Roderick C. Meredith (1930-2017)

A few hours ago, the twin towers of the World Trade Center in New York City were each struck by airplanes in obvious terrorist attacks against the United States! Then, we heard that a third plane crashed into the Pentagon—the seat of the entire United States defense establishment in Washington, DC. Senator Chuck Hagel of Nebraska commented: "This is the second Pearl Harbor!" But for us, in this brief commentary, we need to ask: "Why?" Why have these attacks taken place? What is the meaning behind all of these things?

Smart teenagers don't have sex. A recent study at the University of North Carolina has discovered that bright teenagers delay their first kiss and become sexually active later than adolescents of average intelligence. Teenagers of average intelligence are up to five times more likely to have had sex than are teenagers with higher IQs, according to Dr. Carolyn Halpern, assistant professor of maternal and child health at UNC. Her team analyzed data on approximately 12,000 teenagers, and detailed information on the levels of sexual contact among 100 boys and 200 girls.

Anyone following news of the world's religions will notice two contradictory trends developing side-by-side. On the one hand, religious differences are causing tensions to escalate, often into full-fledged combat. Yet on the other hand, religious leaders are making overtures toward "unity"—resolving or minimizing centuries-old differences between communities of faith.

A lot of upsets in the world are due to occur right around the turn of the MILLENIUM! What will things look like in about three to five years?

Are we nearing the end of the age? After NATO began its intense airstrikes against Yugoslavia, Russia quit its membership in NATO - and President Boris Yeltsin gave this warning: "I told NATO, the Americans, the Germans, don't push us toward military action. Otherwise there will be European war for sure and possibly world war."