It’s Thursday, May 21st, 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

Tennessee pastor released from jail in India after 7 months

Praise God! A Tennessee pastor who was detained in India for seven months is now home after members of the U.S. Congress called for his release.

Indian officials arrested Pastor Bryan Nerren in October 2019 on false charges as he and several other pastors were on their way to attend religious conferences in India and Nepal.

After joyfully reuniting with his family on Tuesday, Nerren told WKRN he was not discouraged and that he would continue his ministry in India.

NERREN: “Not at all. They’ve inspired me to do stuff I wasn’t even planning on doing. I will be helping supporting churches and the children. That’s all we’ve done ministry-wise is we help poor children. But it will triple. We will do more than we’ve ever done before in the places they wanted to run me out and stop me from doing it.”

Galatians 6:9 says, “And let us not grow weary while doing good, for in due season we shall reap if we do not lose heart.”

United Kingdom implements cheaper tariffs

Following Brexit, the U.K. is instituting a new and cheaper tariff system with 60 percent of trade becoming tariff free.

The system maintains a 10% tariff on cars as well as duties on agricultural products, but will reduce the cost of thousands of everyday products, according to the country’s International Trade Secretary.

Victory for religious liberty in France

On Monday, France’s highest court ruled against the government’s ban on all religious meetings during the coronavirus outbreak.

The latest restrictions prohibited people from going to church except for funerals with only 20 people allowed.

France’s Council of State ruled that this ban on religious services “constitutes a serious and manifestly unlawful interference with it.”

Trump defends hydroxychloroquine against VA study

President Trump was asked about hydroxychloroquine, a prescription medicine designed to address malaria and lupus, which he revealed on Monday that he has been taking for two weeks as a preventative measure against COVID-19.

Despite Fox News Channel’s Neil Cavuto’s insistence that taking hydroxychloroquine can be deadly with compromised immune systems or other health problems, which we quoted on yesterday’s newscast, President Trump claimed that the Veterans Administration’s study was problematic.

Listen to a female reporter’s question which prompted the President’s defense of hydroxychloroquine.

REPORTER: “The [Food and Drug Administration] is saying hydroxychloroquine should not be used outside of a hospital setting or a research setting. So, can you…”

TRUMP: “No, that’s not what it was. No, there was a false study done where they gave it to very sick people, extremely sick people, people that were ready to die. It was given by obviously not friends of the administration. The study came out. Everybody was old, had bad problems with hearts, diabetes, and everything else you can imagine. So, immediately when it came out, they gave a lot of false information. Great studies came out of Italy on hydroxy. ‘

“It’s just a line of defense. I’m dealing with a lot of people.  Look at all the people in the room. You know, I’m the president, and I’m dealing with a lot of people. And it’s a very inexpensive drug. It’s almost pennies. And it’s been out for close to 70 years for a couple of different things, right?  Lupus and malaria and even arthritis, they say.  But I think it’s worth it as a line of defense, and I’ll stay on it for a little while longer. I’m just very curious myself, but it seems to be very safe.

“But that study was a phony stuff. put out by the [Veterans’ Administration].

Trump to Planned Parenthood: Return $80 million now!

The Trump administration is demanding that Planned Parenthood return $80 million in funds that it wrongfully applied for from the Paycheck Protection Program.

The program was intended to help small businesses during the economic downturn surrounding the coronavirus pandemic.

The Small Business Administration warned the murder giant could face more “severe penalties” beyond just returning the funds.

Trump’s Christian Press Secretary tears up over Zacharias’ death

In an emotional interview with CBN News, White House Press Secretary Kayleigh McEnany honored Christian apologist Ravi Zacharias who died on Tuesday.

McENANY: “It’s a huge loss. You know, my dad said to me, that Billy Graham was the great evangelist—and I think Ravi Zacharias is the great apologist . For me, as a Christian, I always had the heart for Jesus Christ that I got at a very young age. I was saved when I was, you know, in my teens.

“But to have someone from an academic place, as an apologist, who could equip you with those arguments where you didn’t have to check your brain at the door when you became a Christian, where there is intellectual foundation for everything we believe.”

Vice President Mike Pence also honored Ravi Zacharias on Twitter as a friend and “a man of faith who could ‘rightly handle the word of truth’ like few others in our time.”

Jesus said in John 14:19, “Because I live, you also will live.”

All 50 states are reopening; JCPenney goes bankrupt

All 50 U.S. states are in the process of reopening after coronavirus lockdowns. Connecticut began the process yesterday.

Some states are reopening faster than others, but the economic impact is settling in. The century old department store J. C. Penny filed for bankruptcy last Friday, the largest retailer to do so during the economic fallout from the coronavirus pandemic.

U.S. retail sales dropped by a record 16.4 percent last month.

Americans feel less worried

And finally, during the reopening process, Americans report feeling less worried, according to a Gallup poll.

Forty-seven percent of responders said they worried a lot, down from 59 percent earlier during the coronavirus outbreak. The report also found Americans self-report being more happy now compared with a couple months ago.

1 Thessalonians 5:18 reminds us, “In everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.”

Close

And that’s The Worldview in 5 Minutes on this Thursday, May 21st 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.