It’s Friday, July 10th, A.D. 2020. This is The Worldview in 5 Minutes heard at www.TheWorldView.com. I’m Adam McManus. (Adam@TheWorldview.com)

By Jonathan Clark

Communists demand bizarre loyalty of Christians in church

Chinese officials allowed state-run churches to begin reopening last month after five months of lockdown but at a price: churches must show their loyalty to the Communist Party by raising the Chinese flag, singing the national anthem, and praising the government’s response to the coronavirus pandemic.

One church member told the Bitter Winter Magazine: “The United Front Work Department and Religious Affairs Bureau demand to hold flag-raising ceremonies and promote patriotism. From now on, all churches have to do so, or they will be shut down, and their leaders dismissed.”

1 Peter 4:12-13 says, “Beloved, do not think it strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you . . . but rejoice to the extent that you partake of Christ’s sufferings.”

Trump to China: Stop detaining & abusing ethnic minorities

The Trump administration announced sanctions against Chinese Communist Party officials yesterday in response to human rights abuses against ethnic minorities.

The U.S. Department of the Treasury said the abuses include mass arbitrary detention and severe physical abuse of Uyghurs, a Turkic Muslim population in Xinjiang.

Brazilian President tested positive for coronavirus

Brazil’s President Jair Bolsonaro tested positive for COVID-19 after taking the test on Monday. Bolsonaro said there was no reason to fear and that “I thank God for my life.”

Bolsonaro has strongly opposed lockdown measures and encouraged people to go back to work and school.

Brazil has the second highest number of coronavirus cases and deaths in the world after the U.S.

Although the number of new daily coronavirus cases around the world is double now what it was a month ago, the number of daily deaths from the virus has not increased significantly.

U.S. officially withdrawing from World Health Organization

The U.S. is formally withdrawing from the World Health Organization, according to a senior Trump administration official.

The withdrawal won’t go into effect until July 6, 2021.

This comes after House Republicans released a report, accusing China of covering up the initial COVID-19 outbreak and the W.H.O of being complicit in the cover-up.

Supreme Court victory: Nuns don’t have to pay for abortifacients

On Wednesday, the Supreme Court ruled 7-2 in favor of the Catholic group Little Sisters of the Poor after concluding years of legal battles against the Obamacare contraceptive mandate.

The decision upholds Trump administration rules that exempted employers from having to cover abortifacients for their employees in violation of their religious beliefs.

Christian rapper Kanye West running for president

Kanye West, the Grammy-winning rapper who made a sharp turn toward Christianity recently, is now running for president.

West tweeted on July 4, “We must now realize the promise of America by trusting God, unifying our vision and building our future. I am running for president of the United States.”

During an interview with Forbes, West said he no longer supports President Donald Trump and that he would probably run as an independent.

West referenced God and the Bible multiple times in the interview, saying he was pro-life.

32% of practicing Christians didn’t stream during COVID shutdown

During coronavirus lockdowns in the U.S., a Barna study found 53 percent of practicing Christians streamed their regular church online, 34 percent streamed another church’s services, and 32 percent said they did neither, most likely dropping out of church altogether.

Among Christian millennials, a full 50 percent say they have not attended church recently.

Those who stopped attending church were more likely to say they were bored, anxious, or insecure.

Hebrews 10:24-25 says, “Let us consider one another in order to stir up love and good works, not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as is the manner of some, but exhorting one another.”

Navy allows sailors to go to church again

The U.S. Navy is allowing active duty members to go back to church after banning indoor services last month during the coronavirus pandemic.

First Liberty Institute General Counsel Mike Berry decried the ban as his organization worked to get it reversed.

BERRY: “On June 24, the U.S. Navy issued this order. It’s a general order punishable by court-martial if you disobey it. And they banned anyone attached to a Navy unit from being able to go to church even though you can attend a protest rally.”

Berry told LifeSiteNews that the Navy’s reversal of the ban was a huge victory for “tens of thousands of our brave service members who will be able to safely and freely exercise their religious beliefs.”

Close

And that’s The Worldview in 5 Minutes on this Friday, July 10th, in the year of our Lord 2020. Subscribe by iTunes or email to our unique Christian newscast at www.TheWorldview.com. Or get the Generations app through Google Play or The App Store. I’m Adam McManus (adam@TheWorldView.com). Seize the day for Jesus Christ.