It’s Friday, February 7th, A.D. 2025. This is The Worldview in 5 Minutes heard on 125 radio stations and at www.TheWorldview.com. I’m Adam McManus. (Adam@TheWorldview.com)
By Adam McManus
Vietnamese pastor harassed and arrested by Communists
Pastor Nguyen Manh Hung, age 71, was arrested on January 16th for a Facebook post that criticized Vietnam’s communist government, reports International Christian Concern.
Authorities charged Nguyen with promoting “anti-state propaganda,” a charge that carries a maximum of 20 years in prison.
Police reportedly cut off the power to the pastor’s home, entered the home, and arrested the pastor. Officers also confiscated documents, laptops, and phones.
Matthew 5:10 says, “Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the kingdom of Heaven.”
Authorities have harassed Pastor Nguyen several times in the last 15 years. But he has continued to publicly challenge corruption and human rights abuses from the communist government, including appearing in 2015 before a U.S. House of Representatives Foreign Affairs Sub-Committee investigating violations of religious freedoms in Vietnam.
According to Open Doors, Vietnam is the 44th worst country worldwide for the persecution of Christians.
Trump: “America will always be one nation under God!”
President Donald Trump spoke at the National Prayer Breakfast yesterday which was held in the Washington Hilton, reports The Christian Post.
TRUMP: “From the earliest days of our republic, faith in God has always been the ultimate source of the strength that beats in the hearts of our nation. America is and will always be one nation under God.”
President Trump referred to the Christian faith of John Winthrop, a Puritan lawyer who helped found the Massachusetts colony, and Roger Williams, a Puritan minister who founded Providence Plantations which became Rhode Island.
TRUMP: “Just steps away from here, in the Hall of Columns, is the statue of John Winthrop, who famously proclaimed that America would stand as a city upon a hill, a light to all nations.
“In that same hall, we also find the statue of the great Roger Williams, who founded the state of Rhode Island, named its capital city, Providence, and built the First Baptist Church in America. It’s Williams that we have to thank for making religious liberty part of the bedrock of American life, and today, we must protect the fundamental freedom with absolute devotion.”
Trump forms task force to stop anti-Christian bias in government
President Trump indicated he would form a task force to stop anti-Christian bias in the federal government.
TRUMP: “Today, I’m signing an executive order to make our Attorney General, Pam Bondi, the head of a task force, brand new, to eradicate anti-Christian bias. The mission of this task force will be to immediately halt all forms of anti-Christian targeting and discrimination within the federal government, including at the DOJ, which was absolutely terrible, the IRS, the FBI and other agencies.
“In addition, the task force will work to fully prosecute anti-Christian violence and vandalism in our society and to move Heaven and Earth to defend the rights of Christians and religious believers nationwide.”
That task force will be a welcome respite after four years of demonstrable anti-Christian bias at Biden’s Department of Justice and the FBI.
District Judge has delayed Trump deadline for federal workers to take buyout
Yesterday, a federal judge has delayed a midnight deadline issued by the Trump administration for federal workers to make a buyout choice as more than 60,000 staffers have already opted to take the offer, reports NewsNationNow.com.
Millions of U.S. government employees had been facing a Thursday deadline to decide whether to accept a buyout offer from the Trump administration or remain in their position. Those who chose to stay still risked being laid off.
U.S. District Judge George O’Toole, a Bill Clinton appointee, ruled in favor of several labor unions that had requested a temporary restraining order against the plan spearheaded by Trump adviser Elon Musk. The judge didn’t express an opinion on the legality of the program and directed administration officials to extend the deadline to apply for the program until after a hearing scheduled for this Monday.
President Trump’s push to reduce the size of the government is unprecedented, causing turmoil in Washington, and triggering protests and union concerns over potential legal violations.
So far, more than 60,000 employees, about 2% of the federal civilian workforce, have accepted the buyout with more expected to join them. It remains unclear how many of the federal government’s 2.3 million civilian workers will ultimately agree to the offer, which guarantees pay through September if they resign by Thursday.
U.S.. taxpayers funded transgender opera in Columbia and trans comic book in Peru
The United States Agency for International Development, which was created by President John F. Kennedy in 1961, has become a conduit for waste, fraud and abuse.
With a budget of over $50 billion, USAID is one of the largest official aid agencies in the world and accounts for more than half of all U.S. foreign assistance.
Thanks to Elon Musk and the Department of Government Efficiency the taxpayer-funded gravy train is finally coming to an end.
Outside the White House, Karoline Leavitt, President Trump’s Press Secretary, listed some objectionable expenditures of the United States Agency for International Development.
LEAVITT: “If you look at the waste and abuse that has run through USAID over the past several years, these are some of the insane priorities that that organization has been spending money on. $1.5 million to advance [Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion] in Serbia’s workplaces. $70,000 for a production of a DEI musical in Ireland. $47,000 for a transgender opera in Colombia, $32,000 for a transgender comic book in Peru.
“I don’t know about you, but as an American taxpayer, I don’t want my dollars going towards this crap. I know the American people don’t either. That’s exactly what Elon Musk has been tasked by President Trump to do: to get the fraud, waste and abuse out of our federal government.”
Nearly all 14,000 staff members for the U.S. Agency for International Development, will be placed on leave tonight, according to the agency. In addition, all overseas missions for USAID had been ordered to shut down yesterday, reports CBS News.
Jump-roping champion saves teen out of icy waters
And finally, a famous jump-roper, David Fisher, recently saved a young man from drowning after he fell through the ice on a frozen lake, reports GoodNewsNetwork.org.
Near his home in Westfield, Indiana, Fisher, age 61, discovered a teenage boy who had fallen into the icy waters through thin ice as he tried to rescue his dog who had met the same fate, according to the Washington Post.
Fisher instinctively grabbed the two long cloth ropes he uses for Double Dutch jumping and ran out to the lake. In God’s providence, the boy grabbed the jump rope, got back onto the ice, and Fisher pulled him to safety.
John 15:13 says, “Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.” Or, in this case, an absolute stranger!
Close
And that’s The Worldview on this Friday, February 7th in the year of our Lord 2025. Subscribe by Amazon Music or 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.