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

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Read The Daily Article: https://www.denisonforum.org/daily-article/diet-drinks-cancer/

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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

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Read The Daily Article: https://www.denisonforum.org/daily-article/mission-impossible-the-entity-and-the-battle-for-our-world/

 

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 Denison, PhD

Narrator: Chris Elkins

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Read The Daily Article: https://www.denisonforum.org/daily-article/sound-of-freedom-hope-fear/

 

 

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 his company’s bank accounts to steal more than $8 million he and his wife used to support a lavish lifestyle. 

A dear friend alerted me to these articles and commented on them: “Although very different stories, they share a common thread: a desire to be someone other than God created us to be.”

How can we remember to show a likeness to Christ instead? 

Author: Jim Denison, PhD

Narrator: Chris Elkins

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Read The Daily Article: https://www.denisonforum.org/daily-article/new-hiv-case-linked-to-vampire-facial/

First15 - https://www.first15.org/

 

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

Narrator: Chris Elkins

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Read The Daily Article: https://www.denisonforum.org/daily-article/teenage-survivor-disease-study-medicine-harvard/

The Denison Forum Podcast with Houston Christian University professor Nancy Pearcy:  https://www.denisonforum.org/podcasts/

 

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 have seen no suggestion that what they did was immoral. 

Author: Jim Denison, PhD

Narrator: Chris Elkins

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Read The Daily Article: https://www.denisonforum.org/daily-article/harrison-fords-affair-carrie-fisher/

 

 

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

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Read The Daily Article: https://www.denisonforum.org/daily-article/bill-de-blasio-his-wife-opening-their-marriage/

 

 

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 well and seek the betterment of the future of our country?

Author: Jim Denison, PhD

Narrator: Chris Elkins

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Read The Daily Article: https://www.denisonforum.org/daily-article/indiana-jones-deaged-by-artificial-intelligence/

 

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

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Read The Daily Article: https://www.denisonforum.org/daily-article/fourth-of-july-2023-overshadowed-by-16-mass-shootings/

 

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 

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Read The Daily Article: https://www.denisonforum.org/daily-article/stuck-upside-down-in-a-roller-coaster/