World News and Trends: Marriage, traditional roles in trouble
A recent report from The Hague does nothing to support the sanctity of marriage.
It said: "Long in the vanguard of gay rights, the Netherlands enacted a bill converting the country's registered same-sex partnerships into full fledged marriages, complete with divorce guidelines and wider adoption rights." The vote of 107 to 33 was not even close.
A vocal political opponent fears for the future of the country. He talked of "a world without foundations, where the historical understanding of marriage is torn from its roots."
Across the Channel in Britain the news emerges that the breakup of families costs the taxpayer 30 billion British pounds a year. Britain has the highest divorce rate in Europe, with twice as many marriage breakups in 1998 as in 1971.
Meanwhile, in the United States, groups advocating the rights of homosexuals held rallies in 21 states against the Boy Scouts of America's exclusion of avowed homosexuals as scout leaders.
If you would like to understand the divine basis for the marriage institution, please request our free booklet Making Life Work. (Sources: The Daily Telegraph [London], International Herald Tribune, The Washington Times.)
An Article from:
Good News Magazine: November - December 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.
Melvin Rhodes
Melvin Rhodes is a member of the United Church of God congregation in Lansing, Michigan.
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.
