World News and Trends
An Overview of Conditions Around the World
by John Ross Schroeder and Jerold Aust
- Teenage sex linked with serious depression
- Church controversy over same-sex relationships
- Keep your eyes on Berlin
- Distrust of United States increases around globe
- The disparity of two different worlds
- Is France Dying?
- Resounding Polish vote for EU membership
- Read World News and Trends Every Day
Teenage sex linked with serious depression
A survey sponsored by the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development along with 17 other U.S. federal agencies has revealed a startling link between teenage sexual activity and depression and suicide.
The study revealed that “a quarter of teen girls who said they were sexually active also said they had been depressed ‘a lot of the time’ or ‘most of the time.’” In contrast, most who refrained from sexual activity were “never” or “rarely” depressed. Researchers concluded that “sexually active teens are far more likely to be depressed . . . than those who hold off until marriage” (WorldNetDaily.com).
Three million of the 19 million Americans afflicted by mental depression are teenagers. Commenting on the study, Dr. Meg Meeker, a physician for adolescents, tells us that “this is no surprise because teens are targets of a loose culture promoting promiscuity and excess.” Dr. Meeker goes on to declare that “when you look at sexual activity and teens and you add up the losses they endure, they have lost their virginity, they have lost their self-respect, they have the loss of a sense of control over their body, they have a sense of shame” (Christian Broadcasting Network, emphasis added).
The National Campaign to Prevent Teen Pregnancy asked sexually active teens if they regretted early sexual activity. Results showed that three-quarters of girls wished they had delayed sex and a majority of boys and girls regarded their first sexual experience as something they would have preferred to avoid. Regret, dissatisfaction and guilt, together with the losses previously mentioned, leave teens vulnerable to serious mental depression.
But what does depression among our young sometimes lead them to do? The answer is heartbreaking because prolonged mental depression can easily lead to suicide. “Just in the past decade the rate of teenage suicide has risen 200 percent” (Christian Broadcasting Network).
Researchers also found that 14 percent of girls who had had sexual intercourse had attempted suicide—almost triple the percentage of sexually inactive girls. Among boys, the differences were even greater, with 6 percent of sexually active boys having attempted suicide compared to only 1 percent of sexually inactive boys. This kind of link is too profound to ignore.
These severe societal problems, too often afflicting our youth, are compounded by the fact that on average 8,000 American teens are infected with a sexually transmitted disease (STD) every day. This sad state of affairs has repeated itself in the United Kingdom. The health correspondent of the Daily Mail recently reported that “Britain is on the brink of a public health crisis brought about by the spread of sexually transmitted diseases.” This is particularly true among young women.
The British Parliament Health Selective Committee warned that “with the fertility of an entire generation under threat, desperate measures are needed to deter children from having sex without any idea of the consequences.” The British government now believes that young people—teenagers and even younger children —need help in resisting peer pressure (not to mention that from the media) to indulge in early sexual activity.
This is an understatement. Encouraging self-control is only one solution to consider, but parents, teachers and public figures desperately need to set our youth a better example in self-respect and personal discipline. Instead, too often many of today’s celebrities let our young people down. Parents also bear much guilt in this critical area. Too many parents, perhaps partially as a result of their own flawed upbringing, have very ambivalent attitudes towards sex.
Knowledge of the dangers is not enough to resist sexual temptations. For guidance on this subject, be sure to read the two feature articles in this issue, one on the epidemic of teen sex beginning on page 16 and the other about virginity on page 30. (Sources: WorldNetDaily.com, Christian Broadcasting Network, USA Today, Daily Mail (London).)
(back to top)Church controversy over same-sex relationships
The Anglican Church is experiencing its most serious crisis since the controversy over ordaining women into the priesthood. In the United States, where the church is known as Episcopalian, a gay man—who left his wife and two young daughters for a man—has been elected as bishop of New Hampshire.
Conservative evangelicals in England have urgently called on the Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr. Rowan Williams, to intervene. Commented The Times: “He has publicly expressed his sadness at the authorisation of same-sex blessings in a diocese in Canada . . .” Yet according to a major cover story in The Times, in the past Dr. Williams “supported the Lesbian and Gay Christian Movement (LGCM)” and “his perceived liberalism on homosexuality dated from the late 1970s.”
“The Bible,” Dr. Williams had argued, “condemns heterosexuals who engage in homosexual acts for gratification, but does not distinguish between gay practice and gay identity. It is therefore unjust to consign to celibacy those who have never known sexual attraction towards the opposite sex since the Old Testament, especially, lays so much emphasis on the role of physical love, not just breeding.”
In nearly 2,000 years of church history few biblical scholars and theologians have ever understood or argued the Scriptures in this particular manner.
Western society is not traveling down the same road as the plain scriptural teaching of God’s Word. Instead one British family law judge called for “legislation to guarantee the rights of live-in couples, homosexual partners and transsexuals.” Apparently this proposal has enormous parliamentary backing.
The general direction of our Western way of life recalls to mind a prophecy
of the apostle Paul (who condemned homosexual practice in any form in Romans 1:26-27 and 1Corinthians 6:9-10): “For the time will come when they
will not endure sound doctrine, but according to their own desires, because
they have itching ears, they will heap up
for themselves teachers; and they will turn their ears away from the truth,
and be turned to fables” (2Timothy 4:3-4). (Sources: The Times,
Daily Mail (both London).)
Keep your eyes on Berlin
French acquiescence may soon enable Germany to have greater voting power in the European Union (EU). Previously French resistance has resulted in limited and underrepresented German voting power in the EU. However, the leading figure in shaping a new European constitution, Valery Giscard d’Estaing, is spearheading efforts to increase the voting weight of EU countries with larger populations. Excepting Russia (not always considered a part of Europe), Germany leads all European countries with a population of 80 million people.
Economically speaking, Germany historically has usually looked east. So the accession of Poland and seven other Eastern European nations into the EU will augment German power as well. Their economies have interfaced closely with Berlin for quite some time.
Heather Grabbe, Director of Research at the Centre for Eastern European Reform in London, recently remarked that “Germany is still the sleeping giant of Europe.” For further understanding of Berlin’s future role on the European scene, please request our free booklet Are We Living in the Time of the End? (Source: International Herald Tribune.)
Distrust of United States increases around globe
In the wake of the Iraq war anti-American feelings have grown stronger in
the Muslim world, according to an extensive new survey conducted in April
and May of 20 countries and the areas governed by the Palestinian Authority.
Also, prospects for peace in the Middle East appear dim, with 80 percent of
those in the Palestinian Authority–
controlled areas saying that peaceful coexistence with Israel isn’t
possible.
In seven of eight Muslim countries surveyed, a majority of those polled responded that they feared a military invasion from the United States. In Turkey and Indonesia, only 15 percent held a favorable opinion of the United States, and in Jordan and the Palestinian Authority areas the number was a minuscule 1 percent.
In Jordan, Indonesia and Palestinian Authority– controlled areas, all overwhelmingly Muslim, majorities expressed their confidence that Osama bin Laden would “do the right thing in world affairs.” Not quite half of those in Pakistan, Morocco and Kuwait—supposedly American allies—agreed.
In Europe, large majorities in Germany, France and Spain believe Europe should
pursue greater independence from the United States, and almost half the Britons
polled agreed.
The survey also showed sharp drops in approval of the United Nations. A year
ago overwhelming majorities in the United States, Germany, France and Britain
thought the UN was “a good influence” ? now those holding that
opinion are clear minorities. (Sources: Los Angeles Times, USA Today.)
The disparity of two different worlds
The recent G8 Conference in Evian, France, reminded us of the shocking disparity extant in our world, particularly when comparing most Western countries with the continent of Africa. For example, life expectancy in the G8 (mainly Western countries) is 77 while the average in Africa is 48. There is almost 100 percent access to clean water in, for instance, the United Kingdom, but the figure is only 45 percent for the troubled Congo.
Canada’s average citizen spends about $2,500 in Canadian dollars annually on health care, but Mali only one paltry dollar. In the developed world about 1.5 million people have the HIV virus, while in Africa 28 million are plagued by this disease. Consider also the number of people who live on less than a dollar a day. There are none among the G8 nations, but 291 million people eke out such an existence in Africa.
These comparisons were chosen at random and many similar ones could be made.
This is one good reason that true Christians should always pray, “Your
kingdom come.”
If you want to know what God plans to do about the afflictions of our age
and to learn of the much different conditions our Creator promises for the
world of tomorrow, request or download our free booklet The
Gospel of the Kingdom. Also see the article about our fragmented world
on page 21 of this issue. (Sources: The Independent (London), the
World Bank, UNICEF, World Resources Institute, University of North Carolina
Worldview Program.)
Is France dying?
Strange as it may sound, France may be dying. The topography remains, but increasingly France is less French and more Muslim—in this instance, more Arabic. “The presence of a huge and growing Muslim population in France has fundamentally altered the identity of the nation,” writes Frontpage Magazine managing editor Jamie Glazov. “Anti-Americanism and anti-Semitism have become endemic, as France chooses Islamicization and friendship with Arab dictators over friendship with America and Israel.
“The reports that France helped Iraqi officials escape to Europe were not surprising, because France is now the European leader of the Arab world and of Arab interests. In light of these circumstances, many would argue that France is no longer . . . well, France.”
Some 30 years ago, France began to lean toward the Arab states for a number of reasons—among them oil, protection from Arab-led terrorists and trying to show America that it, too, can be viewed as a viable leader of the free world. Watching France’s foreign minister speak and vote in the UN Security Council against a U.S. coalition entering Iraq suggests that France desires to be considered a leader in Europe. Such visible dramas could also serve to ingratiate France further to the Arab world.
Why wouldn’t Arabs view such actions as encouragement to freely enter their society? If France continues to encourage Arab incursions in their society on many levels, knowingly or not, could this not significantly impact the cultural, religious and ethnic life of France?
The ramifications of France’s approach toward Arab states gives pause
to reflect. For example, France’s neighbor, Germany, might question
the geopolitical fallout, not to mention the future desires and designs of
the Vatican for a Christian Europe. France may not be dying, but other EU
members may begin to question France’s far-
reaching panache for the sake of the common good. (Source: Frontpagemagazine.com.)
Resounding Polish vote for EU membership
Poland has opted to enter the European Union in a national referendum that ended in an 82 percent “yes” vote. This result is not without prophetic significance since the population of Poland is 90 percent Roman Catholic and the Polish pope (John Paul II) took serious umbrage to the proposed EU draft constitution since it made no reference at all to Christianity. This was totally unacceptable to the Vatican.
Former Soviet dictator Joseph Stalin (1879-1953) once dismissed the power
of the Catholic Church by sarcastically asking how many army divisions the
pope had. However, many others do recognize its power and influence, and not
a few veteran political observers even give the current pontiff the main credit
for bringing down the Berlin Wall and the Iron Curtain. Do not underestimate
the future role of the Roman Catholic Church (and Poland) in Europe. If you
would like to know more, request or download our free booklet
The Book of Revelation Unveiled.
Frustrated by some of the actions of the old Europe of France and Germany, but buoyed up by his generous welcome on his recent visit to Poland, U.S. President George Bush has taken considerable consolation from Warsaw’s supportive attitude toward the Iraqi war. Although America has recently made diplomatic overtures to both France and Germany, Mr. Bush still considers Poland and some other Eastern European countries as a part of the new, more cooperative, Europe.
A recent Times editorial observed that “Poland is not a country that can be slighted by Brussels or patronised by Paris.” (Sources: The Times, The Sunday Times (both London).)
Read World News and Trends Every Day
With so much happening so quickly in today’s world, how can you keep up? The Good News staff reviews dozens of news sources every day to bring you what’s truly important. Visit Current World News & Trends at www.ucg.org/ world-news-and-prophecy/ to find links to the most important news stories from across the globe.
Also, to get a biblical perspective on major events, visit www.ucg.org/commentary
for a weekly commentary on the trends shaping our world.
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