Deadly protests in Iran: A right analysis but a wrong spirit
The Daily Article
The Denison Forum
4.9 • 576 Ratings
🗓️ 7 January 2026
⏱️ 7 minutes
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Summary
Deadly clashes have erupted in Iran as demonstrations sparked by anger over the rising cost of living entered their second week. Unlike those in past years, these protests are seeking regime change and taking down regime symbols, posters, and statues. More than two thousand citizens have been arrested, and at least thirty-four protesters have been killed. Yet recognizing the justice of regime change is not the same as sharing the heart of God toward the people caught inside it—and that dissonance between being right and being Christlike is what turns today’s news into today’s spiritual lesson.
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | Good morning and welcome to Denison Forum's daily article podcast. It's Wednesday, January 7th, 2026. |
| 0:18.9 | I'm Connor Jones, co-host of the Culture Brief Podcast here at Denison Forum, |
| 0:22.7 | filling in for Chris Elkins and narrating today's daily article authored by our co-founder and CEO, |
| 0:28.4 | Dr. Jim Denison. I need to begin today with a confession. Deadly clashes have erupted in |
| 0:35.2 | Iran as demonstrations sparked by anger over the rising cost of living entered their second week. |
| 0:41.3 | Unlike those in past years, these protests are seeking regime change and taking down regime symbols, posters, and statues. |
| 0:48.8 | At least 285 locations in 92 cities have witnessed protest gatherings. |
| 0:54.5 | At this writing, more than 2,000 citizens have been arrested, and at least 34 protesters |
| 0:59.1 | have been killed. |
| 1:00.3 | If Ayatollah Ali Khamenei's forces fail to quell dissent, he has reportedly made plans to flee |
| 1:05.4 | to Moscow. |
| 1:07.0 | I am old enough to remember the 1979 Iranian hostage crisis vividly. I have written often about |
| 1:12.9 | Iran's horrific jihadist ideology and have called its leaders the world's most dangerous regime. |
| 1:18.5 | It would be in the best interest of Iran, Israel, the Middle East, and the world for them to fall and |
| 1:23.6 | flee. But while I believe I have reacted to this news with the right analysis, I have done so |
| 1:28.4 | in the wrong spirit. The same has been true with regard to recent events of Venezuela. Let me explain. |
| 1:35.0 | Religions across human history have focused on transcendence or imminence, but not both. To the Greeks and |
| 1:41.0 | Romans, the gods lived atop Mount Olympus and used humans for their personal, often nefarious ends. |
| 1:46.8 | To Muslims, Allah is remote and removed from the human condition. |
| 1:51.1 | To Hindus and Buddhists, by contrast, there is no personal ultimate being. |
| 1:55.9 | The focus is on personal enlightenment and on oneness with reality. |
| 2:00.2 | The mystery religions of the Greco-Roman world similarly centered on rights and rituals |
... |
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