It’s Thursday, January 20th, A.D. 2022. This is The Worldview in 5 Minutes heard at www.TheWorldview.com. I’m Adam McManus. (Adam@TheWorldview.com)
By Jonathan Clark
Afghanistan now worst country in the world for Christians
Open Doors released their 2022 World Watch List of nations where it is most difficult to be a Christian.
For the first time in 20 years, North Korea is not ranked as the number one persecutor. That shameful pick goes to Afghanistan since the Muslim terrorist group, the Taliban, took over control of the country last year.
Over 360 million Christians face high levels of persecution worldwide. That’s one in seven believers. Tragically, last year, 5,898 Christians were killed for their faith, and 6,175 believers were detained or imprisoned.
David Curry with Open Doors USA noted the primary sources of Christian persecution.
CURRY: “Nine of the top 10 countries on the World Watch List are run or influenced by radical Islamists or Hindu extremists. Only North Korea, number two, is the exception, and it is run by a murderous dictator with a communist ideology.”
1 Corinthians 12:26-27 says, “If one member suffers, all the members suffer with it; or if one member is honored, all the members rejoice with it. Now you are the body of Christ, and members individually.”
Finland trying to imprison Christian for outspokenness on sexuality
A Finnish parliamentarian is going on trial next week for expressing her Biblical views on marriage and sexuality.
Päivi Räsänen faces charges in Finland for criticizing homosexuality in a booklet, in a TV debate, and on social media. She could get six years in prison just for expressing her views.
Räsänen said it has been her privilege to use the interrogations of officials to share the truths of Scripture.
RASANEN: “I was interrogated by police many times. And those hearings, they lasted altogether about 13 hours. In fact, the situation was very absurd. I sat there with the police. I had the Bible on the table. And then the police asked me questions about my beliefs. ‘What do you think about what the Apostle Paul is here teaching? What you think about these verses where he speaks about homosexual acts?’
“In fact, I thought that it was quite a privilege (laughs) to have this kind of discussion with the police. Because I had many times during these hours, the possibility to tell to the police the message of the Gospel, what the Bible teaches about the value of human being, that all people are created as the image of God, and that’s why they all are valuable.”
British Prime Minister drops COVID mask mandate
Yesterday, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced that the country will drop mask mandates and COVID-19 passports. Also, the government no longer recommends people to work from home.
The move comes as Omicron cases have peaked in the country.
Johnson said, “We will trust the judgment of the British people and no longer criminalize anyone who chooses not to wear [a mask].”
Biden ready to hand out 400 million N95 masks
Meanwhile in the U.S., the Biden administration will give Americans 400 million N95 masks starting next week.
The masks come from the U.S. Strategic National Stockpile which stores 750 million of the non-surgical masks.
The mask giveaway comes in response to surging Omicron cases.
The Omicron variant is more infectious, but far less deadly than the Delta variant.
Arizona introduces Heartbeat Bill
This week, Arizona became the sixth state to introduce a bill similar to the Texas Heartbeat Act.
The bill states that if a heartbeat is detected, the baby is protected. It will prohibit the killing of unborn babies starting around six weeks of pregnancy. The legislation also allows private citizens to sue abortionists who kill unborn babies.
Arkansas, Florida, Ohio, Alabama, and Missouri are also introducing similar pieces of legislation.
U.S. Marines approves first two COVID religious exemptions
The U.S. Marine Corps approved its first two religious exemptions to the COVID-shot mandate.
The Marines have received thousands of religious exemption requests and have already denied nearly all of them.
An active-duty officer told Fox News the two approvals do not represent a change from the Marines. He said, “They did that as an administrative workaround … to get it to look like they granted two, so that they would alleviate some of the pressure off of themselves. It’s really just deception.”
One million fewer college students
And finally, new research shows that one million fewer students are in college now compared with pre-pandemic levels.
Undergraduate student enrollment is down 6.6% from the fall of 2019.
Doug Shapiro with the National Student Clearinghouse said this “could be the beginning of a whole generation of students rethinking the value of college itself.”
Meanwhile, student loan giant Navient reached a $1.85 billion settlement with 39 state attorneys general last week. The settlement includes $1.7 billion in debt cancellation for 66,000 borrowers and $95 million in restitution for unfair and deceptive student loans.
Proverbs 22:16 says, “He who oppresses the poor to increase his riches, and he who gives to the rich, will surely come to poverty.”
Close
And that’s The Worldview in 5 Minutes on this Thursday, January 20th, in the year of our Lord 2022. 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.