Current Events & Trends: Endless summits and the decline of the West
It usually takes a hugely charismatic leader to unite countries that have been in serious conflict over time. And the Bible foretells that just such a personality will arise in Europe and bring order out of chaos - though at enormous cost.
Philip Stevens, senior columnist of the Financial Times, observed: "Not so long ago consecutive summits of the western powers would have called the world to attention. Nowadays, these gatherings call attention only to how fast and far the west has fallen. If one were looking for a metaphor for a decade of decline, there have been few more telling than the latest summits of leaders of the G8 nations and Nato" ("Summits That Cap the West's Decline," May 24, 2012).
There is increasing divisiveness. Stevens continued, "Ten years on, Europe is in the grip of the nationalisms it thought had banished."
And there is also increasing decadence despite economic turmoil and decline.
The Wall Street Journal recently borrowed from Shakespeare by titling an article on the latest eurozone conference "Much Euro Ado About Nothing." The text of the article began, "A meeting of euro-zone leaders that wasn't designed to decide anything didn't actually decide anything" (Simon Nixon, May 24, 2012).
This should come as no surprise, since these "confabs" are often just a pretext for politicians and staffers living it up at taxpayer expense.
Yet despite the ongoing decline, Stevens concluded: "The West is not finished. These nations remain by far the richest on the planet. For every tale of woe about gridlock in Washington there is a story of American enterprise and ingenuity. Billions of people around the world would give anything for what the Europeans call austerity."
However, he ended his article with this complaint about how the decline is being managed: "What is so maddening is that the leaders who gathered in Washington and Chicago seem so determined to make the very worst of it."
Yet even in present circumstances, never forget the long history of Europe. (Churchill didn't, and England benefited.) It was fraught with empires and dictatorships that carried on for significant periods despite ethnic division.
We should remember Rome. We should also recall the Austro-Hungarian Empire with its longtime emperor Franz Josef (reigned 1848-1916). Like the Turkish Ottoman Empire, it only ended as a result of World War I (1914-1918). Marshal Tito actually united several Balkan nations at the time of World War II into Yugoslavia, which grew in ethnic tension in the decade after his death in 1980, ultimately breaking up in 1991-1992.
It usually takes a hugely charismatic leader to unite countries that have been in serious conflict over time. And the Bible foretells that just such a personality will arise in Europe and bring order out of chaos—though at enormous cost. Request or download our free Bible study aid booklet The Book of Revelation Unveiled. (Sources: Financial Times, The Wall Street Journal.)
An Article from:
Good News Magazine: July - August 2012
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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.
