It’s Thursday, October 17th, A.D. 2024. This is The Worldview in 5 Minutes heard on 125 radio stations and at www.TheWorldview.com. I’m Adam McManus. (Adam@TheWorldview.com)
By Jonathan Clark
Chinese Communists released church elder from prison
Chinese authorities released a house church elder on bail last Tuesday.
Elder Zhu Longfei of Shunde Shengjia Church had suffered in prison for 14 months. Police arrested him last year for printing Bible study materials, characterizing it as “printing and distributing illegal publications that seriously endanger social order and disrupt market order, with particularly serious circumstances.”
Through Longfei’s imprisonment, China Aid noted “the Lord’s name was spread and greatly glorified because of this.”
Like many other congregations, his church operates illegally outside of China’s officially recognized church. Such house churches face harassment, raids, and arrests.
In Acts 5:29, the apostles said, “We must obey God rather than men.”
The United Kingdom’s growing hostility to Christians
The Commission of Inquiry into Discrimination Against Christians released a report on the United Kingdom.
The report includes 1,500 responses from Christians in the country who have faced discrimination for their faith.
Just expressing biblical views on marriage, sexuality, and abortion can trigger the persecution. Christians can then face loss of employment, criminal investigations, bank account closures, and even physical attacks.
British Christian found guilty of praying silently outside abortion mill
In a recent example, a British court found a Christian guilty this week of violating a pro-abortion “buffer zone.”
Adam Smith-Connor is an army veteran and father of two children. Back in 2022, he prayed silently outside an abortion mill. Now, he is on probation for two years and must pay the equivalent of nearly $12,000.
Smith-Connor commented on the case after the verdict.
SMITH-CONNOR: “I am extremely saddened that the judge has found me guilty. This marks a dark and dangerous day for our nation, setting a legal precedence that thought crimes can occur in England.”
Biden threatens Israel to let humanitarian aid into Gaza
The Biden administration sent a letter to Israel this week. It warned Israel must allow more humanitarian aid into Gaza or risk the loss of U.S. weapons funding.
Israel’s latest operations in the Gaza Strip halted the delivery of aid trucks to the area.
The letter noted, “The amount of assistance entering Gaza in September was the lowest of any month during the past year. … To reverse the downward humanitarian trajectory as consistent with its assurances to us, Israel must, starting now and within 30 days, act on the following concrete measures.” The measures included allowing at least 350 aid trucks per day into Gaza.
Supreme Court might protect kids from trans surgeries
The U.S. Supreme Court will take up a case later this year involving a Tennessee law that protects children from transgender procedures.
Alliance Defending Freedom filed a friend-of-the-court brief with the high court on Tuesday.
John Bursch, Senior Counsel for the Christian legal group, said, “Tennessee is right to regulate medicine consistent with biological reality and protect children from harmful, experimental, and often irreversible medical procedures. Relying on bad science, activists and the Biden-Harris administration have pushed these harmful medical procedures across the country and even taken steps to prevent state legislatures from regulating these procedures.”
Trump leads Harris among Catholics in swing states
A new poll from the National Catholic Reporter found former President Donald Trump leads Vice President Kamala Harris among Catholic voters in swing states.
The battleground states include Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, Nevada, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin.
Fifty percent of Catholics in the swing states supported Trump, while 45% supported Harris.
The National Catholic Reporter noted, “In the battleground states, Catholic populations are sizable and are seen as so important to the Trump and Harris campaigns that both have launched efforts to woo the so-called Catholic vote. In Wisconsin and Pennsylvania, for example, approximately one-quarter of adults identify as Catholic.”
What is sin?
And finally, Infinity Concepts and Grey Matter Research released a new report entitled “What is Sin? Evangelical Beliefs and Behaviors.”
The study found that most Evangelicals believed in the concept of sin and also agreed that certain behaviors are sinful like adultery, homosexuality, and abortion — to name a few.
However, only a third of Evangelicals said it is a sin to not tithe or not regularly attend church.
Hebrews 10:24-25 says, “And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another.”
Close
And that’s The Worldview on this Thursday, October 17th, in the year of our Lord 2024. Subscribe by Amazon Music or 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.