World News and Trends- America and Canada: A potential division?
In terms of dress, conversation, books, TV programs and movies, foreigners would be hard pressed to tell Americans and Canadians apart. And yet on certain issues like gay marriage, drug use and abuse and even church attendance, according to an International Herald Tribune feature article, "a chasm has opened up on social issues that go to the heart of fundamental values" (Dec. 3, 2003).
Many Canadians are apparently adopting the more liberalized European approach to many current societal problems. Two Canadian provinces have given approval to gay marriage, and the central government in Ottawa is moving in the direction of legalizing marijuana use.
Despite incidents like Canadian refusal to send combat troops to Iraq, political differences between the two countries tend to fade with the passing of administrations in Washington D.C. and Ottawa, but cultural divergence can easily become much more entrenched.
The Tribune article added that "weekly church attendance among Canadians has plummeted since the 1950s while American church attendance has remained virtually constant." Whether these divisive trends will become a permanent fixture or are merely a temporary blip on the graph bears watching.
What many Americans and Canadians do not understand is their common heritage and future legacy. To understand more, please write for our free booklet The United States and Britain in Bible Prophecy. (Source: International Herald Tribune.)
An Article from:
Good News Magazine: March - April 2004
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.
