World News and Trends
Beyond Today Magazine
Good News Magazine: July - August 1999
Course Content
According to The Sunday Times, Israel's prime minister-elect, Ehud Barak, will push to offer Syria the Golan Heights in return for peace in an important step ending 50 years of hostility between the Jewish state and the Arab world.
As a part of a proposed comprehensive peace settlement, Israel would insist on demilitarized strips of land 15 miles wide on either side of the border, plus American and perhaps European troops manning key points on the Golan itself. Mr. Barak also wants an Israeli embassy in Damascus, along with full and friendly trade relations with Syria.
Israel captured the Golan Heights from Syria during the Six Day War of June 1967. An important question remains: Can Israel successfully trade territory for peace? (Source: The Sunday Times [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.
