It’s Wednesday, July 21st, 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
Canadian pastor: “Our convictions are settled by the Word of God”
Canadian Pastor Tim Stephens gave his first interview last week after being released from prison earlier this month. Authorities arrested the Fairview Baptist Church pastor for holding outdoor services in violation of coronavirus restrictions.
After spending weeks in jail, Stephens told Rebel News that God opened doors for ministry while he was there.
STEPHENS: “For the most part, the inmates treated me with much respect. When they understood why I was there, they didn’t think it was right for me to be there. They would call me pastor. They would open up about their own problems and want counsel, want advice. Even inmates who were hardened atheists came to appreciate where I was coming from. And we developed a good friendship among those other inmates there in jail.”
Stephens also said the church would continue to meet.
STEPHENS: “We continue to go to church because this is not a matter of us trying to calculate, based upon the consequences of our actions, whether we should do it or not. Our convictions are settled by the Word of God and by our accountability to the Lord Jesus Christ. And so, out of obedience for Christ, we continue to gather and I continue to lead the church in gathering.”
Acts 5:29 says, “We ought to obey God rather than men.”
France: Tens of thousands protest new COVID restrictions
Tens of thousands of protestors took to the streets of France on Saturday to oppose new coronavirus restrictions.
New measures required health workers to get vaccinated and also required people to have a health pass in order to enter most public venues.
The government backed off some of the health pass requirements after the huge protests.
Univ. of Iowa discriminated against InterVarsity Christian Fellowship
Last Friday, the U.S. Eight Circuit Court of Appeals ruled in favor of a Christian student group that faced discrimination from the University of Iowa.
The university deregistered InterVarsity Christian Fellowship because they dared to require leaders to sign a statement of Christian faith.
The ruling says, “What the University did here was clearly unconstitutional. It targeted religious groups for differential treatment . . . while carving out exemptions and ignoring other violative groups with missions they presumably supported.”
The court victory is one among several others where Christians have brought suit against universities for discrimination.
Generation Z: On its way to hell
Dr. Ryan Burge from Eastern Illinois University released research this week on the religious views of Generation Z, those born after 1996.
The study found the biggest religious shift among Gen Z members was into the “nones.” The group includes atheists, agnostics, and those who say they believe nothing in particular.
In 2016, 39% of Gen Z identified as nones. In 2020, over 44.4% identified as nones. Over the same time period, Gen Z members who identified as Protestant or Roman Catholic fell from 41% to 35%.
Hebrews 10:23-24 says, “Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful. And let us consider one another in order to stir up love and good works.”
93,000 Americans died of overdoses
New data from the CDC shows that over 93,000 people died in the U.S. last year from drug overdoses.
That’s a 30% increase compared with 2019, and it’s the highest number on record.
Overdose deaths spiked last year around the same time COVID-19 lockdowns and layoffs began.
Judge: Obama’s D.A.C.A illegals program unlawful
Last week, a federal judge ruled the Obama-era Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program was unlawful. The DACA program protected hundreds of thousands of young illegal immigrants from deportation.
The Biden administration can no longer approve applications to the program, but the ruling does not affect current program recipients.
Meanwhile, the U.S. Border Patrol has made over one million arrests at the U.S.-Mexico border just since last October. Arrests in June set a 20-year record.
California homeschoolers doubled
The number of families in California filing to become homeschoolers doubled during the 2020-2021 school year compared with the 2018-2019 school year.
Lance Izumi with the Pacific Research Institute told The Epoch Tmes, “People are just really dissatisfied with the performance of the regular public schools during the COVID crisis.”
The California numbers reflect a nationwide trend as the percentage of homeschoolers doubled last year from 5.4% to 11.1%.
Experimental brain implant lets man with paralysis turn his thoughts into words
And finally, researchers made history recently when neuroscience technology allowed a man with severe paralysis to communicate in sentences, reports National Public Radio.
Neurosurgeon Edward Chang at the University of California San Francisco said, “To our knowledge, this is the first successful demonstration of direct decoding of full words from the brain activity of someone who is paralyzed and cannot speak.”
The achievement comes after a decade of research and could eventually enable people with severe paralysis to fully communicate.
Close
And that’s The Worldview in 5 Minutes on this Wednesday, July 21st, 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.