It’s Tuesday, Christmas Eve, December 24th, A.D. 2019. And this is The Worldview in 5 Minutes heard at www.TheWorldview.com. I’m Adam McManus.
By Kevin Swanson
U.S. budget increased from $4.4 trillion in 2019 to $5 trillion in 2020
To avoid a government shutdown, President Donald Trump signed the $1.4 trillion fiscal year budget package into law over the weekend. This was part of a $5.0 trillion full budget for Fiscal Year 2020, an increase from $4.4 trillion of spending in Fiscal Year 2019.
The Congressional Budget Office reports that the deficit for the first two months of Fiscal Year 2020 is $342 billion. That’s 11% higher than the first two months of Fiscal Year 2019. The 2019 deficit equated to about 5% of the Gross Domestic Product, up from 3.8% in 2018.
By contrast, President Barack Obama’s last four years in office averaged deficits of 3.1% of the GDP. The budget for Fiscal Year 2020 is targeting a deficit of 5% of the GDP, or $1.1 trillion. Historically, the deficit has averaged about 3% of the GDP since the early 1980s.
Christianity Today digs in its heels
The president of Christianity Today published a letter over the weekend defending the magazine’s editorial which advocated the removal of President Donald Trump from office by the Senate or the popular vote in November 2020.
While insisting that the magazine is “theologically conservative,” “pro-life”, and “pro-family,” Timothy Dairymple wrote that they “could not longer stay silent,” on the matter of Donald Trump’s impeachment. He stated that this presidency has “brought enormous damage to the Christian witness.”
Evangelicals and reformed writers continue to interact on the Christianity Today controversy.
Peter Leithart of First Things concluded that, “On balance, and considering the alternatives, Trump should stay.”
Reformed Presbyterian author and blogger Carl Trueman wrote, “Trump is without doubt not the kind of person one would want to represent the nation.”
And, author and radio host Eric Metaxas tweeted that, “What makes the @CTmagazine editorial odd (if not preposterous) is that it implies those like Biden or Pelosi, who use the power of their offices to promote the murder of the unborn & the demonization of a biblical sexual ethic, less “morally troubling” than Trump & his tweets.”
White evangelicals still support Trump in super majority
A recent survey conducted by the Public Policy Research Institute found that 75% of white evangelicals approve of President Donald Trump and 23% do not approve. That compares to 41% of Roman Catholics approve of President Donald Trump, and 59% do not approve.
This data basically correlates with the 81% of white evangelicals who voted for Donald Trump in the 2016 elections, along with 45% of Catholics.
Proverbs 28:2 provides wisdom here. “For the transgression of a land many are the princes thereof: but by a man of understanding and knowledge its state shall be prolonged.”
New Zealand’s gun buyback program
The government of New Zealand announced that a total of 50,000 guns were removed from private owners through a buyback program, reports ABC News.
Back in March of 2019, New Zealand lawmakers banned ownership of military assault weapons by a vote of 119-1, and more restrictions are being considered, including a registry of all gun ownership.
Meanwhile, the number of privately owned guns in the United States has increased from 240 million to 393 million since the year 2000, reports the Washington Post. Of that number, 10 million military-style rifles in private hands in the US.
Iowa man gets 15 years in prison for burning homosexual flag
An Iowa man has been sentenced to 15 years in prison for stealing a homosexual flag from a local church and burning it.
Adolfo Martinez was quoted by USA Today as saying he was “living by God’s laws.”
“Silent Night” Christmas Carol written on this day in 1818
And finally, it was on this day in history, in 1818, the Christmas carol “Silent Night” was introduced for the first time at S.t Nicholas parish church in Oberndorf, Austria.
Isaiah 9:6 says, “For unto us a child is born. Unto us a Son is given. And His Name shall be called, Wonderful, Counselor, the Mighty God, the Everlasting Father, the Prince of Peace!”
Close
And that’s The Worldview in 5 Minutes on this Tuesday, December 24th in the year of our Lord 2019. 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.