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

Can we believe the Gospels? Young Americans, including Gen Zers and Millennials, who engage in regular reading of the Bible report higher levels of personal happiness and individual "flourishing," according to the latest survey of the American Bible Society. Should you believe the Gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John, which are the heart of the New Testament case for Jesus Christ as literally resurrected from the dead after His crucifixion? In the latest “What Would You Say?” video from the Colson Center, three hugely important reasons are offered for why the answer to that question is a loud and sustained 'Yes'! [video (5:12)]
https://www.hillfaith.org/what-would-you-say/what-would-you-say-should-you-believe-the-four-gospels-of-the-new-testament/

NATO agrees to higher defense spending goal – NATO members agreed on Sunday [7/22] to a big increase in their defense spending target to 5% of gross domestic product, as demanded by U.S. President Donald Trump, but Spain said it did not need to comply just days before a summit in The Hague meant to be a show of unity.
https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/nato-countries-approve-hague-summit-statement-with-5-defence-spending-goal-2025-06-22/

New report exposes how chemical abortions are tainting America’s water supply – More than 40 tons of aborted fetal remains and abortion pill byproducts have seeped into America’s water supply, according to a report released this week [June 18] by Liberty Counsel Action. The 86-page report examines a wide variety of records and research to find serious deficiencies in the oversight of how the abortion industry disposes of its “medical waste,” starting with a fateful erroneous prediction in the U.S. Food & Drug Administration’s (FDA’s) original approval of mifepristone that the drug would only have a minimal environmental impact, with the question of disposal largely overlooked, both from chemical byproducts of the pills themselves to the flushing of aborted remains down users’ own toilets after use.
https://www.lifesitenews.com/news/new-report-exposes-how-chemical-abortions-are-tainting-americas-water-supply/

New Research Shows Human and Chimp DNA Far Less Alike Than Claimed – A myth repeated so often in museums, textbooks, and nature documentaries that most people accept it as dogma is that humans and chimpanzees share 98% to 99% of our DNA. The Smithsonian Museum of Natural History in Washington, D.C., for example, cites this statistic in its Human Origins exhibit as confirmation that “modern humans and chimpanzees diverged from a common ancestor between 8 and 6 million years ago.” The problem is the statistic is wrong, likely by an order of magnitude. Even more, the science community has known that it is wrong for a while now, and new methods of comparing the genomes of humans and great apes show just how genetically different the two are. In fact, the cited 1% to 2% difference hasn’t really been defensible in years. More precise methods for comparing genomes show the actual difference between humans and chimps to be far higher than what is constantly quoted. In April, a “groundbreaking” paper published in the journal Nature gives the complete sequences of various ape genomes not compiled using the human genome as a guide... this data reveals that “humans and chimps differ by at least 14[%], a major revision of the old statistic.” 
https://www.crosswalk.com/devotionals/breakpoint-daily-commentary/new-research-shows-human-and-chimp-dna-far-less-alike-than-claimed.html

Millions of students dropped out as higher ed shifted focus from degrees to DEI – Over 2.1 million Americans have dropped out of college without earning a degree, a troubling trend that raises concerns about whether universities are prioritizing politics over academic achievement. Universities are hiring more DEI staff than history professors.
https://www.campusreform.org/article/millions-students-dropped-higher-ed-shifted-focus-degrees-dei/28092

Oldest Deep-Sea Shipwreck Found Near Israel – While surveying the floor of the Mediterranean 55 miles off Israel’s coast, the international energy company Energean made a startling find: the oldest deep-sea shipwreck ever discovered. Located over a mile below the waves, this deep-sea shipwreck could rewrite the history of ancient seafaring, showing that Mediterranean sailors left the safety of the coastline much earlier than previously thought. Peeking out from the mud of the seafloor, a heap of Canaanite jugs was all that could be seen of the ancient cargo ship, which had lain dormant on the bottom of the Mediterranean for more than 3,000 years. Upon seeing the jugs through the cameras of their deep-sea submersible, Energean researchers knew they had come across something unique. They reached out to the staff of the Israel Antiquities Authority (IAA), who were able to identify the pots as Late Bronze Age Canaanite amphorae. Upon closer inspection, they determined that the amphorae date to the 14th or 13th centuries BCE.
https://www.biblicalarchaeology.org/daily/ancient-cultures/ancient-israel/oldest-deep-sea-shipwreck-found-near-israel/

Positive life outlook may protect against middle-aged memory loss, 16-year study suggests – Higher levels of well-being may help reduce the risk of memory loss in middle age, suggests new research, which tracked more than 10,000 over 50-year-olds across a 16-year span.
https://medicalxpress.com/news/2025-06-positive-life-outlook-middle-aged.html

DOJ Sues Against Breaking Seal of Confession Law – The Department of Justice has filed a lawsuit against a new law that demands priests report child abuse revealed during private confession. One American Archbishop and other Catholic Church figures warned priests will be excommunicated for obiding by Washington state's new law set to take effect on July 27. The issue spotlights the enduring tension between religious freedom and the state's duty to protect children from abuse. The law's proponents argue it's necessary to help safeguard against child abuse, while critics argue that compelling clergy to breach the confessional seal damages their ability to practice religion freely. The outcome may influence how other states approach mandated reporting requirements for clergy, especially as constitutional and civil rights groups enter the debate.
https://www.newsweek.com/new-law-church-excommunicate-priests-doj-lawsuit-washington-2089764

A Common Stimulant Could Hold the Key to Preventing Sudden Infant Death Syndrome [SUID] – Caffeine may help prevent SUID by reducing oxygen loss in infants, offering a new direction for research. After years of little progress in lowering the national rate of Sudden Unexpected Infant Death, which includes sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS), researchers at Rutgers Health have introduced a surprising solution: caffeine might help protect infants by preventing dangerous drops in oxygen levels that could lead to death. This hypothesis, published in the Journal of Perinatology, comes at a time when SUID rates have remained steady at about 3,500 deaths per year for the past 25 years, which is roughly one death per 1,000 live births.
https://scitechdaily.com/a-common-stimulant-could-hold-the-key-to-preventing-sudden-infant-death-syndrome/