It’s Wednesday, May 10th, A.D. 2023. This is The Worldview in 5 Minutes heard at www.TheWorldview.com. I’m Adam McManus. (Adam@TheWorldview.com)
By Jonathan Clark
60 people, mostly Christians, were killed in Manipur, India
Last Wednesday, radical Hindus killed nearly 60 people in India’s northeastern state of Manipur.
Many of those who died were Christians. The wave of attacks also led to the destruction or burning of over 50 churches across different denominations. At least 13,000 people have been displaced. Many more have fled to nearby states that are predominantly Christian.
Christians identified the Meitei people as their attackers. The Meitei are mostly Hindu and are the dominant ethnic group in Manipur.
Please pray for our suffering brothers and sisters in Christ in India.
1 Corinthians 12:26-27 says, “If one member suffers, all suffer together; if one member is honored, all rejoice together. Now you are the body of Christ and individually members of it.”
World Health Organization: COVID no longer an emergency
Last Friday, the World Health Organization said it no longer considers COVID-19 a global health emergency.
The announcement comes over three years after the W.H.O. originally declared a public health emergency of international concern. The World Health Organization says at least seven million people have died in the pandemic.
Meanwhile, the U.S. public health emergency for COVID-19 is set to expire tomorrow. Many countries ended coronavirus measures last year, like Germany, France, and the U.K.
CDC director will step down
The White House announced last Friday that the director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is resigning.
Rochelle Walensky directed the CDC for over two years during the Biden administration. Last year, Walensky began to reorganize the agency, saying its “performance did not reliably meet expectations.”
She has faced criticism for confusing public health messaging. Trust in the CDC has plummeted since 2020. And the agency faces multiple lawsuits for its performance and exercise of power.
100 non-profit colleges closed or merged
A study by Higher Ed Drive found that nearly 100 non-profit colleges since 2016 have closed, merged, or have announced plans to do so.
Forty of those consolidations occurred since the COVID-19 pandemic started in 2020. Of those, nearly half were Christian colleges that shut down or merged.
The response to the pandemic appears to have been the final straw for small religious colleges already facing declining enrollment and financial challenges.
Only 13% of 8th graders are proficient in history
Speaking of education, the National Center for Education Statistics released its report card for U.S. public school students.
Only 13% of eighth graders are proficient in U.S. history, down from 14% in 2018 but unchanged compared to 1994. Twenty percent of eighth graders were proficient in civics, down from 21% in 2018. The percentage of students who perform below the basic level in both subjects has only been increasing in recent years.
Last year, the Nation’s Report Card found similar declines in reading and math scores for middle schoolers. These declines came during COVID-19 restrictions on in-person learning.
500,000 fewer Southern Baptists
Lifeway Research released data on the Southern Baptist Convention yesterday.
The denomination experienced increased baptisms, giving, and in-person worship attendance last year.
However, the overall membership of the SBC declined by nearly half a million people last year to 13.2 million members. That’s the largest drop in membership in over 100 years.
Scott McConnell with Lifeway Research said, “Much of the downward movement we are seeing in membership reflects people who stopped participating in an individual congregation years ago and the record keeping is finally catching up.”
40 Days for Life saved 680 babies
And finally, 40 Days for Life reports their latest campaign saved 680 babies from abortion. Pro-life
The prayer initiative ran from February 22 to April 2 in cities around the world. Pro-life Christians stand outside abortion mills, during that time period, pray for the women walking past, and encourage them to choose life.
Shawn Carney with 40 Days for Life tweeted, “The first two 40 Days for Life campaigns following the overturning of Roe vs Wade were the largest EVER. We gained US cities despite losing some because the abortion facility closed. Another example that pro-lifers aren’t going away.”
Since it began in 2007, 40 Days for Life has helped save 23,000 babies saved from abortion, closed 138 abortion mills, and prompted 200 abortion workers to quit their jobs. Praise God!
Proverbs 24:11 says, “Rescue those who are being taken away to death; hold back those who are stumbling to the slaughter.”
Close
And that’s The Worldview in 5 Minutes on this Wednesday, May 10th in the year of our Lord 2023. 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.