It’s Thursday, February 15th, A.D. 2024. This is The Worldview in 5 Minutes heard at www.TheWorldview.com. I’m Adam McManus. (Adam@TheWorldview.com)

By Jonathan Clark

Hindu group to Christian schools: Remove religious items in 15 days

A Hindu group in northeastern India recently gave Christian schools 15 days to remove religious items from their buildings. 

Satya Ranjan Borah is the president of the group called Kutumba Surakshya Parishad. She said, “Christian Missionaries are converting schools and educational institutes into religious institutes. We will not allow it.” The group is also calling for the removal of churches on school grounds.

Christians have been involved in education in India’s state of Assam for decades. They have faced increasing threats in recent years. 

India is ranked 11th on the Open Doors’ World Watch List of nations where it is most difficult to be a Christian.

More young Finnish men believe in God and attend church

Evangelical Focus reports membership in religious organizations is declining in Europe and North America. 

Hanna Salomäki is the director of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Finland’s Church Institute for Research and Advanced Training. She said that national churches in Nordic countries are following the trend of declining membership. However, she noted Finland is seeing an exception among young men aged 15 to 29.

In 2019, 12% of young men in Finland attended church monthly, up from 5% in 2011. The attendance rate for young women remains low, near 3%. Over the same time period, weekly prayer among young men grew from 16% to 26%, and belief in God grew from 19% to 43%. 

Psalm 119:9 asks, “How can a young man cleanse his way? By taking heed according to Your Word.”

Democrats flipped Santos seat in special election

Here in the United States, Democrats flipped the battleground Long Island, New York seat last held by ousted Rep. George Santos, narrowing the already razor-thin Republican majority in the House, reports Politico.com.

Democrat Tom Suozzi won back his former seat in New York’s 3rd Congressional District, defeating lesser-known Republican rival Mazi Melesa Pilip.  The vote was 53.9% to 46.1%.

SUOZZI: “Despite all the attacks, despite all the lies about Tom Suozzi and the Squad (laughter), about Tom Suozzi being the Godfather of the migrant crisis, about Sanctuary Suozzi (boos), despite the dirty tricks, despite the vaunted Nassau County Republican machine (boos), we won!” (cheers)

Santos was expelled from Congress amid being criminally indicted on fraud charges.

1 dead, 22 injured at Kansas City Chiefs victory parade

Police said one person died and 22 people suffered gunshot wounds in a shooting Wednesday afternoon just after the Kansas City Chiefs parade and rally ended at Union Station in Kansas City, Missouri, reports KCTV.

Children’s Mercy Hospital confirmed it was treating 12 patients, 11 of whom were children. The hospital stated that nine of those patients have gunshot wounds.

Police Chief Stacy Graves spoke to the press.

GRAVES: “At the conclusion of the chiefs rally today, there were shots fired on the west side of Union Station. Immediately, officers responded to the area, took two people into custody and also immediately rendered life sustaining aid to those victims.

“I’m angry at what happened today. The people who came to this celebration should expect a safe environment. We had over 800 law enforcement officers, Kansas City and other agencies, at the location to keep everyone safe. Because of bad actors, which were very few, this tragedy, occurred even in the presence of uniformed law enforcement officers.”

Brave Kansas City Chiefs fans tackled a suspected gunman as he attempted to flee cops after a shooting at the Super Bowl parade.

Amid the terror, a heroic group of men were seen taking down one of the suspected perpetrators. They hauled the alleged gunman to the ground and then shouted, “We got the gun.” The men held down the suspect until cops arrived to detain him, reports The Daily Mail.

The identities of the three gunmen have not yet been confirmed and no motive has been given for the attack.

Only 47% of Americans are really happy

A recent poll from Gallup found only 47% of U.S. adults say they are very satisfied with their personal lives. It’s the lowest since 2011.

Only a few demographic subgroups had majorities saying they are very satisfied with life. Those included married adults and people who attend religious services weekly.

1 Timothy 6:6 says, “Godliness with contentment is great gain.”

Serious threats against U.S. federal judges double

U.S. federal judges now face more than double the number of threats they did three years ago.

Reuters reviewed data from the U.S. Marshals Service. The agency is responsible for protecting 2,700 judges and over 30,000 federal personnel. 

Amidst sharp political tensions, the agency investigated 457 serious threats during the fiscal year 2023, up from 224 in 2021.

8 to 12-year-olds on track to abandon Christian beliefs

Dr. George Barna at the Arizona Christian University released a new report on the spiritual beliefs of children in America.

The report notes, “’The foundational beliefs held by 8- to 12-year-olds put them on track to abandon biblical Christianity in record numbers.”

Today’s children reject five beliefs central to the Christian faith. Only a minority of them draw moral guidance from the Bible, believe in absolute moral truth, embrace faith in Jesus Christ as the means of salvation, identify serving God as their chief purpose in life, and consider success to be consistent obedience to God. 

40 Days for Life kickoff

And finally, the 40 Days for Life Campaign kicked off in over 650 cities around the world yesterday.

Pro-life activists plan to pray outside of abortion mills for the end of the killing of unborn babies.

One location won’t be needing prayer warriors outside of it this year. The abortion mill in Fredericton, New Brunswick in Canada is going out of business. 

40 Days for Life noted, “Pro-lifers brought a 40 Days for Life campaign to town last year, and the facility’s financial problems became too much to bear. Local 40 Days for Life participants report this is the first Canadian abortion facility to close in response to pro-life efforts in decades.”

James 5:16 says, “The effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much.”

Close

And that’s The Worldview in 5 Minutes on this Thursday, February 15th in the year of our Lord 2024. Subscribe 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.