Adam J. West

After nearly eight years as leader of the largest religious organisation on the face of the earth, Pope Benedict XVI has tendered his resignation in an announcement last Monday that startled the world. With his resignation set to occur on February 28, 2013, a new pope will soon afterward be selected by a conclave of Roman Catholic cardinals assembled at the Vatican in Rome. Observers are wondering what this unexpected and monumental change will mean for Roman Catholicism, and for the struggling European Union.

Your phone rings. You pick it up and say, “Hello?” A voice on the line says, “Hello... is your refrigerator running?” You say, “Y-yes.” The voice on the line, snickering, bursts out with, “Well, you better go catch it!” That “age-old” prank call is somewhat innocuous compared to what has played out recently in the news. What does the Bible say about this kind of humor?

The statistics are shocking. The average age at which a child is first exposed to pornography is between 11 and 12! Forty million Americans are regular visitors to Internet porn sites. In a typical month, 70 percent of American men aged 18–24 visit pornography Web sites. Twenty-five percent of all search engine requests—68 million a day!—are pornography related. This is an epidemic societal scourge!

Through the effective and powerful means of the media, the homosexual agenda—which first took root decades ago—has in the last decade propelled itself forward with juggernaut intensity! Homosexual activists are not emphasizing subtle tactics and persuasive rhetoric; in recent years they have been pushing to make their beliefs mainstream societal thinking.

The Russia Today news agency reports a boom underway in the iron market! Business is prospering for the defense contracting industry as a whole. Iraq, Afghanistan and the more than 1,000 United States military bases worldwide provide a ready stream of business for these contractors. During a career-day expo held in Charlottesville, Virginia, one interviewee stated, “I am a pacifist, but sometimes war is necessary.” Is war really necessary?