The humble hiccup has been one of science’s enduring mysteries. People from before birth to old age get hiccups from time to time. So do cats and rats. No one knows why or how to stop them.

In fact, an internist performed a five-year study involving fifty-four hospital patients with hiccups, attempting a wide range of treatments. None proved effective.

Now a study led by University College London may have solved the mystery. Researchers monitoring thirteen newborn babies found that hiccupping triggered a large wave of brain signals that could aid their development. This brain activity might help babies learn to monitor their breathing muscles, leading to the ability to control their breathing voluntarily.

However, hiccups have no known advantage for adults. Why, then, do we persist in them?

It’s still a mystery.

Is a recession coming?

In other news, more than half of the world’s wealthiest investors are preparing for a drop in financial markets before the end of 2020, according to UBS Global Wealth Management. Investors are worried about the 2020 presidential election and the trade dispute between the US and China.

In a survey of more than 3,400 high-net-worth individuals, more than 79 percent think markets are moving toward a period of higher volatility. About 55 percent of respondents expect a “significant drop” in the markets over the next fourteen months.

However, the study was conducted between August and October following a volatile third quarter. Recent signs are already pointing to a firming US economy in the fourth quarter. A strong US labor market, robust consumer spending, an improving housing sector, and optimism on trade talks with China have combined with better-than-expected third-quarter earnings and a supportive interest-rate policy from the Federal Reserve.

So, will the financial markets see a significant drop in the near future?

It’s still a mystery.

The “spiritual but not religious” movement

I could go on: scientists don’t really know why gravity exists, how plate tectonics work, or how animals migrate so successfully.

My purpose is not to criticize scientists, but to point out the inherent limitations of science. And my purpose in pointing out such limitations is not to criticize science, but to remind us that all humans are finite creatures in need of truth and wisdom only our Creator can supply.

Here’s why this theme is on my mind today.

It was my privilege to deliver the T. B. Maston Lectures at Baptist University of the Américas (BUA) in San Antonio this week. I believe strongly in BUA’s crucial mission and the leadership of its outstanding president, Dr. Abe Jaquez.

His faculty asked me to discuss the popularity of the “spiritual but not religious” movement, an urgent and timely topic. A Pew Research Center study reports that only 48 percent of Americans now consider themselves to be both “religious and spiritual,” while 18 percent say they are “neither religious nor spiritual.” But 27 percent say they are “spiritual but not religious.” Their number has grown nearly 50 percent in recent years.

By comparison, Pew Research Center estimates America’s evangelical population to be 25.4 percent. The Baptist population is 15.4 percent. According to an authoritative study, only 20.4 percent of the US population attends church on any given week.

This means there are more “spiritual but not religious” Americans than Americans who attended church last Sunday.

“There was no king in Israel.”

A major reason why so many Americans choose to be spiritual but not religious is that they think they no longer need religion to be spiritual. It is conventional wisdom in our postmodern culture that truth is personal and subjective. There is no such thing as “truth,” only “your truth” and “my truth.”

We are therefore all equally able to discern spiritual truth for ourselves without need of divine revelation from a divine Creator. Or so we’re told.

How’s this working for us?

The theme of the book of Judges is the theme of our culture: “In those days there was no king in Israel. Everyone did what was right in his own eyes” (Judges 21:25). In a true kingdom, the king is the final authority on all subjects. His declaration is truth, his word inviolate.

Throughout Scripture, we are told that our God is such a king. Jesus called us to “repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand” (Matthew 4:17). He taught us to “seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness” (Matthew 6:33). We are to pray, “Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven” (Matthew 6:10). We are creatures in desperate need of truth only our Creator can provide.

It has been well said: To get along with God, stay off his throne.

How to know if God is your king

When last did you enthrone Jesus as king of your life?

Here’s a practical way to answer the question: We make God our king to the degree that we do what he says whether we want to or not. If he is our counselor or father, we can ignore his direction. If he is our king, we must do whatever he tells us to do.

So, I’ll ask again: When last did you make Jesus your king?

Denison Forum

Ellie Goulding generated headlines yesterday with her announcement that she would boycott the Dallas Cowboys Thanksgiving halftime show unless the Salvation Army makes “a solid, committed pledge or donation to the LGBTQ community.”

The singer had agreed to perform at the nationally televised show. Then fans on Instagram accused the Salvation Army of discriminating against LGBTQ people and condemned her for supporting the organization.

She immediately made her announcement, adding that “supporting an anti-LGBTQ charity is clearly not something I would ever intentionally do. Thank you for drawing my attention to this.”

David Hudson, the Salvation Army’s National Commander, responded: “With an organization of our size and history, myths can perpetuate. An individual’s sexual or gender identity, religion, or lifestyle has no bearing on our willingness to provide service. We stand firmly behind our mission to meet human needs in His name without discrimination.”

Later in the day, the Salvation Army confirmed that Goulding would perform as planned. Hudson thanked the singer and her fans “for shedding light on misconceptions and encouraging others to learn the truth about The Salvation Army’s mission to serve all, without discrimination. We applaud her for taking the time to learn about the services we provide to the LGBTQ community.”

The Army’s campaign is now in its 129^th year and brought in $142.7 million last year to help those in need.

The growing percentage of LGBTQ characters on TV

I have spoken at Salvation Army events and supported their work for years. Their service to those in need is both urgent and effective. However, the controversy sparked by Ellie Goulding’s announcement is not the focus of my article today.

Rather, I am concerned about the dramatic degree to which LGBTQ activism influences our culture.

According to the Associated Press, the percentage of LGBTQ characters regularly seen on primetime broadcast television this season reached an all-time high of 10.2 percent. This achieved the 10 percent goal the advocacy group GLAAD set for the networks by 2020.

Continue reading Denison Forum – Ellie Goulding threatens to boycott Salvation Army benefit at Dallas Cowboys halftime show: The pervasive power of personal influence →

Karen Pence is in the news as she increases her role in the 2020 presidential campaign. In an interview with USA Today, she was asked about her decision to resume teaching art at Immanuel Christian School, which doesn’t allow gay teachers or students.

The reporter suggested that “a gay person might say that your faith is attacking them for who they are.” Mrs. Pence replied: “I don’t make that connection. This country was founded on religious liberty. And I think we have to be careful about infringing on anyone else’s beliefs. I think that if you have someone who has a certain belief, that doesn’t mean they’re necessarily judging you.”

She illustrated her point effectively: “For example, there are people who have certain dietary restrictions because of their faith. I don’t feel like they are judging me if I eat that food.”

She then added: “That’s unfortunate if someone feels judged. It certainly would never, ever, ever be my intention for anyone to feel judged by me. Definitely not. But I’m just a person who believes in the Bible, so it shouldn’t be right for someone to attack me for my beliefs.”

Ordering a cheeseburger in a kosher restaurant

Let’s work with Mrs. Pence’s analogy for a moment.

The website Dallas Kosher lists a large number of restaurants that serve kosher food in our city. If I walk past one of these restaurants while eating a cheeseburger (violating the orthodox Jewish interpretation of Exodus 23:19 and Deuteronomy 14:21), I cannot imagine that I would feel judged by those inside.

If they are observant Jews, they are simply following the teachings of their religion. As a Gentile Christian, I am following the teachings of mine (cf. Acts 15:19–20).

But imagine that I walk into one of these restaurants and demand that they cook a cheeseburger for me. I am asking them to violate their religious beliefs for the sake of my personal preference. I could order a cheeseburger at the McDonald’s down the street, but I insist that since this kosher restaurant serves the public, they must provide what the public wants.

If they refuse, I take legal action and the courts agree with me. As a result, a kosher restaurant has to prepare nonkosher food, violating its owner’s religious beliefs and practices, or close its doors.

This scenario seems ludicrous because it is. I am not aware of Nazi sympathizers who have successfully petitioned the courts to force Jewish bakers to produce cakes with swastikas on them. Or non-Muslims who have successfully required Muslim bakers to make cakes defaming the Prophet Muhammad.

But evangelical Christians are regularly asked to violate our religious beliefs by those who claim our rights are violating theirs.

Sharing truth with those who disagree with it

This subject is relevant as the follow-up to yesterday’s Daily Article, where we explored biblical teachings regarding premarital cohabitation. I outlined the nonreligious reasons why biblical teachings on sexuality and marriage are best for us. Then we explored God’s word on this issue and sought his forgiving grace wherever we need it.

Today we’ll pivot that conversation into a discussion of ways to speak biblical truth to those who disagree with its wisdom.

Richard Niebuhr’s classic Christ and Culture describes five ways Christians have historically interacted with culture:

1. Christ against culture, where we withdraw as far as possible
2. Christ of culture, where we follow the culture wherever it leads
3. Christ above culture, where we live by both secular and spiritual values
4. Christ and culture in paradox, where we engage cultural issues as a means to growing the church
5. Christ transforming culture, where we seek to be salt and light through the transformational witness of the gospel.

Now let’s apply these to the issue of premarital cohabitation. The first approach would call us to retreat from such conversations; the second would endorse secular practice; the third could cause us to hide our Sunday values from our Monday friends; the fourth would stand for biblical truth but without working to change cultural values; the fifth would seek to change minds and hearts in alignment with God’s best for us.

How can we be catalysts for such transformation?

“And such were some of you.”

When we hear a convicting message, it is human nature to convict the messenger. That’s why, to be change agents in our secular culture, we must first convince others that our message is motivated by love for them.

Those who are living outside of God’s will for sexuality need to know that we care about them enough to share hard truth with them. The same is true for those who sin in any other way (cf. 1 Corinthians 6:9–10).

It would be far easier for us to go along to get along, to tell people what they want to hear rather than what they need to hear. But we are custodians of grace called to pay forward what we have received, giving others truth that transforms all who receive it.

We are to do so with humility and hope: “And such were some of you. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God” (v. 11).

The sins for which God has forgiven you may be the very sins he is now asking you to address with his truth and forgiving grace.

Where will you begin today?

Denison Forum