Thursday, January 17th, in the year of our Lord 2019
By Jonathan Clark
Open Doors Releases List of Top 50 Worst Countries for Christian Persecution
Open Doors released their 2019 World Watch List of the 50 nations where Christians experience the most persecution. The report found one in nine or 245 million Christians are highly persecuted, a 14 percent increase from the 2018 report.
Over 4,000 believers were killed for their faith in one of the top 50 countries during the latest reporting period.
For the 18th consecutive year, the communist dictatorship of North Korea ranks as the worst nation for Christian persecution. The top 5 worst offending nations were North Korea, Afghanistan, Somalia, Libya and Pakistan.
The most common form of persecution was Islamic oppression across Africa and the Middle East. India entered the top 10 persecuting nations for the first time. And China jumped 16 spots, from 43 to 27.
1 Corinthians 12:26 says, “If one part [of the Body of Christ] suffers, every part suffers with it.”
Islamic State: We Killed 16 People in Syrian Suicide Attack
The Islamic State took responsibility yesterday for a suicide attack in Manbij, Syria that took the lives of 16 people, including four Americans.
This comes after President Donald Trump announced the withdrawal of U.S. troops from Syria.
Meanwhile, Christian leaders in Syria are concerned Turkey may attack an area of north-east Syria controlled by the Kurds after the U.S. military withdrawal. Trump has threatened Turkey with economic devastation if they attack the U.S.-allied Kurds.
Jihad Plot Against the White House Thwarted Yesterday
A Georgia man accused of plotting to use an anti-tank rocket to storm into the White House was arrested in a sting yesterday after he traded his car for guns and explosives and showed an undercover agent a hand-drawn diagram of the ground floor of the West Wing of the White House and detailed a plan for attack, reports NBC News.
Hasher Jallal Taheb, age 21, of Cumming, Georgia was arrested yesterday and is charged with attempting to damage or destroy a building owned by the United States using fire or an explosive.
On December 14, Taheb allegedly “broadened his prospective targets,” indicating that he wished to attack the Washington Monument, the Lincoln Memorial, and a “specific synagogue” in the Washington, D.C. area, reports ABC News.
Trump’s Religious Freedom Day Proclamation
President Trump issued a proclamation for Religious Freedom Day this week, calling on Americans to carry on their heritage of defending freedom of conscience.
Trump noted the new Conscience and Religious Freedom Division in his administration as well as the first-ever Ministerial to Advance Religious Freedom around the world.
South Carolina’s Twin Pro-Life Bills
South Carolina’s legislative session has opened with a number of anti-abortion bills, including the Personhood Act of South Carolina and a Heartbeat Bill, following the example of other states to ban the murder of unborn babies with detectable heartbeats.
The World View spoke to Dr. Matthew Clark, Executive Director of Personhood South Carolina, about the bills.
“We’re excited about what’s going on in South Carolina right now; even the incremental bill that’s being presented this year, the Heartbeat Bill, is very aggressive. According to the statistics, it looks like it would outlaw 60% of the abortions that took place last year in South Carolina – there were about 5,000 abortions in South Carolina last year. And that’s an aggressive incrementalism; there’s not much further you can go after that, aside from just outlawing all abortions. Now, as the executive director of Personhood, that’s what we focus on; we present each year a bill designed to outlaw abortion, and the Personhood Act of South Carolina is simple: it defines life at conception, and if passed, it would outlaw all abortion in South Carolina.”
2/3 of Protestant Young Adults Drop Out of Church for a Year
LifeWay Research released a new study finding that two-thirds of American young adults who attended a Protestant church regularly as a teenager dropped out of church for at least a year between the ages of 18 and 22.
Common reasons the respondents listed for dropping out of church were going to college, moving away from home, and starting their first job. However, of those who dropped out in their college years, 31 percent are now back in church regularly.
Matthew 13:22 warns, “As for what was sown among thorns, this is the one who hears the Word, but the cares of the world and the deceitfulness of riches choke the Word, and it proves unfruitful.”
California Elementary Students Must Embrace Transgenderism
Proposed health guidelines in California would require elementary students in the state’s public schools to reject “gender stereotypes” and embrace transgenderism with no opt-out options for parents.
By contrast, legislators in Florida are considering House Bill 195 that would allow state public schools to offer Bible and religious studies as electives.
“Supermoon” Lunar Eclipse: See It Sunday or Wait ‘Til 2058!
And finally, all of North and South America will be able to see the “supermoon” lunar eclipse this coming Sunday, reports Forbes.
It’s the first Pan-American total lunar eclipse of the 21st century. And it will not happen again until 2058.
Psalm 19:1 says, “The heavens declare the glory of God, and the sky above proclaims His handiwork.”
Close
And that’s The World View in 5 Minutes on this Thursday, January 17th in the year of our Lord 2019. Subscribe by iTunes or email to our unique Christian newscast at www.TheWorldView.com. I’m Adam McManus. Seize the day for Jesus Christ.