It’s Tuesday, December 10h, 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 Kevin Swanson and Adam McManus
Persecution of Christians up in Indonesia
The General Assembly of the Communion of Churches in Indonesia has announced growth in the Christian faith in that country. The organization pointed to seven new Christian groups, each with at least 10,000 members added to the list.
While the church has grown in Indonesia, the believers’ very presence has led to persecution in the Muslim-majority nation where 87% are Muslim and about 10% Christian.
According to Persecution.org, the SETARA Institute recorded 217 incidents where religious freedom was violated in 2023. That’s up from 175 in 2022.
Also, in 2023, places of worship were disturbed 65 times in Indonesia. That was up from 16 incidents in 2017.
For example, one local province banned a Christmas choir practice for a Catholic Church earlier this month — requiring permission from the government for this “religious activity.”
Syrian president fled country for Russia
The Middle East is in more turmoil. After 13 years of civil war, Syrian President Bashar al-Assad has fled the country for Russia.
Syria’s government has been turned over to a rebel faction led by a former Al Qaeda fighter named Abu Mohammad al-Jolani. The new government will be headed by a party espousing hardline Sunni Islamist ideology.
In excess of a half a million Syrians have lost their lives in the civil war, and millions have left the country.
In God’s providence, Iran’s influence in the Middle East has diminished greatly, with the loss of an ally in Al-Assad and Israel’s crushing of Hezbollah in Lebanon. For now, Iran and Russia are seen as losers, and Turkey and Israel are seen as winners in the ongoing saga.
China initiates naval drill off coast of Taiwan
Communist China has initiated a third and more significant naval drill encompassing the coasts of Taiwan, reports CNN.
This comes after the U.S. approved $2 billion in more arms sales for Taiwan. China vowed “strong countermeasures” to the action, reports the South China Morning Post.
Psalm 46 assures that it is God who “makes wars cease to the end of the Earth; He breaks the bow and cuts the spear in two; He burns the chariot in the fire.”
CEO killer suspect caught
Police nabbed Luigi Mangione, the 26-year-old suspect in the killing of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson, while he was chowing down at a McDonald’s in Altoona, Pennsylvania.
He’s an anti-capitalist Ivy League grad who liked online quotes from the “Unabomber’’ Ted Kaczynski — and seethed in a manifesto, “These parasites had it coming,” reports the New York Post.
Officers found a black 3D-printed pistol and a black silencer in Mangione’s backpack.
He graduated cum laude from the University of Pennsylvania with a Bachelor of Science in Engineering, Computer and Information Science in 2020
The tech whiz, originally from Towson, Maryland, apparently hated the medical community because of how it treated his sick relative. The suspect also may have held a grudge because of his own interactions with the industry, noting an X-ray photo on his X account showing four pins in his spine.
Trump on Meet the Press: Liz Cheney should go to jail
On Sunday, President-elect Donald Trump was on NBC’s Meet the Press, suggesting that jail time might be appropriate for former GOP Congresswoman Liz Cheney of Wyoming and others on the Select Committee to Investigate the January 6th Attack who pursued prosecution for January 6th protestors back in 2021.
He also alleged that the committee destroyed evidence after a year and a half of testimony.
Listen.
TRUMP: “They deleted and destroyed a whole year and a half worth of testimony. I think those people committed a major crime.”
KRISTEN WELKER: “Sir?”
TRUMP: “and [former Congresswoman Liz] Cheney was behind it.”
WELKER: “Well.”
TRUMP: “and so was [Democrat Congressman] Bennie Thompson. And everybody on that committee. For what they did,”
WELKER: “Yeah.”
TRUMP: “Honestly, they should go to jail.”
KRISTEN WELKER: “So, you think Liz Cheney should go to jail?”
TRUMP: “For what they did.”
WELKER: “Everyone on the committee, you said.”
TRUMP: “I think everybody. Anybody that voted in favor …”
WELKER: “Are you going to direct your FBI Director and your Attorney General to send them to jail?”
TRUMP: “Not at all. I think that they’ll have to look at that. But I’m not going to. I’m going to focus on ‘Drill, baby drill.’”
WELKER: “When you say that it carries weight though. You’ve tapped these people to lead the Justice Department and FBI.”
TRUMP: “They can do whatever they want.”
WELKER: “Okay.”
TRUMP: “Biden can give them a pardon if he wants to, and maybe he should.”
But Trump said, the decision to prosecute Liz Cheney would be left to his Attorney General appointee.
Trump eager to issue pardons to most January 6th protestors
In related news and in that same interview. President-elect Trump is looking at issuing pardons on his first day in office for those caught up in the January 6th investigations.
The Biden Justice Department has prosecuted 1,572 persons in the protest. Over 1,200 of these have pleaded guilty or have been proven guilty in trial. 321 defendants pleaded guilty to felonies and 675 have pleaded guilty to misdemeanors.
Here’s Kristen Welker with the question.
WELKER: “You promised to pardon those who attacked the Capitol on January 6th. Are you still vowing to follow through with that promise?”
TRUMP: “We’re looking at it right now. Most likely, yeah.”
WELKER: “Well, you know.”
TRUMP: “Those people have suffered long and hard. And there may be some exceptions to it. I have to look. You know, if somebody was radical, crazy. There might be some people from Antifa there. I don’t know. These people have suffered. Their lives have been destroyed.”
The degree of violence occurring at the January 6th protest is under debate, however. FactCheck.org notes that no police officers died — while one officer did suffer a stroke and five committed suicide days or months after the January 6th event. In addition, 17 officers suffered injuries during the protests that resulted in loss of days at work.
By contrast, some 2,035 police officers were injured during the 2020 George Floyd riots. PoliceMag.com reports that “16,241 protesters and rioters were arrested. Nearly 17% of the arrests were for felonies and 7% of the total involved violence. Many of the cases were quickly dismissed.”
New York jury acquits Daniel Penny
A New York jury has acquitted Daniel Penny of all charges Monday, reports NBC News. He was the marine charged with manslaughter and negligent homicide for allegedly killing a young man in a subway who was threatening to kill people on the subway, according to witnesses.
The victim, Jordan Neely, had an extensive criminal record of 42 arrests. Emotions are running high after the verdict. A New York Black Lives Matter leader, Hawk Newsome, called for vigilantes to kill others “who have attempted to oppress us.”
Wherever this applies, let us remember what Jesus said: “Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you.” (Matthew 5:44)
Was there an alphabet in the days of Noah?
And finally, could there have been an alphabet used for written human communications as far back as the days of Noah?
That’s what researchers have discovered from an excavation in a tomb in northern Syria, located about 500 miles west of where the ark would have rested. Characters that appear to be a real alphabet were etched into clay cylinders dated to 2400 BC.
Close
And that’s The Worldview on this Tuesday, December 10th, 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.