The Daily Article

It’s been nearly three months since Charlie Kirk was murdered at an outdoor rally in Utah. A remarkable spiritual movement was noted in the days and weeks following the tragedy. But what about now? It’s hard to think of many events in recent years that have had such a positive effect on the spiritual health of our secularized culture. If you had known beforehand that a shooter was planning to assassinate Charlie Kirk, wouldn’t you have alerted authorities? Wouldn’t you want to spare Charlie’s life and his widow and children their grief? The question may seem speculative, but the issue it raises is actually so significant that it deserves our consideration today.

About Denison Forum and The Daily Article

Today's Daily Article was written by Dr. Jim Denison and narrated by Chris Elkins. You can read this article on our website. You may also receive it in your inbox by subscribing to our newsletter.

Note: Denison Forum is a fully donor-supported ministry. Consider a gift today to support this ministry of discerning news differently. 

In addition to parking the largest buildup of America’s naval forces since the Cuban Missile Crisis, with fifteen thousand troops parked just outside of Venezuela’s borders, Trump has also signed off on the CIA’s plans for covert measures inside the country. But is it legal? As Christians, we’re not permitted to take an “ends justify the means” approach to anything in life because God cares about both the ends and the means. Sin is still sin, even when done for noble or righteous reasons. How do we live a righteous life without losing sight of our personal walk with Christ?

About Denison Forum and The Daily Article

Today's Daily Article was written by Dr. Jim Denison and narrated by Chris Elkins. You can read this article on our website. You may also receive it in your inbox by subscribing to our newsletter.

NOTE: Denison Forum is a fully donor-funded nonprofit ministry. To support our calling, please donate today.

If you live in Las Vegas, you might not expect a visit from Santa this year. You’re likely not surprised that “Sin City” has been ranked the “most sinful city” in America again this year. But you might be surprised that Houston came in second, Atlanta ranked number five, and Dallas came in at number eight. In addition to making the top ten in America’s most sinful cities, here’s what else the three cities have in common: I have lived in each of them. Does this mean I’m the common denominator? In a very real sense, the answer is yes. But you’re not off the hook.

About Denison Forum and The Daily Article

Today's Daily Article was written by Dr. Jim Denison and narrated by Chris Elkins. You can read this article on our website. You may also receive it in your inbox by subscribing to our newsletter.

Note: Denison Forum is a fully donor-supported ministry. Consider a gift today to support this ministry of discerning news differently. 

Did Mr. Hegseth commit a genuine violation of the US code regarding military actions? At the center of the controversy is a Washington Post story about a September 2 attack staged by US forces on a boat believed by officials to be ferrying drugs. The article reports that Mr. Hegseth gave a spoken directive: “The order was to kill everybody,” according to a person with direct knowledge of the operation. There is much more to this unfolding story, but media reports are overlooking an aspect that transcends the political, legal, and military issues making headlines these days.

About Denison Forum and The Daily Article

Today's Daily Article was written by Dr. Jim Denison and narrated by Chris Elkins. You can read this article on our website. You may also receive it in your inbox by subscribing to our newsletter.

The legendary actor and comedian Dick Van Dyke turns one hundred on December 13. He confidently asserts, “When you expire, you expire,” and claims that “the most important part of me will always be alive” through the children’s music he made. He is convinced that his subjective opinion regarding his eternity must be true, even though he has no objective basis for it. To have personal confidence that Jesus will bring us into life beyond this life, we can do what we do with all relational realities: we examine the evidence, then we step beyond it into an experience that becomes self-validating. And he offers us assurance grounded in biblical truth that becomes intuitively personal as well. This is where Christmas comes in.

About Denison Forum and The Daily Article

Today's Daily Article was written by Dr. Jim Denison and narrated by Chris Elkins. You can read this article on our website. You may also receive it in your inbox by subscribing to our newsletter.

Note: Denison Forum is a fully donor-supported ministry. 

Consider a Giving Tuesday gift today to support this ministry of discerning news differently. 

A Cape Cod artist has created what Axios calls “New England’s newest unlikely holiday sensation: the Lobster nativity scene.” Jesus is depicted as a baby lobster in a bed of seaweed inside a crab shell cradle. The stable is a lobster trap. The other figures are various versions of lobsters as well. Today’s Daily Article looks at the commercialized humor of nativity scenes in light of C. S. Lewis’s famous quote and Walter Isaacson’s new book, The Greatest Sentence Ever Written. Our Savior chose to sacrifice his “life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness” for us in a form far inferior to his infinite, holy self.

About Denison Forum and The Daily Article

Today's Daily Article was written by Dr. Jim Denison and narrated by Chris Elkins. You can read this article on our website. You may also receive it in your inbox by subscribing to our newsletter.

NOTE: Denison Forum is a fully donor-funded nonprofit ministry. Consider a Giving Tuesday gift to Denison Forum today!

US Army Specialist Sarah Beckstrom, 20, died last night, according to President Trump. She was one of two National Guard members targeted by a gunman in Washington, DC, on Wednesday. A second victim, Andrew Wolfe, 24, remains in critical condition at this writing. The shooting cast a pall over yesterday’s Thanksgiving holiday, reminding us that tragedy does not respect tradition. And yet we are commanded by God’s word to “give thanks in all circumstances” (1 Thessalonians 5:18). This could indicate that we are to be grateful in our challenges but not for them. However, Scripture also instructs us to “give thanks always and for everything to God.” In the face of unspeakable tragedy such as Wednesday’s shooting, why should we do this?

About Denison Forum and The Daily Article

Today's Daily Article was written by Dr. Jim Denison and narrated by Chris Elkins. You can read this article on our website. You may also receive it in your inbox by subscribing to our newsletter.

NOTE: Denison Forum is a fully donor-funded nonprofit ministry. To support our calling, please donate today.

The news is filled with Thanksgiving trivia, from today’s average gathering size (seven) and caloric intake (3,150–4,500 calories), to holiday travel statistics, to facts about the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade (along with eight “infamous” balloon incidents), to “61 hot takes to fight about at Thanksgiving.” The English words “think” and “thank” are both derived from an ancient Indo-European root “tong,” meaning “to feel or think.” As I think about my life and the world, I find abundant reasons for thanks. I’d like to share three of them with you, each a simple fact inspired by a story in the news.

About Denison Forum and The Daily Article

Today's Daily Article was written by Dr. Jim Denison and narrated by Chris Elkins. You can read this article on our website. You may also receive it in your inbox by subscribing to our newsletter.

NOTE: Denison Forum is a fully donor-funded nonprofit ministry. To support our calling, please donate today.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky reportedly wants to meet President Trump “as soon as possible,” possibly over Thanksgiving, to finalize a joint US–Ukrainian peace agreement. The US argument is that the current trajectory of the war suggests Ukraine would eventually lose the territory anyway. White House officials stress that Mr. Trump’s primary goal is to end the war, no matter what the peace deal ultimately looks like. As the political philosopher Kwame Anthony Appiah noted, “A value is like a fax machine. It’s not much use if you’re the only one who has one.” Aren’t you glad God doesn’t feel the same way?

About Denison Forum and The Daily Article

Today's Daily Article was written by Dr. Jim Denison and narrated by Chris Elkins. You can read this article on our website. You may also receive it in your inbox by subscribing to our newsletter.

NOTE: Denison Forum is a fully donor-funded nonprofit ministry. To support our calling, please donate today.

As we focus on gratitude this Thanksgiving week, let’s consider a recent article in the Atlantic that offers surprising encouragement about evangelical Christianity. Spencer Kornhaber reports: “Signs of a true revival have been piling up lately. After years of decline, church attendance has leveled and might even be climbing.” The rest of the article focuses on a new album by Rosalía. Kornhaber writes: “The question of what we believe about our souls and what that belief demands is more serious than lifestyle fads or partisan politics allow for. … Embracing that search, Rosalía preaches, can be as significant as having an answer.” This is an assertion we need to discuss today, for reasons that far transcend the article that asserts it.

About Denison Forum and The Daily Article

Today's Daily Article was written by Dr. Jim Denison and narrated by Chris Elkins. You can read this article on our website. You may also receive it in your inbox by subscribing to our newsletter.

NOTE: Denison Forum is a fully donor-funded nonprofit ministry. To support our calling, please donate today.