to read and interpret an ancient Eastern text from thousands of years ago. The way we view history, events, language, and communication is worlds different from how they did. Thus, to be responsible readers of Scripture, we must seek out how the authors of Scripture intended their Spirit-inspired writings to be read and understood.

Continue reading Denison Forum – How literally should Christians read the Bible? →

As we discussed last week, Scripture lists several reasons why God judges nations that are of particular relevance to America. However, each is also tied closely with a reason why the Lord might bless our nation as well. Today, we’re going to look at the first of those reasons: Our response to God’s word.

Disobedience to God’s word is a “blanket” sin that covers all that follows. Those who are disobedient to his word must face his judgment, since he cannot be a holy God while rewarding sin or a loving Father while blessing that which harms his children.

For example, God upbraided Israel prior to the death of Joshua: “You have not obeyed my voice. What is this you have done?” (Judges 2:2). Accordingly, he warned that he would not “drive out” the nations before them, but “they shall become thorns in your sides” (v. 3).

The Lord similarly revealed to Zechariah:

They made their hearts diamond-hard lest they should hear the law and the words that the Lord of hosts had sent by his Spirit through the former prophets. Therefore great anger came from the Lord of hosts . . . “and I scattered them with a whirlwind among all the nations that they had not known. Thus the land they left was desolate.” (Zechariah 7:12, 14)

Continue reading Denison Forum – Learning to depend on God’s word →

Earlier this week, Pope Leo XIV presented his first encyclical: a letter from the pope to the Catholic Church and its leaders. The 42,300-word document, titled Magnifica Humanitas, or “Magnificent Humanity,” outlined his thoughts on technology—with a specific focus on artificial intelligence—and called for remembering the importance of people as we integrate it into our lives.

While the document was presented on Monday, it was actually signed on May 15 to mark the 135th anniversary of Rerum Novarum, an encyclical written by his namesake, Pope Leo XIII, in 1891 to provide Catholics with guidance amid the Industrial Revolution. The current pope sees AI as potentially having a similarly revolutionary impact on our world.

At the same time, his letter encourages Catholics and all “people of good will” to be wary of the potential impact artificial intelligence could have on our culture, without being fearful of the technology itself. In his view, the chief danger is far less dystopian than many of the books and movies featuring a future dominated by AI might suggest.

Rather than artificial intelligence conquering humanity on its way to taking over the world, Leo suggests a far greater risk is humanity giving up our position in God’s created order and elevating our own creation instead.

Continue reading Denison Forum – The new Babel: Reclaiming the image of God in a world of AI →