World News and Trends: The high cost of immorality
Even if AIDS or HIV infections are not considered, the United States leads all other nations in the rate of sexually transmissible diseases, according to health-care experts representing the Institute of Medicine, affiliated with the National Academy of Sciences.
In 1996 sexually transmissible diseases accounted for five of the 10 diseases most commonly reported to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Although most of these diseases can be cured, without treatment they can lead to birth defects, infertility, cancer and other major health problems.
In addition to the health and social costs, these diseases cost taxpayers $10 billion annually in direct costs such as Medicaid payments and indirect costs from higher health premiums. Such are the staggering costs to individuals and society for disobedience to God's Commandments, including His laws forbidding sexual activity outside of marriage. (News source: The New York Times.)
An Article from:
Good News Magazine: September - October 1997
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.
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.
