News and Prophecy Staff

For decades, America and Saudi Arabia have had a marriage of convenience. Saudi Arabia provided the United States with access to oil and the U.S. provided Saudi Arabia with security—until recently. Some say the relationship began faltering after the September 11 attacks in 2001, when it was discovered that the majority of the terrorists involved were Saudi nationals. More recent events have fed the decline in relations between the nations.

According to The Guardian, studies show that behaviors and attitudes associated with religious faith can benefit believers’ health in many ways. As a professor of public health at the University of California at Berkley put it, “Religious and spiritual traditions give you access to different methods of coping that have distinctive benefits” (December 3, 2022).

External threats have a way of driving people together. This is the case with Australia, the United Kingdom, and the United States. With increasing tensions in the South China Sea and belligerent talk from North Korea, Australia and America recently held talks to plan future joint military efforts (South China Morning Post, December 7, 2022). At the meetings, the U.S.

On December 14, 2022, American President Joe Biden signed a historic piece of legislation—the Respect for Marriage Act (RFMA)—that seeks to protect same-sex “marriage” in the United States. In his celebratory remarks, the president declared, “This law and the love it defends strike a blow against hate in all its forms” (Los Angeles Times, December 13, 2022). The signing of the new law was marked by a celebration at the White House.

Recently, two leaders of Israelite-descended nations celebrated events with drag queens—men dressed as women. Prime Minister of Canada Justin Trudeau appeared with drag queens on the television program “Canada’s Drag Race: Canada vs. the World” to say that “it does not matter… who you love” (CBC, November 25, 2022). A month later, American President Biden invited a prominent drag queen activist and “Drag Queen Story Hour” participant to attend the signing of the new “Respect for Marriage Act.”