It’s Thursday, March 16th, 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
Top Chinese Commie Xi Jinping “re-elected”
Xi Jinping won a third five-year term as China’s president last Friday.
This puts the 69-year-old leader on track to stay in power for life.
He won re-election uncontested, taking the vote of the National People’s Congress 2,952 to 0.
Xi rose to dominance over China during the last decade. He removed rivals and filled positions in the Communist Party with his supporters.
This dominance has been threatened by the rapid growth of Christianity in China which the government has unsuccessfully tried to stamp out.
China’s crackdown on churches similar to Mao’s Cultural Revolution
The latest crackdown on Christianity in China is evident in the highly populated province of Henan.
ChinaAid reports provincial leaders now require citizens to get permission before going to church. The program is implemented through an app called “Smart Religion.” The move is strategic since most of China’s house churches started in Henan.
Sam Brownback with the International Religious Freedom Summit told CBN News that Xi Jinping’s regime is becoming more like Mao Zedong’s regime.
BROWNBACK: “We’re seeing the continuation of the Xi Jinping regime, becoming a full Mao regime is really what’s happening.
“What he’s doing right now is he’s using the current technology he has to do what Mao [Zedong] did in the Cultural Revolution. He’s just tightening down the whole situation, going after faith communities in particular, and doing it in a high-tech fashion.
“Now, they’re even requiring people to register on their phones to be able to go to church. Well, that’s so they can track them and shut the places down.”
Santa Clara County, CA tracked Christians during COVID lockdown
Meanwhile in the U.S., one California county was caught tracking location data on the phones of Christians to see if they were violating COVID-19 lockdowns.
The Mercury News reports newly unearthed court documents show Santa Clara County was using surveillance measures against members of Calvary Chapel San Jose – which was just featured in the Jesus Revolution movie.
The county is seeking $3 million in fines from the church of 3,000 congregants for continuing to meet during the pandemic.
Mariah Gondeiro, an attorney for Calvary Chapel, said, “It is unconscionable how much time and money this county has spent surveilling and targeting this church when they should be focused on rebuilding the community.”
Proverbs 17:15 says, “He who justifies the wicked and he who condemns the righteous are both alike an abomination to the LORD.”
COVID lockdowns increased domestic violence
A new study about COVID-19 lockdowns found domestic violence in the U.S. increased during the pandemic and negatively affected women’s mental health.
Arielle Scoglio, an epidemiologist at Harvard, was the lead researcher. She said, “Women in abusive relationships are often already isolated. … Stay-at-home orders further isolated women.”
Dr. Panagis Galiatsatos at Johns Hopkins School of Medicine noted, “I see this as another consequence of the surge in dire mental health outcomes that were associated with measures to prevent COVID-19 spread.”
Texas judge considers outlawing the Abortion Kill Pill
Yesterday, a judge in Texas began hearing oral arguments in a case that could end the sale of chemical abortion drugs.
The Alliance for Hippocratic Medicine is challenging the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s decision to approve mifepristone in 2000.
The Abortion Kill Pill uses a two-drug combination of mifepristone and misoprostol. Chemical abortions account for over half of all abortions in the U.S. The Biden administration has expanded access to chemical abortions by allowing abortion drugs to be sold through the mail and at pharmacies.
Biden: Opposition to transgender surgeries for kids is sinful
During an interview with The Daily Show on Monday, President Joe Biden described opposition to transgenderism as sinful and cruel.
BIDEN: “Transgender kids is a really hard thing. What’s going on in Florida is, as my mother, would say close to sinful. I mean, it’s just terrible what they’re doing. … It’s cruel. And the way we do it is we make sure we pass legislation like we passed on same-sex marriage. You mess with that, you’re breaking the law, and you’re going to be held accountable.”
Isaiah 5:20 says, “Woe to those who call evil good and good evil, who put darkness for light and light for darkness.”
Biden was referencing Florida’s efforts to keep gender confusion out of the state.
In response to Biden, Florida Republican Governor Ron DeSantis tweeted, “It is not ‘sinful’ to prohibit the mutilation of minors. It is not acceptable for the federal government to mandate that procedures like sex change operations be allowed for kids.”
Former atheist turned Christian evangelist won Oscar for short film
And finally, a former atheist-turned-Christian-evangelist won an Oscar at the Academy Awards on Sunday.
Charlie Mackesy won best animated short film for “The Boy, the Mole, the Fox and the Horse.” The short film is based on a successful children’s book by the British artist.
One of his prominent works is a bronze sculpture called “The Return of the Prodigal Son.”
Besides being a world-class artist, Mackesy is known for sharing the Gospel in the United Kingdom.
Close
And that’s The Worldview in 5 Minutes on this Thursday, March 16th 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.