The surprising cause of California wildfire

The Mendocino Complex fire in California is now the largest in the state’s history. As of this morning, it has burned more than 292,000 acres. For comparison: the fire is nearly double the size of Chicago and more than triple the size of Philadelphia, Detroit, Portland, and Atlanta.

Officials are still investigating the cause of the fire, which started on July 27.

There is no such uncertainty with the Carr Fire, which has destroyed nearly two thousand structures and claimed seven lives. The fire started when a tire failed on a trailer, causing its rim to scrape the asphalt. With the heat and extreme drought in the area, that’s all it took to start a tragic inferno.

Rick Gates and Prince Harry

God’s word notes: “How great a forest is set ablaze by such a small fire!” (James 3:5). We are seeing this principle at work across today’s news.

Rick Gates was an intern when he first met Paul Manafort. Now Mr. Gates is the prosecution’s star witness in its case against Mr. Manafort on tax and bank fraud charges.

Two drones rigged with explosives detonated near Venezuela’s President Nicolas Maduro last Saturday. Security experts warn that such attacks are difficult for conventional armies to defend against and are likely to increase.

In more trivial news, Prince Harry is making headlines for the wrong reason. He and Meghan Markle attended a wedding over the weekend, where he was spotted wearing a shoe with a hole in its sole. The story made Time magazine.

The myth of “small” sins

There is a principle at work here, one our culture typically devalues.

According to Gallup, more Americans than ever before consider divorce, sex between an unmarried man and woman, gay or lesbian relations, having a baby outside of marriage, doctor-assisted suicide, and pornography to be acceptable.

What do these issues have in common? They are all considered personal decisions with little relevance to the larger culture.

We seem to believe that private behavior…