It’s Wednesday, December 29th, A.D. 2021. This is The Worldview in 5 Minutes heard at www.TheWorldview.com. I’m Adam McManus. (Adam@TheWorldview.com)
By Jonathan Clark
Burkina Faso and Nigeria will be hot spots of persecution in 2022
Release International reports West African countries like Nigeria and Burkina Faso are set to be persecution hotspots for Christians next year. Islamist extremists there are carrying out bombings, killings, kidnappings, school burnings, and assaults on religious leaders and places of worship.
Other countries of growing concern for persecution next year are Afghanistan, India, and North Korea.
Christians in Afghanistan face new threats under a Taliban regime. India is cracking down on churches through anti-conversion laws and increased Hindu extremist attacks.
And, in North Korea, looming famine could further destabilize the country and lead to more persecution. However, the church is growing there as Bible requests have increased dramatically during the pandemic.
Jesus said in Matthew 16:18, “On this rock I will build My church, and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it.”
Russian Supreme Court shuts down oldest human rights group
On Tuesday, Russia’s Supreme Court shut down the country’s oldest human rights group. International Memorial,
Memorial persevered the legacy of innocent people who were imprisoned and executed during the Soviet era.
The court labeled Memorial a western-influenced public threat to society.
Biden bans imports from Chinese region due to forced labor camps
Last Thursday, President Joe Biden signed a bill that bans imports from China’s Xinjiang region.
The U.S. has condemned China for human rights abuses and forced labor of the Uyghur Muslims in that area.
The bill also applies sanctions to individuals involved in forced labor of the Uyghur Muslims.
U.S. Air Force: No religious exemptions to COVID-shot mandate
The U.S. Air Force announced it has approved zero religious exemption requests for the COVID-shot mandate.
Service members with denied requests have five days to get the shot, submit an appeal, or retire.
The Air Force still has over 8,000 requests to process.
The U.S. Navy also announced it has approved zero of its nearly 3,000 religious exemption requests.
Omicron illness 50-70% less likely to be hospitalized than with Delta
Preliminary data from the U.K. government found people with the omicron variant of COVID-19 were 50-70% less likely to be hospitalized compared to people with the delta variant.
Meanwhile, the CDC slashed its estimate of omicron prevalence in U.S. cases from 73% to 22% for the week ending December 18. As of last week, the variant accounted for 58% of cases. The CDC also shortened its recommended isolation time period after a positive COVID-19 test from 10 days to just five days.
As cases increase, President Biden made this comment to the governors on Monday.
BIDEN: “Look, there is no federal solution. This gets solved at a state level. I’m looking at [Republican] Governor [Christopher] Sununu [of New Hampshire] on the board here. He talks about that a lot.”
40 Days for Life saved 2,260 babies this year
40 Days for Life announced that their previous prayer vigils at abortion mills saved 2,260 babies this year. That’s double the number of babies rescued from abortion in 2020.
Plus, prayer vigils this year also helped bring 18 abortion workers into a saving faith in Jesus Christ and closed seven abortion mills.
1 John 5:14-15 says, “Now this is the confidence that we have in Him, that if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us. And if we know that He hears us, whatever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we have asked of Him.”
Funding for religious apps skyrocketed from $6 million to $175 million
As churches across the country closed in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, venture-capital funding for religious and especially Christian apps skyrocketed in recent years.
Research from PitchBook Data found that funding for religious apps increased from $6.1 million in 2016 to $48.5 million in 2020 and $175.3 million in 2021.
Queen Elizabeth: Jesus’ birth marked a new beginning
And finally, Britain’s 95-year-old Queen Elizabeth II delivered her traditional Christmas broadcast on television last week in which she underscored the importance of the Christian message.
QUEEN ELIZABETH: “In the birth of a child, there is a new dawn with endless potential. It is this simplicity of the Christmas story that makes it so universally appealing. Simple happenings that form the starting point of the life of Jesus, a man whose teachings have been handed down from generation to generation, and have been the bedrock of my faith. His birth marked a new beginning. As the carol says, ‘The hopes and fears of all the years are met in Thee tonight.’ I wish you all a very happy Christmas.”
Luke 2:8-12 says, “And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord. This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.”
The Queen paid a special tribute to her husband, Prince Philip, who died eight months ago.
By next February, Queen Elizabeth will have reigned for 70 years.
Close
And that’s The Worldview in 5 Minutes on this Wednesday, December 29th, in the year of our Lord 2021. 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.