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

Surging Housing Prices and Shrinking Apartment Sizes Are Leading to Fewer Babies – As the U.S. birth rate continues to shrink, new research is showing that increasing housing prices and shrinking apartment sizes may be exacerbating the fertility crisis. In July, federal data showed that the birth rate had reached an all-time low of 1.6 children per woman, after steadily falling from the 2.1 replacement level rate over the course of the last two decades. At the same time, polling data compiled by the Institute for Family Studies (IFS) surveying almost 9,000 adults age 18-54 found that almost 80% want a single-family home, with just 8% saying their ideal residence is an apartment. As IFS’s survey revealed, most Americans want single-family homes for raising their children because they provide more space than apartments and housing units. However, as the research noted, many young families are being priced out of starter homes.
https://www.lifenews.com/2025/11/06/surging-housing-prices-and-shrinking-apartment-sizes-are-leading-to-fewer-babies/

Exposing The Biblical Cannabis Myth – A recent essay published by Patheos by Dr. Micah Ben David Naziri stretches for thousands of words trying to prove what centuries of biblical scholars have rejected: that Scripture not only permits but prescribes cannabis use. Published under the provocative headline "Yes, the Bible Really Talks About (and Allows) Cannabis," the piece attempts to baptize modern drug culture in ancient authority. This isn’t the first effort to combine cannabis with Christianity, and it won’t be the last. The desperation is palpable. The reach is breathtaking. The scholarship is shoddy.
https://religionunplugged.com/news/high-on-heresy-the-biblical-cannabis-myth-exposed

Major new report maps how the world engages with the Bible – The Bible Society has unveiled a sweeping analysis of how culture, religion, politics and economics shape engagement with Scripture across the globe. The Patmos Typology Report examines 85 countries and territories across seven 'missiological clusters' that reveal current opportunities and barriers for Bible work. That research revealed that a clear majority of people worldwide believe in God or a higher power, with five of the seven global clusters saying religion remains important in daily life. It also highlighted a striking openness to the Bible, with one in 10 non-Christians expressing interest in learning more about it.
https://www.christiantoday.com/news/major-new-report-maps-how-the-world-engages-with-the-bible

Supreme Court [11/10] Made a Huge Decision on Same-Sex Marriage – The Supreme Court on Monday rejected former Kentucky Rowan County clerk Kim Davis’ petition to overturn its ruling in Obergefell v. Hodges, which legalized same-sex marriage in 2015. Davis gained international attention after she refused to issue a marriage license to a gay couple on religious grounds in open defiance of the high court’s [same-sex marriage] ruling and was subsequently jailed for six days. A jury later awarded the couple $100,000 for emotional damages plus $260,000 for attorneys fees. The Supreme Court’s decision to reject the case means that same-sex marriage will remain the law of the land.
https://townhall.com/tipsheet/jeff-charles/2025/11/10/supreme-court-issues-ruling-on-same-sex-marriage-n2666135

The Gap Between God and Science is Closing – In a recent article in The Spectator, a French engineer, investor, and author argued that “It’s getting harder for scientists not to believe in God.” According to Michel-Yves Bolloré, "More and more convincingly, and perhaps in spite of itself, science today is pointing to the fact that, to be explained, our universe needs a creator. In the words of Robert Wilson, Nobel Prize winner for the discovery of the echo of the Big Bang in 1978, and an agnostic: ‘If all this is true [the Big Bang theory] we cannot avoid the question of creation.’" For centuries, the inherent conflict between faith and reason and between science and religion has been widely assumed. For example, in their 2003 book, Rare Earth: Why Complex Life is Uncommon in the Universe, scientists Peter D. Ward and Donald Brownlee argued that, contrary to science fiction, there is little chance of complex life existing anywhere but Earth. However, just because our world is kind of special (they carefully pointed out- multiple times) does not imply it came from a Creator. Bolloré thinks that this philosophical cold war is thawing, and not because scientists are abandoning facts and reason. Rather, facts are convincing them of the truth: "With sets of converging evidence from different scientific disciplines—cosmology to physics, biology to chemistry — it is increasingly difficult for materialists to hold their position. Indeed, if they deny a creator, then they must accept and uphold that the universe had no beginning, that some of the greatest laws of physics have been violated, and that the laws of nature have no particular reason to favour the emergence of life."
https://breakpoint.org/the-gap-between-god-and-science-is-closing/

Sweden Went All in on "Screens" in Childhood- Now It’s Pulling the Plug – Sweden is a small and nimble nation with a history of experimentation with social and educational policies — so they are able to make sharp changes in short periods. That makes it one of the most important countries to watch. If their new policies work, including rolling out bell-to-bell phone-free schools, reintroducing textbooks, and pulling back on screens in schools, the world will have a powerful example of how to roll back the phone-based childhood and restore the play-based childhood. Go Sweden!
https://www.afterbabel.com/p/sweden-went-all-in-on-screens-in

Roman Road Network Was Twice as Large as Previously Thought – The saying goes, of course, that "all roads lead to Rome." But while it's true that many of the Empire's major cities were linked via main roads to the capital, the secondary roads in the network had not been studied in depth. An international research team has created a new map of the Roman Empire — and it expands the ancient road network by more than 60,000 miles.
https://hotair.com/headlines/2025/11/09/roman-road-network-was-twice-as-large-as-previously-thought-n3808707

MIRACLES BY DESIGN: Why the Leaves Fall Year After Year – This is the time of year when the leaves on the trees turn from green to multiple shades of red, yellow, brown and gold in a process that is so familiar that it is easily taken for granted as literally just part of the scenery. But, as with so much else in the natural world, the reason leaves turn color in the Fall year-in and year-out is because of processes whose characteristics logically and clearly defy being relegated to the realm of chance. [7:20 video]
https://www.hillfaith.org/hillfaith/miracles-by-design-why-the-leaves-fall/

Memory Problems Are Surging in Adults Under 40, Large US Study Finds – The new study doesn't pin down specific causes, but there's growing evidence that our minds aren't in great shape.
https://www.sciencealert.com/memory-problems-are-surging-in-adults-under-40-large-us-study-finds