Friday, December 21st, in the year of our Lord 2018
By Jonathan Clark
Chinese Police Officers Have “Quota” to Arrest More Christians
Chinese authorities are now threatening to fire police officers who do not fill their quota for arresting Christians based on a 100-point evaluation system with scores assigned for each arrested believer, reports the religious liberty magazine Bitter Winter.
This comes as Chinese officials have arrested about 160 believers from the Early Rain Covenant Church along with their pastor, Wang Yi, this month. But the church leadership has pledged faithfulness to Christ even unto death.
Canadian Broadcasting Advocates Families Have One Less Child
The tax-funded Canadian Broadcasting Corporation is telling Canadians the best way to “mitigate climate change” is to “have one fewer child” in a country where the murder of unborn babies is publicly supported.
Canada’s birth rate sits at about 1.61 children per woman. The last time the country saw a viable replacement birth rate of 2.1 was back in 1971.
Psalm 127:3 says, “Behold, children are a heritage from the LORD, the fruit of the womb is a reward.”
70% of Italian OB-GYNs Refuse to Abort Babies
Italy legalized abortion 40 years ago, but an increasing number of physicians in the country refuse to kill babies in the womb, reports Public Radio International.
The number of gynecologists in Italy who refused to perform abortions has grown from 59 percent in 2005 to 70 percent at the present. And in some localities, it is as high as 90 percent.
Only 6% of British Adults Follow Christ
Christianity in the U.K. declines as a ComRes survey last year found only six percent of British adults are practicing Christians.
In line with that, a new study by OnePoll found about 40 percent of British millennials surveyed do not even know that Jesus Christ is the baby in Nativity scenes. A similar percentage did not know about Joseph and Mary, the earthly parents of Jesus.
John 1:10 reminds us Christ “was in the world, and the world was made through Him, yet the world did not know Him.”
Trump Now Insists That He Wants $5 Billion for Border Wall
President Donald Trump told U.S. House Republican leaders yesterday he will not sign a Senate-passed spending bill that does not include funding for border security, reports Fox News.
The House will try to amend the bill to add $5 billion for a border wall with Mexico, but passage of the bill remains unclear as the government faces a shutdown this week.
Maryland City Allows Church to Hold Services in Coffee Shop It Owns
The city of Laurel, Maryland has reversed a zoning law that prevented Redemption Community Church from holding worship services in a coffee shop owned by the church or face heavy fines.
The city also changed their zoning codes so that no other churches would face a similar ordeal, reports Alliance Defending Freedom which represented Redemption Community Church in their case.
Phoenix, Arizona Pastor Takes a Stand Against Abortion
Arizona pastor Jeff Durbin of Apologia Church and founder of End Abortion Now addressed the Phoenix City Council last week, calling them to account for not defending the lives of unborn babies as required by God’s Word and Arizona state law that bans abortion.
“My purpose in coming before you this day is to be a witness and a voice for the fatherless, pre-born neighbors who are being dismembered, poisoned, and chemically burned in our state in your city and under your watch and jurisdiction. Not only is taking the life of an innocent human being in the womb against God’s fundamental command to not murder, it is against current and unchanged Arizona law. . . . It is your responsibility to uphold justice for our pre-born neighbors and to interpose by putting an immediate end to this massacre of innocence.”
Commenting on pro-life activism, Durbin told Faithwire.com, “We have felt that the pro-life movement demonstrably engages in neutrality as they fight this issue. They don’t fight against it from an explicitly Christian perspective or Gospel-centered perspective.”
Psalm 119:46 says, “I will speak of your testimonies before kings and shall not be put to shame.”
Parental Group: Allow VidAngel to Filter Violent, Sexual Content Out of Netflix, Hulu
The Parents Television Council is urging Congress to pass the Family Movie Clarification Act that would allow filtering services like VidAngel or ClearPlay to filter graphic and sexual content from movies on streaming networks like Netflix and Hulu.
Activists have protested Hollywood’s legal challenges to such technology that would help parents filter out certain content, protecting the innocence of their children.
Arkansas Christian Couple Adopt Sibling Group of 7
And finally, Arkansas Christian couple Michael and Terri Hawthorn adopted seven siblings who were in foster care recently, giving them a “forever family” this Christmas, reports Fox News.
After coming out of an abusive home, Dawson, the oldest sibling, said, “I’d been praying to have a family that I can enjoy Christmas with. You’re safe. You know you’re not going to leave.”
Close
And that’s The World View in 5 Minutes on this Friday, December 21st in the year of our Lord 2018. Subscribe by iTunes or email to our unique Christian newscast at www.TheWorldView.com. I’m Adam McManus. (Adam@TheWorldView.com) Seize the day for Jesus Christ.