It’s Tuesday, December 27th, A.D. 2022. This The Worldview in 5 Minutes heard at www.TheWorldview.com. I’m Adam McManus. (Adam@TheWorldview.com)
By Kevin Swanson
Indonesian Grinch tried to steal Christmas
The Grinch showed up on Java Island in Indonesia over the weekend.
Christmas celebrations were effectively banned in the Maja district, by one high-level official, the head of Lebak Regency, Iti Octavia Jayabaya, reports Morning Star News. She told Christians they would have to hold their celebrations in another district, some 12 miles away.
The area is made up of 1% Christians, and the rest are predominately Muslim.
According to Open Doors, Indonesia is the 28th worst country in the world for the persecution of Christians.
Nigerian Muslims killed 46 Christians
Muslim extremists killed another 46 Christians on raids on Christian churches in four Nigerian villages a week before Christmas.
Meanwhile, the Biden administration has steadfastly supported the Nigerian government through some of the worst persecutions in Africa’s history. Plus, the U.S. has excluded Nigeria from its religious freedom violations list of “countries of particular concern” for two years now.
The Catholic News Agency noted that President Biden welcomed Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari to the White House two weeks ago, despite the ongoing bloodshed, forced abortions reportedly implemented by the Nigerian military, and other atrocities tolerated by the government.
Yakubu Kundi, a Nigerian bishop, has denounced “a deliberate plan to unleash evil” on Christian villagers.
Proverbs 24:24-25 speaks to this. “He who says to the wicked, ‘You are righteous,’ him the people will curse; Nations will abhor him. But those who rebuke the wicked will have delight, and a good blessing will come upon them.”
Biden omitted the name of Jesus in Christmas message
It’s somewhat unusual for American presidents, but President Biden did not mention the name Jesus in his Christmas message to the nation this year.
He spoke of the Muslims, Hindus, and other religions, and noted that Christians believe the child in the manger was the son of God.
Listen.
BIDEN: “How silently, how silently the wondrous gift is given. There’s a certain stillness at the center of the Christmas story. Silent night. When all the world goes quiet. And all the glamour, all the noise, everything that divides us, everything that pits us against one another.
“Everything that seems so important really isn’t. It all fades away in the stillness, in the winter’s evening. And we look to the sky, to a lone star, shining bright then all the rest, guiding us to the birth of a child, a child Christians believe to be the Son of God.”
By contrast, in President Donald Trump’s 2020 Christmas address, he noted that Christmas was a time to “celebrate the birth of our Savior, Jesus Christ.”
TRUMP: “More than 2000 years ago, the angel Gabriel appeared to Mary he said, ‘Do not be afraid you have found favor with God.’ The angel told her that ‘you would give birth to a baby boy, Jesus, who would be called the Son of the Most High.’ Nine months later, Christ was born in the town of Bethlehem. The Son of God came into the world in a humble stable.
“As Christians everywhere know, the birth of our Lord and Savior changed history forever. At Christmas, we give thanks to God, and that God sent His only Son to die for us and to offer everlasting peace to all humanity.”
And, in President Obama’s 2015 Christmas address, he told everybody, that “our family celebrates the birth of Jesus and the values He lived in His own life.”
Snowstorms killed 55 people nationally
The Christmas storm of 2022 will go down into history as one of the most severe snowstorms ever.
At least 57 people are reported dead nationwide, reports NBC News.
New York was hit the hardest, where 25 persons, who were made in the image of God, have lost their lives. New York State police were involved in at least 500 rescues — a state that received up to 43 inches of snow.
Most of the victims were found in or around stranded cars. Residents in Buffalo, New York may still remember the great blizzard of 1977, which resulted in 29 reported deaths.
Olympic Committee committed to men competing against women
The International Olympic Committee has issued a new set of transgender guidelines, which still allows for participation of men, who are pretending to be women, in women’s sports competitions.
While encouraging the typical modern moralisms of “inclusion,” the “prevention of harm,” “non-discrimination,” “fairness,” “no presumption of advantage,” and the “primacy of health and bodily autonomy,” the committee will leave the final decision to the governing body of each sport.
American life expectancy dropped
The Centers for Disease Control has released numbers for life expectancy in the U.S.
Sadly, the government recorded another drop of over half a year from 2020 to 2021 for males and females, reports Forbes.
Males now average 73.5 years, down from 76.3 years in 2019. That’s a three-year loss in two years.
Females have dropped off from 81.4 to 79.3. That’s a 2.1-year loss in two years.
Moses’ estimate for longevity from Psalm 90:10-12 will not need to be adjusted much after 3,400 years of human history — despite medical improvements.
He wrote, “The days of our lives are seventy years; and if by reason of strength they are eighty years, yet their boast is only labor and sorrow; for it is soon cut off, and we fly away. Who knows the power of Your anger? For as the fear of You, so is Your wrath. So, teach us to number our days, that we may gain a heart of wisdom.”
Canadian scientists discovered two more of God’s minerals
And finally, scientists from the University of Alberta have discovered two more minerals God created, in a meteorite that dropped on Somalia — discovered in 2020.
The 15-ton meteorite is the ninth largest found on Earth. The researchers have named the newly discovered minerals Elaliite and Elkinstantonite. There are about 2,000 known minerals on Earth.
Close
And that’s The Worldview in 5 Minutes on this Tuesday, December 27th 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.