The Daily Article Podcast offers news discerned differently every Monday through Friday morning. With biblical insight into the day’s latest news and current events, this narrated edition of Dr. Jim Denison’s email newsletter presents a nonpartisan perspective on what’s happening now and how Christians can respond biblically to the culture at large.
In an amazing story, the Dahl family was given a remembrance of their deceased son through a message in a bottle he'd floated in the Tallahatchie River thirty-three years ago. Through this story and many biblical examples, Dr. Jim Denison reminds us of the deep, fatherly love God has for us. Author: Dr. Jim Denison Narrator: Chris Elkins Subscribe: http://www.denisonforum.org/subscribe
The warrant to search former President Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago home in Florida could be unsealed as soon as this afternoon. In other news, gun deaths keep occurring throughout the country. In The Daily Article for August 12, 2022, Dr. Jim Denison considers the violence in our nation, five reasons we go to war, and why a deeper, more transformative solution is ultimately required to overcome the violence of our day. For more on experiencing and sharing the transforming love of God, please see m...
During the recent and deadly floods in eastern Kentucky, Jessica Willett used a vacuum cord to bind herself to her children as the floodwaters shifted her home off its foundation. In lighter news, a private Scottish island with a lighthouse is now for sale for less than the average price of a home in America. Dr. Jim Denison considers these contrasting stories and our deep need for real community. Author: Dr. Jim Denison Narrator: Chris Elkins Subscribe: http://www.denisonforum.org/subscribe...
Grease star Olivia Newton-John recently passed away. She fought breast cancer multiple times in her life and was once asked, “Have you contemplated your death?” In The Daily Article for August 11, 2022, Dr. Jim Denison quotes her thoughts on the afterlife, reveals opinions in other news stories that can be catastrophic, then turns his focus to why our opinion of our eternal destiny is of eternal significance. Author: Dr. Jim Denison Narrator: Chris Elkins Subscribe: http://www.denisonforum.org/s...
Guests became stuck on the Disney World Magic Kingdom ride "It's a Small World" for over an hour. In more threatening news, the US has reportedly lost three nuclear bombs and the earth is apparently spinning faster for some reason. Dr. Jim Denison considers these stories and then pivots to retelling the biography of Edith Stein, "one of the twentieth century's most remarkable and tragic women." Author: Dr. Jim Denison Narrator: Chris Elkins Subscribe: http://www.denisonforum.org/subscribe...
The FBI searched former President Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago home in Palm Beach, Florida, on Monday. Politico reported that the search was part of an investigation into the alleged mishandling of White House records, including potentially classified material. In The Daily Article for August 10, 2022, Dr. Jim Denison summarizes the search, asks if our system of government still works, and asserts that “the divisiveness of our day represents a strategic opportunity for followers of Christ.” For mor...
Brad Stevens is pastor of Church of God Worship Center in Clay County, in eastern Kentucky. Following floods that have devastated his region, he has helped lead his community to unite and to rebuild. Dr. Jim Denison shares his inspiring story and then turns to the life and faith of Dominic, who founded the Dominicans, before concluding with six steps to transformational truth. For more on opportunities to explain the Gospel, see my article, “ Why Jesus? ”...
Unborn children in Georgia are now eligible for a $3,000 income tax exemption. The Safe Haven Baby Box at a firehouse in Carmel, Indiana, has received three babies so far this year. Unfortunately, abortion advocates are responding to the overturning of Roe v. Wade in ways that are persuasive for many, including Whoopi Goldberg’s “religious” argument for abortion. In The Daily Article for August 9, 2022, Dr. Jim Denison offers four ways that culture promotes abortion, three strategies to promote ...
Everything has a cost. In recent news, if you are planning to climb Mont Blanc in France, know that you may have to pay a deposit of $15,370 to cover rescue and funeral costs. In looking at this story, Dr. Jim Denison considers how our postmodern worldview says your truth is as valid as our truth. You can “climb any mountain” you choose. But there are consequences to your decisions that the rest of us must pay. Author: Dr. Jim Denison Narrator: Chris Elkins Subscribe: http://www.denisonforum.org...
Last Friday, Mayah Zamora of Uvalde, Texas walked out of University Hospital sixty-six days after she was shot in three limbs during the Robb Elementary School shooting on May 24. In The Daily Article for August 8, 2022, Dr. Jim Denison also discusses an Israeli-Palestinian truce, China expanding military exercises around Taiwan, and the polio virus spreading in New York City, noting that each story illustrates the power of persistence—a trait lacking in our culture but necessary to the Christia...
August 6 is National Mustard Day, and French's, the mustard company, has unveiled a mustard donut. Another company has created the world's only hot-air balloon restaurant. These stories illustrate the entrepreneurial spirit that drives so much innovation and progress in human society. But the successful results of human ingenuity tempt us to depend more fully on human ingenuity than we should. Author: Dr. Jim Denison Narrator: Chris Elkins Subscribe: http://www.denisonforum.org/subscribe...
Yesterday, a Russian judge sentenced US women’s basketball star Brittney Griner to nine years in prison for bringing marijuana into Russia with criminal intent. However, this outcome was expected to clear the way for negotiations over her release. In The Daily Article for August 5, 2022, Dr. Jim Denison considers how surprising the news—and our lives—can be, then turns to look at our motivations as Christians for following God. For more on the kind of faith that positions us to experience God’s ...
Vin Scully died on August 2 at the age of ninety-four. He called games for the Los Angeles Dodgers for sixty-seven seasons. Many consider him the greatest baseball announcer of all time. However, it was Vin Scully’s faith that we should especially remember with gratitude today. Author: Dr. Jim Denison Narrator: Chris Elkins Subscribe: http://www.denisonforum.org/subscribe
On Tuesday, Kansas voters rejected a ballot measure that would have allowed the Republican-controlled legislature to tighten restrictions on abortion or ban the procedure outright. Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker has signed into law a measure establishing abortion as a constitutional right in his state. When the Dobbs decision was handed down in June overturning Roe v. Wade, like many who responded to the decision, I noted that the battle would now move to the states. And so it has. However, I ...
When a notorious terrorist leader like Ayman al-Zawahiri is killed, those of us in the West rejoice. We see his death as avenging in part those who were murdered as a result of his radical ideology and strategic leadership. And we hope it sends a signal to other jihadists that they cannot win, that they will be confronted and defeated by our united resolve to defend our people and our democracy. However, al-Zawahiri’s supporters see his death in exactly the opposite way. Author: Dr. Jim Denison ...
US House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi arrived in Taiwan late yesterday. In The Daily Article for August 3, 2022, Dr. Jim Denison focuses on her stated reasons for going, including China’s “crackdown against Hong Kong’s political freedoms,” its “campaign to erase the Tibetan people’s culture,” and its “genocide against Muslim Uyghurs.” Why are China’s leaders acting in such a brutally oppressive manner? Why is this issue relevant to every American and especially every American Christia...
One of the most foundational ways we are culturally conditioned to self-advancement is self-reliance. This existentialistic worldview pervades everything we do today. For instance, people are choosing where to live based in large part on whether that specific community shares their personal values. Of all the challenges radical self-reliance presents, none is more systemic and foundational than the spiritual. Dr. Jim Denison considers how King David fought against his own self-reliance in Psalm ...
President Joe Biden announced from the White House on August 1 that a US missile launched from a drone in Afghanistan had killed al-Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahiri. Who was al-Zawahiri? Why is his death so significant? What can we now expect in the continuing battle against jihadist terrorism? How should we respond to this news biblically? For more on responding to radical Islam, see Dr. Ryan Denison’s “ Should we fear radical Islam? ” Author: Dr. Jim Denison Narrator: Chris Elkins Subscribe: htt...
Deshaun Watson was baptized in the Jordan River in 2019. However, he’s making headlines today after a six-game suspension for violating the NFL’s personal conduct policy in the wake of engaging in sexually coercive and lewd behavior with more than two dozen women from 2019–2021. In The Daily Article for August 2, 2022, Dr. Jim Denison considers why notable public Christians have experienced moral failures and how a relationship with Jesus compares to Maslow’s hierarchy of needs. For more on toda...
President Biden declared last week that the US is not in a recession despite the Commerce Department reporting that the US economy shrank for two consecutive quarters—the technical definition of a recession. Biden also tested positive for Covid again. In The Daily Article for August 1, 2022, Dr. Jim Denison considers these news stories, including the recent deaths of NBA legend Bill Russell and the groundbreaking Black actress Nichelle Nichols, as a way to discuss how we tend to deal with death—...
In 2020, suicide was the twelfth-leading cause of death in the United States, taking 46,000 lives. In 2022, that number appears to have risen substantially. With suicidality, anxiety, and depression rising, especially in teens who are cyber-bullied and spending lonely hours online, the new initiative to get people help is a step in the right direction. What was formerly known as The National Suicide Prevention Lifeline is now 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline . That 988 is important—it's the sim...
Archbishop Desmond Tutu requested alkaline hydrolysis, also known as aquamation or water cremation, as an eco-friendly final disposition of his body. His decision made this process much more widely known. This is just one of many ways our bodies can be “buried” these days. But when that day comes, what happens to us? What happens in the moment when we die? When death comes to someone we care about? How are we to be ready? Let's organize our issues into three questions: Will you die? Why will you...
Tony Dow, a teenage star in the popular 1950s and 60s comedy series Leave It to Beaver, died Wednesday at his California home at the age of seventy-seven—but his death was erroneously reported the day before. Alfred Nobel rewrote his will after an erroneous reporting of his death, which effectively resulted in the creation of the Nobel Prize. In The Daily Article for July 29, 2022, Dr. Jim Denison discusses how Christians always have the opportunity to rewrite our obituaries when we embrace the ...
The FBI has yet to find the remains of Jimmy Hoffa, who went missing in 1975. But the tenacity with which they continue searching is an illustration of how Christians should be just as persistent in following God's call on our lives—and even more so, since the stakes of our obedience are eternal for us and everyone we influence. In this bonus episode, Dr. Jim Denison looks at 2 Timothy 2 and Paul's clarion call to spiritual perseverance. Author: Dr. Jim Denison Narrator: Chris Elkins Subscribe: ...
Todd Graves, the founder of Raising Cane’s Chicken Fingers, purchased fifty thousand Mega Millions tickets at a cost of $100,000 for Tuesday’s drawing. If any of Todd Graves’s tickets had been a winner, he would have split the jackpot among his fifty thousand employees. In The Daily Article for July 28, 2022, Dr. Jim Denison describes Graves’s other philanthropic pursuits via Raising Cane’s, offers two reasons why discouragement is especially challenging for Christians, and concludes with four p...
According to the Smithsonian, a rare original copy of the United States Constitution sold last year for $43 million, reminding Dr. Jim Denison of the first time he stood before Codex Alexandrinus and Codex Sinaiticus, two of the oldest New Testament copies in existence. Recalling seeing these invaluable documents, he then shares why "The Bible says it, I believe it, and that settles it" is erroneous thinking and how God's word holds the power to change those who read and heed its truth. Author: ...
The grand prize for Friday's Mega Millions lottery is now at $1.02 billion, but your odds of winning it are much less than even having identical quadruplets. In The Daily Article for July 27, 2022, Dr. Jim Denison considers the discouragement such odds could create, the discouragement of the Respect for Marriage Act (RMA) and how its passing could negatively reshape and redefine marriage, before concluding with two biblical ways to respond to discouragement. For more on the transformative power ...
A micrometeoroid caused "significant uncorrectable damage" to one of the James Webb Telescope's eighteen gold-plated mirrors. And zebra and quagga mussels are spreading through US rivers, lakes, and bays. Both stories illustrate how tiny objects can affect massive objects. Dr. Jim Denison argues that the same is true for us spiritually, especially when we have doubts that afflict our faith. Author: Dr. Jim Denison Narrator: Chris Elkins Subscribe: http://www.denisonforum.org/subscribe...
Apparently, there are some sharks that can walk on land and city-killer asteroids now being discovered. In The Daily Article for July 26, 2022, Dr. Jim Denison considers the veracity of these stories and the devastating role of doubt in the life of a Christian. He also covers Pope Francis' apology to the Indigenous peoples in Canada and offers four practical responses for Christians who doubt their salvation, their faith, or God himself. For more on the trustworthiness of God’s word, read my lat...
In a viral TikTok video, seventeen-year-old Trin found a snake slithering out of her bathtub drain. In C. S. Lewis's "Mere Christianity," he uses the similar discovery of rats in a cellar to point us toward how we justify our personal sins. In this bonus episode, Dr. Jim Denison then focuses on the fact that God always redeems our suffering by using it to grow us in ways we could not grow otherwise. Author: Dr. Jim Denison Narrator: Chris Elkins Subscribe: http://www.denisonforum.org/subscribe...
