It’s Thursday, April 15th, 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
Trinity Bible Chapel in Ontario, Canada charged with $30 million, jail time
Canadian authorities continue to go after churches during the coronavirus pandemic.
Jacob Reaume, pastor of Trinity Bible Chapel in Ontario, said their church faces 26 charges before the courts and maximum penalties of over $30 million with jail time. Officials charged the latest $10 million in fines because the church held worship services on Resurrection Sunday in violation of coronavirus restrictions.
GraceLife Church in Edmonton, Canada growing through trial
Officials recently released another Canadian pastor, James Coates of GraceLife Church in Alberta. Coates went to prison for a month for holding in-person services.
Plus, the Alberta Health authorities erected a chain link fence around the perimeter of GraceLife Church, prohibiting them from gaining access for Easter Sunday. However, they met at an undisclosed location.
A GraceLife Church member told The Worldview the church is actually growing through these trials.
MEMBER: “The church is doing well. During this time, we’ve witnessed strong growth, almost doubling our numbers. Over 60 people are attending the ‘Fundamentals of Faith Class’ which goes through the basic tenets of Christianity. Each week we are engaged with conversations with new people who have been starving for Christian preaching and fellowship during this time when their church attendance is highly limited.
“God is really moving during this time. We were already a close church, but God has just been knitting our hearts together and lives. Many of us are experiencing resistance from extended family members and even employers, causing the church body to become like our own families. We are reminded of this Scripture in Matthew that says, ‘If any man come to me and hate not his father and mother, wife and children, and brethren and sisters, yeah his own life also, he cannot be My disciple.’ We feel we are having to choose between opposition and faithfulness to Christ at this time.”
United Kingdom businesses re-open up for first time
Shops, salons, gyms, and outdoor dining re-opened across the United Kingdom this week for the first time in months.
Shoppers lined up during the early hours of Monday to celebrate the reopening.
Coronavirus cases, hospitalizations, and deaths have been declining over the last three months.
In face of recall, CA Governor re-open business, schools, and churches
Meanwhile in the U.S., Democratic California Governor Gavin Newsom announced he will end most statewide coronavirus restrictions on June 15. A mask mandate will remain in effect.
Schools and businesses will reopen for in-person operations.
The state also changed capacity limits on places of worship from mandatory to recommended.
The reopening comes as Newsom faces a recall election.
Texas and Florida ban vaccine passports
Two states have moved to ban COVID-19 vaccine passports.
Last week, Texas Republican Gov. Greg Abbott issued an executive order, prohibiting state agencies or businesses that receive state funds from requiring vaccine passports. This comes a week after Florida Governor Ron DeSantis signed a similar order.
And Ohio lawmakers are considering legislation to ban state and local officials from requiring vaccine passports.
Biden dedicates $60 million to baby-killing through Title X
On Wednesday, the Biden administration issued a new rule to fund abortion with taxpayer dollars through the Title X family planning program.
The move reverses a Trump-era Protect Life policy that banned Title X funds from going to abortion programs. The Trump administration policy cut $60 million of funding from abortion giant Planned Parenthood.
70% of U.S. adults use social media
A Pew Research study found about 70% of U.S. adults use some kind of social media site in 2021.
YouTube and Facebook dominate the social media usage landscape at 81% and 69% respectively. Instagram came in third at 40%. However, Instagram and Snapchat dominate usage among young people.
YouTube and Reddit were the only platforms to experience significant growth since 2019. A majority of Facebook, Snapchat, Instagram, and YouTube users visit one of the platforms on a daily basis.
Bernard Madoff, Ponzi scheme architect, has died
Bernard Madoff, the infamous Ponzi scheme architect, died in prison of natural causes yesterday at the age of 82.
Madoff was serving a 150-year prison sentence for his $65 billion stock fraud. It’s considered the world’s biggest Ponzi scheme with 37,000 victims across 136 countries.
Hebrews 9:27 says, “It is appointed for men to die once, but after this the judgment.”
Only 6% of Americans hold Biblical worldview
And finally, a study by Arizona Christian University found that only 6% of Americans hold to a Biblical worldview.
The study found 88% of Americans embrace “syncretism,” an impure, unrecognizable worldview that blends ideas from multiple perspectives. The perspectives include Biblical Theism, Secular Humanism, Postmodernism, Moralistic Therapeutic Deism, Nihilism, Marxism, and Eastern Mysticism.
Among syncretists, people lean toward Deism at 39%; Biblical Theism at 31%; Secular Humanism and Postmodernism at 16% each; and Nihilism, Eastern Mysticism, and Marxism at 10% each.
Close
And that’s The Worldview in 5 Minutes on this Thursday, April 15th, 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.