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

Did Christians Steal Jesus’ Resurrection Story From Pagan Myths? There was a time during the 19th and into the early 20th centuries when scholars associated with the German School of Higher Criticism argued that Christians “borrowed” their claims about Jesus being resurrected from multiple pagan myths of heroes returning from the Dead. The evidence is now so overwhelmingly in favor of the Biblical account as accurate that the vast majority of scholars, skeptics and Christian alike, accept it. But that doesn’t stop legions of Internet and social media-based voices from turning to the long-discredited claim of the 19th Century "higher critics" today. [video; some references to "Easter"]
https://www.hillfaith.org/what-would-you-say/what-would-you-say-did-christians-steal-jesus-resurrection-story-from-pagan-myths/

Bible Guide for Each Piece of the Full Armor of God – The armor of God is an illustration in the Bible that reminds Christians about the reality of spiritual battle and describes the protection available to them. Each piece of armor has a distinct purpose and means of defense against temptation and evil.
https://www.christianity.com/wiki/christian-terms/what-is-the-full-armor-of-god-how-can-i-put-on-the-whole-armor-of-god.html

Word for Word Bible Comic Brings Scriptures To Life For A New Generation – The Word for Word Bible Comic is not trying to reinvent the Bible. Rather, it is a genuine attempt to represent the scriptures as accurately and as faithfully as possible for a new generation of readers for whom images hold the key to a greater understanding of the world’s best-selling book.
https://religionunplugged.com/news/easter-word-for-word-bible-comic-bringing-scriptures-to-life-for-a-new-generation

Archaeologists find first evidence of epic biblical battle at 'Armageddon' – For the first time, a team of Israeli archaeologists has uncovered ancient artifacts at northern Israel’s “Armageddon” site that might offer proof of an epic battle documented in the books of Kings II and Chronicles between King Josiah of Judah and Egyptian pharaoh Necho.
https://www.timesofisrael.com/archaeologists-find-first-evidence-of-epic-biblical-battle-at-armageddon/

Pious Bible Errors [in translation] – Pilgrims to Rome visiting the Basilica of St. Peter in Chains encounter a strange sight: Michelangelo’s sculpted Moses, rendered with two horns protruding conspicuously from his head. Michelangelo’s contemporaries, faithful readers of the Vulgate Bible, would have known that when Moses came down from Mount Sinai, his face was “horned” from talking with the Lord. Modern viewers of the sculpture, however, are quickly told that the horns of Moses come from a faulty translation of the Hebrew text. Moses’s face was not “horned” but “shining” as he came down the mountain. Latin Christians had suffered for over a millennium from an error in their Bible. [Such] “errors” arise from various sources: faulty translations, scribal errors, variant manuscript traditions, erroneous historical knowledge, and so forth. Yet Christians have shown a remarkable ability to read these Bible errors in an entirely orthodox and salutary manner.
https://www.wordonfire.org/articles/pious-bible-errors/

VA rescinds punishment for chaplain, affirms sermons can be 'explicitly' Christian – The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs has confirmed that chaplains can preach sermons with obviously Christian content at affiliated medical facilities and has rescinded a letter of reprimand after a chaplain was punished last year. In a letter written in late February but recently made public, VA Secretary Doug Collins said "there is no national or local policy or standard operating procedure which inhibits Chaplain sermons." "To the extent that there have been any proposed changes to any existing policy, those proposals will not move forward and have been rescinded," wrote Collins. The letter was sent to Hiram Sasser of the First Liberty Institute, a conservative legal organization representing Russell Trubey, a chaplain punished for delivering a Christian sermon at the Coatesville VA Medical Center in Pennsylvania.
https://www.christianpost.com/news/va-rescinds-punishment-for-christian-chaplain.html

Colorado House Passes Bill Treating as 'Child Abuse' Dissent From Transgender Orthodoxy – The Colorado House of Representatives passed a bill Sunday [4/6] that would remove kids from parents’ custody for behaviors like “misgendering” and “deadnaming” [calling a transgender, nonbinary, or gender-expansive person by a name they no longer use, often their birth name] after Democrats cited the Southern Poverty Law Center to justify excluding parental rights groups from discussion on the bill.
https://www.dailysignal.com/2025/04/07/crossed-rubicon-colorado-house-passes-bill-treating-child-abuse-dissent-transgender-orthodoxy/

Humans Have a Hidden Part of the Immune System— and No One Found It Until Now – (Some experts think it could be a “gold mine” for new antibiotics) [shared by Dan Apartian] ] A new study finds that proteasomes— structures that reside in all cells in the body and typically break down damaged proteins — can produce peptides that attack bacterial infections. When suppressing the peptide-producing abilities of these proteasomes, scientists found that bacterial infections flourished and lowered overall survivability. This new piece of the body’s immune defense could open new pathways to improved antibiotics and other medicinal therapies.
https://www.popularmechanics.com/science/health/a64370170/new-immune-system/

Oregon sees increase in lethal suicide prescriptions: many patients "unaccounted for" – New data from Oregon’s public health authority shows that the number of prescriptions for lethal drugs under the state’s assisted suicide law increased by roughly 8% last year, with assisted suicide deaths accounting for nearly 1% of all deaths in Oregon in 2024. The data from the Oregon Health Authority [for 2024] shows the number of reported assisted suicide deaths decreased slightly. However, nearly a third of all patients who were prescribed lethal drugs last year in Oregon are unaccounted for, as their “ingestion status” is listed by the health authority as “unknown.”
https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/263181/oregon-sees-increase-in-lethal-suicide-prescriptions-many-patients-unaccounted-for

Switzerland Stops Investigating Suicide Tourism as Hundreds of People Kill Themselves – Switzerland is the world’s suicide tourism capital. Indeed, for the price of transportation and about $11,000, you can be helped to make yourself dead at one of the country’s notorious suicide clinics. Assisted suicide is legal in Switzerland if not done for a “selfish purpose" and if the soon-to-be-dead person has "decisional capacity."
https://www.lifenews.com/2025/04/02/switzerland-stops-investigating-suicide-tourism-as-hundreds-of-people-kill-themselves/