Human Rights Conference in Berlin Highlights Christian Persecution, Russia Proposes a Rail Tunnel Under the Bering Strait, Pew Research: Divorce Rates are Down in the U.S.

It’s Monday, October 20th, A.D. 2025. This is The Worldview in 5 Minutes, written by Jonathan Clark, heard on 140 radio stations and at www.TheWorldview.com.  Filling in for Adam McManus I’m Ean Leppin. (Adam@TheWorldview.com)

By Jonathan Clark

Human Rights Conference in Berlin Highlights Christian Persecution

Human rights experts met in Berlin, Germany last Wednesday, highlighting the increased persecution of Christians worldwide.  The International Society for Human Rights released a new report on Christian persecution at the conference. 

The report notes that Christians suffer under dictatorial states like China, Cuba, and North Korea. They remain victims of discrimination and violence without state protections in countries like Egypt, Syria, Nigeria, India, and Myanmar. And believers face persecution in Islamic republics like Afghanistan, Iran, and Pakistan. 

The conference also highlighted the suffering of Ukrainian Christians under Russian occupation. Johann Matthies with the Evangelical Alliance in Germany said, “Russian occupation authorities are specifically targeting Ukrainian religious communities: they are pressuring churches to cooperate or destroying them if they refuse.”

Psalm 34:15-16 says, “The eyes of the LORD are on the righteous, and His ears are open to their cry. The face of the LORD is against those who do evil, to cut off the remembrance of them from the earth.”

President Trump Continues Efforts to End Russian-Ukrainian War

U.S. President Donald Trump continues his efforts to end the war between Russia and Ukraine.

President Trump spoke over the phone with Russian President Vladimir Putin last Thursday. He then met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy at the White House last Friday. President Trump also plans on meeting with President Putin in Budapest, Hungary in the coming weeks.

Listen to comments from President Trump.

TRUMP: “I met with President Zelensky, as you know, today, and we had a very good meeting; very cordial meeting. In my opinion, they should stop the war immediately. You stop at the battle line, and both sides should go home, go to their families, stop the killing, and that should be it. Stop right now at the battle line. I told that to President Zelensky. I told it to President Putin. Thank you very much, everybody.”

Russia Proposes a Rail Tunnel Under the Bering Strait

Reuters reports Russia proposed a “Putin-Trump” rail tunnel under the Bering Strait to link the two nations.

The eight billion dollar proposal follows President Donald Trump’s phone call with President Vladimir Putin.

Russia’s proposal would involve building a 70-mile rail and cargo tunnel between Alaska and Russia’s eastern region of Chukotka. The plan suggested Elon Musk’s Boring Company for the construction project.

President Trump called the idea “interesting,” saying, “We’ll have to think about that.” 

Trump Moves to Reduce the Cost of IVF

Last Thursday, President Donald Trump announced a deal with the pharmaceutical industry to reduce the cost of in vitro fertilization.

The Trump administration hailed the move as pro-family. However, pro-life groups are criticizing the plan. 

LifeSiteNews noted, “The IVF process is gravely unethical as it entails the conscious creation of scores of ‘excess’ embryonic humans only to be killed and human lives being treated like commodities to be bartered over. It has been estimated that more than a million embryos are frozen in storage in the United States following IVF, and that as many as 93 percent of all embryos created through IVF are eventually destroyed.”

Conservative Anglicans Split from the Church of England

Conservative Anglicans formally split from the Church of England last week.

The Global Anglican Future Conference, also known as GAFCON, declared itself to be the Global Anglican Communion. It will no longer participate in meetings called by the Church of England’s Archbishop of Canterbury. 

Sarah Mullally is the recently appointed Archbishop of Canterbury. She is the first female to hold the position and supports same-sex blessings.

Bishop Laurent Mbanda is the chairman of the GAFCON Primates’ Council as well as the Primate of Rwanda. He wrote, “We cannot continue to have communion with those who . . . abandoned the inerrant word of God as the final authority.”

Isaiah 8:20 says, “To the law and to the testimony! If they do not speak according to this word, it is because there is no light in them.”

Pew Research: Divorce Rates are Down in the U.S.

And finally, Pew Research reports divorce rates, and specifically refined divorce rates, are down in the U.S.

Unlike the overall divorce rate, the refined divorce rate takes into account changes in the number of people who are married at any given time. 

This refined divorce rate peaked in the U.S. around 1980 at 22.6 divorces per 1,000 married women. By 2023, it had declined to 14.4 divorces per 1,000 married women. 

The report noted that married men are more likely to be employed than divorced men. Also married adults have higher household incomes and hold more wealth than divorced adults. 

Close

And that’s The Worldview on this Monday, October 20th, in the year of our Lord 2025. Follow us on X or subscribe for free by SpotifyAmazon 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. Filling in for Adam McManus I’m Ean Leppin (Adam@TheWorldview.com). Seize the day for Jesus Christ.

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