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America's
Morality Measured
Where does America stand morally? Recent research done by the Pew Research
Center finds that adultery is wrong to 88 percent of American respondents,
79 percent think it is wrong to cheat on taxes, 61 percent disapprove
of drunkenness, 52 percent feel abortion is wrong, and 50 percent disapprove
of homosexual conduct. These numbers reflect both the good and the bad
in American society.
The good, according to an article in Family Facts, is that despite nearly a half century of sexual revolution promoted by the media and popular culture, a majority of Americans still holds to the Judeo-Christian ethic outlined by the Ten Commandments.
Indeed, Harvard's Institute of Politics released findings of a poll in which 70 percent of college students said that religion is "somewhat" or "very important" in their lives and 25 percent responded that they have become "more spiritual" in college ("Morality and Religion," Louisiana Family Forum, June 6).
The bad news is that America is missing the benefits of a full application of the Ten Commandments and the blessings, physical and spiritual, that result from obeying God. God's laws are still applicable and still fundamental to a healthy life. For more information, request or download The Ten Commandments (www.gnmagazine.org/booklets).
The Drug Dealer in the Medicine Chest
Illegal
narcotics are not the only drug problem for young people. Teenage abuse
of prescription drugs has become a serious problem that is often missed
by parents. One in five U.S. teens has tried painkillers like Vicodin
or OxyContin to get high—a total of nearly 4.5 million
teens.
Using the family medicine cabinet as a drug dealer is more common for teens than buying on the street ("Teen Abuse of Prescription Drugs Goes Unchecked, Study Indicates," Associated Press, May 16).
Besides the obvious problems of poisoning your body with chemical substances, getting high on illegal or unprescribed drugs is similar to the sin of drunkenness from alcohol in which a person loses full control of his or her mind. But drugs—whether illegal or prescription—can be much more powerful, dangerous and deadly.
God tells us to guard our minds ("heart" in Proverbs 4:23) and to take care of our bodies (1 Corinthians 6:19). He describes the dangers of abuse and addiction (Proverbs 23:29-35) and warns that no drunkard will be in God's Kingdom (1 Corinthians 6:10).
HPV Vaccine: Medical Miracle or Agent for Disaster?
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has approved Gardasil, the first
vaccine developed to prevent cervical cancer, precancerous genital lesions
and genital warts due to human papillomavirus (HPV) types 6, 11, 16 and
18, according to a release at www.fda.gov.
The vaccine will not be useful to women who have already contracted HPV, but will, according to recent studies, prevent some lesions and warts from occurring in young women if inoculated from age 9 to 15 and before they become sexually active.
Some experts are enthused about the vaccine. The implication seems to be that people won't have to monitor their behavior and abstain from premarital sex because now the vaccine will supposedly remove this health risk of illicit sex (though there are many more risks—there's still AIDS, gonorrhea, syphilis, herpes, chlamydia and numerous others).
A number of nations are already ordering large quantities of the vaccine to try to stem a rapid increase in cervical cancer (Deanna McFarlane, "Cancer Society and Ministry Welcome Cervical Cancer Vaccine," The Jamaica Observer, July 3.)
Some Christian family groups are concerned that the vaccine will be mandatory for school-age children even without the consent of their parents.
Linda Klepacki of Focus on the Family said: "By giving its highest level of recommendation, the [Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices] panel has placed strong pressure on state governments to make HPV vaccinations mandatory. If that happens, state officials, not parents, would become the primary sexual-health decision makers for America's children. That's the way things are done in dictatorships, not democracies" ("Panel Backs HPV Vaccine for Young Girls," Associated Press, July 1).
A letter to the editor by Thomas Szyszkiewicz in the June 29 Los Angeles Times sums up the real situation: "The logic is simple, scientific and elementary. It goes like this: Human papilloma virus is a sexually transmitted disease. One does not get a sexually transmitted disease if one doesn't have sex. Therefore, the way to avoid this virus is by not having sex until marriage—and [hoping] one's spouse has followed the same logic."
This is, in fact, what God commands, and it works immeasurably well. For more information, request or download Marriage and Family: The Missing Dimension (www.gnmagazine.org/booklets).
Potent Plants Neutralize Pugnacious Pests
Much has been made of human-directed genetic engineering in recent years,
but what did the Creator originally program into plant and animal life
to provide for survival? Consider these examples:
Though a culinary delicacy to human beings, fiddleheads from bracken ferns unleash a ferocious fusillade against insect invaders. The bracken tissue is filled with ecdysones, a hormone that causes insects to go into molting overdrive and shed their exoskeletons, thereby killing them. Just to be sure, the bracken also releases an enzyme that produces hydrogen cyanide, highly toxic to the mandibles munching at its tissue.
Corn plants use another tactic—they call in reinforcements when caterpillars try to feed. When the enemy begins to eat, the corn plant releases a chemical that attracts a predator, parasitic wasps, which in turn paralyze the caterpillar and deposit eggs inside. When the little wasps hatch, they have an instant meal.
The ant, of Proverbs 6:6 fame, is also called on to protect its host plant. Jungle ants will swarm to the spot where a scientist has cut a sample from a tree and try to attack the invader. Amazonian ants are so protective of their specific tree home that they will kill other specimens nearby over thousands of square feet in order to give their tree the best shot at nutrients. The plants in turn grow nodules of nutrients for the ants (Sharon Begley, "Don't Be Fooled, Those Nice Plants Are Packing Heat," The Wall Street Journal, May 26).
God's creation has a phenomenal array of intricate mechanisms that protect and keep it in balance. King David said that the human body was "fearfully and wonderfully made" (Psalm 139:14). Likewise with all the elements of God's creative design.
Demands of a Global Economy
Seeking employment in today's globalized business world requires some
special new skills, with surprisingly ancient origins.
Managing workers in different time zones requires thinking ahead. If your support staff is in India, you'll be working at very different times of the day. Independent thinking is required at lower management levels, as is creativity and clear communication—especially if that requires communicating with workers from a different background. What is common knowledge in American business culture isn't the same for workers in other countries.
Learning a foreign language like Chinese, among others, is an increasingly critical ability (Dan Tynan, "Five Technology Skills for the Global Economy," InfoWorld, May 22).
The ancient biblical concept of treating other people as you would want to be treated encompasses most of this skill set. Treating fellow workers with respect, especially across international borders, requires ingenuity, but it reaps excellent rewards.
Cool Isn't Cool Anymore
The
classic rebel, the archetype of "coolness" is no longer the reigning
champ in the world of cool. Coolness is now defined by socially desirable
characteristics like friendliness, appealing appearance and industriousness.
Researchers at the University of British Columbia found that those surveyed came up with two types of coolness. First, there's the well-adjusted, friendly cool person and, second, the classic rebel. Coolness is more dependent on what people like, as opposed to a marginalized person seeking protection by remaining aloof (Scott Deveau, "Not Cool, Man: Classic Definition No Longer Applies," Toronto Globe and Mail and The Columbus Dispatch, May 17).
The real test? If a behavior, appearance or attitude reflects God's laws, it's cool—because who better than our Maker to set the standards?
The Inky-Dark Side of Tattoos
Besides being questionable according to God's way of life, tattoos and
body piercings have significant health risks. Puncturing the skin for
either a tattoo or a piercing disrupts one of the largest organs of the
body, the skin. Dirty needles and instruments can contain blood, body
fluids and other materials that can lead to infection.
Routine earlobe piercing is generally safe (and the Bible does mention earrings positively), but piercings in the upper ear or other body cartilage can cause physically deforming infections. Cartilage has no blood supply and therefore cannot fight infections ("Tattoos and Piercings: Know the Dangers," Boeing Health Wellness Letter, April).
One particular danger in getting tattoos and body piercings is the methicillin-resistant germ staphylococcus aureus (MRSA). A series of outbreaks of this drug-resistant bacteria occurred in individuals who visited unlicensed tattoo artists in Ohio and Kentucky in 2004 and 2005. All the affected individuals recovered after hospitalization, but MRSA can be fatal ("Officials Say Some Tattoo Customers Developed Drug-Resistant Infections," Associated Press, June 22).
Therapeutic Riding Helps Amputees
Horseback riding therapy is helping injured soldiers and other individuals
who have lost limbs redevelop motor skills. Horses from the 3rd U.S.
Infantry Regiment, the Old Guard, are being used to help amputees regain
natural hip movement.
Horses and human beings use the same circular movement in their hips, and riding on the back of a horse can help those who are injured learn how to balance and move their joints and muscles again, especially after the trauma of an amputation.
The rider's body is moved as the horse walks, and that movement stimulates nerves in the body to recognize familiar motions. The resulting overall improvement was measured when injured soldiers were tested on different daily tasks, including getting up from a chair.
Within a few weeks, one individual, who had done therapeutic riding three times, was able to improve the time it took him to rise from a chair and sit back down from a starting time of 20 seconds down to 13 seconds ("Horses Help Wounded Soldiers Walk Again," Associated Press, June 3).
God's creation is incredible in its complexity, and one of the most amazing aspects is the nature of human interaction with animals. Many people have had a treasured pet, and for those who are ill, animals can be a great comfort. Therapeutic horseback riding is a clear example of the built-in benefits God created for man when He populated the earth with animal life.
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Keywords: U.S. morality teens and drugs STDs ecology design in life cool tatoos horseback riding
Sexually transmitted diseases: