World News and Trends: Anglo-American Marriage Trends
According to the latest issue of British Population Trends, married couples will constitute a minority of the population before 2010.
In the other direction, the rate of growth in cohabitation and illegitimate children is enormous.
Most Western governments have knowingly or unknowingly undermined the divine institution of marriage. Over the last 50 years their laws and policies have weakened nuptial bonds. While paying lip service to marriage, their philosophy has conceived the legal loopholes that have made divorce far easier and tax policies that penalize married couples.
Consider the words of Jack Straw, Britain's home secretary: "While marriages should be supported and strengthened, there are other kinds of families, including single-parent families, that do equally well for children." Do they? Juvenile-crime statistics show otherwise.
Wrote journalist Cheryl Wetzstein of The Washington Times: "Marriage in America has gone from better to worse, with fewer couples marrying and fewer still saying their lives together are wedded bliss, according to a report released on July 1 . . . As marriage has faltered, rates of divorce, cohabitation and bearing children out of wedlock have soared to record levels." (Sources: Financial Times; Daily Mail [London]; Washington Times.)
An Article from:
Good News Magazine: September - October 1999
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.
