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. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Obituary of Stan McNiel – Stan served in this area after graduation from Ambassador College in 1974.
https://www.brownfieldfuneralhome.com/obituaries/stanley-mcniel

Top Ten Discoveries in Biblical Archaeology in 2024 – [criteria] These discoveries must be directly related to people, places or events mentioned in Scripture, or to the composition of Scripture itself. They must be discoveries or new studies about discoveries, as opposed to announcements. I only consider discoveries/studies that have been publicized through an official announcement by a Ministry of Antiquities or from a licensed archaeological dig with the expectation that a peer-reviewed article will follow, or ones that are published in peer-reviewed or other reputable journals.
https://biblearchaeologyreport.com/2024/12/27/top-ten-discoveries-in-biblical-archaeology-in-2024/

10 stories that shook the world (in 2024) – Assassination attempts on a U.S. presidential candidate, a Pope who preached religious universalism, open blasphemy at the Olympics, courageous pro-lifers sent to jail: 2024 was an exciting, if serious, year for faith, family, freedom, and life news.
https://www.lifesitenews.com/news/lifesites-year-in-review-10-stories-that-shook-the-world-and-a-special-mention/

National debt grew by $2.5 trillion in 2024 – As 2025 approaches, America’s fiscal health is in serious trouble with a ballooning federal debt exceeding 100% of the GDP. [It’s the publicly held debt that just exceeded GDP. Total debt is nearly 25% HIGHER than GDP] It’s projected to get even worse.
https://www.thecentersquare.com/national/article_95b90bbe-bd9c-11ef-93ee-f39e7d5a515f.html

Record U.S. credit card debt jumped even higher with record Christmas spending – Heading into the peak holiday shopping season, credit card balances were already 8.1% higher than a year ago, according to the Federal Reserve Bank of New York's report on household debt. Further, 28% of credit card users had not paid off the gifts they bought LAST YEAR, according to another holiday spending report by NerdWallet.
https://notthebee.com/article/record-us-credit-card-debt-jumped-even-higher-with-record-christmas-spending-come-see-the-damage

How Intellectuals Found God – Almost 150 years after Nietzsche said ‘God is dead,’ some of our most important thinkers are getting religion. [Meet] the new theists.
https://www.thefp.com/p/how-intellectuals-found-god-ayaan-hirsi-ali-peter-thiel-jordan-peterson

The problem with King Charles's "gospel" – In a year when the Archbishop of Canterbury was forced to resign, and with continued decline in attendances in the Church of England and yet more scandals, [the writer] listened with interest to the titular head of that Church, King Charles, giving his Christmas message. Would he speak of the real challenges the Church and society are facing? Would he offer some kind of meaty message, rather than the saccharine sap we are so used to hearing? Would his message stimulate thought or provide hope to those who are in great need of it? Sadly the message was largely the same moralistic, do it yourself, multifaith religion – with rightful tributes being paid to servicemen and women, volunteers and doctors and nurses. As the head of the Church of England you might have expected the King to offer a little bit more specifically Christian comment, but this was basic humanist doctrine, tinged with a splash of religiosity which I suspect would satisfy no one who actually listened to what was being said.
https://www.christiantoday.com/article/the.problem.with.the.kings.gospel/142496.htm

Virginia Delegate Compares Unborn Babies to Cancer During Push for State Abortion Amendment – When the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in 2022, abortion law moved to the states. Last month people in ten states voted on separate abortion measures. And Virginia is now considering putting an amendment to its state constitution to a vote of the people, but it has a long way to go before it gets to that point. A Democrat-controlled House committee passed the amendment seeking to enshrine abortion rights in Virginia's constitution. Delegate Charniele Herring, who introduced the measure, compared abortion to medical procedures that lawmakers should not influence, saying, "We as politicians have decided we're going to determine how to treat a patient and we're not even in the room with them. We don't do that with cancer."
https://cbn.com/news/us/va-delegate-compares-unborn-babies-cancer-during-push-state-abortion-amendment

Canada launches ‘national consultation’ on ‘advance requests’ for euthanasia – The Canadian government is actively soliciting citizen input for a proposal to legalize “advance requests” in which citizens can prearrange to be euthanized at a time when they are unable to consent to the procedure.
https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/261107/canada-launches-national-consultation-on-advance-requests-for-euthanasia

Church of Sweden Set to Close Churches- for Climate Change – In Sweden just for the month of August, the cost of energy jumped a whopping TWENTY-NINE PERCENT and food costs rose steadily for nine months in a row. Swedish citizens have also been given a heads up about possible power cuts during 'a winter of energy rationing,' so as part of their efforts to save power, Sweden has started closing churches.
https://twitchy.com/laura-w/2024/12/30/church-of-sweden-closing-7-churches-for-climate-change-n2405883

NASA on high alert over massive 'dent' anomaly in Earth's magnetic field – NASA has been tracking an evolving "dent" in Earth's magnetic field which stretches out between South America and southwest Africa. The region can be hazardous for NASA's low-Earth orbit satellites and spacecraft that travel through it. The agency said that if a satellite is hit by a high-energy proton, it can short-circuit and glitch temporarily. Permanent damage can also be caused if a key component is hit. The agency said observations in recent years have shown that the region is expanding and continuing to weaken.
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/technology/nasa-on-high-alert-over-massive-dent-anomaly-in-earth-s-magnetic-field/ar-AA1wFniq