60 years on David’s throne
Britain’s royal family gathered at Westminster Abbey on June 4 to mark the 60th anniversary of the coronation of Queen Elizabeth ii. The Queen was crowned in Westminster Abbey on June 2, 1953, in a ceremony filled with symbolism and tradition. British monarchs have been crowned in the ancient London church since William the Conqueror in 1066. The anniversary ceremony was designed to evoke memories of 60 years ago. The Queen wore the golden, jewel-encrusted St. Edward’s Crown, which she wore for her coronation. It is the first time the crown has left the Tower of London since 1953. The 1953 coronation was Britain’s first mass television event, watched by more than 20 million people. Pomp and ceremony returned to Westminster Abbey on June 4, but few stop to ask where this throne began. Britain’s royals have an unbroken chain of monarchs who can trace their lineage all the way back to King David. Your Bible prophesies that when Christ returns, He too will sit on this throne. This is explained in our free booklet The Key of David.
Radical role change for women
Women are the primary or sole source of income in 40 percent of U.S. households with children under age 18, a study released by the Pew Research Center on May 29 revealed. These women make more than their husbands, or are the only breadwinner for the household either because they are single moms or their husbands don’t work. The report also showed that most Americans have no desire to go back to the traditional family: 79 percent of Americans rejected the idea that women need to return to their traditional roles. However, the majority of people also agree that this new family pattern isn’t making life easier: 74 percent agreed that when the wife works outside the home it is harder to raise children, and half said it is harder to make a marriage successful. In Isaiah 3, God foretold that in these present latter days, family breakdown and women leading the family would be the norm.
Sex abuse degrades U.S. military pride
Recently, the U.S. military has been rocked by a string of sexual assault scandals. In May alone, seven separate incidents of sexual misconduct in the military made headlines. The charges came against soldiers of all ranks, including an Army general who was suspended from his post for adultery. A U.S. Defense Department report says the number of sexual assault cases have been on the rise in the past few years. It estimated that in 2012 there were 26,000 cases of sexual assault, though only 3,374 were reported. The degradation of the U.S. military, which is supposed to reflect the highest standard of respect and discipline, is a telling sign of the decline of American society.
The Boy Scouts’ big announcement
The Boy Scouts of America voted on May 23 to lift a ban against homosexual boys joining its organization. The vote was made by 60 percent of the 1,400 members of the national council of the bsa at its annual meeting in Grapevine, Texas, and the new policy will officially be effective Jan. 1, 2014. The decision to allow homosexual scouts has been received with mixed feelings. While some churches have endorsed the bsa’s vote, many other churches and organizations are firmly opposed to the decision. Many will pull their funding of the Boy Scouts. For the 103 years since its founding, the Boy Scouts has enforced some basic biblical values among its members. Its mission is to build upstanding character in young people, and has largely used the Bible to define morality. That is why the organization has in the past expelled homosexual members whose orientation contradicted those biblical values.
Good news and bad news
The Department of Labor’s May jobs report showed that 175,000 new jobs were created that month—10,000 more than some analysts expected. The trouble is, these jobs are not the types that are going to put more money into the economy. The first thing to notice in the report is the kind of jobs that aren’t being created: the goods-producing jobs. In May, the U.S. lost 1,000 of these jobs. Also noteworthy is the kinds of jobs that are being created: The vast majority were low-paying, service-providing jobs. Over half the jobs created in May were limited to the restaurant sector, retail trade and temporary employment. The report also showed that the unemployment rate rose by 0.1 percent to 7.6 percent.