In Brief...World News Review: Affairs Becoming More Commonplace
The apostle Paul wrote, "Awake to righteousness, and do not sin."
Sarah Womack, social affairs correspondent of The Daily Telegraph, stated that "divorce rates [in England and Wales] rose last year for the first time in five years, leaving an additional 147,000 children with a single parent" (Nov. 6, 2002). Selfish adults often don't think of them.
Let's face it. Although there can be many reasons for divorce, the main one is and has always been infidelity—unfaithfulness to a marriage partner. Current Western attitudes toward adultery are not that encouraging.
A major feature article in The Sunday Times revealed that "up to 55% of people have an affair at some time in their lives...One in 10 men admit to an affair in the past five years...For men in London the average number of sexual partners over a lifetime has jumped from 12.2 in 1990 to 15.5 in 2000." Statistics about women showed a similar increase.
Of course, affairs don't always result in divorce. The article stated, "New research suggests people are becoming more tolerant of straying spouses and brief affairs. What matters more they say, is 'emotional infidelity.'" Genuine repentance by the offender followed by true forgiveness on the part of the offended is commendable. But in the long run, so-called tolerance (mutual or otherwise) of adulterous behavior can only lead to more misery and unhappiness.
Perhaps the most disturbing statement in the entire article was: "American studies have shown that religious people disapprove of affairs more strongly than others—but have just as many of them." Talk about shame and embarrassment! The apostle Paul wrote, "Awake to righteousness, and do not sin; for some do not have the knowledge of God. I speak this to your shame" (1 Corinthians 15:34). Please write for our free booklet, The Ten Commandments.
—Sources: The Sunday Times, The Daily Telegraph.
An Article from:
World News and Prophecy: December 2002
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.
