Below are this week's Articles of Interest as compiled by Mr. Van Baker. This collection of articles is cultivated by Mr. Baker with the goal of highlighting some of the trends, upheavals, and things to watch for in our society. These articles are not necessarily the express views of the United Church of God, Mr. Baker, or me as the pastor, but they are informative of what is occurring in our nation and culture. In accordance with Christ's warning to correctly discern the times (Matthew 16:1-4), it is wise to be aware of what is going on around us. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 

Atheists Pledge to Lead ‘Secular Resistance For Freedom’ – The Freedom From Religion Foundation (FFRF), an atheist advocacy group based in Madison, Wisconsin, released a statement Wednesday [11/6] urging people to join them in the battle for the separation of church and state and the “secular ‘soul’ of our democracy.”
https://www.faithwire.com/2024/11/11/atheists-warn-of-threat-after-trump-win-pledge-to-lead-secular-resistance-for-freedom/

Federal judge blocks Louisiana law that requires classrooms to display Ten Commandments – A new Louisiana requirement that the Ten Commandments be displayed in all public classrooms is “unconstitutional on its face,” a federal judge ruled Tuesday [11/12], ordering state education officials not to take steps to enforce it and to notify all local school boards in the state of his decision. U.S. District Judge John W. deGravelles [appointed by Barack Obama] in Baton Rouge said the law had an “overtly religious” purpose, and rejected state officials’ claims that the government can mandate the posting of the Ten Commandments because they hold historical significance to the foundation of U.S. law.
https://apnews.com/article/ten-commandments-law-blocked-public-schools-louisiana-87b3dde94e583fdbb9ecb26db42b0206

Biden-Harris Administration Signs Up for UN World Governance, Internet Censorship – On September 22, unnoticed by most Americans, the Biden-Harris administration adopted the United Nations Pact for the Future to transform global governance, which introduces the foundations of a world government. There was no debate, no media coverage, no press releases, and no interviews about the Biden-Harris administration's surrender of United States sovereignty to the UN.
https://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/21086/un-world-governance-internet-censorship

Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby resigns over Church abuse scandal – The Archbishop of Canterbury has announced he will resign following criticism of his handling of a report into a prolific child abuser associated with the Church of England.
https://www.bbc.com/news/live/cj505ygdp17t

No, God Does Not Glorify Killing Babies in Psalm 137 – Among the most frequently cited verses in the Old Testament by skeptics and critics of Christianity is Psalm 137. In verses 8 and 9 of the Psalm, critics argue that this is the “worst verse in the Bible” because it is God "encouraging" the Israelites to dash the babies of their enemies on rocks. As with so much else in the way of objections put forth by those who reject the Bible as the inspired, trustworthy Word of God, critics who cite this particular Psalm are totally missing it’s actual contextual meaning. Eric Lyons of the Apologetics Press explains what Psalm 137 is actually all about in the following video. As Eric explains, the passage is in fact a prophecy about how those who murdered Israelite babies will themselves suffer the same fate. [4:32 video]
https://www.hillfaith.org/contradictions/contradictions-no-god-does-not-glorify-killing-babies-in-psalm-137/

Planned Parenthood Asks Court to Strike Down Every Pro-Life Law in Missouri – On [Election Day], voters in Missouri narrowly passed an amendment writing abortion into the Missouri Constitution. On Wednesday [November 6], Planned Parenthood filed a sweeping lawsuit challenging virtually all of Missouri’s pro-life laws.
https://www.lifenews.com/2024/11/08/planned-parenthood-asks-court-to-strike-down-every-pro-life-law-in-missouri/

Atheist chaplains are forging a new path in a changing world- Chaplaincy has "evolved beyond Christianity" – Chaplaincy, which arose from Christian traditions, grew into an established profession in the mid-20th century as Protestant theological educators who were wary of outside influences in spiritual matters sought to train their students to offer support in nonreligious settings. As US demographics changed throughout the 20th century, the field expanded to encompass faiths outside Protestantism. Today, there are chaplains who are Jewish, Buddhist, Hindu or... of no religion at all.
https://www.cnn.com/2024/11/07/us/atheist-chaplains-humanist-cec/index.html

13 Misconceptions About Christianity That Push People Away – A lot of people have ideas about what Christianity is like, but many of these ideas aren't quite right. Maybe they had a bad experience at church once, or they've seen how some Christians act on TV, or they've just heard things from other people that made them uncomfortable. These wrong ideas can make people want to stay away from anything related to Christianity. Most of these ideas don't show the whole picture. It's like judging a restaurant by one bad meal or thinking all dogs are mean because you once met an angry one.
https://www.msn.com/en-us/lifestyle/lifestyle-buzz/13-misconceptions-about-christianity-that-push-people-away/ss-AA1tqoEu

A 'Useless' Organ That Doctors Often Remove Could Actually Fight Cancer – There's a small fatty gland that sits behind your sternum and is often said to be 'useless' in adulthood. A retrospective study, however, suggests the thymus gland is not nearly as expendable as experts once thought. US researchers found that those who get their thymus removed face an increased risk of death from any cause in the five years following the surgery.
https://www.sciencealert.com/a-useless-organ-that-doctors-often-remove-could-actually-fight-cancer

World series wager by archbishops of LA, NY raises over $20K for Catholic schools – More than $20,000 has been raised for Catholic schools from a wager made by the leaders of the Catholic archdioceses where the two baseball teams that competed in this year’s World Series are located. Leading up to this year’s World Series [involving the Los Angeles Dodgers and New York Yankees], Archbishop Jose Gomez of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Los Angeles and Cardinal Timothy Dolan of the Archdiocese of New York made a “friendly wager” designed to benefit Catholic schools in their respective communities.
https://www.christianpost.com/news/archbishops-world-series-wager-raises-20k-for-catholic-schools.html