World News and Trends: The disparity of two different worlds
The recent G8 Conference in Evian, France, reminded us of the shocking disparity extant in our world, particularly when comparing most Western countries with the continent of Africa.
For example, life expectancy in the G8 (mainly Western countries) is 77 while the average in Africa is 48. There is almost 100 percent access to clean water in, for instance, the United Kingdom, but the figure is only 45 percent for the troubled Congo.
Canada's average citizen spends about $2,500 in Canadian dollars annually on health care, but Mali only one paltry dollar. In the developed world about 1.5 million people have the HIV virus, while in Africa 28 million are plagued by this disease. Consider also the number of people who live on less than a dollar a day. There are none among the G8 nations, but 291 million people eke out such an existence in Africa.
These comparisons were chosen at random and many similar ones could be made. This is one good reason that true Christians should always pray, "Your kingdom come."
If you want to know what God plans to do about the afflictions of our age and to learn of the much different conditions our Creator promises for the world of tomorrow, request or download our free booklet The Gospel of the Kingdom. Also see the article about our fragmented world on page 21 of this issue. (Sources: The Independent [London], the World Bank, UNICEF, World Resources Institute, University of North Carolina Worldview Program.)
An Article from:
Good News Magazine: July - August 2003
Course Content
Jerold Aust
Jerold Aust has served in the ministry for 52 years, as a public speaker for 58 years, a published writer for 38 years, and is employed by UCG’s Media and Communications Services. He is a Senior Writer, interviewer, and editor for Beyond Today Magazine and has taught Speech Communication for UCG’s ministerial online program and the Book of Revelation for ABC.
Jerold holds a BA in theology from Ambassador College, Pasadena (1968), an MA in Communication from California State University, Fullerton (1995), a distance-learning Ph.D (2006), and a Famous Writers School diploma in non-fiction writing (1973). Additionally, he studied post-grad communication at University of Southern California (1995), radio, TV, voice-overs, and Public Relations at Fullerton College (1995-1996), and graduate communication at Wichita State University (1978). Jerold has taught communication at the University of South Alabama (7 years) and ABC (17 years). His published works include, Ronald Reagan’s Rhetoric: Metaphor as Persuasion and EZSpeakers: Public Speaking Made Easy in 7 Steps. Jerold's overarching goal is to share with humankind its incredible destiny!
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.
