It’s Wednesday, April 5th, A.D. 2023. This is The Worldview in 5 Minutes heard at www.TheWorldview.com. I’m Adam McManus. (Adam@TheWorldview.com)

By Jonathan Clark

Finnish Christian parliamentarian faces second trial

Alliance Defending Freedom International released a statement last week on religious freedom in Finland. 

It was the one-year anniversary of a legal victory for Päivi Räsänen, a Finnish Christian parliamentarian. She had been charged with hate speech for publicly expressing her Biblical views on marriage and sexuality.

Despite the worldly Finish culture which rejects God’s divine design, Genesis 2:24 says, “Therefore a man leaves his father and his mother and cleaves to his wife, and they become one flesh.”

However, Räsänen’s case is not over as she faces a second trial. The prosecutor filed an appeal against her “not guilty” verdict and is demanding tens of thousands of Euros in fines. 

Even though she won her first case, Räsänen said the process was like a punishment for her Christian beliefs.

RASANEN: “I think that the process itself has been some kind of punishment, even though I got the acquittal from the court. It has been quite [a] hard time. But, at the same time, I have held that this has been my calling. It has been an honor for me to defend freedom of speech and freedom of faith.”

Finland joins NATO

Finland is also in the news for becoming the 31st member of the NATO military alliance yesterday, reports The Guardian.

Russia’s invasion of Ukraine precipitated Finland’s decision to join the western military alliance. The Northern European country now has security guarantees from allied NATO countries like the U.S. in case of an invasion.

Finland’s new alliance is historic since the country has maintained neutrality since World War II.

Trump arrested and arraigned in New York

In the United States, former President Donald Trump pleaded not guilty to more than 30 felony charges after he was placed under arrest and arraigned in Manhattan on Tuesday afternoon, reports LifeSiteNews.com.

Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg summarized the case against Trump.

BRAGG: “Earlier this afternoon, Donald Trump was arraigned on a New York Supreme Court indictment, returned by a Manhattan grand jury, on 34 felony counts of falsifying business records in the first degree. Under New York State law, it is a felony to falsify business records with intent to defraud and an intent to conceal another crime. That is exactly what this case is about. Thirty-four false statements made to cover up other crimes.”

Who is the Trump judge?

Born in Columbia, the judge who will oversee Trump’s trial is Juan Merchan, who grew up in New York from the age of six, the first in his family to graduate from college.  A former prosecutor, he has 16 years on the bench.

Recently, he oversaw the five-week criminal trial of the Trump Organization which was convicted of 17 counts of tax fraud, reports The Associated Press.

Judge Merchan also presided over the criminal case of Trump’s former financial chief Allen Weisselberg, who pleaded guilty to his role in a 15-year-long tax-fraud scheme. Weisselberg admitted to evading taxes by accepting $1.7 million in off-the-books compensation and entered a plea agreement, in which he testified against The Trump Organization. 

The judge sentenced him to five months in prison.

On Truth Social, Trump said, “The judge HATES me!”

Will Trump be issued a gag order?

One significant issue is whether Donald Trump might be issued a gag order, effectively silencing his ability to speak out.

Fox News host Tucker Carlson was aghast.

CARLSON: “There are multiple reports tonight that [Manhattan District Attorney] Alvin Bragg’s office will seek a gag order when Trump is arraigned that would prevent Trump, on pain of going to prison, from talking about his case in public. But CNN and MSNBC and the New York Times and the Washington Post, all the completely filthy, corrupt liars in the media, handmaidens to power, they’ll be able to say whatever they want, because apparently their coverage doesn’t influence the jury.  Only the accused defending himself [does].

“Well, it’s not only unconstitutional, baldly so, it’s also completely immoral.  And, above all, in the middle of a presidential race, it’s a subversion of democracy itself. The leading candidate from the other party doesn’t get to talk or you send him to prison? Wake up.”

Yesterday, Judge Merchan told Trump, to his face, that if he incited violence, he would issue a gag order.

West Virginia bans transgender surgeries for kids

More states are ending so-called “gender-affirming care” for children under the age of 18 pretending to be the opposite sex.

Last Wednesday, West Virginia’s Republican Governor Jim Justice signed a bill into law, banning puberty blockers and sex-mutilating surgeries for minors.

West Virginia and Kentucky join nine other states in passing such legislation.

Florida Senate passed Heartbeat Bill

On Monday, the Florida Senate voted 26-13 in favor of a heartbeat bill. The measure prohibits the killing of unborn babies after a heartbeat is detectable with some exceptions.

The Heartbeat Protection Act now heads to the state’s GOP-controlled House of Representatives. Florida Republican Governor Ron DeSantis said he would sign the bill if it reaches his desk.

The bill also includes tens of millions of dollars in funding for pregnancy centers in the Sunshine State.

NASA to send Christian astronaut around moon

And finally, NASA announced on Monday a four-person crew it plans to send around the moon next year.

The mission is part of the Artemis II program. NASA hopes to establish a long-term human presence on the moon and eventually send people to Mars.

One of the astronauts is Victor Glover, an outspoken Christian. He previously spent 168 days on the International Space Station for Expedition 64 that began in 2020. 

Glover was known for taking his Bible and communion cups. He joined his church services back home virtually and took communion every week while in space.

During his time on the International Space Station, Glover tweeted his view of the sunset, saying, “I love sunrises and sunsets. … They remind me of the scripture in Psalm 30, ‘weeping may endure for a night, but joy cometh in the morning.’”

Close

And that’s The Worldview in 5 Minutes on this Wednesday, April 5th 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.