In Brief... World News Review: America's Need to Rediscover Biblical Values
Outwardly one may certainly blame the tragic loss of so many lives on sheer complacency and a disturbing lack of airport security, but the behind-the-scenes culprit may be declining American values.
Outwardly one may certainly blame the tragic loss of so many lives on sheer complacency and a disturbing lack of airport security, but the behind-the-scenes culprit may be declining American values.
French political writer, Alexis de Tocqueville (1805-1859), once proclaimed that "America is great because America is good." Historically, the strength of the United States has been undergirded by its basic adherence to traditional biblical values. However, recent decades have witnessed a serious and substantial erosion of accepted standards even to the point that annual income from pornographic films now exceeds yearly commercial intake of conventional movies. And tragically, those who market blue films include corporations that are household names in America.
Former Secretary of State Henry Kissinger remarked that "without a moral compass you cannot find your way through the dilemmas that foreign policy throws up" (The Sunday Times, September 16). So no aspect of human life is exempt from adherence to moral standards, not even international relations. Scotland on Sunday pointed out that though "under attack externally, the U.S. is also undergoing an internal battle between traditional values and tinsel-town influences" (September 16).
In a sense two nations are simultaneously living under the auspices of the American flag. One is pioneering, patriotic, law-abiding, church-going and family-oriented. The other is politically correct, self-indulgent, believes in mollycoddling criminals and rejects traditional biblical values.
Course Content
Jim Tuck
Jim has been in the ministry over 40 years serving fifteen congregations. He and his wife, Joan, started their service to God's church in Pennsylvania in 1974. Both are graduates of Ambassador University. Over the years they served other churches in Alabama, Idaho, Oregon, Arizona, California, and currently serve the Phoenix congregations in Arizona, as well as the Hawaii Islands. He has had the opportunity to speak in a number of congregations in international areas of the world. They have traveled to Zambia and Malawi to conduct leadership seminars In addition, they enjoy working with the youth of the church and have served in youth camps for many years.
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.
