U.S. Christian Pastor Languishing in Turkish Prison, United States to Aid Iraqi Christians, Facebook Blocks Pro-Life Film

Monday, January 15th, in the year of our Lord 2018

By Adam McManus

Pastor Andrew Brunson Continues to Suffer in Turkish Prison

Since his imprisonment in October 2016 in Istanbul, Turkey on trumped up charges, Pastor Andrew Brunson has lost over 50 pounds, reports Religion News Service.

Brunson is only allowed to leave his cell once a week for a scheduled visit with his wife. Most of these visits are conducted in a room divided by a Plexiglas wall.

He has had no due process. In fact, the Turkish government, for almost a year, has given him no information about the charges against him and no court date. The case against him seems to be based on secret evidence and a secret witness that allege his involvement in trying to overthrow the Turkish government — a charge which he flatly denies.

Trump Administration Takes Steps to Support Persecuted Minorities in Iraq

In the wake of Vice President Mike Pence’s announcement last October that the United States government would provide direct aid to persecuted Iraqi Christians struggling to rebuild following the liberation of the Nineveh Plains, the Trump administration has taken concrete steps to follow through on its promises, reports The Christian Post.

Trump’s administration announced that it has renegotiated an agreement with the U.N. to ensure that vulnerable Christians, Yazidis and other religious minorities victimized by the Islamic State in Iraq will get the U.N. assistance they were previously denied.

According to the U.S. Agency for International Development, the agency has ensured that $55 million of its $75 million payment to the U.N. Development Program Funding Facility for Stabilization in Iraq “will address the needs of vulnerable religious and ethnic minority communities” in the Nineveh Province.

False Missile Alert Causes Panic in Hawaii

Panic spread through the state of Hawaii on Saturday morning when residents received an alert on their phones warning of a ballistic missile threat that was accidentally sent out by Civil Defense, reports The Daily Mail.

Scores of confused residents tweeted screenshots of the warnings after receiving them shortly after 8am local time.

Hawaii falls within the range of the intercontinental ballistic missiles that North Korea has been testing in recent months as tensions between Donald Trump and Kim Jong Un flare up.

Ann Coulter Unhappy with President Trump for Granting Amnesty to “Dreamers”

Conservative author Ann Coulter appeared on FOX Business’ Lou Dobbs to say she is not pleased that President Trump is willing to grant amnesty to the 800,000 so-called “Dreamers” before building the much anticipated border wall which was the lynchpin to his entire presidential candidacy.

“He agreed with [Democrat Senator Dianne Feinstein of California]. Yes, we’ll have a stand-alone dreamer bill, just granting everybody amnesty and we’ll get to that comprehensive immigration stuff later. It was a disaster. It was the lowest day of his presidency.”

“His only hope is to be ‘pedal to the metal’, fulfill his promises, build the wall, end chain migration and deport these dreamers.”

Facebook Censors Site for Pro-Life Movie About Roe v. Wade

A crowdfunding site for a pro-life theatrical drama in production that promises to tell the “true story” of the Roe v. Wade Supreme Court decision that established a so-called “right” to abortion has been blocked by Facebook, reports WorldNetDaily.com. Academy Award-winning actor Jon Voight will star as a Supreme Court justice.

The movie’s producer, Nick Loeb, explained that the content of the movie, which exposes Planned Parenthood’s roots in the eugenics movement, clearly is the reason for the censorship.

Psalm 139:16 says, “Your eyes saw my unformed body; all the days ordained for me were written in Your book before one of them came to be.”

Special Report on Homeschooling in Britain After the Newscast

Why has homeschooling become more popular in Britain? Stay tuned for a World
View Special Report by Emily Swanson immediately following today’s newscast.

Elgin, Illinois Officials Threaten to Condemn Man’s House if He Keeps Sheltering the Homeless

And finally, when the wind chill factor dipped below 15 degrees in Chicago and area shelters did not open, Greg Schiller decided to open his basement to the homeless to offer a cot, a warm place to stay, movies, and coffee, reports WMAQ-TV.

He previously co-founded the Matthew 25:40 Ministry, a homeless shelter outreach program at Elgin First United Methodist Church.

But Elgin, Illinois city officials last week ordered Schiller to stop using his home to help the homeless because the basement’s ceiling height was too low and the windows were too high and small to be used as an egress.

Despite his attempts to protect people in dangerously low temperatures, officials said they would refer Schiller’s house to be condemned if he resisted the order to stop hosting the homeless, which included removal of a portable toilet set up for them.

Fortunately, the city is now creating new shelters and has even offered the police department lobby for people with nowhere to go.

In Matthew 25:40, Jesus declares, “Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of Mine, you did for Me.”

Closing Line

And that’s The World View in 5 Minutes on this Monday, January 15th in the year of our Lord 2018. Subscribe by iTunes or email to our unique Christian newscast at www.TheWorldView.com. I’m Adam McManus. Seize the day for Jesus Christ.

Special Report: Homeschooling Becomes Increasingly Popular in the U.K.

Time now for a World View Special Report by Emily Swanson.

British homeschooling has only grown more popular in the past six years according to a recent article from the Freedom Project.  

The World View spoke to Pastor Pooyan Mehrshahi from Cheltenham, England about why he thinks homeschooling has grown so popular in the U.K. in the past few years. He said one of the concerns is the dumbing down of the school system.  

“The homeschooling movement is not necessarily a Christian movement. It is very much mixed, but the Christian homeschoolers are the majority. But there will be others from non-religious backgrounds, Muslims, who do homeschool their children. Now these could be some of the reasons as I’ve talked to individuals who are not Christians, some of it is due to the quality of education or the lack thereof that the children are getting. It is increasing the dumbing down of the government-controlled curriculum. When people begin to compare themselves to their own children, and they realize that they knew far more about the world they lived in as a child than their own children.”   

Mehrsahi said there are several other reasons people have chosen to homeschool.

“Others have concerns because of the politicization of education. Others would say that the education their children are getting is no longer relevant. People come out and are graduated from college, from school, or university  and yet unable to find suitable work.”   

Mehrshahi said that Christian families are choosing homeschooling out of concern for their children’s souls.

“They are more concerned about the morality issue in education. And the fact that Christians are increasingly coming to realize that education is not something that is simply the teaching of the mind, but it is the fear of God that is the beginning of wisdom.

“They’re beginning to look at passages such as Psalm 1 and thinking to themselves, ‘What are we doing with our children as they are sent out into a world which mocks the Bible and hates Christ and yet we are allowing such enemies to be feeding the minds of our children?’”   

Mehrshahi said that the U.K. has very few restrictions on homeschooling.

“If a family has not sent their children to school from the beginning they have not gone into the system, therefore there are no legal requirements for the government to keep checks on them.  But what they would try to do is encourage people to have interviews, regular yearly interviews, but there are no real restrictions at this time other than the law requires children to be taught appropriate level of education.” 

Mehrshahi testified that though people often argue that homeschooling is limited, it often provides a more well-rounded education.  

“There are certain things that we are limited with at home, such as sports and so on, and that’s sometimes what people use as an argument against it. But when we talk about education, sports or any other things that do not come under the heading of education, those are not really education. It is extra curricular. But I believe, generally speaking, it’s a more well-rounded education and that is very encouraging to see in our own children, in other family’s children.”

Mehrshahi humbly reminded parents that homeschooling is not going to change your children’s hearts.  

“We cannot change our children’s hearts. It is all of God’s grace. And yet we provide them, prayerfully, material that does not cause them to stumble. And we believe that if children are brought up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord, we can only expect the Lord to bless.” 

Mehrshahi emphasized that homeschooling gives Christian parents the opportunity to freely teach their children about the things of God.

“When we talk about homeschooling, I always look at it as any form of education when we teach children the things of God and also the world in which they live in. We are actually discipling them. It is part of discipleship, and what the Lord has taught us in the latter part of Mark and the gospel of Matthew, to go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature.” 

Mehrshahi shared the most pressing prayer request for Christian homeschooling families in the U.K. and around the world.  

“When we pray for ourselves and others we ought to pray that all our lives, when we get up, when we are walking by the way, when we are lying down, it would be something that glorified God, and for us to be consistent in our parenting, in our discipling of our children, in our life before the Lord, in our life in the church, and in the family.”  

He said that we must pray for the keeping of our hearts because we live in a world that is opposed to gospel discipleship.

“Another prayer ought to be for the keeping of our hearts spiritual, because by doing things contrary to what the world would have us do there is a constant pressure of, ‘Are we doing enough so that our children can do well after they leave our home?’  

“And so I think the parents, therefore, are under much fear and pressure both from within the church and outside of the church too. And for them to be reminded again and again that we are bringing up and training our children so they might one day dwell in heaven, not in this world. And for them to realize that all that they learn if it is without Christ, is of no value, it is vanity.” 

Mershahi concluded by explaining what homeschool parents need.

“The parents need constant encouragement and praying for them to not lose heart. And if they give their children a Christian education that is the main thing, to give them a biblical education. It doesn’t matter what the world’s standards are. The world’s standards are nowhere near what God’s standard is, and therefore the parents need to look heavenward, look above this world to realize that if they give a biblical education, they have done what God requires them to do and the consequences and the fruit are with the Lord and not with them.”  

Deuteronomy 6:5-7 describes God’s prescription for teaching children.

“You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might. And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise.”

This has been a World View Special Report. I’m Adam McManus.

Print stories

Three Christians Arrested and Jailed in Nepal

Three Nepalese Christian citizens have been arrested and sent to jail for allegedly spreading Christianity among the local residents, reports The Times of India.

The complainants alleged that the trio had used objectionable language to describe Hindu gods.

Evangelical Christianity Increases in Malaysia and Indonesia

Evangelicalism in Muslim-majority countries in Southeast Asia, including Malaysia and Indonesia, is on the rise with roughly ten percent of the population in both countries being Christian, reports Christian Today.

This comes at a time when bureaucrats are making it difficult for churches largely because of the fear that they will convert members of the Muslim majority.

Algerian Government May Increase Persecution of Christians

Algerian Christians fear government officials may be coordinating intensified persecution against them following arrests, inspections, and church closures in recent months.

Middle East Concern and World Watch Monitor reported that police arrested three people on December 19 in a cafe after finding they had Christian literature. Punishment can be five years’ imprisonment.

Although the Algerian Constitution allows for freedom of conscience and worship, groups must be registered, and religious services can only be held in buildings set aside exclusively for that use. Acts like insulting any religion or proselytizing a Muslim remain illegal.

More on Pro-Life Movie About Roe v. Wade

The pro-life movie which Facebook is censoring opens with Margaret Sanger, the founder of Planned Parenthood, speaking about her “Negro project” initiative aimed at reducing the growth of African-American population in the United
States.


It continues as abortionist Bernard Nathanson joins with famed feminist-activist Betty Friedan and Planned Parenthood to recruit for a legal case “a broke girl with a 10th grade education named Norma McCorvey,” who became known as “Jane Roe.”


Later, Nathanson, through the help of new sonogram technology, “realizes he is killing babies, confesses to all the lies and becomes a leading activist in the pro-life movement,” and McCorvey, realizing she had been manipulated, also joins the pro-life cause.


The executive producer of the movie is Alveda King, a niece of Martin Luther King Jr. and the head of the group Civil Rights for the Unborn.

Plan to Shift Facebook Users’ Feeds Toward Personal Instead of Commercial Content Causes $3.3 Billion Loss

Facebook’s founder Mark Zuckerberg saw his fortune fall by $3.3 billion Friday after he posted plans to shift users’ news feeds toward content from family and friends at the expense of material from media outlets and businesses, reports Bloomberg.

Netflix Commission Drama Series on Teen Prostitution

Netflix has perfected the art of hypocrisy.

On the one hand, they fired Kevin Spacey, star of “House of Cards”, over substantiated allegations that he made unwanted homosexual advances, including targeting at least one minor years ago.

On the other hand, they are now glamorizing sex trafficking after commissioning an eight-part Italian drama entitled Baby based on the Baby Squillo teen prostitution scandal. Indeed, the U.S.-based National Center on Sexual Exploitation called for the show to be axed ahead of its launch, saying, “There are no ‘baby prostitutes’ – only sexually abused, exploited and raped children.”

James 1:8 says, “Such a person is double-minded and unstable in all they do.”

President Trump’s Lawyer Allegedly Gave Hush Money to Former Porn Star

President Donald Trump’s lawyer Michael Cohen arranged a $130,000 payment to a former porn film star a month before the 2016 election as part of an agreement that precluded her from publicly discussing an alleged sexual encounter with Mr. Trump, according to people familiar with the matter, reports the Wall Street Journal.

Stephanie Clifford, whose stage name is Stormy Daniels, alleged the encounter with Mr. Trump took place after they met at a July 2006 celebrity golf tournament on the shore of Lake Tahoe, 19 months after he married Melania.

Cohen said that “President Trump once again vehemently denies any such occurrence as has Ms. Daniels.” The Trump attorney also emailed a statement from Clifford which said, “Rumors that I have received hush money from Donald Trump are completely false.”

Figure Skater Tonya Harding Admits She Knew About the Attack on Nancy Kerrigan

Remember former Olympic figure skater Tonya Harding?

Her then-husband Jeff Gillooly kneecapped her competitor Nancy Kerrigan before the 1994 Winter Olympics. Well, Tonya’s backpedaling her new movie “I, Tonya.”

Oddly enough, she actually insisted that journalists who asked about the infamous incident with Kerrigan be fined $25,000 which is why her publicist/agent Michael Rosenberg declared “it doesn’t work that way” before terminating their business relationship, reports the Boston Globe.

Flu Breaks Out Across the Entire Continental United States

The entire continental United States is experiencing widespread flu right now, the first time in the 13 years of the current tracking system that that has happened, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, reports Statnews.com.

Officials said that this flu season is shaping up to be one of the worst in recent years.

Las Vegas Shooter Took Elaborate Steps to Cover His Tracks

As he meticulously planned the Las Vegas attack, the man responsible for the worst mass shooting in modern US history took elaborate steps to stymie the inevitable law enforcement investigation that would follow, according to federal court documents unsealed Friday, reports the New York Times.

The FBI search warrants shed new light on the degree to which Stephen Paddock, who killed 58 people and wounded more than 500 others after opening fire from a hotel room last October, planned the attack and prepared for the aftermath to come. One of the warrants described how Paddock “destroyed or tried to hide digital media devices.”

Investigators said he used anonymous communications devices, including a prepaid cell phone, to cover his tracks, and employed a “level of sophistication which is commonly found in mass casualty events.”

Wisconsin School Board Pays $800,000 Settlement for Transgender Former Student

A school board in Wisconsin has agreed to pay $800,000 to settle a lawsuit in the case of a transgender former student born female who was initially denied the request to use boys’ bathrooms, reports the Kenosha News.

Last Tuesday night, the Kenosha Unified School Board voted 5-2 in favor of the $800,000 settlement. Lawyers said that $650,000 of that sum would go toward attorney’s fees.

The student, Ash Whitaker, a biological female who identifies as a male, claimed the school had carried out discriminatory practices in requiring that students use the bathrooms of the gender they were born with.

Surrogate Refuses to Abort Baby with Heart Defect

Surrogacy can be messy.

In early 2017, two adults hired a Texas woman as a gestational surrogate—a woman who carries an embryo not genetically related to her. It was the woman’s third time as a surrogate.

At a routine appointment 16 weeks into her pregnancy, the surrogate’s doctor noticed an abnormality in the unborn baby’s heart, and referred the woman to a specialist, according to WFAA-TV in Dallas. After an examination, the specialist told her the baby had hypoplastic left heart syndrome, a birth defect that causes the left side of the heart to be critically underdeveloped.

The baby would need heart surgery three to four days after birth, followed by two more operations later in childhood, but could go on to lead a relatively normal life.

When the surrogate informed the intended parents about the baby’s condition, they demanded she get an abortion.

The surrogate said, “I was completely in shock. I truly didn’t have the slightest idea that would be asked of me.” Plus, during the interview process the parents told her they opposed abortion.

The surrogate refused to abort, and the parents stopped paying for her medical costs.

The case has prompted calls for Texas to reevaluate its surrogacy laws.

But some experts argue regulating surrogacy is like trying to regulate slavery, or the sale of organs, because the process itself commodifies women and children.

Jennifer Lahl, president of the Center for Bioethics and Culture, said, “When you read these contracts, you find all kinds of horrible do’s and don’ts that these women agree to,” noting the intended parents basically feel like they have bought the surrogate’s “whole entire body for nine months.”

Airport Security Finds Live Cat in Checked Suitcase

The TSA is on the lookout for knives, guns, and explosives in the luggage of the flying public.

They didn’t expect to find a live cat tucked away in a checked suitcase at the Pennsylvania’s Erie International Airport.

The feline, named Slim, appeared unharmed. While it was unclear whether the owner intentionally packed Slim or the cat somehow snuck in the suitcase, he is currently residing under the care of the Humane Society of Northwestern Pennsylvania, reports CBS.

President Trump Questions Why the US Would Want Immigrants from Haiti and Africa

Last Thursday, President Donald Trump questioned why the United States would want to have immigrants from Haiti and African nations, referring to some in a derogatory manner, instead of welcoming more immigrants from Norway, reports Reuters.

Trump’s remarks, made in the White House, came as Democratic Senator Dick Durbin and Republican Senator Lindsey Graham briefed the president on a newly drafted immigration bill being touted by a bipartisan group of senators, according to the sources, who asked not to be identified. Other government officials were present during the conversation, the sources said.

The lawmakers were describing how certain immigration programs operate, including one to give safe haven in the United States to people from countries suffering from natural disasters or civil strife.

White House spokesman Raj Shah said: “Certain Washington politicians choose to fight for foreign countries, but President Trump will always fight for the American people. Like other nations that have merit-based immigration, President Trump is fighting for permanent solutions that make our country stronger by welcoming those who can contribute to our society, grow our economy and assimilate into our great nation.”

CNN’s Don Lemon Loses His Cool When John Fredericks Says Trump’s Comments Were About Economics, Not Race

CNN’s Don Lemon didn’t pull any punches as he opened Thursday’s CNN Tonight.

“The President of the United States is racist.”

“Those comments are, frankly, disgusting. They’re not shocking, not even really surprising, because this is who Donald Trump is—this is what he thinks.”

Later, during a heated panel discussion on Trump’s remarks, Lemon grew incensed by John Fredericks, Trump’s former presidential campaign co-chair in Virginia.

John Fredericks: “Don, it’s not about race, as you like to make it because that’s easy and lazy, it’s about economics.”
Don Lemon: “You know what, John Fredericks? You know what, John, until that last comment — yeah, I’m going to cut you off. Can we please cut him off? Can we get rid of John Fredericks? First of all, I was going to let him speak until you doubly insulted me. We can have this conversation, and we don’t need to have someone who is going to make excuses for racism.”

President Trump Waives Sanctions Against Iran for the Last Time

President Donald Trump on Friday announced that he will waive sanctions against Iran for the final time, extending the life of an international nuclear accord that he disavowed three months ago, reports CNBC.

Trump said, “The United States will not again waive sanctions in order to stay in the Iran nuclear deal. And if at any time I judge that such an agreement is not within reach, I will withdraw from the deal immediately.”

Hardball Host Chris Matthews Makes Inappropriate Joke About Hillary Clinton

On January 5, 2016, MSNBC Hardball host Chris Matthews interviewed Hillary Clinton in an Iowa fire station during the Democratic primary season. Network footage obtained by The Cut shows Matthews, during the interview setup, making a couple of “jokes” about Clinton. This is how he asked for a glass of water.

“Can I have some of the queen’s waters? Precious waters?”

And then, as he waits for the water, he added this.

“Where’s that Bill Cosby pill I brought with me?”

Matthews then laughs, delighted with the line, for an extended moment, as the staffers around him react with disbelief, clearly uncomfortable. (Cosby has been accused of sexual impropriety by dozens of women, some of whom allege that they were drugged and raped by the comedian.)

Matthews confessed to The Cut, “This was a terrible comment I made in poor taste during the height of the Bill Cosby headlines. I realize that’s no excuse. I deeply regret it and I’m sorry.”

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