World News and Trends: Sexually transmissible diseases plague America
According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, sexually transmissible disorders were the three most commonly reported infectious diseases in 1995.
Chlamydia, which the CDC began tracking nationally in 1994, was the infectious disease most commonly reported, with 477,638 cases. However, as noted by Dr. Denise Koo, CDC medical epidemiologist, that figure includes only the number of cases actually reported to the centers. Experts estimate that the true annual number of new cases is around four million. Gonorrhea was the second most commonly reported disease, with 392,848 cases. AIDS took the third spot, with 71,547 new cases reported to the CDC.
Chlamydia is transmitted by a microorganism acquired during sexual relations. It is often undetected because it usually produces few symptoms other than abdominal pain or a vaginal discharge in women and a burning sensation during urination or other discharge in men. If undetected and untreated, chlamydia can lead to more-serious problems.
Similarly, gonorrhea can lead to severe problems, including pelvic inflammatory disease, sterility and spreading of the infection to joints, muscles, heart and brain. Barring some medical breakthrough, AIDS still appears to be fatal to everyone contracting the disease.
The most ironic and tragic aspect of this epidemic is that the staggering social, financial and health costs of these diseases are unnecessary because they are preventable. The many biblical prohibitions against extramarital, premarital and homosexual relations are based on sound principles that protect mental, physical and spiritual health and serve to strengthen families and societies. When these laws are broken, human suffering is inevitable. (Source: Newsday.) GN
An Article from:
Good News Magazine: January - February 1997
Course Content
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.
