World News and Trends: Teen pregnancies and sexually transmitted diseases
Rising rates of abortions and sexually transmitted diseases in young girls indicate a decline of moral standards according to God's laws.
In Britain the age of consent for sexual relations is supposedly 16. However, according to a Daily Telegraph report in June 2008, more than 1,000 girls younger than 14 had abortions in the previous year.
Concern is also growing about the spiraling rise in teen pregnancies in Britain , including those that are not ended by an abortion. According to the government Web site "Every Child Matters," the Independent Advisory Group on Teenage Pregnancy (TPIAG) published its fifth annual report suggesting strategies for halving conception rates for both the 16 to 18 age range and establishing "a firm downward trend" in the rate for those under 16.
Not surprisingly, there is a corresponding upward rise in the rates of sexually transmitted diseases. The British government plans to combat this by offering around 300,000 girls between the ages of 17 and 18 vaccinations against the human papilloma virus (HPV), which causes genital warts and, if not treated, can lead to cervical cancer. (The Sunday Times, July 20, 2008). The government also plans to vaccinate younger girls.
Merely treating the effects of early sexual promiscuity and making information on sex and its hazards more readily available appears to government departments to be the only solution. Few consider obeying the law, and more importantly God's law, as an answer to the problem. (Sources: The Daily Telegraph, The Sunday Times [both London ], www.everychildmatters.gov.uk.)
An Article from:
Good News Magazine: September - October 2008
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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.
