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.

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This Halloween, witchcraft isn’t just a costume anymore – We are told in Scripture to love good and hate evil. And of course, evil is defined by God, not by today’s sin fable factory churning out “transphobia,” “colonialism” and the like. American culture is so far from hating evil that we accept almost anything without much of a fuss. The fuss itself is considered evil. Proud paganism is simply not shocking anymore. As we enter another Halloween season with its strangely exploding popularity ($13.5 billion expected expenditures), it’s time to recognize that the mechanics of paganism and witchcraft are incorporated into the everyday routines of many Americans. Even those who claim Christian faith think nothing of practices that are eerily similar to sorcery.
https://www.christianpost.com/voices/this-halloween-witchcraft-isnt-just-a-costume-anymore.html

Powerful Atlantic Earthquakes Raise Seismic Chain Reaction Fears – The ground may not be shaking in the United States right now, but one geophysicist is warning that Americans should be paying attention to what is unfolding beneath the Atlantic. Two powerful earthquakes rocked the Mid-Atlantic Ridge on Oct. 13, and geophysicist Stefan Burns believes they could be the latest pieces in a much larger seismic puzzle.
https://mycharisma.com/news/could-america-be-next-powerful-atlantic-earthquakes-raise-seismic-chain-reaction-fears/

More Protestant Churches Feeling The Economic Squeeze – As the economy strains the U.S. public, pastors report increasing pressures and giving lagging behind inflation. In 2024, two-thirds of pastors (66%) said the economy was hurting their church. Last year, that fell to 49%, but the negative impact has climbed back up to 54% in 2026, including 7% who say the economy is impacting their congregation very negatively.
https://religionunplugged.com/news/2026/10/22/more-protestant-churches-feeling-economic-squeeze

More Than 9 in 10 Protestant Pastors Reject Political Endorsements From the Pulpit Despite IRS Stance – An overwhelming majority of Protestant pastors in the United States say they have no intention of endorsing political candidates during church services ahead of the 2026 midterm elections, even if such endorsements would not jeopardize their churches’ tax-exempt status, according to a Lifeway Research survey.
https://www.christianitydaily.com/news/more-than-9-in-10-protestant-pastors-reject-political-endorsement.html

Chick-Fil-A CEO Doesn’t Fold When NBC Interviewer Tries to Bully Him Into Renouncing Christian Convictions – NBC “Today” host Craig Melvin took three passes at getting Chick-fil-A CEO Andrew Cathy to recant the company’s past support for traditional marriage, but the business leader didn’t take the bait.
https://mycharisma.com/news/chick-fil-a-ceo-doesnt-fold-when-nbc-interviewer-tries-to-bully-him-into-renouncing-christian-convictions/

Egyptian Farmer’s Find Reveals Giant Statue of Pharaoh Linked to Biblical Exodus – An inscribed stone outside an Egyptian farmer’s home led archaeologists to the remains of a colossal Ramses II statue that may once have towered 28 feet above the ground. The unexpected discovery also uncovered a second royal statue believed to depict the same ruler, bringing fresh attention to the ancient pharaoh popularly associated with the biblical Exodus.
https://mycharisma.com/news/egyptian-farmers-find-reveals-giant-statue-of-pharaoh-linked-to-biblical-exodus/

To make AI 'morally good,' tech companies are turning to religion – As tech companies race to build the most powerful artificial intelligence, some are also asking how to teach a chatbot right from wrong. Their answer? Religion. “These are not questions a lab can answer,” Anthropic co-founder Chris Olah said earlier this year at the Vatican’s presentation of Pope Leo XIV’s encyclical on AI. “They are questions traditions like yours have carried for millennia.” Amid this much-discussed turn to faith, there has been little public scrutiny surrounding what exactly these technology companies think religion is — and, perhaps more important, what they hope to get out of it. As executives sound the alarm about AI’s destructive potential and debate the need to develop morally good models, they are increasingly seeking input from philosophers and faith leaders. The executives’ philosophy goes something like this: That religion can help inform AI to be morally good in an environment where fears about it — founded and unfounded — are hopscotching across the culture.
https://cruxnow.com/church-in-the-usa/2026/10/to-make-ai-morally-good-tech-companies-are-turning-to-religion-but-some-say-it-isnt-that-simple/

Scientists Reverse 60 Years of Aging in Human Cells – What if scientists could turn back the biological clock of an 80-year-old human cell, making it behave like one from someone younger than 20? Researchers in Germany have accomplished just that, reversing more than 60 years of molecular aging while transforming blood cell precursors into neural stem cells capable of producing neurons.
https://scitechdaily.com/scientists-reverse-60-years-of-aging-in-human-cells-turning-80-year-old-cells-into-20-year-olds/

Scientists Discovered an Amazing Practical Use For The World's Leftover Coffee Grounds – Charred coffee grounds could make concrete up to 30 percent stronger, scientists in Australia have found. Their clever recipe could solve multiple problems at once. Each year, the world produces about 10 billion kilograms (22 billion pounds) of coffee waste, most of which ends up in landfills.
https://www.sciencealert.com/scientists-discovered-an-amazing-practical-use-for-the-worlds-leftover-coffee-grounds