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

US Government Caught in Debt-Driven 'Doom Loop' – With the national debt barreling on toward $40 trillion, the U.S. government seems caught in what some are calling a debt-driven 'doom loop.' To make matters worse, the Penn Wharton Budget Model warns that the national debt is actually closer to 100 trillion. Half of every dollar the government borrows now goes to interest on the debt, close to one trillion per year. And while the economy seems fine now, experts warn that the situation could turn bad very quickly.
https://cbn.com/news/us/us-government-caught-debt-driven-doom-loop-there-could-be-serious-trouble-ahead

One third of Americans expect the world to end in their lifetime – One third of Americans believe they will not live to see old age, not because of cancer or car accidents, but because they expect the world itself to end first. That is the finding of a peer-reviewed study published in March 2026 in the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, based on a national sample of 1,409 Americans. The researchers surveyed more than 3,400 people across the United States and Canada and found that apocalyptic belief has quietly migrated from church basements and prophecy charts into the American mainstream.
https://israel365news.com/417812/one-third-of-americans-expect-the-world-to-end-in-their-lifetime-and-what-it-means-for-israel/

"Welcome to the End of the World" – A premonition of the apocalypse permeates the air around us. It’s like smog—imperceptible and familiar, yet catastrophically harmful to the psyche. We breathe it. We live within it, with every piece of news adding a deadly poison to our consciousness.
https://www.tabletmag.com/sections/arts-letters/articles/welcome-to-the-end-of-the-world

Why are women having fewer kids? They don't want them – The high cost of housing, healthcare, and childcare are the usual culprits cited in the fertility discourse. There is something to this, of course, and sound policy initiatives to address it should be implemented. But it should also be remembered that having a family has never been easy or cheap. Moreover, fertility was already in sharp decline when housing was much more affordable, and the Boomers were buying their homes. So something more than that cost explains declining fertility. Most conservatives are too afraid to admit what many feminists proudly own: The decline in fertility rates is the direct result of the feminist project and women prioritizing careers over childbearing.
https://chroniclesmagazine.org/web/women-are-having-fewer-kids-because-they-dont-want-them/

Marriage and its Discontents – America’s rapidly changing demographics on the marriage question do not, however, tell the whole story. More ominously, American society today is now divided between the enlightened few and the unenlightened many. On one side stands reason, morality, freedom, equality, progress, compassion, decency, and love, and on the other side stands nothing but the forces of superstitious irrationalism, reactionary stupidity, Troglodytish bigotry, and segregationist oppression. To support the institution of marriage as the union of one man and one woman is now seen by many as "illiberal," which means bad. It is the Forces of Light set against the Forces of Darkness. This Manichean world is now divided into binary categories of Us and Them, Friends and Enemies, Saints and Sinners, Believers and Infidels, all of which can be reduced to “The Good” and “The Evil.” The unwashed masses that stand for traditional marriage are said to suffer from a new kind of mental illness: homophobia.
https://www.theredneckintellectual.com/p/marriage-and-its-discontents

Record [Negev] desert floods echo King David’s vision – The hills north of Arad turned white Monday [May 4] under a blanket of hail, roads across the Negev and Arava were shut down, and Nahal Tze’elim, the ancient desert stream that drains into the Dead Sea near Masada, recorded the strongest flow since measurements began. The recent weather echoes the words of King David: “When the LORD restores the captivity of Zion, we were like dreamers… Restore our fortunes, O LORD, like streams in the Negev” (Psalms 126:1, 4). The Hebrew phrase afikei Negev, “channels of the Negev,” refers precisely to these dry desert riverbeds that remain empty for years and then, without warning, are transformed by rushing water. The Sages explain that this image was chosen deliberately. Redemption, like a desert flood, does not require permission from those who deny it, nor does it unfold according to human comfort. It arrives with force, speed, and irreversible change.
https://israel365news.com/417787/the-negev-channels-are-flowing-record-desert-floods-echo-king-davids-vision/

An Inside Look at the Dead Sea Scrolls – It is difficult to imagine a discovery of ancient manuscripts of greater archeological, historic and theological significance than the Dead Sea Scrolls, hundreds of which are on display now at the Museum of the Bible just a few blocks from the Capitol campus. [video]
https://www.hillfaith.org/apologetics/museum-of-the-bible-an-inside-look-at-the-dead-sea-scrolls/

Why Spring is Such a Wonderful Season – [video]
https://www.hillfaith.org/consider-this/consider-this-why-spring-is-such-a-wonderful-season/