MONEY AND MARRIAGE. An interesting study by Emory University scientists found that couples who spent over $20,000 for their weddings were three-and-a-half times more likely to end up divorced than couples who spent less than that amount. Men who spent more than $2,000 on a ring were also more likely to be divorced than men who spent less. There are obviously a number of different explanations for this, but the overriding message is that a lack of money is not a primary cause of marriages failing. Source: National Geographic, December 2015.

DATING SITES AND STDS. We are told that one in five relationships begin online, and thanks to dating websites that is likely to increase. What we are not told is that sexually transmitted disease rates are rising and apps like Tinder and Grindr are contributors. In 2014 sexually transmitted diseases in Rhode Island reached a 10 year high with cases of gonorrhea rising thirty percent. A separate study shows that homosexual men who use these sites had a higher rate of gonorrhea and chlamydia than the general population. Dating apps attract a population that can be dangerous. Your chances of finding a soul-mate are better when you meet someone in person at Bible class, and the STD rate is less. Source: Popular Science, October 2015, page 30.

DO ANIMALS KNOW WHERE BABIES COME FROM? That is the title of an article in Scientific American (January 2016, page 67). It should not be surprising that understanding that sex leads to babies does not seem to be comprehended by animals. Instinctive behavior can allow reproduction, and can even establish levels of social interaction in animals. Their cognitive skills, however, are not good enough to allow understanding in animals, and the article discusses investigations that have led to evidence of this. One of the things that demonstrates human spiritual nature is our capacity to function independently of instinctive drives. We are not robotically driven by instincts as most animals are. Art, music, worship, feeling guilt, being sympathetic, and doing things that may not positively affect survival are all attributes of humans that are not seen in animals. The fact that love in humans can be an “agape” type of love rather than just a physical attraction speaks well of our spiritual capacity.