It’s Wednesday, August 30th, 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
Armenian Christian crisis becoming genocide
Armenian Christians continue to face a humanitarian crisis in the Republic of Artsakh, a disputed region between Armenia and Azerbaijan.
Protestors supported by Azerbaijan’s government have blocked access to the area since last December, reports Family Research Council. The 120,000 Christians living there are denied basic needs like food, energy, and medical care.
Thomas Becker with the University Network for Human Rights said, “Azerbaijan’s preparation, persecution, dehumanization, and denial—each considered a ‘stage’ of genocide—has prompted Genocide Watch to issue a genocide warning about Armenians under attack by Azerbaijan.”
You can help the Christians in Armenia through Christian Aid Mission’s work with local missionaries on the ground there. (Click on the red donate button in the linked page.) Just click on the special link in our transcript today at www.TheWorldview.com.
Protestantism is majority religion in Central America
A new study found Protestantism is now the majority religious identification in Central America.
In the countries of Nicaragua, Guatemala, Costa Rica, Panama, El Salvador, and Honduras, 42% of people identify as Protestant. Meanwhile, 39.9% identify as Roman Catholic.
Over half of former Catholics in Central America now say they are Protestant. Evangelicals in Central America are also more committed to church attendance and tithing than Catholics.
Canadian prosecutors dropped charges against shutdown-objecting pastor
Canadian prosecutors are dropping charges against an Albertan pastor for holding worship services in violation of COVID-19 restrictions.
Pastor James Coates of Grace Life Church has faced years of litigation as well as a month in prison for holding in-person services during the pandemic. Prosecutors are now dropping the case after a court ruled Alberta’s health orders were invalid.
Leighton Grey, the lawyer representing Pastor Coates, told Epoch Times the ruling sends a message to the government: “your powers have limits. This is the first time that government overreach has been checked.”
Psalm 43:1 says, “Vindicate me, O God, and defend my cause against an ungodly people, from the deceitful and unjust man deliver me!”
GOP investigates Georgia prosecutor against Trump
Last Thursday, the U.S. House Judiciary Committee opened an investigation into Fani Willis, the Fulton County, Georgia District Attorney, who is prosecuting former president Donald Trump on election interference charges in Georgia.
Jim Jordan, a U.S. representative from Ohio, chairs the Republican-led committee. In a letter to Willis, Jordan wrote, “Your indictment and prosecution implicate substantial federal interests, and the circumstances surrounding your actions raise serious concerns about whether they are politically motivated.”
The historic Goliad, Texas defends unborn babies
Goliad County in Texas, where 450 Texians were massacred by the Mexican army on March 27, 1836, has now become a defender of unborn babies from abortion. It’s the 71st local government in the nation to do so.
Yesterday, the county’s commission voted unanimously in favor of a Sanctuary County for the Unborn ordinance.
Patrick Von Dohlen, a Goliad native and co-founder of the San Antonio Family Association, celebrated. He said, “This day will be a day to remember Goliad again! ‘Remember Goliad!’ was integral to the battle cry of Texas and the Texian victory at the Battle of San Jacinto when Texas won its freedom from Mexico and its tyrannical dictator, Presidente General Santa Anna, who was an abuser of women and children.”
So-called sex-change surgeries have tripled
A new study found the number of so-called sex-change surgeries nearly tripled in the U.S. from 2016 to 2019.
In 2016, over 4,500 people pursued such body-mutilating procedures. By 2019, that number was over 13,000. In 2020, it dropped slightly to 12,800. In total, during the five-year period from 2016 to 2020, 48,000 mentally troubled people got transgender surgeries.
In response to this demand, at least 22 states have enacted laws that protect children from transgender surgeries. Such a law went into effect in Missouri on Monday.
Stories of Maui survivors
And finally, stories of God’s protection are coming out of Maui after wildfires devastated Hawaii’s second largest island earlier this month.
One Christian couple told CBN News they were providentially on the other side of the island when fires started. Although they have nothing to come back to, David and Christiane Mello are just thankful that God is with them.
DAVID: “This is our paradise home. When we come here, we sit on Lanai. We do our devotion; we pray. And now we have nothing to come back to. It’s heart breaking to walk down here and see all our neighbors’ homes burnt down to the ground. We’ve got each other. We love each other. We’re going to make it, no matter what, wherever we go. God is with us.”
Pastor Lucho Banto also told CBN News the fires came into his neighborhood but spared his house.
BANTO: “I think there’s so many miracles that have happened through this tragedy. You can see God in those miracles. Out of ashes beauty is coming out.”
Psalm 66:8-12 says, “Bless our God, O peoples . . . Who has kept our soul among the living. We went through fire and through water; yet You have brought us out to a place of abundance.”
Close
And that’s The Worldview in 5 Minutes on this Wednesday, August 30th 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.