World News and Trends: Major species in jeopardy
What must God think of mankind's stewardship of the earth and that so many major animal species are now in danger of extinction?
The creation epic in Genesis 1 mentions God making "great sea creatures" and "beast[s] of the earth." The epilogue tells us that "God saw everything that He had made, and indeed it was very good" (verse 31). What must God think of mankind's stewardship of the earth (see verse 28) and that so many major animal species are now in danger of extinction?
Take the awesomely beautiful tiger as a case in point. Writes Stuart Wavell in The Sunday Times: "In the forests of the night, the tiger is facing extinction. Its last great stronghold in India is under siege by rich men who grind its bones to make their bread."
Scarcely 3,000 Bengal tigers remain in India (2,500), Bangladesh, Nepal and Bhutan. The Indochinese tiger is down to but 1,000, the Siberian 160, the Sumatran 400 and the South China tiger fewer than 50. Already extinct are the Ball tiger (gone since the 1940s), Caspian (1970s) and Javan (1980s). Reports from India estimate that Bengal tigers are killed at the rate of one a day. The earth boasted 80,000 tigers of all species in 1900. Fewer than 5,000 may remain.
In addition to the tiger, elephants are under siege in Africa and Asia. The white rhino is near extinction, with only about 7,500 left in Southern Africa. And, says one source, of the 11 great whale species, seven are on the danger list.
As far back as 1961 The Daily Mirror headlined the problem: "Doomed to Disappear From the Face of the Earth Due to Man's Folly, Greed, Neglect." Today illegal-wildlife trade rages out of control. (Sources: The Sunday Times; The Independent; The Express.)
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John Ross Schroeder
John died on March 8, 2014, in Oxford, England, four days after suffering cardiac arrest while returning home from a press event in London. John was 77 and still going strong.
Some of John's work for The Good News appeared under his byline, but much didn't. He wrote more than a thousand articles over the years, but also wrote the Questions and Answers section of the magazine, compiled our Letters From Our Readers, and wrote many of the items in the Current Events and Trends section. He also contributed greatly to a number of our study guides and Bible Study Course lessons. His writing has touched the lives of literally millions of people over the years.
John traveled widely over the years as an accredited journalist, especially in Europe. His knowledge of European and Middle East history added a great deal to his articles on history and Bible prophecy.
In his later years he also pastored congregations in Northern Ireland and East Sussex, and that experience added another dimension to his writing. He and his wife Jan were an effective team in our British Isles office near their home.
John was a humble servant who dedicated his life to sharing the gospel—the good news—of Jesus Christ and the Kingdom of God to all the world, and his work was known to readers in nearly every country of the world.
Scott Ashley
Scott Ashley was managing editor of Beyond Today magazine, United Church of God booklets and its printed Bible Study Course until his retirement in 2023. He also pastored three congregations in Colorado for 10 years from 2011-2021. He and his wife, Connie, live near Denver, Colorado.
Mr. Ashley attended Ambassador College in Big Sandy, Texas, graduating in 1976 with a theology major and minors in journalism and speech. It was there that he first became interested in publishing, an industry in which he worked for 50 years.
During his career, he has worked for several publishing companies in various capacities. He was employed by the United Church of God from 1995-2023, overseeing the planning, writing, editing, reviewing and production of Beyond Today magazine, several dozen booklets/study guides and a Bible study course covering major biblical teachings. His special interests are the Bible, archaeology, biblical culture, history and the Middle East.
