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

[World Economic Forum founder] Klaus Schwab declares the dawn of the ‘intelligent age’ – At the World Governments Summit, Klaus Schwab said the world is entering the ‘intelligent age’ at an exponential rate, urging global cooperation to adapt to a new economy driven by knowledge, data, and 'intelligent insights.’
https://www.lifesitenews.com/analysis/klaus-schwab-declares-the-dawn-of-the-intelligent-age-at-world-governments-summit/

Map Shows US States Where Religion Is Disappearing Fastest – The proportion of non-religious people in America is growing in every U.S. state except South Dakota, new research suggests. The U.S. is a historically Christian country in which the majority of people (62 percent) call themselves Christians— down from 78 percent in 2007.
https://www.newsweek.com/religion-states-map-religion-disappearing-2042780

Study ranks the most and least 'sinful' US states – In a study published on Feb. 24, WalletHub wrote that Republicans and Democrats "may like to point to one another as the source of all that is wrong with the U.S., but the truth is that each of the 50 states has its own virtues and vices." Analysts compared 54 key indicators of immoral behavior across all 50 states, including internet browsing history, violent crimes per capita, alcohol use and gambling.
https://www.foxnews.com/lifestyle/study-analyzes-whether-red-blue-states-more-sinful-see-where-your-state-ranks

AI Answers How Satan Tries to Target Christians – It’s not as wildly strange, theological or complex as we may think. “If I were the devil and I wanted to keep people as far away from God as possible without them realizing it, I wouldn’t do it by outright denial,” the chatbot answers. “That’s too obvious. Instead, I’d work in subtle distractions, small shifts in focus that seem harmless, but over time, create a massive distance.”
https://charismanews.com/news/really-ai-answers-how-satan-tries-to-target-christians/

Hearing on ‘right to die’ bill put on hold as Illinois legislators work on changes – SPRINGFIELD — A hearing on legislation that would allow terminally ill people to end their lives with the help of a physician was postponed Wednesday [3/4] as lawmakers sought more time to refine the proposal, which advocates are again pushing after failing to get a version through the General Assembly last year. The measure would legalize medical aid in dying, often referred to as physician-assisted suicide or medically-assisted death, allowing mentally competent, terminally ill adults the right to access life-ending prescription medication. If a bill is passed this year and signed by Gov. JB Pritzker, Illinois would join 10 other states, among them Oregon, California, Colorado and Hawaii, as well as Washington, D.C., in allowing medical aid in dying.
https://pantagraph.com/news/state-regional/government-politics/article_1e5c4a19-5c9f-5dc7-8fbe-453763e7fe90.html

Wikipedia Co-Founder Embraces Bible, Abandons Skepticism – Wikipedia co-founder Larry Sanger, who spent decades as a skeptic uncertain of where he stood on God and faith, is now an outspoken Christian.
https://www.faithwire.com/2025/02/28/i-was-wrong-wikipedia-co-founder-embraces-bible-abandons-skepticism/

US, UN Officials Condemn Syrian Massacre in Latakia as Human Rights Expert Says Toll Could Go Much Higher – JERUSALEM, Israel – United Nations Human Rights Commissioner Volker Türk is calling for an investigation into what he called "extremely disturbing" reports of mass killings in Syria's Latakia Province, home to minority Alawites, Christians, and others who are not part of the Sunni majority in Syria. Stories have emerged of entire families being murdered in their homes, with civilian casualties comprising the majority of the death toll.
https://cbn.com/news/israel/us-un-officials-condemn-syrian-massacre-latakia-human-rights-expert-says-toll-could-go?

The Long Postbiblical History of “Judea and Samaria” – The controversial terms were in common use until 1948. There is nothing particularly surprising about this when one considers that the notion of two distinct regions, one to Jerusalem’s north and one to its south and including it, goes back to the Bible and its account of a unified Davidic and Solomonic kingdom that later split into warring northern and southern halves. The longstanding rivalry between Judah and Israel, or between Judea and Samaria, as they later came to be known, helped shape Jewish and Christian conceptions of the geography of Palestine.
https://mosaicmagazine.com/observation/israel-zionism/2025/03/the-long-postbiblical-history-of-judea-and-samaria/

Butterflies in the U.S. are disappearing at ‘catastrophic’ rate – [shared by Dan Apartian] A study in the journal Science reports that 114 species of butterflies in the U.S. are in significant decline. America’s butterflies are disappearing because of insecticides, climate change and habitat loss, with the number of the winged beauties down 22% since 2000.
https://www.fastcompany.com/91292934/butterflies-u-s-disappearing-catastrophic-rate-heres-why

How studying babies' minds is prompting us to rethink consciousness – The debate over when consciousness arises has been revitalised by new tests of awareness in infants – raising the possibility that it emerges just before birth
https://www.newscientist.com/article/mg26535300-800-how-studying-babies-minds-is-prompting-us-to-rethink-consciousness/