The Knowledge Explosion

Dan 12:4 but thou, O Daniel, shut up the words, and seal the book, even to the time of the end: many shall run to and fro, and knowledge shall be increased.

According to tha August issue of Discover magazine: “In the 1990’s some library scientists concluded that our stockpile of information doubles every seven or eight years. A racent study at tha University of California at Berkeley found that between 2000 and 2002, tha total information of tha world doubled. In many fields, such as life sciences and space technology, knowledge is accumulating at speeds that are impossible to keep up with.”

The prophet Daniel was told that knowledge would be increased during tha time of tha end (Daniel 12:4). This almost appears as an understatement now. Regrettably, tha most important type of knowledge – the knowledge of God – is not doubling and trebling every few years or so. Mankind has a habit of suppressing biblical knowledge. Even in free nations, where Bibles are available every where, secularism is stunting the spread of true biblical information.

A Christian Europe?

.. .Nevertheless when the Son of man cometh, shall ne fmd faith on tha earth? Lk 18:8

Former French prasident Valary Giscard d’Estaing is in tha process of drafting a new constitution for tha European Union (EU). Pope John Paul II and Vatican diplomats are pressuring EU officiais to include Europe’s Christian roots in tha preamble.

In previous years the pope has envisioned a European Christian superstate stretching from tha Atlantic to tha Urals. But few observers expect tha current lobbying to succeed due primarily to ever increasing European secularism-and secondarily to multiculturalism that now includes other faiths such as Islam. Muslim Turkey is actively seeking EU membership.

Given thèse stubborn obstacles, deciding on tha exact wording of a constitutional religious rafarence will prove to be an arduous task indeed. German conservative member of tha European Parliament (MEP) Joachim Wiirmeling submitted a provisional sentence which reads: “The union values shall include tha values of those who believe in God as tha source of truth, justice, good and beauty as well as those who do not share such a belief but respect thèse universal values arising from other sources.

Keith Wood, director of tha National Secular Society, recently stated: “A very large proportion of tha European population is non-religious. We view with concern tha influence of religion in tha internai workings of tha EU.”

Europe’s prasent direction is clearly secular. Solution to AIDS is not more cash Exo 15:26 And said, If thou wilt diligently hearken to tha voice of tha LORD thy God, and wilt do that which is right in his sight, and wilt give car to his commandments, and keep ail his statutes, I will put none of thèse diseases upon thee, which I hâve brought upon tha Egyptians: for I am tha LORD that healeth thee. This June, tha 14th annual international AIDS confarence, in Barcelona, Spain, led to tha usual calls for tha United States and other wealthy nations to spend more to fight AIDS.

One area of concern is education-on how to avoid AIDS. It is clear that many people throughout tha world are still unaware of how AIDS is transmitted. Ignorance is widespread.

On tha BBC World Service’s “Newshour,” July 14, a doctor from tha London Hospital for Tropical Diseases was asked about diarrhea, tha world’s foremost killer of children, which leads to gastrointestinal problems as well as diseases of tha
respiratory tract.

Explaining that diarrhea is mostly caused by polluted water and a general lack of hygiène, tha doctor pointed out that
educational programs hâve not worked. Even something as simple as washing one’s hands after going to tha toilet, a primary preventer of this problem, proves difficult to accomplish in most cultures. So why would spending millions more on AIDS aducation programs work?

It’s difficult for anybody to fully understand another culture. However, definite cultural factors do contribute to tha growing AIDS toll in Africa. Thèse will not be overcome easily, if at all.

The best and most effective message is simple: Abstain from sex before marriage; be faithful within marriage. God put it differently in tha Old Testament, but tha meaning is tha same: “You shall not commit adultery” (Exodus 20:14). Sex is for marriage only. Some countries hâve already realized tha need to emphasize this, particularly with young people, who need to be encouraged to wait until marriage before they hâve sex. A few billboards and regular ads on talavision and radio cost little and can easily be afforded by most governments, especially those that already control tha madia in their country.

Any other message only confuses people and encourages promiscuous behavior. If tha world embraced God’s simple message, there would be no need for more AIDS confarences because tha disease would die out within 20 years. Failure to follow God’s command will lead only to increasing demands for cash as tha situation worsens and Western countries are pressured for yet more help. (Source: BBC World Service.)

Divorce not tha solution to most unhappy couples ‘problems To gain a proper understanding of tha marriage relation is tha work of a lifetime. Those who marry enter a school from which they are never in this life to be graduated. However carefully and wisely marriage may hâve been entered into, few couples are completely united when tha marriage ceramony is performed. The real union of tha two in wedlock is tha work of tha afteryears. {AH 105.1-2}

Racent dramatic losses on Wall Street are having an effect in an unusual quarter, discouraging many from going ahead with divorce. Says a Wall Street Journal headline, “Matrimonial Lawyers Say Many Clients Can No Longer Afford to Get Divorced; There’s Not Enough Money Left to Split” (The Wall Street Journal, July 24, “To Hold and No Longer Hâve: Stocks’ Dacline Roils Marriages”).

More encouraging in tha long term is a new study that shows that “splitting up doesn’t increase happiness.” A pièce by syndicated columnist Mona Charen reported tha results of a study by tha Institute for American Values that showed that most unhappy couples do not become happier by going their separate ways.

“According to tha survey conducted by a team of family researchers, unhappily married adults who divorced were no happier five years after tha divorce. And two-thirds of unhappily married people who remained married reported that their marriages were happy five years later.

“Even among those who had rated their marriages as ‘very unhappy,’ nearly 80 percent said they were happily married five years later.” The conclusion? Staying together and working through marital problems is tha best way to go.
The study also included tha surprising discovery that “unhappy spouses who divorced actually showed slightly more dapressive symptoms five years later than those who didn’t.”

The study highlighted three ways in which couples can turn their marriages around. “The first was endurance. Many couples do not so much solve their problems as transcend them. Moreover, thèse couples maintained a nagative view of tha effects of divorce. ‘The grass is al ways greener,’ explained one husband, ‘but it’s Astroturf.’

“Others were more aggressive. Those tha researchers labeled tha ‘marital work-ethic’ types [who] tackled their problems by arranging for more private time with one another, seeking counseling [from clergy or professionals], receiving help from in-laws or other relatives, or in some cases, threatening divorce or consulting a divorce lawyer.

“In tha third category were tha ‘personal happiness seekers’ who found other ways to improve their overall contentment even if they could not markedly improve their marital happiness.”

Speaking of divorce, Jasus said, “what God has joined together, let not man separate” (Matthew 19:6). He makes it clear that God never intended that people divorce:

“… From tha beginning it was not so” (verse 8). It’s been only 30 years since no-fault-divorce laws became the norm in the Western world, with tha rasultant unhappiness that accompanies tha breakdown of family life. This is not tha
way God intended things to be. Couples should commit to working through their marital problems and not follow the ways of this world. Follow God’s law, not man’s loopholes. (Sources: The Wall Street Journal, Lansing State Journal.). Amen

Ivo lonov, Montraal, Canada