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

Noah’s Ark site’s ‘fully preserved’ secrets discovered in radar scans – American researchers claim to have cracked one of the Bible’s enduring mysteries — after using radar technology to map the possible remains of Noah’s Ark. “It is exactly what you’d expect to find if this were a man-made boat, consistent with the biblical specifications of Noah’s Ark,” Andrew Jones, an independent researcher, told the Christian Broadcasting Network, while revealing the results of his multi-year project.
https://nypost.com/2025/05/13/science/noahs-ark-sites-fully-preserved-secrets-discovered-by-scientists/

Abortion, Government Funding for Planned Parenthood at an All-Time High – Nearly three years after the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade and many states enacted strong pro-life protections, "business" is still booming.
https://www.dailysignal.com/2025/05/13/abortion-government-funding-for-planned-parenthood-at-an-all-time-high/

Bill Maher slams Americans for pretending they have ‘core convictions’ and ‘deeply held beliefs’ – HBO host Bill Maher urged Americans to “get over the fantasy” that they are people of “core convictions and deeply held beliefs” on an episode of “Real Time” Friday [5/16] night. Maher criticized Americans for flip-flopping on their beliefs, saying they base their values on what’s popular with their political party. “They only care which side is saying something,” he said, citing electric vehicles (EVs) as an example. [EV's a "core belief?]
https://nypost.com/2025/05/17/media/bill-maher-slams-americans-for-pretending-they-have-core-convictions-and-deeply-held-beliefs/

Pope Leo XIV "Shocks World" With Bold Stance on Family Values – Pope Leo XIV stated that the family unit is rooted in the “stable union between a man and a woman.” “It is the responsibility of government leaders to work to build harmonious and peaceful civil societies. This can be achieved above all by investing in the family, founded upon the stable union between a man and a woman, a small but genuine society, and prior to all civil society,” he declared during his address to the Diplomatic Corps. The pope went on to state that the unborn are to be protected.
https://charismanews.com/news/pope-leo-xiv-shocks-world-with-bold-stance-on-family-values/

Pagan signs – In a 2009 report for The Guardian, writer and broadcaster Cole Moreton speculated that paganism was “beginning to look like” the UK’s “new national faith.” At the time, there were reportedly a quarter of a million people who identified as practicing pagans— more than the number of Buddhists and almost the same as the number of Jews. That’s a massive jump from the 2001 census which recorded only 40,000 pagans in the country. Noting that many won’t call themselves such in front of a government official, The Pagan Federation claims upwards of 360,000 “committed, practising pagans,” making the group the country’s fourth-largest "religion." Across the pond, a similar story of pagan growth is emerging. A 2014 study put the number of “practicing witches” in the U.S. at a possible high of 1.5 million, more than the number of mainline Presbyterians. Two decades after a 1990 CUNY survey found only 8,000 Wicca adherents in the country, the U.S. Census Bureau reported a rise to 342,000. Ten years on, the number of Wiccans has skyrocketed to nearly one million.
https://mereorthodoxy.com/pagan-signs

Megachurch Pastor Denies Bible Condemns Premarital Sex – Megachurch pastor Dr. Delman Coates of Mt. Ennon Baptist Church in Clinton, Maryland, used his pulpit to reject centuries of biblical teaching on sexual purity. During a sermon series titled “Let’s Talk About Sex,” Coates flatly declared that sex outside of marriage is not a sin, contradicting clear Scripture and leading many to question how such a message could come from a church that claims to be “Christ-Centered.”
https://charismanews.com/culture/unbelievable-megachurch-pastor-denies-bible-condemns-premarital-sex/

UK government: Mandatory reporting law will apply to confessional – The U.K. government said Tuesday [5/13] it was not considering any exceptions to a new mandatory reporting law. In a May 13 letter, the U.K. Home Office — the equivalent of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security — said it was not contemplating “any kind of exception to the mandatory reporting duty for religious institutions.” It said: “The duty will apply to all individuals undertaking relevant activity with children, including within religious and faith-based settings. There are no exceptions on the basis of where disclosures are received, including confessionals.” U.K. Catholics have expressed alarm that the Crime and Policing Bill, sponsored by the Home Office, would require priests to violate the seal of confession if a penitent admitted to or otherwise indicated direct knowledge of abuse during the sacrament of Reconciliation.
https://www.pillarcatholic.com/p/uk-government-mandatory-reporting

Wind power firms face millions in losses as wind speed [in Germany] drops to 50-year low – In many ways, Germany’s wind power revolution has been a success, with wind power serving as the country’s largest source of electricity. However, the current wind lull over the last three months has led to an extreme dip in energy production, which is costing firms millions in losses. The wind speed average has dropped below less than 5.5 meters per second in the first quarter of 2025, according to German Meteorological Service (DWD). The last time the country saw such low speeds was in 1972 and 1973, and before that, in 1963.
https://rmx.news/article/germany-wind-power-firms-face-millions-in-losses-as-wind-speed-drops-to-50-year-low/

Humans Give Off Light That Extinguishes at Death, New Study Reveals – Being made in the image of God could include giving off a “glow” until bodily death. A newly released study of ultraweak photon emission (UPE) found not only that human beings give off [a faint] light but that the glow disappears upon death. The fact humans glow was first discovered in 2009.
https://cbn.com/news/health/humans-give-light-extinguishes-death-new-study-reveals

Men Are Dying From 'Broken Heart Syndrome' at Twice The Rate of Women – We're all aware of the psychological pain of a broken heart – countless books, songs, and movies have been written and made on the topic – but there's also scientific evidence that a broken heart can be fatal too. The technical term is takotsubo cardiomyopathy (TC), a weakening of the heart brought on by physical or emotional stress. A new study from researchers at the University of Arizona looked at data on 199,890 patients in the US between 2016 and 2020. Although the condition was more common in women, deaths were more than twice as likely in men, with 11.2 percent of males dying compared with 5.5 percent of females. The overall death rate was 6.5 percent.
https://www.sciencealert.com/men-are-dying-from-broken-heart-syndrome-at-twice-the-rate-of-women