It’s Wednesday, December 28th, A.D. 2022. This is The Worldview in 5 Minutes heard at www.TheWorldView.com. I’m Adam McManus. (Adam@TheWorldview.com)

By Jonathan Clark

Iranian police have killed 500 protesters; 26 slated for execution

Anti-government protests in Iran entered their one hundredth day this week. It’s the longest demonstration in the country since the 1979 Islamic revolution.

Over 500 protesters have been killed, including two who were executed by authorities. Twenty-six more demonstrators face execution.

Iran’s security officials have warned Assyrian and Chaldean Christians in the country against joining the popular protests or posting about them online. 

International Christian Concern noted, “These groups have been pressured for many years not to go against the regime for fear of being arrested or facing worse persecution.”

Israeli Christian population grew by 2%

A new report from Israel’s Central Bureau of Statistics found the Christian population in the country grew 2% in 2021.

Christians now comprise 1.9% of the population in Israel, numbering over 180,000.

Seventy-five percent of them are Arab Christians, making up nearly 7% of the Arab population in Israel.

Romans 11:25-27 says, “A partial hardening has come upon Israel, until the fullness of the Gentiles has come in. And in this way, all Israel will be saved, as it is written, ‘The Deliverer will come from Zion, He will banish ungodliness from Jacob, and this will be my covenant with them when I take away their sins.’”

Texas officials believe Christian foster agencies have right not to place with “gay” couples

Texas filed a lawsuit earlier this month, challenging a 2016 federal rule that discriminates against Christian foster care agencies. 

Texas is fighting to work with faith-based agencies as they face surges in children needing out-of-home placements in recent years.

The 2016 Department of Health and Human Services rule cuts funding to states that partner with agencies that refuse to place children with people living sexually perverted lifestyles.

However, Texas argues another HHS rule protects religious organizations from such funding discrimination.

18 Republicans support $1.7 trillion bill with abortion & sexual perversion funding

Last Friday, Congress passed a $1.7 trillion government funding bill. President Joe Biden said he will sign it.

Eighteen Republicans in the Senate and nine in the House joined Democrats to pass the omnibus spending package.

Republican Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell said the bill met the party’s top priorities. 

MCCONNELL: “Providing assistance for Ukrainians to defeat the Russians. That’s the number one priority for the United States right now, according to most Republicans. That’s sort of how we see the challenges confronting the country at the moment.”

However, the spending deal continues to fund abortion with $286 million for the Title X family planning program. Other earmarks in the bill include $477,000 for “anti-racist” training from the Equity Institute, $3 million for the homosexual/bisexual/transgender museum in New York City, and $575 million for so-called “family planning” in areas where population growth “threatens biodiversity.”

Exodus 23:2 says, “You shall not fall in with the many to do evil, nor shall you bear witness in a lawsuit, siding with the many, so as to pervert justice.”

A third of Americans fallen away from church attendance

A new Gallup poll found over a third of U.S. adults have fallen away from attending religious services.

Sixty-seven percent of Americans said they attended services regularly while growing up, but only 31% said they still do. 

The amount of people who seldom or never attend services has doubled now compared to when respondents were growing up.

The study noted that children who grew up in church were more likely to still attend services than those who did not grow up in church. 

Florida abortions dropped by 11,000 this year

How about some good news?

Florida’s health department reports abortions in the state are down. Indeed, 11,000 fewer babies were killed by abortion this year compared to last year.

Over 79,000 unborn babies were killed in abortion in 2021. That number decreased to just over 68,000 this year.

The decrease comes after the state passed a 15-week abortion ban this summer.

After the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, out-of-state abortions increased in Florida. Despite that, abortions overall are down in the state.

Florida is fastest growing state

And finally, the U.S. Census Bureau reports that Florida is the country’s fastest growing state.

The Sunshine State’s population grew by 1.9% between 2021 and 2022.

Florida’s population now stands at 22.2 million, nine times what it was in 1946. In the post-World War II era, Arizona, Idaho, Utah, North Dakota, and Alaska have also been among the fastest-growing states.

Close

And that’s The Worldview in 5 Minutes on this Wednesday, December 28th in the year of our Lord 2022. 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.