It’s Monday, January 13th, A.D. 2025. This is The Worldview in 5 Minutes heard on 125 radio stations and at www.TheWorldview.com. I’m Adam McManus. (Adam@TheWorldview.com)
By Adam McManus
20 Pakistani Christians remain imprisoned for blasphemy against Mohammad
An International Christian Concern analysis of data from the United States Commission on Religious Freedom found that 20 Christians have remained behind bars in Pakistan for a total of 134 years for the crime of blasphemy against the false prophet Muhammad.
Between 2002 and 2023, the Christians were detained or imprisoned in separate cases for alleged crimes, including “insulting the Prophet Muhammad,” a crime punishable by death under Pakistani law, “desecrating the Quran,” and “intending to outrage religious feelings.” All 20 remain incarcerated to this day.
One of the Christians, Asif Pervaiz, reportedly sent a text message to his manager at a factory that was deemed insulting to the false prophet Muhammad. Pervaiz was detained in 2013 and sentenced in 2020. The court order in Pervaiz’s case, viewed by Reuters, stated that the Christian “shall be hanged by his neck till his death” for “misusing” his phone.
In another case, friends Adil Babar and Simon Nadeem, both teenagers at the time of their arrest in 2023, were detained for allegedly calling a dog “Muhammad Ali.”
Judge gives Trump ‘unconditional discharge’ to respect presidency
On Friday, Judge Juan Merchan sentenced President-elect Donald Trump in his historic hush money case to an unconditional discharge — allowing Trump to avoid prison, fines or probation, but cementing his status as a convicted felon just 10 days before he takes the oath of office for his second term, reports ABC News.
During a brief virtual hearing, New York prosecutors blasted Trump for engaging in a “direct attack on the rule of law” and making efforts to “undermine its legitimacy” by attacking the judge and others involved in the case. Trump’s defense team, which vowed to appeal, said the case should never have been brought and called it a “sad day for this country.”
The President-elect was sentenced on Friday after a New York jury convicted him in May on 34 felony counts of “falsifying business records” to conceal a payment to a former adult film star.
Trump has repeatedly maintained his innocence throughout the trial, characterizing the case as a “weaponization of our justice system.”
Judge Merchan said the unconditional discharge was the “only lawful sentence” to protect “the office of the president … not the occupant of the office.”
2,500 pro-life doctors challenge Biden’s pro-abortion mandate
Alliance Defending Freedom attorneys filed a federal lawsuit on Friday against the Biden administration for trying to force emergency room doctors to perform abortions under the Emergency Medical Treatment and Labor Act, reports LifeNews.com.
In the case, ADF attorneys representing the Catholic Medical Association, a national network of 2,500 pro-life physicians and health care providers, argued that the mandate violates members’ conscience rights and oversteps executive authority.
After the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade and gave health care decision-making power back to the states in the Dobbs decision, the Biden administration announced its intention to force doctors to perform abortions under the Emergency Medical Treatment and Labor Act. Shortly after the announcement, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services issued a memorandum stating that it grants the administration authority to override state pro-life laws, even though the Emergency Medical Treatment and Labor Act does not mention abortion.
ADF Senior Counsel Matt Bowman said, “Doctors—especially in emergency rooms—are tasked with preserving life. Federal bureaucrats have no business compelling doctors or hospitals to end unborn lives, especially when the law they are citing grants them no such authority. Emergency room physicians can and do treat life-threatening conditions such as ectopic pregnancies. And every state allows doctors to do whatever is necessary to preserve the life of a mother.”
Bowman concluded, “Elective abortion is not life-saving care—it ends the life of the unborn child—and the Emergency Medical Treatment and Labor Act does not grant the government authority to force doctors to perform these dangerous procedures. Rather, it requires doctors to treat a pregnant woman and her ‘unborn child.’”
Psalm 127:3 says, “Truly, children are a gift from the Lord; the fruit of the womb is a reward.”
While Los Angeles burns, CA House Speaker invests $25 million to fight Trump
Los Angeles is engulfed in flames, 16 people have died. and more than 10,000 structures have burned to the ground because of dry hydrants thanks to Democratic Governor Gavin Newsom and Democratic Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass, yet California’s Democrat lawmakers will allocate $25 million to California’s Justice Department to fight the incoming Trump administration, reports the Gateway Pundit.
Ashley Zavala, the KRCA News California Capitol Correspondent, was incredulous. She confronted California’s Democratic State Assembly Speaker Robert Rivas.
ZAVALA: “Is now the right time to have a special legislative session on allocating money to fight Trump in a way that you could already do without a special legislative session?”
Rivas was reduced to a stuttering mess as he tried to justify his actions.
RIVAS: “So I’m, you know, I’m here to address this, this, you know, these, these, these, these wildfires. This is a historic, historic wildfire. (crosstalk) This is, this is a historic, this is historic event. These wildfires, as I mentioned, are going to be quite possibly, be some of the worst wildfires and disasters in the State and national history.”
ZAVALA: “But minutes ago, while this wildfire is happening, and while people are trying to understand what’s going on and are worried about disaster relief, worried about the ability to get homeowners insurance, your chamber gaveled into a special legislative session to prepare for Donald Trump in a way that you are already able to do without a special legislative session. So again, is now the right time for that?”
RIVAS: “So, certainly our focus right now as speaker, Ashley, at this moment, my colleagues and I, we are acting with great urgency, great urgency, to ensure that we’re providing much-needed relief, um, to Angelinos to ensure that that that, that we, you know, understand what it’s going to take for that, for for for this region to recover.”
Samaritan’s Purse ready to help fire victims
And finally, as deadly wildfires tragically consume some of California’s metropolitan areas, Samaritan’s Purse is prayerfully standing by to offer help in Jesus’ Name. Once local officials give the word that it is safe to enter the affected areas, they will mobilize teams of volunteers to aid hurting homeowners.
You can help through a special link in our transcript today at www.TheWorldview.com.
In Luke 10:27, Jesus said, “Love your neighbor as yourself.”
Close
And that’s The Worldview on this Monday, January 13th, in the year of our Lord 2024. Subscribe by Amazon Music or 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.