It’s Thursday, July 3rd, A.D. 2025. This is The Worldview in 5 Minutes heard on 140 radio stations and at www.TheWorldview.com. I’m Adam McManus. (Adam@TheWorldview.com)
By Jonathan Clark and Adam McManus
Russia’s tight restrictions on missionary activity
Individuals and religious groups across Russia continue to face charges of “unlawful missionary activity.”
Forum 18 reports the country has conducted 34 such prosecutions this year, an increase compared to recent years.
A dozen of these cases affected evangelical Christians. Pastors were fined simply for evangelizing or holding unauthorized church services.
Russia enacted tight restrictions on sharing religious beliefs in 2016. The country also imposed “anti-missionary” legislation in occupied Ukrainian territories.
In Acts 5:29, the apostles said, “We ought to obey God rather than men.”
Biologically accurate pronouns allowed despite Australia’s wokeness
Free speech advocates won a big case against Australia this week.
At issue is a post on Elon Musk’s social media platform X that used biologically accurate pronouns to identify a transgender individual. Australia’s eSafety Commissioner ordered X to remove the post, but X challenged the order. On Tuesday, Australia’s Administrative Review Tribunal sided with X in the case.
Paul Coleman with Alliance Defending Freedom International said, “In this case, the Australian government alarmingly censored the peaceful expression of a Canadian citizen on an American-owned platform, evidence of the expansive reach of censorial forces, even beyond national borders. Today, free speech has prevailed.”
Elon Musk wants to found The American Party which will cut the deficit
Speaking of Elon Musk, the tech billionaire called for a new political party in the U.S.
On Monday, he posted on X, “If this insane spending bill passes, The America Party will be formed the next day. Our country needs an alternative to the Democrat-Republican uniparty so that the people actually have a VOICE.”
Musk openly opposes President Donald Trump’s “One Big Beautiful Bill” for its deficit spending.
Afraid of losing $175m, U of Penn agrees to stop transgender nonsense
The University of Pennsylvania is backing down from its support for transgenderism. The Trump administration threatened to withhold $175 million in funding to the school for allowing men to compete in women’s sports, reports CNN.
UPenn came to an agreement with the U.S. Department of Education recently to protect women’s sports. Notably, the school will strip a transgender swimmer of his medals. The male swimmer, Will Thomas, who now goes by the feminine name “Lia” Thomas, has been pretending to be a woman, enabling him to win medals by competing in women’s sports.
Riley Gaines, a former University of Kentucky swimmer, said, “It is my hope that today demonstrates to educational institutions that they will no longer be allowed to trample upon women’s civil rights.”
Wisconsin Supreme Court strikes down 176-year-old abortion ban
Wisconsin’s Supreme Court struck down the state’s 176-year-old abortion ban yesterday.
The 1849 law made most abortions a felony. But the high court ruled 4-3 that more recent legislation superseded the law. Wisconsin only has a ban on late-term abortions now.
Heather Weininger, Executive Director of Wisconsin Right to Life, told LifeNews, “The court did not point to a single state statute that specifically repeals [the law]. To assert that a repeal is implied is to legislate from the bench.”
Jimmy Swaggart, known for his “I have sinned” confession, died at 90
Remember this?
JIMMY SWAGGART: “I have sinned against You, my Lord, and I would ask that Your precious blood would wash and cleanse every stain until it is in the seas of God’s forgetfulness. Thank you. Thank you.”
That was the tearful confession on February 21, 1988 of televangelist Jimmy Swaggart at the Family Worship Center in Baton Rouge, Louisiana after it became public that he had an encounter with a lady of the evening in New Orleans. He was defrocked by the Assemblies of God, reports The Christian Post.
The Pentecostal preacher died on July 1st at the age of 90 after suffering a cardiac arrest recently. In the announcement from his official Facebook page on Tuesday, his family wrote, “Today, our hearts are heavy as we share that Brother Swaggart has finished his earthly race and entered into the presence of His Savior, Jesus Christ.”
Swaggart’s popularity peaked in the mid-1980s, reaching millions of households with his weekly telecasts.
In his confession, the televangelist alluded to Micah 7:19. It says, “You [God] will again have compassion on us; You will tread our sins underfoot and hurl all our iniquities into the depths of the sea.”
Man’s gold necklace cross deflected bullet
And finally, a young man in Florida is thanking God for saving his life.
Last month, 20-year-old Aiden Perry was shot in the chest, by accident, while visiting a friend’s apartment. The gun was only 10 feet away from him.
The incident could have been much worse if it weren’t for the gold cross necklace he was wearing. The necklace deflected the bullet from hitting major organs in his chest.
Dr. Khafra Henry, who performed the surgery, explained to WESH-TV how Aiden’s golden cross necklace was a blessing.
HENRY: “Of its metallic component, it actually shielded a lot of the force of the bullet, so the bullet ricocheted off the necklace and entered his chest wall. However, it was just in his fat tissues because it slowed down the trajectory of the bullet.”
Dr. Henry noted what might have happened had Aiden not been wearing his golden cross.
HENRY: “It could have been way worse, entering his chest wall itself, into the pleural space, which is the airspace around the lung, between the bones, and injuring his lung itself, or his heart.”
Aiden said, “It’s just kind of a reminder now – to never stop believing. Keep believing and God’s definitely real.”
In his comments to WESH-TV, he expressed gratitude to God.
PERRY: “I think God played a big role in this. I think He’s the reason I’m still here today.”
In Matthew 10:29-31, Jesus asked, “Are not two sparrows sold for a copper coin? And not one of them falls to the ground apart from your Father’s will. But the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Do not fear therefore; you are of more value than many sparrows.”
Close
And that’s The Worldview on this Thursday, July 3rd, in the year of our Lord 2025. Follow us on X or subscribe for free by Spotify, Amazon Music, or by iTunes or email to our unique Christian newscast at www.TheWorldview.com. Plus, you can get the Generations app through Google Play or The App Store. I’m Adam McManus (Adam@TheWorldview.com). Seize the day for Jesus Christ.