Good morning and welcome to the Daily Article podcast for Friday, July the 14th,

2023. Today's article is written by Dr. Ryan Dennison and narrated by Chris Elkins of the

Denison Forum. When the movie, Sound of Freedom, first came out, I was hesitant to see it.

As the father of two, there are a few things

more difficult to watch and contemplate than the horrific abuse and unconscionable evil

portrayed in the film. And while none of the heinous acts were shown on screen, the movie

leaves no doubt as to the nature of what was done to those precious children. It's really

hard to watch, and that's the point.

The film doesn't allow its audience to avoid the pain or ignore the tragedy.

And while not every instance of human trafficking will resemble what's portrayed on the screen,

Emily Bell's article in Christianity Today offers an excellent profile of what it often looks like closer to home.

Sound of Freedom still grants us an important glimpse into the horrors faced by far too many around

the world. The movie is inspired by real-life experiences of Tim Ballard, a former special agent

for the Department of Homeland Security's Internet Crimes Against Children

Task Force and portrays Ballard's efforts to save children trapped and exploited by human trafficking.

The movie is not a documentary and never claims to be, with details and events altered in an effort

to, in the words of the film's director, take entertainment and marry it to meaning.

That said, the overarching story is based largely on Ballard's work with the police in Columbia to

break up what CBS News called at the time a major sex trafficking ring in a country that had

become a destination for tourists looking for sex with

boys and girls. And what happened in Colombia is hardly unique to Colombia. UNICEF estimates

that every two minutes a child is being prepared for sexual exploitation, and well over one

...