World News and Trends: Humanity held hostage to missile threat
Magazine articles catch the eye, particularly one that begins: "A decade after the end of the Cold War there are still 550 ballistic missiles buried in America's landscape. And with them are the missileers, the young Air Force elite who are always ready to do the unthinkable."
This was recently published in The Times Magazine in London (Saturday supplement), and of course the number does not take into account America's missile strike force carried by nuclear submarines.
The quote itself becomes even more important when considered with part of another article printed in The Los Angeles Times. "Those details, published by the Bulletin of Atomic Scientists, reveal that the United States has encouraged Russia to keep its entire strategic nuclear force of about 3,000 missiles on hair-trigger alert as a way to reduce Moscow's anxiety about a U.S. missile defense system. The U.S. system, however, would be designed to counter no more than a small fraction of Russia's arsenals."
Undoubtedly those who man the controls in both countries are well trained and balanced. Safety requirements are no doubt stringent. As Maj. Rick McAlister, a senior Air Force instructor, said: "Every time you go out on alert, this Wing, this country, this world is depending on you to do your job perfect—not close enough, but perfect."
This is a stark reminder of what we too often forget: We live in a world that at any given time is potentially only minutes away from nuclear warfare capable of devastating much of the globe. We are held hostage to our supersophisticated nuclear weaponry.
In spite of years of effort, utopia has not come—and a war-minded world populace cannot bring it about. That's why the world desperately needs the gospel of the Kingdom of God. God's good news heralds the personal intervention of Jesus Christ and the beginning of His reign, bringing the peaceful world tomorrow when all of mankind will lay down its weapons (Isaiah 2:4; Micah 4:3). No longer will we be under constant threat from our own technology. (Sources: The Times Magazine [London], The Los Angeles Times).
An Article from:
Good News Magazine: July - August 2000
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.
