Joe Biden’s “irrefutable” cognitive decline shown in audio recordings

• Note: Denison Forum is a non-partisan ministry with regard to political endorsements and agendas. As a result, today’s Daily Article is not intended to support or criticize either political party and would be written regardless of its subject’s political affiliation.

Former President Joe Biden made headlines over the weekend with the announcement that he is battling “aggressive” prostate cancer, news that should lead us all to pray for his recovery and for God’s strength for him and his family. In recent days, Mr. Biden’s health has also been in the news on a very different level, one that illustrates a fact relevant to us all.

An “elderly man with a poor memory”

In October 2023, Mr. Biden was interviewed by special counsel Robert Hur over allegations of improperly possessing classified documents. The Justice Department previously made transcripts of these interviews available, but the audio recordings are only now coming to light.

In them, according to an Axios report that generated global headlines, “Joe Biden struggled to recall when his son died, when he left office as vice president, what year Donald Trump was elected, or why he had classified documents he shouldn’t have had.” 

Mr. Hur chose at the time not to prosecute Mr. Biden, stating that jurors in a trial would have viewed him as “a sympathetic, well-meaning, elderly man with a poor memory.” According to the New York Times, the audio recording now shows that his description of the president is “irrefutable.”

Medical science can do more than ever, as demonstrated by a recent gene-editing breakthrough that saved a baby with a rare disease. But it cannot reverse aging or stop the progress of time. Even the president of the United States can’t escape this, as shown by the numerous books and interviews on Mr. Biden’s cognitive decline now generating headlines.

Private actions by US presidents can take generations to become public, as was the case for Thomas Jefferson’s sexual relationship with his slave, Sally Hemings. Or they can take only a few days or weeks, as was true with Richard Nixon and the Watergate scandal and Bill Clinton’s affair with Monica Lewinsky. Christian leaders are not immune, as the ongoing prosecution of former megachurch pastor Robert Morris shows.

How can we ensure that their story is not ours one day?

“The things now hidden in darkness”

Those who know the Bible know that “your sin will find you out” (Numbers 32:23). We know that we are saved by grace (Ephesians 2:8–9) but that God nonetheless judges our actions: “We must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each one may receive what is due for what he has done in the body, whether good or evil” (2 Corinthians 5:10).

At issue is not our eternal destinies but our eternal rewards or lack thereof (1 Corinthians 3:11–15). When we confess our sins, our Father forgives them (1 John 1:9), but their consequences often remain and we forfeit his future reward for the obedience we refused. The Lord “will bring to light the things now hidden in darkness and will disclose the purposes of the heart. Then each one will receive his commendation from God” (1 Corinthians 4:5).

Why aren’t these facts enough to deter us from sin each time temptation arises?

Criminal justice theories typically focus on the certainty and severity of punishment, but they especially highlight its “celerity” or swiftness as a vital component in deterring crime. Studies show that “delays in apprehension and punishment can significantly weaken the deterrent effect of punishment.”

Applying this reasoning to our question: If we know that current sins will lead to future or eternal loss but do not fear their present consequences, such knowledge is less likely to deter us from committing them. Nor is the threat of being discovered, since we too easily believe Satan’s lie that no one will know about our sin or be hurt by it.

Said more positively: We often think of biblical obedience as an investment with present costs that lead to future rewards, but sometimes these yet-unseen rewards do not persuade us to pay their tangible price. As a result, we need another reason to choose sacrificial godliness, one rooted not in the future but in the present.

“Jesus promised his disciples three things”

Over the weekend, I received two birthday cards in the mail. One quoted the author Roy Lessin: “You are in God’s place at God’s perfect time. He has gifted you and placed his hand upon you to bless you and make you a blessing.” The other was the wish, “May the One who loves you most bring you more blessings than your heart could ever imagine.”

Both cards pointed to the goodness of a Father who loves us more than we can begin to comprehend and wants only our very best in every moment of every day. Consequently, as Oswald Chambers noted, “He will tax the last grain of sand and the remotest star to bless us if we will obey him.”

I am not promising a health-and-wealth prosperity if you choose to serve Jesus sacrificially and unconditionally. To the contrary, the closer we are to Christ, the more we will incur the wrath of Satan and the animosity of a culture that rejects our Lord.

What I am promising is that there is a joy in intimacy with Jesus that is found nowhere else (cf. Nehemiah 8:10). There is a peace that comes from God that the world cannot give (John 14:27). There is a power in integrity fashioned by the Spirit through obedience to biblical truth (cf. Proverbs 10:9).

G. K. Chesterton was right:

“Jesus promised his disciples three things—that they would be completely fearless, absurdly happy, and in constant trouble.”

I’ll take the third to experience the first two.

Will you join me?

Quote for the day:

“The Christian man must aim at that complete obedience to God in which life finds its highest happiness, its greatest good, its perfect consummation, its peace.” —William Barclay

Our latest website resources:

• Responding redemptively to President Biden’s cancer: How to have compassion for those with whom we disagree
• Standing before Magna Carta: A document that changed history—a reflection on the transforming power of holistic holiness
• Reconciling the “Gods” of the Old and New Testaments: Part 2
• A review of Mark Sayers’ “Platforms to Pillars”: Why we all want to live like pharaohs
• Pete Rose now eligible for the Hall of Fame. Will he get in? A reflection on sin, forgiveness, and consequences