News and Prophecy Staff

“Chicken” is a game where two people challenge each other to see who will quit or back down first. Historian and writer Niall Ferguson referred to this game to build an insightful analogy in his recent commentary in The Times (August 25, 2019). Professor Ferguson wrote, “Games of chicken are all around these days.

Research just published in the highly respected journal Science contains findings that will be shocking to many. In a genome-association study of nearly 500,000 people in the U.S., U.K., and Sweden, researchers concluded, “No individual gene alone makes a person gay, lesbian or bisexual; instead, thousands of genes likely influence sexual orientation” (Live Science, August 29, 2019).

Just over a week ago, Israel attacked Iranian forces based in Syria. An Israeli military statement following the attack noted, “The strike targeted Iranian Quds Force operatives and Shiite militias which were preparing to advance attack plans targeting sites in Israel from within Syria over the last number of days” (Reuters, August 24, 2019).

Shellfish—including lobsters, oysters, mussels and crabs—are consumed by people around the globe as a gourmet delicacy—yet few realize they are dining on creatures that God created for an entirely different purpose. A recent AFP article noted, “The mussel is the hoover [vacuum cleaner] of the sea, taking in phytoplankton for nourishment along with microplastics, pesticides and other pollutants….

Two weeks ago, Israel’s Public Security Minister commented in a radio interview that Jews should be allowed to pray on the Temple Mount along with Muslims (Jerusalem Post, August 20, 2019). Since 1967, Jordan has been the “custodian” of the Temple Mount where only Muslims are allowed to pray and worship.