In recent statements, Pope Francis encouraged people not to “be scared” of tattoos. He stated, “With young people one should never be scared. Never. Because always, even behind the things that are not so good, there is something that will bring us to some truth” (The Independent, March 21, 2018).
The world has been a violent place for thousands of years, but societies around the globe appear to be getting even more violent. Last Sunday in Toronto, Canada, a 25-year-old man drove a rented truck into pedestrians, killing ten and injuring 13 more (The Independent, April 24, 2018).
In the last 15 years, France’s bird population has fallen by over 30 percent (The Guardian, March 20, 2018). The numbers of some bird species have dropped by two-thirds! Researchers believe the primary reason for the die-off “is the intensive use of pesticides on vast tracts of monoculture crops, especially wheat and corn.” The birds are not being poisoned.
Tensions are rising with the accusation that Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s army again used chemical weapons in contravention of the Geneva Convention (U.S. News & World Report, April 10, 2018). The U.S., the U.K.
A recent study verifies what many have observed over the last couple decades in Europe: that “Christianity as a default, as a norm, is gone, and probably gone for good—or at least for the next 100 years” (The Guardian, March 20, 2018).
Today there is growing animosity between Russia and the West—Europe, Britain and the United States. Some experts note that “China, Russia, India, Turkey, Iran, and others are seeking to carve out a new space for themselves in the newly emerging international system, as the United States is struggling to redefine its place and identity in the new world” (Oxford...
School shootings remain a terrifying staple of news in the U.S. The most recent shooting occurred in a Maryland high school on Tuesday, March 20. Two students were critically injured before the shooter himself was killed (Chicago Tribune, March 20, 2018).
As regional and global tensions increase, there is growing concern humanity could annihilate itself by nuclear war. In a recent interview, SpaceX and Tesla founder Elon Musk commented, “Humans must prioritise the colonisation of Mars so the species can be conserved in the event of a third world war….
Those who call themselves Christians and attempt to follow biblical morality as they understand it are now among the most persecuted religious groups in the world (Newsweek, January 4, 2018). Sadly, this is increasingly true even in nations where “Christianity” is considered the predominant religion.
With the U.S. and Britain quickly fading from their global leadership positions, China has stepped into the gap! “[F]rom the fight against climate change to global trade rules,” China has risen to the level of a world superpower and “the past year has seen its status cemented” (Deutsche Welle, February 15, 2018). Chinese historian Zhang Lifan observed, “The...
