Denison Forum
Dr. Jim Denison
The images are stunning: the aurora borealis, also known as the northern lights, captivated the world over the weekend. Because of a rare solar storm, the neon rays of magenta, green, and blue were visible across the northern hemisphere as far south as Louisiana.
Here’s more news from nature: trillions of cicadas are emerging from the ground all around the US. Two different broods are coming out at the same time; this last happened when Thomas Jefferson was president. According to one expert, “It’s going to be a smorgasbord of lots and lots of food” for species who eat them.
If that news is less than appetizing, consider this: according to New York Times columnist Nicholas Kristof, “We have the good fortune to be part of what is probably the greatest improvement in life expectancy, nutrition, and health that has ever unfolded in one lifetime.”
He cites one example: one hundred years ago, President Calvin Coolidge’s sixteen-year-old son developed a blister on a toe while playing tennis on the White House court. It became infected, and without antibiotics, the boy died within a week. Today, as Kristof reports, “the most impoverished child in the United States on Medicaid has access to better health care than the president’s son did a century ago.”
This is good news indeed. However, our greatest source of hope is one many evangelicals might have overlooked yesterday. The Rest of The Story Here
