WEBVTT
00:01.077 --> 00:04.339
[SPEAKER_00]: Good morning and welcome to the daily article podcast from Denison Forum.
00:05.599 --> 00:07.320
[SPEAKER_00]: It's Tuesday, November 3rd, 2026.
00:07.340 --> 00:12.743
[SPEAKER_00]: This is an automated reading of today's daily article, authored by Dr. Jim Denison.
00:13.844 --> 00:16.805
[SPEAKER_00]: Today's article is titled, Three Day Weddings and Tuesday Midterms.
00:22.528 --> 00:27.591
[SPEAKER_00]: More than 50 million Americans cast ballots in early voting prior to today's midterm elections.
00:28.660 --> 00:39.249
[SPEAKER_00]: Among them was Pope Leo XIV, who submitted a mail-in ballot for the midterms, becoming the first pope to vote in a U.S. election and likely the first to vote in a secular democratic election.
00:40.330 --> 00:43.613
[SPEAKER_00]: More than 100 million people are expected to join him by voting today.
00:44.674 --> 00:46.035
[SPEAKER_00]: But why do we vote on a Tuesday?
00:46.896 --> 00:53.102
[SPEAKER_00]: The U.S. is one of only 28 democratic countries that typically hold national elections on non-Holiday weekdays.
00:54.000 --> 01:02.743
[SPEAKER_00]: By contrast, 60 democracies typically hold elections on Saturdays or Sundays, and 16 others hold elections on weekdays, but declare them public holidays.
01:03.863 --> 01:09.105
[SPEAKER_00]: Our reasoning goes back to the 19th century when the nation was primarily rural and all voting was in person.
01:10.306 --> 01:16.248
[SPEAKER_00]: Wednesday was farmer's market day, so it was out, and Sunday wasn't an option because so many people were in church.
01:23.318 --> 01:33.083
[SPEAKER_00]: According to Axios, nearly one in three weddings now span at least three days, stretching from a bridal brunch a day or two before the wedding, to a farewell brunch the day after.
01:34.004 --> 01:37.326
[SPEAKER_00]: Welcome parties and tightly planned after parties occur in between.
01:38.286 --> 01:40.087
[SPEAKER_00]: Receptions are getting more elaborate as well.
01:40.768 --> 01:48.092
[SPEAKER_00]: Think performers and silver body suits and disco ball helmets on the dance floor, or servers wearing hoop skirts lined with champagne flutes for guests to grab.
01:49.152 --> 01:50.133
[SPEAKER_00]: It wasn't always this way.
01:51.287 --> 01:57.669
[SPEAKER_00]: 40 years ago, 72 percent of weddings were held at a religious location with a religious leader presiding.
01:58.629 --> 02:01.010
[SPEAKER_00]: This is true of only 30 percent of weddings today.
02:02.250 --> 02:07.712
[SPEAKER_00]: When I became a pastor more than 40 years ago, nearly every wedding I performed was held in our church.
02:08.832 --> 02:13.954
[SPEAKER_00]: Toward the end of my pastoral ministry, destination weddings held at picturesque venues were more common than ever.
02:14.994 --> 02:16.535
[SPEAKER_00]: This trend reverses history.
02:17.642 --> 02:22.706
[SPEAKER_00]: editor and former Oxford researcher Samuel Hughes reports that at the advent of Christianity.
02:23.787 --> 02:31.232
[SPEAKER_00]: Quote, it was entirely permitted for free Roman men to have sex with male and female slaves and prostitutes, including children.
02:32.213 --> 02:34.054
[SPEAKER_00]: No norm of male fidelity existed.
02:34.975 --> 02:41.459
[SPEAKER_00]: Male extramarital sex was not merely tolerated in practice, but was generally considered completely acceptable as a matter of
02:46.816 --> 02:52.499
[SPEAKER_00]: However, he notes, Christianity overthrew nearly all these norms with the invention of male fidelity.
02:53.580 --> 02:59.904
[SPEAKER_00]: Christians promoted the idea that each man should be faithful to one woman, just as each woman should be faithful to one man.
03:00.764 --> 03:07.508
[SPEAKER_00]: And so it was until the sexual revolution beginning in the 1960s, and the carnage it has created for men, women, and families.
03:08.549 --> 03:09.169
[SPEAKER_00]: Here's my point.
03:16.662 --> 03:18.703
[SPEAKER_00]: Let's do the same with our elections today.
03:19.803 --> 03:24.465
[SPEAKER_00]: There was a time when relating the sacred to the secular was unnecessary, because the two were one.
03:25.145 --> 03:27.025
[SPEAKER_00]: And the problem of pain, C.S.
03:27.066 --> 03:32.687
[SPEAKER_00]: Lewis wrote, quote, Paradisele Man always chose to follow God's will.
03:33.688 --> 03:44.071
[SPEAKER_00]: In following it, he also gratified his own desire, both because all the actions demanded of him were, in fact, agreeable to his blameless inclination, and also because the service
03:47.087 --> 03:51.531
[SPEAKER_00]: Pleasure was then an acceptable offering to God because offering was a pleasure and quote.
03:52.571 --> 03:56.394
[SPEAKER_00]: Then came the fall and the renting of creation from creator.
03:57.756 --> 04:11.847
[SPEAKER_00]: Consequently, the whole creation has been groaning together in the pains of childbirth and even a spiritual giant like Paul had to admit, I do not do the good I want, but the evil I do not want is what I keep on doing.
04:12.909 --> 04:18.474
[SPEAKER_00]: Now we find ourselves in a bifurcated world like amphibious creatures who can live in water or on land.
04:19.355 --> 04:23.298
[SPEAKER_00]: We can compartmentalize our lives so as to have a Sunday world and a Monday world.
04:23.858 --> 04:27.021
[SPEAKER_00]: But this keeps us from experiencing God's best on Monday.
04:28.062 --> 04:34.047
[SPEAKER_00]: The better approach is to treat every dimension of our secular lives as though they were spiritual because they are.
04:36.229 --> 04:38.451
[SPEAKER_00]: Now let's relate this assertion to today's midterms.
04:40.024 --> 04:48.911
[SPEAKER_00]: Not only should our faith guide our decisions as voters, a process I described in a recent daily article, but it should infuse all we do in connection with today's elections.
04:50.012 --> 04:59.680
[SPEAKER_00]: I am especially concerned about a recent Gallup poll in which Americans trust in each other has plummeted from nearly 90% in the late 1970s to 51% today.
05:00.520 --> 05:05.865
[SPEAKER_00]: US News and World Report responds, a country that rolls its eyes at its politicians can survive.
05:07.044 --> 05:11.827
[SPEAKER_00]: Can democracy survive if the inhabitants of that country doubt the collective sanity of majority rule?
05:12.848 --> 05:18.592
[SPEAKER_00]: In this context, it is noteworthy that God loves every person we will meet today as fully as he loves us.
05:19.593 --> 05:22.075
[SPEAKER_00]: Accordingly, we are to love them as we are loved.
05:23.015 --> 05:26.097
[SPEAKER_00]: We are even to love your enemies and do good to those who hate you.
05:27.438 --> 05:32.502
[SPEAKER_00]: God's word is adamant, bless those who persecute you, bless and do not curse them.
05:33.568 --> 05:37.111
[SPEAKER_00]: We are therefore prohibited from slandering or speaking evil of others.
05:38.672 --> 05:42.956
[SPEAKER_00]: When we are in conflict with someone, we must speak to them, not about them.
05:43.957 --> 05:47.160
[SPEAKER_00]: This applies to our leaders and to all who vote for and against them.
05:48.261 --> 05:51.063
[SPEAKER_00]: How would obedience to these principles change our political discourse?
05:51.904 --> 05:52.765
[SPEAKER_00]: Our national future?
05:53.786 --> 05:58.670
[SPEAKER_00]: Of course, the key to speaking the truth and love is experiencing that love ourselves.
06:00.091 --> 06:00.832
[SPEAKER_00]: Jesus taught us.
06:02.425 --> 06:09.351
[SPEAKER_00]: The good person out of the good treasure of his heart produces good, and the evil person out of his evil treasure produces evil.
06:10.032 --> 06:12.554
[SPEAKER_00]: For out of the abundance of the heart, his mouth speaks.
06:13.695 --> 06:19.260
[SPEAKER_00]: If our hearts are surrendered to our Lord, our words will manifest His love and draw others to Him.
06:20.401 --> 06:22.042
[SPEAKER_00]: What treasure will your heart produce today?
06:24.744 --> 06:27.086
[SPEAKER_00]: Thank you for listening to the daily article podcast.
06:27.858 --> 06:37.220
[SPEAKER_00]: For links, scripture references, or to find out more about Denison Forum, visit us at DenisonForm.org or click the link in today's show notes.
00:01.077 --> 00:04.339
[SPEAKER_00]: Good morning and welcome to the daily article podcast from Denison Forum.
00:05.599 --> 00:07.320
[SPEAKER_00]: It's Tuesday, November 3rd, 2026.
00:07.340 --> 00:12.743
[SPEAKER_00]: This is an automated reading of today's daily article, authored by Dr. Jim Denison.
00:13.844 --> 00:16.805
[SPEAKER_00]: Today's article is titled, Three Day Weddings and Tuesday Midterms.
00:22.528 --> 00:27.591
[SPEAKER_00]: More than 50 million Americans cast ballots in early voting prior to today's midterm elections.
00:28.660 --> 00:39.249
[SPEAKER_00]: Among them was Pope Leo XIV, who submitted a mail-in ballot for the midterms, becoming the first pope to vote in a U.S. election and likely the first to vote in a secular democratic election.
00:40.330 --> 00:43.613
[SPEAKER_00]: More than 100 million people are expected to join him by voting today.
00:44.674 --> 00:46.035
[SPEAKER_00]: But why do we vote on a Tuesday?
00:46.896 --> 00:53.102
[SPEAKER_00]: The U.S. is one of only 28 democratic countries that typically hold national elections on non-Holiday weekdays.
00:54.000 --> 01:02.743
[SPEAKER_00]: By contrast, 60 democracies typically hold elections on Saturdays or Sundays, and 16 others hold elections on weekdays, but declare them public holidays.
01:03.863 --> 01:09.105
[SPEAKER_00]: Our reasoning goes back to the 19th century when the nation was primarily rural and all voting was in person.
01:10.306 --> 01:16.248
[SPEAKER_00]: Wednesday was farmer's market day, so it was out, and Sunday wasn't an option because so many people were in church.
01:23.318 --> 01:33.083
[SPEAKER_00]: According to Axios, nearly one in three weddings now span at least three days, stretching from a bridal brunch a day or two before the wedding, to a farewell brunch the day after.
01:34.004 --> 01:37.326
[SPEAKER_00]: Welcome parties and tightly planned after parties occur in between.
01:38.286 --> 01:40.087
[SPEAKER_00]: Receptions are getting more elaborate as well.
01:40.768 --> 01:48.092
[SPEAKER_00]: Think performers and silver body suits and disco ball helmets on the dance floor, or servers wearing hoop skirts lined with champagne flutes for guests to grab.
01:49.152 --> 01:50.133
[SPEAKER_00]: It wasn't always this way.
01:51.287 --> 01:57.669
[SPEAKER_00]: 40 years ago, 72 percent of weddings were held at a religious location with a religious leader presiding.
01:58.629 --> 02:01.010
[SPEAKER_00]: This is true of only 30 percent of weddings today.
02:02.250 --> 02:07.712
[SPEAKER_00]: When I became a pastor more than 40 years ago, nearly every wedding I performed was held in our church.
02:08.832 --> 02:13.954
[SPEAKER_00]: Toward the end of my pastoral ministry, destination weddings held at picturesque venues were more common than ever.
02:14.994 --> 02:16.535
[SPEAKER_00]: This trend reverses history.
02:17.642 --> 02:22.706
[SPEAKER_00]: editor and former Oxford researcher Samuel Hughes reports that at the advent of Christianity.
02:23.787 --> 02:31.232
[SPEAKER_00]: Quote, it was entirely permitted for free Roman men to have sex with male and female slaves and prostitutes, including children.
02:32.213 --> 02:34.054
[SPEAKER_00]: No norm of male fidelity existed.
02:34.975 --> 02:41.459
[SPEAKER_00]: Male extramarital sex was not merely tolerated in practice, but was generally considered completely acceptable as a matter of
02:46.816 --> 02:52.499
[SPEAKER_00]: However, he notes, Christianity overthrew nearly all these norms with the invention of male fidelity.
02:53.580 --> 02:59.904
[SPEAKER_00]: Christians promoted the idea that each man should be faithful to one woman, just as each woman should be faithful to one man.
03:00.764 --> 03:07.508
[SPEAKER_00]: And so it was until the sexual revolution beginning in the 1960s, and the carnage it has created for men, women, and families.
03:08.549 --> 03:09.169
[SPEAKER_00]: Here's my point.
03:16.662 --> 03:18.703
[SPEAKER_00]: Let's do the same with our elections today.
03:19.803 --> 03:24.465
[SPEAKER_00]: There was a time when relating the sacred to the secular was unnecessary, because the two were one.
03:25.145 --> 03:27.025
[SPEAKER_00]: And the problem of pain, C.S.
03:27.066 --> 03:32.687
[SPEAKER_00]: Lewis wrote, quote, Paradisele Man always chose to follow God's will.
03:33.688 --> 03:44.071
[SPEAKER_00]: In following it, he also gratified his own desire, both because all the actions demanded of him were, in fact, agreeable to his blameless inclination, and also because the service
03:47.087 --> 03:51.531
[SPEAKER_00]: Pleasure was then an acceptable offering to God because offering was a pleasure and quote.
03:52.571 --> 03:56.394
[SPEAKER_00]: Then came the fall and the renting of creation from creator.
03:57.756 --> 04:11.847
[SPEAKER_00]: Consequently, the whole creation has been groaning together in the pains of childbirth and even a spiritual giant like Paul had to admit, I do not do the good I want, but the evil I do not want is what I keep on doing.
04:12.909 --> 04:18.474
[SPEAKER_00]: Now we find ourselves in a bifurcated world like amphibious creatures who can live in water or on land.
04:19.355 --> 04:23.298
[SPEAKER_00]: We can compartmentalize our lives so as to have a Sunday world and a Monday world.
04:23.858 --> 04:27.021
[SPEAKER_00]: But this keeps us from experiencing God's best on Monday.
04:28.062 --> 04:34.047
[SPEAKER_00]: The better approach is to treat every dimension of our secular lives as though they were spiritual because they are.
04:36.229 --> 04:38.451
[SPEAKER_00]: Now let's relate this assertion to today's midterms.
04:40.024 --> 04:48.911
[SPEAKER_00]: Not only should our faith guide our decisions as voters, a process I described in a recent daily article, but it should infuse all we do in connection with today's elections.
04:50.012 --> 04:59.680
[SPEAKER_00]: I am especially concerned about a recent Gallup poll in which Americans trust in each other has plummeted from nearly 90% in the late 1970s to 51% today.
05:00.520 --> 05:05.865
[SPEAKER_00]: US News and World Report responds, a country that rolls its eyes at its politicians can survive.
05:07.044 --> 05:11.827
[SPEAKER_00]: Can democracy survive if the inhabitants of that country doubt the collective sanity of majority rule?
05:12.848 --> 05:18.592
[SPEAKER_00]: In this context, it is noteworthy that God loves every person we will meet today as fully as he loves us.
05:19.593 --> 05:22.075
[SPEAKER_00]: Accordingly, we are to love them as we are loved.
05:23.015 --> 05:26.097
[SPEAKER_00]: We are even to love your enemies and do good to those who hate you.
05:27.438 --> 05:32.502
[SPEAKER_00]: God's word is adamant, bless those who persecute you, bless and do not curse them.
05:33.568 --> 05:37.111
[SPEAKER_00]: We are therefore prohibited from slandering or speaking evil of others.
05:38.672 --> 05:42.956
[SPEAKER_00]: When we are in conflict with someone, we must speak to them, not about them.
05:43.957 --> 05:47.160
[SPEAKER_00]: This applies to our leaders and to all who vote for and against them.
05:48.261 --> 05:51.063
[SPEAKER_00]: How would obedience to these principles change our political discourse?
05:51.904 --> 05:52.765
[SPEAKER_00]: Our national future?
05:53.786 --> 05:58.670
[SPEAKER_00]: Of course, the key to speaking the truth and love is experiencing that love ourselves.
06:00.091 --> 06:00.832
[SPEAKER_00]: Jesus taught us.
06:02.425 --> 06:09.351
[SPEAKER_00]: The good person out of the good treasure of his heart produces good, and the evil person out of his evil treasure produces evil.
06:10.032 --> 06:12.554
[SPEAKER_00]: For out of the abundance of the heart, his mouth speaks.
06:13.695 --> 06:19.260
[SPEAKER_00]: If our hearts are surrendered to our Lord, our words will manifest His love and draw others to Him.
06:20.401 --> 06:22.042
[SPEAKER_00]: What treasure will your heart produce today?
06:24.744 --> 06:27.086
[SPEAKER_00]: Thank you for listening to the daily article podcast.
06:27.858 --> 06:37.220
[SPEAKER_00]: For links, scripture references, or to find out more about Denison Forum, visit us at DenisonForm.org or click the link in today's show notes.
