It’s Monday, August 26th, A.D. 2019. This is The Worldview in 5 Minutes heard at www.TheWorldview.com. I’m Adam McManus.
By Adam McManus (Adam@TheWorldview.com)
Iranian pastor, a Muslim convert, sits in Evin Prison
Youcef Nadarkhani, an Iranian evangelical pastor and a Muslim convert to Christianity, sits in Tehran’s notorious Evin Prison for simply living according to his conscience, reports the Christian Post. Christians around the world are calling for his immediate release and shedding light on the egregious conditions facing religious minorities throughout Iran.
One year ago, armed men raided Pastor Nadarkhani’s home in the middle of the night, beat him, committed violent acts against his family and then hauled him off to jail, where he remains today. The arrest came after the government accused and tried Nadarkhani in 2016 on charges of promoting “Zionist Christianity” and “acting against national security.”
Trump calls Chinese President “enemy”; China’s $75 billion tariffs
Even as trade tensions continued to heat up, President Donald Trump would make sure to refer to China’s president, Xi Jinping, as his “friend.” On Friday, though, Trump unveiled a new label for his Chinese counterpart: “enemy”, reports CNBC.
In one of a series of tweets that rattled markets, the president posed a question to his more than 60 million followers comparing Xi to Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell, tweeting, “My only question is, who is our bigger enemy, Jay Powell or Chairman Xi?”
Early on Friday, China said it would increase existing tariffs by 5% to 10% on more than 5,000 U.S. products, including soybeans, oil and aircraft. A 25% duty on American-made cars would also be reinstituted. The value of these products is estimated by the Chinese Commerce Ministry to total around $75 billion.
Supreme Court Justice Ginsburg had pancreatic cancer
Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, 86, has just completed three weeks of radiation treatment at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in New York for pancreatic cancer, reports National Public Radio. Doctors at Sloan Kettering said further tests showed no evidence of disease elsewhere in the body.
Within an hour of the Ginsburg news, former Obama adviser David Axelrod tweeted that if there is a Supreme Court vacancy, and President Trump nominated a replacement, “it will tear this country apart”, reports the Washington Examiner.
Drag Queen Story Hour: “Greatest grooming program ever devised”
The Left would have us believe that these Drag Queen Story Hours held in tax-funded libraries are harmless events celebrating inclusion and political correctness.
But parents in Texas discovered that David Lee Richardson, who goes by the drag name “Miss Kitty Litter” and has been participating in Drag Queen Story Hour events for the Austin Public Library System over the past year, has a criminal record for prostitution.
Jon Uhler, a licensed clinical counselor who founded ChurchProtect.org, who has spent 11 years working with sexual predators behind bars, says that these Drag Queen Story Hours, are the “greatest grooming program ever devised”, reports the Christian Post.
Uhler said, “Predators are using this [Drag Queen Story Hour] as a test to find out the degree of resolve of that community. And if it’s easy pickings, trust me, predators are going to begin to flock to that community.”
Biden hires pastor to reach SC black Christian voters
Michael McClain, the longtime pastor of the historic Liberty Hill Missionary Baptist Church in Catawba, South Carolina, has been hired by former Vice President Joe Biden to help woo the powerful bloc of churchgoing voters ahead of that state’s 2020 Democratic presidential primary, reports the Christian Post.
Despite the fact that Biden has championed abortion up until the day of birth and homosexual faux marriage, Pastor McClain claims that Biden has the moral character to appeal to black Christian voters, saying “his policies are sound because he is sound.”
Galatians 6:7-8 declares, “Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows. Whoever sows to please their flesh, from the flesh will reap destruction.”
Obama buys beachfront property despite climate change threat
Multiple sources on Martha’s Vineyard say that the Obamas are buying a home for $15 million from the owner of the Boston Celtics that has 6,900 square feet and sits on 29 beachfront acres, according to Rush Limbaugh.
The radio host thinks that’s curious since, if you believe in man-made climate change, “that property’s gonna be ruined and destroyed inside of 10, maybe 12 years at the outside. … Maybe because they know –[the Obamas that is] –that this whole climate change thing is nothing but a gigantic left-wing agenda-driven hoax!”
Unplanned actress offers scholarships to mothers who keep babies
Ashley Bratcher, the actress who portrayed Abby Johnson in the pro-life film ‘Unplanned‘, has launched a scholarship fund for college students facing unplanned pregnancies, reports the Christian Post.
BRATCHER: “Around the time that “Unplanned” released theatrically, I received several messages from women saying they were planning to have abortions. And then they decided because of the movie that they were going to keep their babies which is really incredible. But one of the girls in particular, said, ‘I realized that I can’t have an abortion because that’s a baby. But I don’t know what to do, because I’m a sophomore in college, and I’m going to have to drop out of school. I’m not going to finish; I’m just going to have to give up everything. It was in a moment that I realized, ‘No, you don’t have to quit school.’
“So, I have been working with Heartbeat International for the last month or two. And we devised a plan. If you go to UnplannedMovieScholarship.com you will see that we are launching a scholarship program for any mother who has chosen life for their child and they need a little help getting back into school . We starting out with $5,000 scholarships.”
New Kendrick Brothers movie “Overcomer” debuted
“Overcomer”, the sixth movie from the Kendrick Brothers hit the silver screen this weekend, following on the heels of their 2015 release “War Room”.
Based on the book of Ephesians, “Overcomer” asks viewers: “Where do you place your identity?”
Life changes overnight for coach John Harrison, portrayed by Alex Kendrick, when his high school basketball team’s state championship dreams are crushed under the weight of unexpected news. When the largest manufacturing plant in town suddenly shuts down and hundreds of families begin moving away, John must come to grips with the challenges facing his family and his team.
Urged by the school’s principal, portrayed by Priscilla Shirer, to fill-in and coach a sport he doesn’t know or like, John is frustrated and questioning his worth … until he crosses paths with a student struggling with her own journey.
Priscilla Shirer, a Bible teacher and the daughter of Tony Evans, recommends that people “Read Ephesians 1 and 2 and write down everything God says you are. Remind yourself that you’re not rejected; you’re chosen, loved, redeemed, and forgiven.”
Watch the Overcomer trailer and get the accompanying Overcomer Bible study.
I took my family to see it on Saturday night. And I’ll tell you this. The Gospel presentation could not have been more clear, it was inspirational, and I cried a boatload of tears. You’ll love it!
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And that’s The Worldview in 5 Minutes on this Monday, August 26th 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.
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Eritrea, Africa imprisons Christians without charges
Since June 23rd, officials in Eritrea, Africa rounded up more than 150 Christians. and thrown them into prisons that are inhumane and unsanitary, reports International Christian Concern. Their only crime typically is gathering to worship without government approval despite being held without charges.
Eritrean security officials arrested 70 members of the Faith Mission Church of Christ, of which, 35 were women and 10 were children. These Christians were then taken to the Ashufera Prison, which is a prison made of underground tunnels. And, a week ago Sunday, on August 18th, they arrested another 80 Christians in Godayef.
It all stems from the paranoia and insanity of Isaias Afwerki, the Eritrean President who has been running the country since 1991. Anytime people, especially Christians, are found to be gathering without government consent, they are arrested as conspirators and traitors, because the government believes that the West is trying to destroy their culture.
The country has earned the name of the “North Korea of Africa” due to its extreme isolation for decades and its complete lack of regard for human rights. Open Doors World Watch List ranks Eritrea as the 7th harshest place for Christian to live in the world today.
Please pray for our brothers and sisters in Eritrea who continue to suffer daily for their faith.
Finally, work begins on 247 miles of the Trump border wall
Work crews in Arizona and New Mexico forged ahead Friday with construction of taller border fencing funded through a national emergency declaration by President Donald Trump, reports the Associated Press. In Arizona, crews were installing 30-foot steel fencing to replace older barriers next to a border crossing known as Lukeville Port of Entry.
The administration has awarded $2.8 billion in contracts for barriers covering 247 miles, with all but 17 miles of that to replace existing barriers instead of expanding coverage.
Use of the money was previously frozen by lower courts while a lawsuit proceeded. Last month, however, the U.S. Supreme Court cleared the way for the use of about $2.5 billion.
Trump revisiting idea of “anchor babies”
President Trump says he’s revisiting the idea of eliminating the nation’s birthright citizenship policy that allows the illegal-alien families of “anchor babies” born in the U.S. to remain in the country, reports WorldNetDaily.com.
An average of about 300,000 children of illegal aliens are born in the United States each year as American citizens.
Breitbart News noted the Supreme Court has never explicitly ruled that the children of illegal aliens must be granted birthright citizenship. The U.S. and Canada are the only two developed nations with birthright citizenship.
New York Times’ “1619 Project” tries to reframe American history
The New York Times officially announced its new 1619 Project “to reframe the country’s history, understanding 1619 as our true founding, and placing the consequences of slavery and the contributions of black Americans at the very center of the story we tell ourselves about who we are.”
Newt Gingrich called the project propaganda worthy of Pravda, Cal Thomas referred to it as an “attempt to shape history to fit its own biases,” and Jeffrey Lord told Sean Hannity that “what the New York Times is engaged in is the Stalinizing of American history…The left wanted to do a total rewrite of American history and remake the story that we’re founded in racism. It’s all about race.”
The Federalist writes about the “1519 Project.” A full century before The New York Times’ proposed re-dating of the American founding and 2,200 miles southwest of Jamestown, European contact sparked a native uprising against a gruesome cult of cannibalism and mass murder.
Graphically described in the 1855 book, “Makers of History: Hernando Cortez,” John Abbott paints a picture of desperation for a tiny band of Spanish soldiers and their native allies. Next year marks the 500th anniversary of the Battle of the Dismal Night, where an initially successful Cortez was nearly crushed by superior Aztec forces.
NBC: Women are opting out of heterosexuality?
NBC News asserted in a bizarre opinion piece this week: Women are increasingly opting out of heterosexuality because it is “the bedrock of their global oppression.”
Marcie Bianco claimed that “Men need heterosexuality to maintain their societal dominance over women” as she lumped together a series of recent news stories from “Miley Cyrus’s separation and Julianne Hough’s declaration that she’s ‘not straight,’” which, she says, “together have laid bare the strictures of an American patriarchy on the edge of a nervous breakdown.”
Genesis 2:24 says, “That is why a man leaves his father and mother and is united to his wife, and they become one flesh.”
Al Franken tries to make public comeback
Former Democratic Senator and Saturday Night Live comedian Al Franken is trying to make a comeback after resigning in disgrace following a series of charges of sexual harassment by seven women, reports the Hollywood Reporter. The United Talent Agency is offering him as a speaker to offer leftist commentary as the 2020 election cycle approaches.
Since leaving office, Franken has hosted his own podcast featuring comedians and politicians.
Billionaire David Koch, a libertarian, died
David Koch, the billionaire industrialist and philanthropist whose support for conservative causes and candidates helped reshape U.S. politics in recent decades, died Friday at the age of 79, reports Wall Street Journal.
Koch, whose net worth of about $50.5 billion tied him with his brother as the world’s 11th-richest person in Forbes magazine rankings, gained most of his wealth from a 42% stake in Koch Industries of Wichita, Kansas, which has interests ranging from oil to beef to paper and is the second-largest closely held U.S. company.
Although he was a liberal on social issues such as abortion and homosexual marriage, Koch used his fortune to support conservative causes such as lower taxes, free trade and fewer regulations. He was the Libertarian Party’s 1980 vice-presidential candidate.
Biblical archaeology reveals city of Bethsaida
Bethsaida, the ancient Biblical city where Jesus healed a blind man, has been “unearthed”, reports the Daily Star.
4 Christian companies share Word of God
There are a number of popular Christian companies that are known for embracing and living out biblical values like Chick-fil-A and Hobby Lobby. But did you know there are also some Christian businesses that actually post Bible verses and Christian references on their products?
According to Business Insider, In-N-Out Burger prints verses, including John 3:16 on the bottom of cups and wrappers.
Goldhen Eggs, sold by Aldi stores, will notice an inspiring Bible verse under each carton of eggs. “This is the day which the Lord has made; Let us rejoice and be glad in it.” (Psalms 118:24) That was always a favorite of the founder David Rust.
Forever 21 founder Do Wo Chang, who is a devout Christian, put John 3:16 at the bottom of his bags because he said, “I hoped others would learn of God’s love.”
Cook Out, a southern chain, also includes Bible verses on its products.
And Whataburger features a sign at most locations which states: “One nation under God.