It’s Monday, February 13th, A.D. 2023. This is The Worldview in 5 Minutes heard at www.TheWorldview.com. I’m Adam McManus.
By Adam McManus (Adam@TheWorldview.com)
Indonesian Christian arrested for YouTube videos
An Indonesian Christian apologist, Gratia Pello, has not been seen since his arrest in early December, reports Morning Star News.
On December 6, 2022, police came to Pello’s home and arrested him. Pello, a professor at a small Christian theological school in East Java, regularly published videos that compared Christianity to Islam. His content was widely disseminated online.
Pello is reportedly a Coptic Orthodox Christian known for debates with Muslims.
Proverbs 28:1 says the “righteous are as bold as a lion.” This Indonesian professor certainly qualifies.
Many Christians and other religious minorities in the Muslim-majority country often face persecution. According to Open Doors’ 2023 World Watch List, Indonesia is the 33rd most difficult country to be a Christian.
Please pray for Gratia Pello’s release from his Indonesian prison.
DeSantis preps 2024 presidential bid behind the scenes
Florida Republican Governor Ron DeSantis is actively preparing a run for president in 2024, even as he delays a formal announcement to keep Republican voters’ attention on his aggressively conservative record in Florida, reports Bloomberg.
Behind the scenes, DeSantis and his tight-knit team of advisers are interviewing national consultants to work on a presidential campaign. A retreat for roughly 150 donors, GOP leaders and lawmakers is planned for the final weekend in February at a hotel in Palm Beach, where DeSantis will tout his record as governor.
Oddly enough, former President Donald Trump has already started to attack his Florida rival, giving him the nonsensical nickname of “Ron DeSanctimonious.”
The Republican primary has gotten off to a slow start, with Trump as the only official candidate so far.
Former US Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley is expected to announce her run on February 15.
Andy Stanley: Homosexuals have “more faith than a lot of you”
A now-viral video of Georgia Pastor Andy Stanley magnifying the faith of homosexuals over “most” of his own congregation has drawn sharp criticism from pastors and Christian thinkers alike, reports The Christian Post.
The clip of Stanley, an influential pastor of North Point Community Church in Alpharetta, Georgia, comes from North Point’s Drive Conference last May, where Stanley told pastors and church leaders that any homosexual who continues to go to church has “more faith than a lot of you.”
Listen.
STANLEY: “A gay person who still wants to attend church, after the way the church has treated the gay community, I’m telling you, they have more faith than I do. They have more faith than a lot of you.
“A gay person who knows, ‘You know what, I might not be accepted here, but I’m going to try it anyway.’ Have you ever done that as a straight person? Where do you go that you’re not sure you’re going to be accepted and you go over and over and over and over? Only your in-laws’ house. That’s the only place you go, where you know you’re not completely accepted, but you go over and over and over. And it’s because you have to. But other than the in-laws, what environment do you continue to step foot in, knowing at any moment, you may feel ostracized? No place.
“I’m telling you that gay men and women who grew up in church and the gay men and women have come to faith in Christ as adults who want to participate in our church. Oh, my goodness. I know 1 Corinthians 6 and I know Leviticus, and I know Romans 1. It’s so interesting to talk about all that stuff, but, just, oh my goodness.”
Stanley referenced and then tabled Leviticus 18:22 which says, “Do not have sexual relations with a man as one does with a woman; that is detestable.”
Tony Perkins: “Andy Stanley is a false prophet!”
Appearing on Todd Starnes’ radio show, Family Research Council President Tony Perkins didn’t pull any punches.
PERKINS: “Andy Stanley is a false prophet, and I believe he is going to have to give an account for ignoring scripture.
“It’s kind of like in Jeremiah’s day where Jeremiah was the target of the cancel culture because he was speaking the Word of God: ‘The people needed to repent and return to the truth.’ And the false prophets were saying, “Ah, no, no, peace, peace. Nothing’s gonna happen. This guy is just out there. He’s crazy.”
“We have false prophets today. And when they deviate from the Word of God, they get into this error, into this heretical teaching. And Andy Stanley is one of those.”
STARNES: “I think it’s causing confusion in the church as well. when he comes out with these kinds of statements.”
PERKINS: “It’s not only causing confusion, this is causing people to walk in darkness. This is very dangerous. And this is why the New Testament talks about teachers are going to be held to a higher account because, you know, if you’re a teacher, if you’re a leader, people are listening to you, and they are following you. I make this statement only because I have communicated with Andy Stanley in the past about statements that he’s made. So I approached him about these issues, and he said, we’ll just have to agree to disagree.”
Perkins explained why it’s critical that Christian pastors, like Andy Stanley, have a biblical perspective which condemns homosexual behavior.
PERKINS: “We’re at a point where we’re seeing children that are being trafficked. We see children that are being led down this path and an alarming rate led into confusion about their sexual identity.”
South Dakota to ban transgender surgeries, hormones for kids
And finally, South Dakota is poised to ban puberty blockers, hormone treatments, and disfiguring transgender surgeries to kids younger than 18, reports UPI News.
To their credit, the state Senate vote was 30-4 and fell along party lines.
The bill now heads to Republican Governor Kristi Noem‘s desk, where she has signaled she will sign the bill into law.
Close
And that’s The Worldview on this Monday, February 13th, in the year of our Lord 2023. 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.