NBA superstar LeBron James helped launch the I Promise School (IPS) in his hometown of Akron, Ohio, in 2018 to help "those students who are already falling behind and in danger of falling through the cracks." But then Covid hit, and everything changed. Is the school a "school of failed promises?" Or are the negative headlines mostly the product of a dislike for LeBron James? In truth, it's probably a bit of both. But lost in both extremes is a lesson that goes beyond test scores and school accou...
Aug 10, 2023•7 min
Yesterday, a massive storm system killed at least two people and knocked out power to more than one million utility customers from Pennsylvania to Georgia. When the storms of life strike us, we have four spiritual options: deism, skepticism, self-reliant Christianity, or holistic Christianity. You may know the “right” answer, but does your life bear its truth? Author: Jim Denison, PhD Narrator: Chris Elkins Subscribe: http://www.denisonforum.org/subscribe Read The Daily Article: https://www.deni...
Aug 09, 2023•7 min
Nearly 70 percent of Americans believe in the existence of angels, according to a recent Associated Press-NORC survey. The same percentage believe in heaven, though even more (72 percent) believe in the power of prayer. However, only 58 percent believe in hell, and even fewer (56 percent) believe in the existence of the devil. It’s understandable why most would prefer such a “cafeteria-style” religion, but ignoring reality makes it no less real. Why should we trust God’s truth over our own perce...
Aug 08, 2023•7 min
Marjorie Perkins, 87, fought off a teenage intruder who’d struck her. Then, when the teen said he was “awfully hungry,” she fed him—and then called 911. Such a dramatic story, which has made Marjorie “a bit of an international celebrity” according to The Associated Press, reminds us of the power of stories. And for Christians, the power of our story in accepting and following Christ is essential to seeing our culture experience genuine moral and spiritual transformation. Author: Jim Denison, PhD...
Aug 07, 2023•8 min
The NFL preseason officially kicked off last night, but it's next Thursday's matchup between the Houston Texans and the New England Patriots that I'm looking forward to most. That’s when John Metchie III is expected to take the field for the first time in more than a year and a half. And his story of overcoming injury and surviving cancer has a good bit to teach all of us today. Author: Ryan Denison, PhD Narrator: Chris Elkins Subscribe: http://www.denisonforum.org/subscribe Read The Daily Artic...
Aug 04, 2023•6 min
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Aug 03, 2023•8 min
“In three years I don’t think there’s going to be any human taking an order in any drive-through in the US.” That’s according to one chief executive providing such technology. In similar news, a news-content channel on TikTok has announced “the world’s first fully AI automated news edition presented by digital avatar clones.” This rapid march toward incorporating AI into our daily lives is just one arena where our technology may be outpacing our ethics. And in a culture predicated upon situation...
Aug 02, 2023•7 min
Authorities discovered an unlicensed lab in Fresno County, California, where the CDC found at least twenty potentially infectious agents, including coronavirus, HIV, hepatitis, and herpes. The biotech company reportedly has ties to China. Counselors say we are “living through one of the most stressful periods in American history.” In such anxious times, why are so many Americans opting out of church when the community of the church and the truth of God’s word are actually what we need? Author: J...
Aug 01, 2023•7 min
China has hidden malicious computer code deep inside networks controlling our power grids, communication systems, and water supplies that feed our military bases in the US and around the world. Officials acknowledge that they do not know the full extent of the malware’s presence in networks around the world, in part because it is so well hidden. An amoral worldview pervades much of Chinese culture—the same rejection America’s secularized culture now embraces and demands. As a Christian, how can ...
Jul 31, 2023•8 min
A former intelligence officer and two former fighter pilots told Congress this week that the government is lying to us about UFOs, complete with claims that they have collected aircraft and “biologics” of a “nonhuman” origin. Whether you are inclined to believe those claims or not, let’s take a moment and assume that they were true. How would that impact your faith? The answer can give important insight into the state of your relationship with God. Author: Ryan Denison, PhD Narrator: Chris Elkin...
Jul 28, 2023•7 min
Federal Reserve officials raised interest rates yesterday to their highest level in twenty-two years, causing many to ask if a recession is coming. More pressing questions might be: Is a spiritual recession coming? Is it already here? If so, what can we do to respond? Consider this biblical guide to the change we need to be in order to see the change we wish to see. Author: Jim Denison, PhD Narrator: Chris Elkins Subscribe: http://www.denisonforum.org/subscribe Read The Daily Article: https://ww...
Jul 27, 2023•7 min
Elon Musk has changed Twitter’s name to X, possibly erasing billions in value. And parents are hiring $4,000 sorority consultants to help their daughters dress and impress during rush. Such shifting perceptions can become self-fulfilling prophecies, and this fact is especially relevant to the future of America. Author: Jim Denison, PhD Narrator: Chris Elkins Subscribe: http://www.denisonforum.org/subscribe Read The Daily Article: https://www.denisonforum.org/daily-article/changing-twitter-to-x-a...
Jul 26, 2023•8 min
Yesterday, Israel’s parliament ratified the first bill of a judicial overhaul sought by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, setting off demonstrations and protests across the country. The bill takes away the Israeli Supreme Court’s ability to nullify government decisions it finds “unreasonable in the extreme.” Supporters say this power was nebulous and enabled liberal judges to overturn the will of the electorate. Critics say the overhaul would reduce judicial oversight over the cabinet and give ...
Jul 25, 2023•8 min
The inclusion of scenes with explicit sex and nudity in “Oppenheimer” ought to make it off-limits to Christians who choose to follow biblical teachings on lust. However, avoiding the film, while vital for followers of Christ, is only one step in a broken culture that surrounds us daily with pervasive immorality. How are we to “put to death whatever is earthly” (Col. 3:5) in us? Author: Jim Denison, PhD Narrator: Chris Elkins Subscribe: http://www.denisonforum.org/subscribe Read The Daily Article...
Jul 24, 2023•8 min
As the war in Ukraine drags on, its true cost can be seen in the faces of the thousands of children who have survived or have lost a parent. As governments fight to not join the fight, what can we do as individual Christians to effect positive change? The biblical example of Jonathan provides an answer. Author: Ryan Denison, PhD Narrator: Chris Elkins Subscribe: http://www.denisonforum.org/subscribe Read The Daily Article: https://www.denisonforum.org/daily-article/children-of-ukraine/ View the ...
Jul 21, 2023•8 min
One winning ticket was sold in downtown Los Angeles for last night’s $1.08 billion Powerball jackpot, but winning the lottery often comes with unfortunate and disastrous results. Additionally, Americans may be collectively wealthier today, but we’re also unhappier and more anxious. In today’s Daily Article, Dr. Jim Denison turns our eyes to counterintuitive good news when it comes to the urgency of our personal spiritual renewal for the betterment of America’s future. Author: Jim Denison, PhD Na...
Jul 20, 2023•7 min
An article on the increase in births in Texas due to its enacted abortion ban in September 2021 refers to “pregnant individuals” and “birthing people” rather than using the word “women.” In other news, a lifestyle influencer is charging her followers $1/hour to chat with her AI clone. In this “increasingly bizarre present,” how should Christians pursue spiritual growth? Author: Jim Denison, PhD Narrator: Chris Elkins Subscribe: http://www.denisonforum.org/subscribe Read The Daily Article: https:...
Jul 19, 2023•7 min
Diet drink sales plummeted after the WHO declared that the artificial sweetener aspartame possibly causes cancer. In other medical news, the FDA approved the first over-the-counter birth control pill, Opill. In both instances, there’s more to the headline, and the implications of these issues go deeper even than the crucial issues they raise. As Christians, our need for discernment is especially urgent in these times. Author: Jim Denison, PhD Narrator: Chris Elkins Subscribe: http://www.denisonf...
Jul 18, 2023•8 min
In “Mission Impossible: Dead Reckoning Part One,” Ethan Hunt (Tom Cruise) fights the “Entity,” which is essentially AI on steroids. The movie parallels the real world in a way that is urgently relevant for every Christian. Author: Jim Denison, PhD Narrator: Chris Elkins Subscribe: http://www.denisonforum.org/subscribe Read The Daily Article: https://www.denisonforum.org/daily-article/mission-impossible-the-entity-and-the-battle-for-our-world/...
Jul 17, 2023•7 min
When Sound of Freedom first came out, I was hesitant to see it. As a father, there are few things more difficult to watch and contemplate than the horrific abuse and unconscionable evil portrayed in the film. But the movie’s message is important, and it conveys that message in a way that calls us to choose hope over fear. So, given that message, why has the film generated so much controversy? And what does it say about our culture that many have judged the movie without seeing it? Author: Ryan D...
Jul 14, 2023•7 min
Have you heard of “vampire facials”? This is the colloquial term for a “microneedling treatment using platelet-rich plasma—a component of your blood that can lead to impressive results when absorbed into your skin.” The treatment promises to “enhance the skin’s overall appearance.” However, it is also a way to contract HIV; a third case has now been confirmed from a now-defunct spa that offered this service. In other news, a businessman named Mark Exposito is accused by prosecutors of raiding hi...
Jul 13, 2023•7 min
Let’s begin with some good news: a seventeen-year-old who was diagnosed with sickle cell disease at the age of eight and given a 20 percent chance of survival has been accepted at Harvard, where he will study medicine. His story caught my eye because of a Gallup survey released yesterday: Americans’ confidence in higher education has fallen to 36 percent. Are we doomed to be a “Divided States of America?” We may find unity around something surprising: organized religion. Author: Jim Denison, PhD...
Jul 12, 2023•8 min
Harrison Ford is making headlines again these days with the fifth installment in his iconic “Indiana Jones” film series. Consequently, his affair with Carrie Fisher when they were filming the original Star Wars movie in 1976 has been back in the news as well. Fisher made their relationship public in 2016 as part of her memoir released shortly before her death. She was nineteen at the time of their affair; Ford was thirty-three and a married father of two. In all the coverage of their affair, I h...
Jul 11, 2023•7 min
Bill de Blasio, the former mayor of New York City, and his wife, Chirlane McCray, recently told the New York Times that they are separating after nearly thirty years of marriage. However, they are not planning to divorce and will continue to share the townhouse where they raised their two children. Therapists are pointing to a definitive rise in “polyamorous” relationships. Author: Jim Denison, PhD Narrator: Chris Elkins Subscribe: http://www.denisonforum.org/subscribe Read The Daily Article: ht...
Jul 10, 2023•7 min
In “Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny,” Harrison Ford’s iconic character was de-aged by artificial intelligence for its opening scenes. However, such generative AI can also be used to create convincing deepfake videos, like a recent fake made of President Biden announcing a draft to send American soldiers to Ukraine. Such uses of AI are a microcosm of the cosmic story: what can be used for good can be turned for evil, and we as humans cast the deciding vote. So how can we as Christians vote ...
Jul 07, 2023•7 min
Sixteen mass shootings resulted in 15 deaths and nearly a hundred injured across 13 states and Washington, D.C. this past July 4. It’s also been two months since the deadly mass shooting at the Allen Premium Outlets in Allen, TX. Such violence reveals our fallenness, and Dr. Jim Denison considers how much our fallenness plays into the “secular religion” of democracy replacing Christianity. Author: Jim Denison, PhD Narrator: Chris Elkins Subscribe: http://www.denisonforum.org/subscribe Read The D...
Jul 06, 2023•7 min
Eight roller coaster riders were stuck hanging upside down for around three hours at a festival in Wisconsin last Sunday. No matter what happens to you today, you can remind yourself that you weren’t one of them. As we continue our Independence Day focus on America, let’s ask: What explains our nation’s loss of hope? What can we as Christians do about it? Author: Jim Denison, PhD Narrator: Chris Elkins Read Chris Elkins’ review: Holy Moments: A Handbook for the Rest of Your Life Subscribe: http:...
Jul 05, 2023•7 min
Fifteen-time title winner Joey Chestnut will defend his crown today in Nathan’s Famous Hot Dog Eating Contest. Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky wrote an op-ed wishing America a happy birthday. And President Reagan, in a commencement address from 1981, placed our democracy in historical context. Each of these news items celebrates the impact that America has made on history because we believe that “all men are created equal.” As we celebrate America’s birth today, let’s renew our commitment t...
Jul 04, 2023•7 min
The US Supreme Court sided last Friday with a Colorado web designer who claimed a First Amendment right to refuse to design wedding websites for same-sex couples. From good news to tragedy: an 18-year-old woman and a 20-year-old man were killed in a mass shooting early Sunday morning at a Baltimore block party. And on this anniversary day of the end of the Battle of Gettysburg, we remember: there is no gift that cannot be misused, including the gift of freedom. So how can we as Christians best u...
Jul 03, 2023•7 min
The US Supreme Court issued two landmark rulings yesterday, striking down affirmative action in university admissions and supporting religious liberty in a case involving an evangelical postal worker who’d asked for Sundays off to observe his Sabbath. However, yesterday’s rulings demonstrate the problem of competing constitutional values in a democratic republic. And they illustrate an even larger narrative at work in our culture today. Author: Jim Denison, PhD Narrator: Chris Elkins Subscribe: ...
Jun 30, 2023•7 min
