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A commentary by Sunday Telegraph editor Allister Heath in February was disturbing to read, detailing some of the serious decline of the United Kingdom that is continuing unabated. He relates: "Britain's decline over the past 25 years has been staggeringly rapid. Almost everything is getting worse, and almost nothing is getting better. Our public and private institutions are broken, presided over by an incompetent, selfish and narcissistic ruling class. Living standards, when adjusted properly for living and property costs, are declining.
"Even the simplest things don't work any longer. Queuing, scarcity and congestion are rife, our infrastructure is embarrassingly poor, and the honest and hardworking face endless bureaucratic battles to obtain what they are due. Free riding, crime, disorder, fraud, littering and generalized rule-bending are rife, and all too often tolerated by apathetic citizens and an indifferent state. Britain's residual virtues, our individualism, independence of mind, tolerance and openness, uniquely appealing features of our national character, are fading" ("For the First Time in My Life, I'm Now Beginning to Think Britain Is Finished," Feb. 14, 2024).
He is further appalled at the outbreak of terrible anti-Jewish and pro-Hamas demonstrations: "The return of anti-Semitism is not just an existential threat to Britain's tiny, 292,000-strong Jewish community, but a damning indictment of a Britain that is regressing into darkness. As Lord Sacks put it in 2016, 'the hate that begins with Jews never ends with Jews . . . the appearance of anti-Semitism in a culture is the first symptom of a disease, the early warning sign of collective breakdown.'" This is in part a consequence of the nation's rejection of the Bible and a large Muslim influx.
But what is underlying Britain's terrible decline? The answer is found in the Bible. To help you see what's going on and why, be sure to request or download our free study guide The United States and Britain in Bible Prophecy.
Earlier this year images of "protesters" across college campuses dominated the news. The lines and masses of loud-chanting young adults seemingly sprang up all at once across the nation in nearly a hundred universities. Some observers felt these protesters were merely inspired by other demonstrations, known as "encampments," at Columbia and Yale universities. Nationwide, students called for a cease-fire in the Israel-Hamas war and for university endowments to divest from companies tied to Israel's military operations -- having quickly forgotten about the Oct. 7, 2023 Hamas attack or even denying what happened.
Demands for Israeli cease-fire progressed into openly pro-Hamas support effort. The "protestors" took over university buildings and shouted antisemitic and pro-Hamas and Palestinian slogans. Given that U.S. law forbids providing assistance to what the State Department labels terrorist organizations, some observers noted that the pro-Hamas activities are illegal. But whether the various actions done constitute that is debated.
There was a great deal of intimidation of Jewish students and blocking them and others from getting to class -- along with chants against the Jewish people and Israel.
A lot of protesters wore face masks to hide their identity, and many were not college students. Many interviewed by news outlets did not know what they were protesting (except "war") and could not identify Palestine or Gaza on a map. Where did these professionally orchestrated protests come from and who was paying them? Politico, a left-leaning news outlet, identified the backers as major left-wing political donors.
At UCLA, Stanford, and other locations, Muslim imams were brought in and calls to prayer were played over loudspeakers -- a major objective in all this being to advance Islam throughout the country. Among the lines of those bowing low in the traditional Muslim submission in response to the calls could be seen many college students, including girls wearing clothing that would result in their stoning in Afghanistan and punishment in almost any mosque.
Iran's "Supreme Leader," Ayatollah Khameni, welcomed American students, saying they had now "formed a branch of the Resistance Front" (X [formerly Twitter], May 29, 2024) -- the name Hamas being an Arabic acronym for Islamic Resistance Movement. The young people at these colleges have been corrupted by their professors and a long chain of indoctrination -- and failure of parents to have given them proper direction. And now to that is being added the promulgation of Islam.
An old saying points out that if you believe in nothing, you will fall for anything. Mass deception is changing the course of the nation.
With lawlessness increasing in the United States and other countries, along with economic distress faced by jobless or unskilled individuals as well as those with mental-health problems and drug addictions, so have incidents of squatting -- unlawfully occupying someone else's property or land. Squatters gain access to and reside on premises without permission or legal title and without paying rent.
They may even be using the properties for criminal activity, including drug and sex trafficking. We also see illegal immigrants moving into vacant homes. Yet squatters can in many places be regarded as legal occupants. In New York, after 30 days a squatter is considered a tenant. And in some places, efforts to evict them are either ineffective or can land the actual homeowners in legal trouble.
What can you do if this happens to you? According to Stessa, a company that produces an app for landlords, you need to act as fast as possible before the squatter is able to stay there. And removing squatters should only be accomplished through legal means. This could take months and cost thousands of dollars especially if the squatter makes a claim to your property. Find out if your state has rules covering "squatter's rights."
Here are six things to do to help prevent squatting if you have to be away from it at times. Improve security. Make your house look occupied. Inspect your property frequently. Shut off the water (as squatters don't want to live somewhere without water, and it may be illegal to shut it off after a squatter moves in). Keep property documents on hand. And check if your area has a "house watch" program, with police able to inspect your property when you're gone ("How to Safely and Effectively Get Rid of Squatters," stessa.com).
It is truly lawless when someone can steal access to your property and effectively take control of it. The Bible forbids moving landmarks denoting property boundaries -- as theft that brings a curse (Deuteronomy 19:14; 27:17).
Problems of lawlessness are getting out of hand in some of our major cities -- especially as criminals seem free to go out and commit the same crimes again and again, either through the crimes not being prosecuted or not penalized.
During an NBC News interview that aired on March 6, 2024, New York Police Dept. Transit Chief Michael Kemper said about the repeat offenders, "We arrest people all the time that have 50-plus arrests, 100-plus arrests." This is staggering.
And in a different interview with the local Fox station around the same time, Mayor Eric Adams stated that the city has a "recidivism crisis," with some who've assaulted transit workers or shoplifted having committed a large number of crimes (those assaulting transit workers averaged nearly 30 crimes per person and shoplifters had committed around 14 crimes per person).
A headline in The Telegraph in Britain noted that according to a new survey, "Sex is binary, say majority of scientists polled" (Feb. 3, 2024) -- binary referring to there being two sexes, male and female. The percentage of those accepting sex as binary is noted to be 58 percent. But the headline misses what the survey actually found. As reported, 29 percent agreed with the statement "Sex is not binary," but 13 percent had no views or wouldn't answer. This means 42 percent would not say sex is binary.
Furthermore, even many scientists accepting sex as binary said gender is fluid. Almost two thirds of the scientists (64 percent) said gender is fluid, and 22 percent said gender is binary, with 14 percent giving no answer. Dr. Wolfgang Goyman, a professor of behavioral biology told The Telegraph, "To me this just means that at least 29 per cent of the academics that filled out this questionnaire do not understand the biological concept of sex, and at least 22 per cent of them do not know what gender means."
What insane confusion! Nearly half thinking sex is not binary or won't say. More than two thirds thinking gender is fluid. And evidently many who don't even know what these things mean. These are supposed to be scientists.
The Bible is quite clear that God made man male and female and they don't float back and forth between the two. But in this lawless age, all the foundations are being quickly eroded.
Sex before marriage has become the norm and even expected in today's culture, as does moving in together and cohabiting when things get serious. Yet this clearly violates God's laws as revealed in Scripture and leads to consequences, as backed up by studies and statistics. And those who follow God's way end up happier.
In terms of physical health, there are the risks of Sexually Transmitted Diseases and unintended pregnancy even when using condoms and other birth control methods. Either of these can upend your life.
In terms of emotional health, "according to a study published in the Journal of Marriage and Family, individuals who engaged in premarital sex reported lower levels of relationship satisfaction and higher levels of instability than those who waited until marriage . . . likely due to the fact that . . . a more casual attitude towards sex and relationships . . . [leads] to a lack of emotional commitment . . . [Also] according to a study published in the Archives of Sexual Behavior, individuals who engaged in premarital sex were more likely to experience sexual regret than those who waited until marriage . . . lead[ing] to feelings of shame and guilt, which can have long-term effects on an individual's emotional wellbeing" ("Sex Before Marriage? Secular Research Shows You Should Wait," Politicrossing, March 16, 2023).
In terms of psychological health, a study in the Journal of Sex Research showed that those "who engaged in premarital sex reported higher levels of anxiety and depression than those who waited until marriage . . . [Further,] according to a study published in the Journal of Family Psychology, individuals who engaged in premarital sex reported lower levels of self-esteem than those who waited until marriage . . . [resulting in] long-term consequences on . . . mental health and overall wellbeing" (ibid).
And of course premarital sex is also damaging to spiritual health, as our sins separate us from God (Isaiah 59:1-2). Yet God is merciful and ready to forgive, if we will commit to Him and make a new start. Yet we still may have to bear certain consequences of our past mistakes in this life.
To learn more, request or download our free study guide Marriage and Family: The Missing Dimension .
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