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

Catastrophes, Voltaire, and the 'Problem' of Job – Job hadn’t seen how the many works of God in creation reveal God to everyone. He hadn’t seen God there [in catastrophes]. And it took all of that significant suffering for Job to begin to seek Him. “Well that’s not worth it,” says Voltaire. And Job might have agreed at the beginning or middle of the book. But once Job confesses his sin of not seeking and gains deeper knowledge of God, he would not exchange it for anything. Unlike Job, Voltaire — when witnessing disaster — used suffering to excuse himself from knowing God. Many of us fall into this same trap. Voltaire offered us a world of Enlightenment pragmatism — we can prevent some suffering through human ingenuity. We still see this as the solution offered by “innovation” in our universities today, innovation to make the world a little more comfortable. But what we want is meaning. And a meaningful life requires that we can see God in ALL of His works. What will it take to get us to seek Him?
https://www.realclearreligion.org/articles/2025/07/07/voltaire_catastrophes_and_the_problem_of_job_1121102.html

The EU’s Internet Law, a Blueprint for Global Censorship? – Imagine a world where Brussels bureaucrats determine Americans’ free speech on social media platforms. It sounds absurd— but that’s the current reality under the European Union’s Digital Services Act. Little discussed on American shores, the Digital Services Act— a sweeping internet regulation in Europe — is one of the most concerning global free speech threats you’ve likely never heard of.
https://www.dailysignal.com/2025/07/03/the-eus-internet-law-a-blueprint-for-global-censorship-including-on-american-platforms/

EU To Set Up Global Trade Alternative, Challenging US Dominance – Preparations are underway to establish a European Union-led alternative to the World Trade Organization (WTO) as part of a new global marketplace that would challenge America’s economic clout. The EU’s executive, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, say the WTO, founded in 1995, is broken. Yet questions remain about how to replace the world’s largest international economic organization, which has 166 members representing over 98% of world trade and global Gross Domestic Product.
https://www.worthynews.com/106728-eu-to-set-up-global-trade-alternative-challenging-us-dominance-worthy-news-in-depth

'Gay blessings' will remain under Pope Leo, Vatican doctrine chief says – The Catholic Church's approval of blessings of couples in same-sex relationships "will remain" under Pope Leo XIV, the head of the Vatican's doctrine office told an Italian reporter in a brief interview. Cardinal Victor Manuel Fernández's remarks are the clearest indication to date since Pope Leo's election of a likely continuation of Pope Francis' gay-blessings declaration. However, the impromptu interview falls short of an explicit, official statement from the Vatican.
https://www.ncronline.org/vatican/vatican-news/gay-blessings-will-remain-under-pope-leo-vatican-doctrine-chief-says

IRS says churches can endorse political candidates – Churches and other houses of worship registered as tax-exempt nonprofits can endorse political candidates to their congregations, the IRS said on Monday [7/7]. The decision, first reported in The New York Times, was communicated in a court filing intended to settle a lawsuit filed by two Texas churches and a group of Christian broadcasters.
https://thehill.com/homenews/5389119-irs-churches-can-endorse-political-candidates/

Biblical "Monsters" – Seven mysterious creatures of the biblical world... many of the same creatures that inhabit our modern horror movies have roots that stretch back thousands of years.
https://www.biblicalarchaeology.org/daily/biblical-monsters/

Who were the Anabaptists? 2025 is a year of anniversaries. From the 1700th anniversary of the Nicene Creed to the 80th anniversary of VE Day, there are many milestones to reflect on. Another one is the 500th anniversary of the founding of the Anabaptist movement - a chapter in Christian history that is not so well known. The term Anabaptist was a label imposed by their critics. It literally means “re-baptiser” and comes from the Greek words ana (again) and baptizein (to baptise). Anabaptists rejected infant baptism, arguing that baptism should only follow a personal and conscious profession of faith in Christ, which infants, they said, could not do. In their view, they were not re-baptisers but rather baptising properly for the first time.
https://www.christiantoday.com/news/who-were-the-anabaptists

Automobiles Have Become a 'Privacy Nightmare' – Modern automobiles are technological marvels offering many options for car buyers. Privacy is not one of them. New cars have become spies on wheels. Automobiles today are giant rolling sensors, from the tires to the entertainment system, tracking not only your driving habits but recording personal information about you, completely unrelated to driving. New cars can collect more data about you than anything else you own, including your cell phone, and for good reason. Driver data has been valued at $400 billion.
https://cbn.com/news/us/your-car-spying-you-automobiles-have-become-privacy-nightmare

American kids have become increasingly unhealthy over nearly two decades, new study finds – The health of U.S. children has deteriorated over the past 17 years, with kids today more likely to have obesity, chronic diseases and mental health problems like depression, a new study says. Much of what researchers found was already known, but the study paints a comprehensive picture by examining various aspects of children’s physical and mental health at the same time. “The surprising part of the study wasn’t with any single statistic; it was that there’s 170 indicators, eight data sources, all showing the same thing: a generalized decline in kids’ health,” said Dr. Christopher Forrest, one of the authors of the study published Monday [7/7] in the Journal of the American Medical Association.
https://www.yahoo.com/news/american-kids-become-increasingly-unhealthy-150124465.html

Summer 2025 will have three of the shortest days on record as Earth’s rotation unexpectedly accelerates – Time is not on your side this summer. The Earth is set to have three remarkably shorter than average days in the coming weeks as the Earth’s rotation unexpectedly accelerates, according to scientists. Our pale blue dot’s daily rotation is normally equivalent to about 86,400 seconds — or 24 hours — but three days this summer will see as much as 1.51 milliseconds shaved off the clock, according to a report from Popular Mechanics.
https://nypost.com/2025/07/02/science/summer-2025-will-have-three-of-the-shortest-days-on-record-as-earths-rotation-unexpectedly-accelerates/