World News and Trends
Beyond Today Magazine
Good News Magazine: July - August 1999
Course Content
A tragic byproduct of overweight among Westerners is greater vulnerability to heart disease.
The American Heart Association (as reported in The American, based in Britain) that the cost of heart disease is expected to cost Americans billions of dollars in 1999 as people put on weight. "Heart attacks, strokes, high blood pressure and other cardiovascular diseases will cost the nation $274.2 billion, up 6 per cent from $259.1 billion in 1997 ...
"Heart disease is the nation's number one cause of death ... Overweight or obese people are more likely to develop heart attacks and strokes even if they have no other risk factors ... In 1995, the most recent year for which figures are available, 960,592 people died of cardiovascular diseases in the United States, an increase of nearly 11,000 from 1994."
Heart disease plagues Britain as well. According to Jenny Hope, medical correspondent for The Daily Mail, heart disease remains Britain's biggest killer, accounting for half of all deaths and costing 10 billion pounds a year. "Half of those deaths could be prevented by a healthier lifestyle—such as cutting out smoking, eating more fruits and vegetables and less fat, and taking more exercise." (Sources: The American; The Daily Mail [London].)
John died on March 8, 2014, in Oxford, England, four days after suffering cardiac arrest while returning home from a press event in London. John was 77 and still going strong.
Some of John's work for The Good News appeared under his byline, but much didn't. He wrote more than a thousand articles over the years, but also wrote the Questions and Answers section of the magazine, compiled our Letters From Our Readers, and wrote many of the items in the Current Events and Trends section. He also contributed greatly to a number of our study guides and Bible Study Course lessons. His writing has touched the lives of literally millions of people over the years.
John traveled widely over the years as an accredited journalist, especially in Europe. His knowledge of European and Middle East history added a great deal to his articles on history and Bible prophecy.
In his later years he also pastored congregations in Northern Ireland and East Sussex, and that experience added another dimension to his writing. He and his wife Jan were an effective team in our British Isles office near their home.
John was a humble servant who dedicated his life to sharing the gospel—the good news—of Jesus Christ and the Kingdom of God to all the world, and his work was known to readers in nearly every country of the world.
Scott Ashley is managing editor of Beyond Today magazine, United Church of God booklets and its printed Bible Study Course. He and his wife, Connie, live near Denver, Colorado.
Mr. Ashley attended Ambassador College in Big Sandy, Texas, graduating in 1976 with a theology major and minors in journalism and speech. It was there that he first became interested in publishing, an industry in which he has worked for more than 40 years.
During his career, he has worked for several publishing companies in various capacities. He has been employed by the United Church of God since 1995, overseeing the planning, writing, editing, reviewing and production of Beyond Today magazine, several dozen booklets/study guides and a Bible study course covering major biblical teachings. His special interests are the Bible, archaeology, biblical culture, history and the Middle East.
