Denison Forum on Truth and Culture

Nearly two million students are graduating from college this month. Appropriately, Time has ranked its "Top 10 Commencement Speeches." I'd like to explore some of them in light of Scripture.

Christianity faces no greater challenge than innocent suffering. We believe that God is all-knowing, all-powerful, and all-loving. By definition, therefore, he knew about the storms in our area, had the power to prevent them, and wanted to do so. Yet he did not.

Last Friday, the Internal Revenue Service admitted that it unfairly targeted Tea Party tax exempt applications for additional scrutiny. Now we're learning that the list of criteria for additional scrutiny was not limited to the Tea Party.

"I've been kidnapped and I've been missing for 10 years, and I'm, I'm here, I'm free now. ... I'm Amanda Berry. I've been on the news for the last 10 years." This 911 call set police in motion to free Amanda Berry, Gina DeJesus and Michelle Knight, three women from the Cleveland area who were abducted in separate crimes between 2002 and 2004.

Derrick Hayes had just helped his Columbus high school relay team qualify for state. As he crossed the finish line in the 4x100-meter relay, he pointed his finger toward heaven. Track officials disqualified his entire team, barring it from competing at the state championships.

According to a new survey, only 17 percent of adults in the U.K. believe the church has "their best interests at heart." Is America headed in the same direction?

Jason Collins is the first active player in a major American team sport to announce that he is gay.

The actor and director has joined 20,000 other volunteers for "Live Below the Line." The campaign, which runs April 29 to May 3, is intended to raise awareness for the 1.4 billion people around the world who live below the line of extreme poverty.

Depression was the third-most frequent disease in the world in 2004, and will be the most common disease globally by 2030. Now there's good news: A new study has found that regular attendance at religious services offers "significant protection" against this terrible disease.

To the names of Timothy McVeigh and Theodore Kaczynski we can now add the Tsarnaev brothers. Their story is the worst-case scenario in the struggle against terrorism.

How should those who support the biblical view on homosexuality respond to the annual "Day of Silence"?

In days of such uncertainty when any public event can become a tragedy, how should we respond?

The prankster behind the hoax says he "spent $12 and a few hours" to produce a media firestorm around the idea that "Pastor of mega church resigns, rejects Christ."

Is suicide the "unpardonable sin"? Absolutely not.

Last Sunday, University of Louisville guard Kevin Ware broke his leg on national television. Ware told his story to ABC's Good Morning America yesterday. He elaborated during an interview with CNN: "This is all God. This is all God's plan. He would never let anything happen that He wouldn't want to happen."

The number of Americans who call themselves "pro-choice" is now at an all-time low, at 41 percent; 50 percent call themselves "pro-life" (up from 33 percent in 1996).

As the movement to legalize and normalize gay marriage continues, those who object on religious grounds will find themselves increasingly pressured to capitulate.

Homosexuality is one of the most divisive issues in American culture. Should same-sex marriages be legalized? Should practicing homosexuals be ordained into Christian ministry? What does the Bible say on this controversial and emotional issue?

"Large crowds were traveling with Jesus, and turning to them he said, 'If anyone comes to me and does not hate his father and mother, his wife and children, his brothers and sisters — yes, even his own life — he cannot be my disciple. And anyone who does not carry his cross and follow me cannot be my disciple'" (Luke 14:25-27). I wrote in the margin of my Bible, "Jesus was not user-friendly."

Last August, a 16-year-old girl was raped by two high school football players in Steubenville, Ohio. The boys were convicted Sunday and sentenced to youth prison. Now Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine has announced that he will convene a grand jury next month to consider charges against those who were at the party but did not try to stop the crime.