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Sidelining the Ten Commandments
Says one British newspaper: "The Ten Commandments have been sidelined by the Church of England . . . in a controversial attempt to make services less 'sombre' and more populist. The move has prompted a storm of protest from (conservative) clergy who accuse the bishops of finally surrendering any claim to moral leadership in Britain" (emphasis added).
Earlier this year new statistics were published that revealed that the Anglicans had suffered their biggest drop in attendance in more than 20 years. Outraged synod member Phil Gore commented that "many in the Church do not want a God that makes too many demands on them. Therefore they want to dismiss the Ten Commandments as irrelevant to our modern age."
A similar protest was voiced by David Wilkinson, a lay member from Derby. "The secular world is crying out for the Ten Commandments. Relativism in ethics has taken such a hold on society that fewer and fewer people have a clear idea of the difference between right and wrong."
This news is sadly reminiscent of the apostle Paul's prophecy that "in the last days perilous times will come: For men will be lovers of themselves, . . . unthankful, unholy, unloving, unforgiving, . . . headstrong, haughty, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God." (Source: The Sunday Times (London); 2Timothy 3:1-4.)
Genital herpes infects 45 million Americans
In the last two decades genital herpes has doubled among white adults in their 20s while increasing fivefold among white teenagers, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Now about one in five teens and adults-some 45 million Americans-has the disease, with most of them unaware that they are infected.
Although some sexually transmissible diseases have seen declines in number of infections, researchers attribute the rise in herpes infections to young people increasing their frequency of sexual activity, number of sex partners and rate of unprotected sex.
Genital herpes, which has no known cure, often causes outbreaks of painful ulcers or itching around the genitals and can lead to painful inflammation of the cervix, where it can also be spread to newborns at birth. Medical studies have also indicated that herpes sores may increase the likelihood of a person contracting the AIDS virus during sexual contact with an AIDS-infected partner.
This is but part of the damage people inflict on themselves when they ignore God's commands prohibiting sex outside the marriage relationship. Such suffering could be avoided if young people would heed the biblical advice to "flee fornication." (Sources: The Associated Press; Exodus 20:14; 1Corinthians 6:18, King James Version.)
Like to buy a used church?
Shrinking church attendance throughout much of Europe is forcing church leaders to face a troubling question: What can be done with the thousands of enormous churches, chapels and monasteries that no longer receive enough use to justify the high costs of their maintenance?
In much of Europe church attendance began a serious slide in the 1960s before plummeting in the 1980s. Consequently, unused churches are scattered throughout Germany, France, Britain and other northern European countries. Many have simply shut and locked their doors.
In Germany and France, churches receive some government support, so churches that would otherwise close have remained open. In the crowded Netherlands, however, where some 40 percent of the Dutch claim to belong to no church or religion, a cash-strapped clergy has sold more than 250 church buildings and properties in the last two decades. Many were converted into cultural centers, libraries, apartments, shops and even discotheques. (Source: The New York Times.)
World to share Asian financial pains
The ongoing Asian financial firestorm will affect virtually the entire world in 1998, according to projections issued by the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
The report predicts slowing economic growth and rising unemployment and trade deficits. The biggest risk for industrial nations, the IMF said, is decreasing consumer confidence caused by ongoing turmoil in financial markets. As if to underscore this prediction, world stock markets gyrated wildly as 1997 drew to a close and 1998 began.
The United States, it warns, is in danger of exploding trade deficits, estimated to increase by 29 percent to some $230 billion as currency devaluations lower the costs of imported Asian goods and slow U.S. exports.
Just before the Asian financial crisis began, the IMF had predicted worldwide economic growth of 4.3 percent. Just two months later, as Asia's dilemma deepened, the IMF lowered its projected increase to 3.5 percent, the lowest increase in five years.
"The repercussions in regional and global financial markets . . . have proven much deeper and more extensive than seemed likely only a few months ago," said the report. "The economic implications can now be expected to be more serious." (Source: The Associated Press.)
Seventy atheist priests
"God does not exist as an independent agent. God is a figure created as a human ideal." Such words might not sound unusual coming from an atheistic scientist or philosopher. But what are we to make of such words coming from the spokesman for a group of Anglican priests?
As reported in one British newspaper, "more than 70 serving Anglican priests are members of an organization that does not believe in the literal truth of the Bible or in the existence of God."
Conditions in the Anglican leadership have deteriorated so much and so quickly that one newspaper columnist wonders, "Is it time to shut down the Church of England?" He is particularly provoked by a leading bishop who condones consensual homosexual relations for people as young as 16. (Source: The Sunday Times (London).)
Pornography fuels cyberspace advancements
Easy access to pornography has made it one of the most lucrative moneymaking industries on the Internet. Demand for virtual sex helps drive advances in cyberspace technology, according to Internet entrepreneurs.
Although no firm figures are available, a survey by Interactive Week magazine concluded that 10,000 sexually explicit sites could be bringing in as much as $1 billion annually from credit-card charges for accessing the sites. An analyst for one company that tracks use of on-line services reports that more than one in four households owning computers visits such sites monthly.
Sexually explicit sites are among the first to use such advanced (and expensive) technology as T3 phone lines, through which compressed, high-resolution video images can easily be transmitted and viewed. One pornography provider recently announced a $10 million effort offering multiple computer video channels much like cable television.
Says one porn model turned computer entrepreneur (who manages her own Web site featuring herself), "Sex is still the most searched-for word on the Internet, and that's why our service is growing so well." (Source: The Associated Press.)
More troubling trends in the Middle East
A disturbing recent communiqué reveals that "teams of technicians have arrived in Teheran to work on the final stages of Iran's long-range missile programme, providing the ayatollahs with the ability to pose a substantial threat to the entire Middle East." The article explains: "As the West concentrates its attention on curbing Iraq's attempts to develop non-conventional weapons, Iran has been developing its own weapons of mass destruction, uninhibited by the prying eyes of United Nations inspectors."
This feature continues: "The Iranians are trying to complete development of the Shahab three and four missiles, which would have a range of up to 1,000 miles."
Conditions in the military and political world may not have changed as much as we might have thought. "Apart from working closely with the North Koreans and Chinese, the Iranians are still co-operating with Russian missile experts. An estimated 350 Iranians are registered as 'students' in Russia, conducting experiments at the two main missile research establishments in Moscow, the Tsagi and Mai institutes."
Finally, a stern warning from the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI), comprised of 331 members of the British Parliament ranging across all political parties: "When it comes to acquiring weapons of mass destruction, there is essentially little difference between Iraq and Iran. Like Iraq, Iran wants to build an arsenal of nuclear, chemical and biological weapons. It is in the interests of international security that effective action is taken to stop them from doing so." (Source: The Sunday Telegraph (London).)
Good news about diet
Green salads keep cancer cells at bay: Recent research at London and Aberdeen hospitals shows that "a plate of green salad before a meal can protect against stomach cancer."
Further, "green vegetables such as lettuce have been found to contain chemicals that, when naturally converted into potent anti-bacterial agents, also combat food poisoning." (Source: The Sunday Telegraph (London).)
Why bad news in The Good News?
Speaking of world conditions preceding His return, Jesus Christ said, "It will be a time of great distress; there has never been such a time from the beginning of the world until now, and will never be again" (Matthew 24:21, New English Bible).
The United Church of God, whose members and supporters provide the financial backing for The Good News, believes in and teaches the return of Jesus Christ. This section reports on some of the consequences of human behavior leading to the very conditions Christ described: a dangerous world of chaos, confusion and apprehension in which man faces the terrifying possibility of human extinction (verse 22).
The world is filled with bad news. Yet the future holds incredible promise: Jesus Christ's return to establish the Kingdom of God (Daniel 7:13-14; Revelation 11:15), ushering in a time of peace, prosperity and plenty during which all people will at last learn to live God's way of life. This truly is good news on which you can stake your future.
-John Ross Schroeder and Scott Ashley
(c) 1998 United Church of God, an International Association
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Keywords: pornography genital herpes atheism Iran
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