On January 23, President Trump signed an executive order to declassify all documents related to the assassinations of John F. Kennedy, Martin Luther King, and Robert F. Kennedy. While previous administrations have taken action toward declassification, every step has come with a lot of redaction and very little urgency. However, the recent order states that “It is in the national interest to finally release all records related to these assassinations without delay.” So when will these files be made public, and what can we expect to learn?

The Attorney General and the Director of National Intelligence will provide the President with a comprehensive plan for the release of these documents by February 7 for JFK and by March 7 for MLK and RFK. From there, clarity will be given as to exactly when documents will be made available.

While some level of mystery surrounds each of these historic murders, the JFK files are expected to garner the most attention. A 1992 act of Congress required all files pertaining to the JFK assassination be released by 2017. However, both President Trump, in his first term, and President Biden delayed the release of a portion of documents, and had others heavily redacted, for the sake of national intelligence and security. All-in-all it is believed that 99 percent of the files have been released. They can be examined in the National Archives.

Could that remaining one percent reveal the long-awaited “smoking gun” and answer all questions related to Lee Harvey Oswald, a potential second shooter, Cuba, and the CIA? Unlikely. Much of what remains is believed to contain sensitive personal details, or perhaps reveal embarrassing details about the intelligence agencies’ knowledge of Oswald but failure to stop him.

While declassification may not unveil a government conspiracy, it is also unlikely to quell the most popular alternative theories about what happened on November 11, 1963. Perhaps only a time machine could do that.

Why the MLK and RFK files could be the bigger story

As for the MLK files, Dr. King’s family has partially been the cause of the delay, hoping that the government might allow them to see the files first and then release them at a later date. Even as one of the most influential figures in the country, Dr. King remained the subject of a significant FBI spy campaign and was not well protected. Dr. King’s family members have raised questions over the years about the convicted killer, James Earl Ray, and the involvement of the intelligence community. At the very least, the MLK files are expected to reveal further incompetence on the part of the FBI.

Though lesser known to the public, the RFK files may be the most revealing. While all of the state and FBI documents have been declassified, the CIA has yet to release any documentation related to the murder, which took place in June of 1968, just two months after the murder of King. The former Senator’s son, Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. has publicly questioned the official narrative of his father’s death. Much like the other two tragic events, there remains a cloud of mystery around the involvement and knowledge of key intelligence agencies.

With figures like RFK Jr. and Tulsi Gabbard at the forefront of his campaign, and potentially his administration, President Trump has made government transparency an important aspect of his second White House journey. In the home stretch of the 2024 presidential campaign, Donald Trump spoke with Joe Rogan about the JFK files and explained that, in his first term, Mike Pompeo had discouraged him from releasing everything. Pompeo was the Director of the CIA and later became the Secretary of State.

Why transparency is important

Americans should value government transparency highly. While declassifying these documents represents a step forward, considering the size and scope of the federal government, there remains a long way to go. Simultaneously, the list of foreign governments that are completely averse to transparency is long. An increase in transparency is generally met with an increase in public trust.

As Christ-followers, transparency and honesty are critical. Not only should we desire to see such characteristics from our leaders and governing bodies, but they should be the marks of our daily faith walk. Transparency does not necessitate that everyone knows everything, but it elevates truth while eliminating distrust and confusion. Proverbs 28:13 states, “Whoever conceals his transgressions will not prosper, but he who confesses and forsakes them will obtain mercy.” Confession, which can be a form of transparency, is also an act of humility. In that posture of humility, we should desire for the Lord to know us fully, refining us to be more like him (Psalm 139:23-24).

Now, we must live out the high calling of being an honest representative of Christ in every relationship, role, and opportunity. Transparency about your life’s challenges, your difficult past, or your beliefs might be a source of freedom for you and a catalyst for someone else to seek Jesus!

Denison Forum

“Hamas is an idea before it is anything else”

President Trump is meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu this afternoon. According to Israeli officials, the future of the Gaza hostage release and ceasefire deal is hanging on the outcome of their talks.

Negotiations on the second phase of the agreement were scheduled to begin yesterday, but Mr. Netanyahu chose not to send his negotiating team before he met with Mr. Trump. This phase is supposed to lead to a permanent ceasefire and a full withdrawal of Israeli forces from Gaza, but Hamas wants to end the war while staying in power, which Israel obviously opposes.

If Mr. Netanyahu does not resume the war, Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich threatens to quit, stripping the prime minister of the coalition by which he retains office. If Israel does not move forward with the ceasefire agreement, one Israeli official said there could be at least another year of war in Gaza to topple Hamas.

How to defeat the idea that is Hamas

Israel says it has killed approximately twenty thousand Hamas fighters so far. However, the US estimates that the terror group has recruited up to fifteen thousand new members since the conflict began.

Here’s the problem: As one of my longtime Israeli friends told me, “Hamas is an idea before it is anything else.”

Its idea is that the State of Israel stole its land from the rightful Palestinian owners, constituting an assault on Islam. Palestinians are therefore obligated to act by any means necessary to reclaim the land Allah intended for them. Consequently, according to Hamas, its October 7 invasion was a necessary response to what it says are decades of Israeli oppression.

Of course, no nation would allow a terrorist group pledged to their annihilation to control an enclave on that nation’s border. Clearly, Israel must do whatever is necessary to protect its people from such a threat.

But how does it defeat the idea that is Hamas? With better ideas.

In the case of Gaza, this means rebuilding the region in a way that benefits those who live there. Under Hamas, life in Gaza has been horrific: less than 10 percent of the water is fit to drink, electricity is available only for about four hours a day, and 80 percent of the population depends on charity for food. Creating a better life under governmental leaders who serve the people rather than a terrorist ideology is vital, as challenging as that will be. If Israel and the West aid in this effort, we show that we are not enemies of Muslims and that we want the best for all concerned.

The alternative is to continue feeding the narrative that Israel and the West are a threat to Islam, which will only breed more generations of terrorists in the Middle East and beyond.

Why “Big Gods” are vital to society

Americans face our own “battle of ideas” today.

In his book Mind or Matter, Ernst Lehr calls the Scientific Revolution the “Second Fall.” In the first, Adam and Eve “succumbed to the temptation to acquire knowledge prematurely” at the cost of separating from “the original state of participation in the divine world.” The Second Fall, by contrast, resulted from “human action outrunning knowledge” as we came to grasp and use natural forces we did not yet understand, such as electricity.

We are doing this more now than ever as advances in artificial intelligence and gene editing threaten the future of our species. At the same time, our post-Christian, secularized culture has abandoned absolute truth, objective morality, and our nation’s founding claim that “all men are created equal.” From elective abortion to sex change operations to euthanasia, we are using scientific knowledge whose consequences we cannot yet understand. And we are making life-altering and history-changing decisions, absent of any moral or ideological foundations beyond “tolerance.”

How’s this working for us?

Fewer Americans than ever say they are satisfied with their personal lives. A record low in the US is likewise satisfied with the way democracy is working.

As cultural commentator Jonah Goldberg shows, human governments can, at best, hedge against the worst impulses of human nature. By contrast, intellectual historians have demonstrated that belief in “Big Gods” who threaten divine punishment for human sin has been crucial to the formation of functioning societies.

Roughly 77 percent of the world’s population identifies as Christian, Muslim, Hindu, or Buddhist; in all four, moral transgressions lead to consequences in this life or the next. This viewpoint has proven essential to societies that form moral communities. When we jettison our belief in divine accountability, we are unable to govern ourselves or each other.

When enough people experience enough change

Here is where evangelical Christianity offers the best idea of all.

We believe in a Father who “is” love and can only want what is best for us (1 John 4:8). He therefore deals with us as gently as he can or as harshly as he must. When he holds us accountable for our sins, he does so only to lead us to repentance and redemption by his grace.

But our Lord offers not only a moral framework that leads to our best flourishing—he also offers the inner transformation essential to living in that framework. He can make us a “new creation” so that in Christ we become “the righteousness of God” (2 Corinthians 5:17, 21). When we submit to his Holy Spirit, he makes us holy people. He uses our transformed lives to attract others to the transformation they can experience by grace as well.

As a consequence, we love as we are loved (1 John 4:19). For example, we love Palestinians devastated by Hamas and the war in Gaza, and we want their best. Our enacted compassion then preaches the gospel in deeds and words, offering to hurting people the hope of a better future and a glorious eternity.

If enough people experience enough change, they become catalysts for changing the world.

“I shall begin to shine as you shine”

To this end, I invite you to pray these words by Cardinal John Henry Newman. Mother Teresa prayed them daily with her sisters, and God answered their prayers in ways that are still changing lives today:

Dear Jesus, help me to spread your fragrance everywhere I go. Flood my soul with your Spirit and life. Penetrate and possess my whole being so utterly that all my life may only be a radiance of yours. Shine through me and be so in me that every soul I come in contact with may feel your presence in my soul. Let them look up and see no longer me but only Jesus!

Stay with me and then I shall begin to shine as you shine, so to shine as to be a light to others; the light, O Jesus, will be all from you; none of it will be mine: it will be you shining on others through me. Let me thus praise you in the way you love best: by shining on those around me.

Will you praise Jesus in the way he loves best today?

Our latest website articles:

• “What to expect from declassified JFK, MLK, and RFK files”
• “’A Complete Unknown’ earns eight Academy Awards nominations: A jaw-dropping dramatization of Bob Dylan’s vagabond genius”
• “Tragedy over the Potomac: ‘Nothing short of a nightmare’”
• “Why did ‘Emilia Peréz’ actually receive 13 Oscar nominations? What the film about a transgender cartel leader could reveal about our culture”
• “The greatness and tragedy of Winston Churchill: My reflection on a personal hero and his ultimate failure”

Quote for the day:

“Beware of harking back to what you once were when God wants you to be something you have never been.” —Oswald Chambers

Denison Forum

Is the Christian faith a “leap into the dark”?

Normally I’d begin today with headline news such as Saturday’s shocking trade of superstar Luka Dončić by the Dallas Mavericks, last night’s Grammy Awards without a single Taylor Swift win, or this morning’s stock futures tumble as tariff wars begin between the US and key trade partners. However, I’d like to do something different by taking you on a brief journey that may seem to meander a bit, but we’ll get to the point by the end.

Let’s begin with a question: Are the Kansas City Chiefs getting preferential treatment from the NFL?

There was a dubious roughing of the passer penalty against Houston’s Will Anderson Jr. that extended a Chiefs drive in their playoff win over Houston. And a “catch” on a touchdown drive by Chiefs receiver Xavier Worthy on a ball that seemed to hit the ground. Worst of all, it seemed to all the world that Bills quarterback Josh Allen gained the necessary inches to convert a critical fourth-and-one in Buffalo’s loss to the Chiefs that denied them a Super Bowl berth.

Now add this: The Chiefs will wear their white jerseys in Sunday’s game. And teams wearing white uniforms win the Super Bowl 64 percent of the time.

It is undoubtedly good for the NFL when Taylor Swift shows up on national television to support her boyfriend, Kansas City tight end Travis Kelce; presumably, she’ll make another appearance this Sunday. And we all know that professional football is a business before it’s anything else. So numerous voices decrying the league’s “preferential” treatment of the Chiefs are upset. We can expect a crescendo of complaints as the big game nears this week.

Why are the Giants and the Jets so bad?

But here’s the thing: the National Football League is the most valuable sports league in the world, with teams worth a total of $163 billion. The NFL’s chief source of revenue is television money. The league is guaranteed $125.5 billion over the next decade, $3.92 billion per team. But Kansas City is only the No. 34 TV market in the country. New York City is first, but the Giants and the Jets are two of the worst teams in the league.

Meanwhile, the league’s two smallest markets—Buffalo and Green Bay—are perennial playoff contenders. The Dallas Cowboys are reputationally “America’s Team,” but they last appeared in the Super Bowl thirty years ago.

Taylor Swift aside, what would motivate the NFL to risk its reputation—and multi-billion dollar business—to favor the Chiefs?

In addition, it turns out that the Philadelphia Eagles are the “home” team for Sunday’s game (the designation alternates between the NFC and the AFC year by year) and chose to wear dark uniforms. So if there’s a conspiracy involving white jerseys, they’re in on it.

Now imagine the collusion that would be necessary for the league and its referees to cheat in favor of the Chiefs. Seven officials work an NFL game, with an eighth official working replays in the press box. Kansas City is playing in the Super Bowl again this year primarily because they have won seventeen straight one-score games (the outcome is decided by eight points or less). If we believe that the Chiefs are where they are because officials are determining the outcomes of games, that’s a lot of referees who have cheated in a lot of contests.

In June 1972, five men were caught burglarizing the Democratic National Committee’s headquarters in the Watergate complex. They and their two handlers could not keep their conspiracy secret, leading to the eventual resignation of the president of the United States. Are we to believe that scores of referees, their families, and league officials have kept the “Chiefs conspiracy” a secret from the prying 24/7 news media circus for years?

And again, to what end?

Punxsutawney Phil vs. Staten Island Chuck

Speaking of conspiracies, Punxsutawney Phil gave us the bad news yesterday: six more weeks of winter are coming. But Phil is right only 35 percent of the time, ranking #17 among the groundhogs and other animals who “predict” the weather each winter.

Does this mean that a conspiracy exists to keep Phil in the news? His hometown in western Pennsylvania is home to less than six thousand people. I’m going with Staten Island Chuck, who represents the largest city in America and is right 85 percent of the time. Plus, I like his prediction better—he did not see his shadow yesterday, forecasting an early spring.

The origins of Groundhog Day date back to German settlers in the 1800s who celebrated the Christian festival of Candlemas on February 2, the midpoint between the Winter Solstice and the Spring Equinox. Early Christians thought a sunny Candlemas meant forty more days of cold and snow.

But here’s the larger story: Candlemas Day is another name for the feast of the Presentation of the Lord. Forty days after Jesus’ birth, Mary and Joseph brought him to the temple for the rites of purification and dedication prescribed by the Torah (Leviticus 12). On that day, a “righteous and devout” man named Simeon took the infant Christ in his arms and proclaimed him “a light for revelation to the Gentiles” (Luke 2:25, 32).

Forty days from December 25 is February 2. Since at least the seventh century, candles have been used on that day to celebrate mass (thus “Candlemas”).

Four transformative facts

Now let’s connect some dots.

One: John’s Gospel calls Jesus “the Word” (John 1:1), translating the Greek word logos. The philosopher Heraclitus (ca. 535–475 BC) was the first to use this concept to describe the overarching Reason and Order that sustains an ever-changing world. Jesus embodies this Principle in ways Heraclitus could not have imagined (cf. Colossians 1:15–17).

Two: John also calls Jesus “the true light, which gives light to everyone” (John 1:9). So we know that he enables all who receive his light to experience the reason and order he best can give.

Three: This is why Jesus calls us to love God with “all” our minds (Matthew 22:37). It is why some of the most brilliant scientists and thinkers in history have been committed followers of Christ. And it is why we can believe in the truth of God’s word and the divinity of God’s Son based on remarkable evidence and compelling logic. Jesus’ resurrection, for example, was no conspiracy—it was a fact of history that has changed billions of lives. The Christian faith is not a “leap into the dark” but a journey into the light.

Four: Now you and I can “walk in the light, as he is in the light” (1 John 1:7). When we do, we will testify with the psalmist, “The Lᴏʀᴅ is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear?” (Psalm 27:1). We will light the candle of faith as “a sign of the divine splendor of the one who comes to expel the dark shadows of evil and to make the whole universe radiant with the brilliance of his eternal life” (St. Sophronius).

And we will make every day Candlemas, knowing that,

“The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it” (John 1:5).

It never will.

Will you “walk in the light” today?

Our latest website articles:

• “’A Complete Unknown’ earns eight Academy Awards nominations: A jaw-dropping dramatization of Bob Dylan’s vagabond genius”
• “Tragedy over the Potomac: ‘Nothing short of a nightmare’”
• “Why did ‘Emilia Peréz’ actually receive 13 Oscar nominations? What the film about a transgender cartel leader could reveal about our culture”
• “The greatness and tragedy of Winston Churchill: My reflection on a personal hero and his ultimate failure”
• “A TB outbreak and a more dangerous bird flu strain: How God redeems death for an even greater good”

Quote for the day:

“Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out late; only love can do that.” —Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

Denison Forum