It’s Thursday, February 17th, 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
Laos threatened Christian teen with prison over church attendance
Christian Aid Mission reports authorities in the southeast Asian nation of Laos are harassing Christians.
Police told people from six villages that children under 17 cannot believe in Jesus. Officers then went house to house and destroyed any crosses they found. One local Christian said the police “made a threat that if they found any Christians gathered in groups of five people or more, they would be nailed by their hands and feet, and then shot to death.”
After a 14-year-old boy attended church, police arrested him and threatened him with prison if he went back to church.
Laos is ranked 26th on Open Doors’ World Watch List of countries where it is most difficult to be a Christian.
Ukrainian Christians pray ahead of likely Russian invasion
How are Christians in Ukraine responding to a potential invasion by Russia? Prayer and preaching.
Pastor Gennady Mohnenko met with other pastors at a cross in Ukraine’s eastern city of Mariupol. Listen as they pray for peace just miles from the Russian frontline.
(Pastor praying in Ukrainian language)
MOHNENKO: “We bless anyone who prays for us and for our people. We thank You God for world leaders who try to support Ukraine in these hard times. God, please bless every country which supports our hands, provides weapons, and does diplomatic actions that stop evil people from doing evil things.”
Another Ukrainian pastor, Andrey Tyschchenko, told Protestante Digital the churches “do not care about all the breaking news. They keep on encouraging people to believe, to stay calm. … Our churches keep growing; we keep preaching the Gospel.”
2 Timothy 4:2 says, “Preach the word! Be ready in season and out of season. Convince, rebuke, exhort with all longsuffering and teaching.”
China’s record low birth rate in 2021
China’s birth rate reached a record low last year.
Now, the Communist country is starting a new campaign to intervene in abortions and to promote marriage and childbirth. And, as we reported on Monday, since May 2021, China now encourages couples to have up to three children.
Over the 35 years of the grievous one-child policy from 1980-2015, and then, the equally problematic two-child policy from 2016-2021, 400 million Chinese babies were never born, aborted, or killed after birth through infanticide, reported the South China Morning Post.
Olympic medal update
Meanwhile in China, the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics continue.
(audio of Olympics theme)
Norway still leads the medal count with 13 golds and 28 medals overall. Germany has ten gold medals, and the U.S. has eight golds.
Add your name to join with those committed to pray for persecuted Christians in China throughout the Beijing Olympic Games. Go to PrayForChina2022.com. That’s PrayForChina2022.com.
European Court punished Poland and Hungary for righteous stands
The European Court of Justice ruled this week to cut billions of Euros in funding to Poland and Hungary.
The court said financing to member states is contingent on them adhering to the “principles of the rule of law” and European Union values. Those values include sexually perverted lifestyles. Hungary, in particular, has advanced pro-family, pro-life, and anti-LHBT policies.
Hungary’s Justice Minister Judit Varga said the E.U.’s move was “a politically motivated judgment because of the Child Protection Act!” Hungary adopted the Act last year to ban sex reassignment surgeries for children.
Federal Court blocked COVID-shot mandate for Air Force member
On Tuesday, a U.S. federal court temporarily blocked the Air Force from enforcing its COVID-shot mandate for a service member who applied for a religious exemption.
It’s the first injunction on the Air Force mandate. The Air Force has rejected over 99% of religious exemption requests.
The court noted: “With such a marked record disfavoring religious accommodation requests, the Court easily finds that the Air Force’s process to protect religious rights is both illusory and insincere.”
Arizona Senate passes 15-week abortion ban
The Arizona Senate approved a 15-week abortion ban on Tuesday. The bill now goes to the Republican-controlled House. And Republican Governor Doug Ducey has often signed anti-abortion bills.
The bill mirrors a Mississippi law which is at the Supreme Court in a challenge to Roe v. Wade.
The Arizona legislature is also considering a bill to ban abortions after six weeks of pregnancy.
Former lesbian and transgender repents
And finally, Arianna Armour is reaching millions on social media with this message: God can “remove homosexual desires and gender dysphoria.”
Arianna was born to parents enslaved to drugs before being adopted into a Christian family. However, she came out as a lesbian at age seven. After 14 years of that, she pretended to be a man for two years. Arianna said she was lost and had spiraled into a bad situation, much like her birth parents, until she came to Christ.
Arianna said she realized she couldn’t live sexually perverted lifestyles and follow Christ.
Listen.
ARIANNA: “I don’t believe you can be a sinner who is a true Christian. I don’t believe you can be LGBTQ and a Christian. Because a Christian is not somebody who just says, ‘I believe.’ A Christian actually lives it out. A Christian is a disciple of Jesus Christ.”
1 Corinthians 6:9-11 says, “Neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor homosexuals, nor sodomites . . . will inherit the kingdom of God. And such were some of you. But you were washed, but you were sanctified, but you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus and by the Spirit of our God.”
Close
And that’s The Worldview in 5 Minutes on this Thursday, February 17th, 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.