It’s Thursday, May 1st, A.D. 2025. 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
Police attacked Christians in India
The All India Christian Council called out officials in Odisha State, India last week for violence against Christians.
The council found that police assaulted tribal Christians, attacking women, children, and priests back in March.
International Christian Concern reported a particularly disturbing event. “A 62-year-old woman who had buried her husband just hours earlier was also allegedly beaten up, along with her 17-year-old daughter, while they were in mourning.”
The council noted that officials did not take any formal action against the violent police personnel.
Proverbs 11:20-21 says, “Those of crooked heart are an abomination to the LORD, but those of blameless ways are His delight. Be assured, an evil person will not go unpunished, but the offspring of the righteous will be delivered.”
47 percent of Germans are religiously unaffiliated
A new study found that people who identify with no religion outnumbered Protestants and Catholics in Germany for the first time last year.
These religiously unaffiliated make up a shocking 47 percent of the country’s population. Catholics represent 24 percent of the population, and Protestants represent 21 percent. Together, Catholics and Protestants lost over one million members last year in Germany.
Meanwhile, the number of Muslims in the country increased by 80,000 last year.
Supreme Court could allow publicly-funded religious charter school
In the United States, the U.S. Supreme Court heard arguments yesterday in a case that could lead to the nation’s first publicly-funded religious charter school.
Oklahoma’s charter school board approved funding for St. Isidore of Seville Catholic Virtual School. However, the state’s attorney general is challenging the decision.
Conservative justices on the high court appeared supportive of the religious charter school.
Oklahoma State Superintendent Ryan Walters told CBN News what the case is all about.
WALTERS: “It’s about the freedom to express your religious beliefs without being penalized by the government. And it’s about school choice and making sure that parents actually have that power over their kids’ education.
Avinger, Texas is 74th Sanctuary City for the Unborn
Avinger, Texas is the 74th city in the country to become a Sanctuary City for the Unborn.
The city council passed the measure in a 3-1 vote on Monday.
Avinger resident and former State Representative David Simpson said, “Avinger is blessed to join cities and counties across Texas who are going as far as they can to address the tragedy of abortion, specifically abortion trafficking and the mailing of abortion-inducing drugs.”
U.S. economy shrank in first quarter
The U.S. economy shrank during the first quarter of this year.
The Gross Domestic Product fell 0.3 percent compared to last year. This was the biggest decline since 2022.
Economic growth slowed as businesses tried to stock up on imports ahead of President Donald Trump’s tariffs. And federal government spending was down 5.1 percent this year.
Membership drops again among Southern Baptists
Membership declined in the Southern Baptist Convention for the 18th consecutive year in 2024.
The U.S. denomination grew from about seven million members in the 1950s to a peak of over 16 million in the mid-2000s. Since then, it has declined to 12.7 million members last year.
However, the Southern Baptist Convention baptized 250,000 people last year, a 10 percent jump from 2023.
Kevin Ezell, the president of the North American Mission Board said, “We celebrate every baptism and every new life in Christ. It’s encouraging to see these numbers continue to move upward.”
Capitol Hill’s Bible Reading Marathon
And finally, Christians gathered on Capitol Hill to read the entire Bible aloud.
The Bible Reading Marathon started Saturday and finished yesterday.
For 90 continuous hours, Christians read from Genesis to Revelation in Washington, D.C.
Keith Davidson led the event. He told The Christian Post, “Our goal is to bring attention back to our legislators, of course, and to get the attention back on the word of God. And then for [legislators] to remember that’s where our nation’s foundation is at, and also, for people who are reading, to let them publicly express their faith.”
In an interview on Washington Watch with Tony Perkins, Mike Herbster, Director of Southland Christian Ministries, talked about the power of reading the Bible aloud in the capital of Louisiana, like they did on Capitol Hill.
HERBSTER: “We know that the word of God is quick and powerful and sharper than any two-edged sword. [Hebrews 4:12] We know that obviously, as the word of God goes forth, the Bible says it will not return void. [Isaiah 55:11] So, even in the public declaration of it out loud to our state, even though not everybody will hear all of it, we know that some will hear some of it.”
Deuteronomy 31:10-11 says, “And Moses commanded them, saying: ‘At the end of every seven years … when all Israel comes to appear before the LORD your God … you shall read this law before all Israel in their hearing. Gather the people together, men and women and little ones, and the stranger who is within your gates, that they may hear and that they may learn to fear the LORD your God and carefully observe all the words of this law.”
Close
And that’s The Worldview on this Thursday, May 1st, in the year of our Lord 2025. Subscribe for free 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.