Friday, February 3rd, in the year of our Lord 2017
By Kevin Swanson
President Trump Speaks at National Prayer Breakfast
Mark Burnett, the Christian creator of The Apprentice television show on NBC, introduced President Donald Trump yesterday morning at the annual National Prayer Breakfast, who joked about his replacement needing prayer to boost his sagging ratings.
“We had tremendous success on The Apprentice. And when I ran for president, I had to leave the show. That’s when I knew for sure that I was doing it. And they hired a big, big movie star, Arnold Schwarzenegger, to take my place. And we know how that turned out. The ratings went right down the tubes. It’s been a total disaster and Mark [Burnett] will never, ever bet against Trump again. And I want to just pray for Arnold if we can, for those ratings, OK?”
When Trump got into the meat of his remarks, he told the religious leaders gathered that his administration will “do everything in its power to defend and protect religious liberty in our land.” The president also committed himself once more to “totally destroying” the Johnson Amendment, so that pastors may “speak freely and without fear of retribution.”
President Trump called this freedom a God-given right.
“We are not just flesh and bone and blood. We are human beings, with souls. Our republic was formed on the basis that freedom is not a gift from government, but that freedom is a gift from God.”
The Trump administration has drafted a religious freedom executive order that would exempt Christian businesses from paying for abortifacients and contraceptives that could destroy the life of a fetus in the womb. The order has yet to be signed by the president.
Two Republican Senators Announce Intent to Vote Against Trump’s Secretary of Education Pick
Two Republican senators announced they will vote against Betsy DeVoss, Trump’s pick for Secretary of Education. Senators Susan Collins and Lisa Murkowski pointed to DeVos’ support for vouchers and charter schools as a negative. That brings her confirmation vote in the Senate to a tie of 50 to 50 in which case Vice President Mike Pence would break the tie.
Russian Orthodox Church Calls for Ban on Abortion
The Patriarch of the Russian Orthodox Church is calling on the Russian parliament to ban abortion in that country. According to the Tablet, Patriarch Kirill says he has signed a petition calling for the end of the “legal murder of children before birth,” and an end to state-sponsored abortions. Under the Communists, Russia turned into the nation with the highest abortion rate in the world which is now at 73 abortions per 100 births.
Multiple Students Commit Suicide at Columbia University
Columbia University is reeling from a wave of student suicides — seven in the last few months. The New York Post points to highly competitive academics as the cause of the rash of suicides.
Romans 3 describes the world without God: “Their feet are swift to shed blood; Destruction and misery are in their ways; And the way of peace they have not known. There is no fear of God before their eyes.”
Mexicans Campaign to Boycott American Companies
Mexicans are not happy about the prospect of a border wall on the Mexican-American border. They are making their voices heard with campaigns to boycott American companies like Starbucks, McDonalds, Walmart, and Coca-Cola. The hashtag #AdiosStarbucks has been rising in popularity since Trump became president.
West Virginia and Kentucky Now Each Down to One Abortion Mill
West Virginia and Kentucky now make up two of the seven states with only one abortion-killing facility. The second to last Kentucky mill was shut down on January 27th after investigations found that they were doing abortions without a license.
Psalm 37:10 says, “For yet a little while and the wicked shall not be. . .you will carefully look for him, and he will not be found.”
Evangelist in India Suffers Brain Hemorrhage After Harassment by Hindu Mob
An Indian Christian evangelist is not expected to survive after being harassed by Indian police and a mob of Hindu men on January 21st. Dr. Swamy came home and suffered a brain hemorrhage that very night.
The World View spoke to William Stark of International Christian Concern about the story.
“What happened was, He was, on the 21st, he woke up and he did what he normally did. He was part of Gideon International. He would take the Gideon Bibles and distribute them to those who wanted them. He had a group of men corner him and harass him for doing this. They said things to him like, ‘If you continue to do this we’re going to burn you and your entire family.’ If you continue doing this we’re going to finish you and a lot of really filthy language. Afterwards they forced him to ride with them to a local police station where they accused him of forcibly converting people to Christianity.”
Stark said the National Constitution of India does contain a clause that allows Christians to share their faith.
“At this point, it’s a lot of folks in India, specifically Christians, who just feel that they keep getting attacked. No one’s doing anything about it. The state government and the national government are talking about it, so they feel like this attack on the pastor and his condition was just the straw that broke the camel’s back.”
Dr. Swamy is 47 years old. Please pray for a miracle, for his family, and for his attackers.
Persecution of Christians in Turkey on the Rise
Turkish Christians are more at risk than ever with instances of hate crimes against them on the rise. The report of the Human Rights Violations, published by the Turkish Association of Protestant Churches, documented 15 instances of churches being threatened through SMS, Facebook, or email in 2015.
This past year, three Protestant pastors and evangelists have been falsely accused of being a “threat to national security” and imprisoned or banned from the country.
And that’s the World View in Five Minutes.