Wednesday, April 5th, in the year of our Lord 2017
By Adam McManus
Dozens of People Killed in Chemical Attack in Syria
A chemical weapons airstrike attack early Tuesday has killed dozens in Syria, including at least 10 children. The blasts released an unidentified poisonous gas or chemical substance that caused asphyxiation to those who inhaled it, reports Christian Headlines.
According to CNN, it is thought that the attack was carried out by forces of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, in collusion with Russian forces.
Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) called on President Trump to say, “we’re going to arm the Free Syrian Army, we’re going to dedicate ourselves to the removal of Bashar Assad, we’re going to have the Russians pay a price for their engagement.”
Country of Eritrea Persecutes and Kills Christians
One of Africa’s smallest countries, Eritrea, has jailed, tortured, and killed numerous evangelical Protestant Christians.
And now two Christian women in Eritrea died after they went on a hunger strike to spread awareness about their own abuse and the persecution of Christians in that African country, reports the Christian Post.
The women were protesting against the abuse they were subjected to in detention. Their bodies allegedly carried bruises suggesting sexual abuse.
Mervyn Thomas of Christian Solidarity Worldwide said, “It is imperative that this tragedy galvanizes efforts by the international community to ensure justice for victims of crimes against humanity, by formalizing and initiating processes to identify and hold perpetrators accountable.”
Eritrean President Isaias Afewerki is known to be an alcoholic, and a ruthless autocrat, who has held the office since the country’s independence in 1993. Afewerki apparently fears that freedom of religion might help people mobilize themselves against his authoritarian rule.
Psalm 20:7 says, “Some trust in chariots and some in horses, but we trust in the name of the LORD our God.”
Special Report on Trump Surveillance Controversy After the Newscast
Today, after the newscast, a special report on the Susan Rice/Trump surveillance controversy. Stay tuned!
Hundreds of Babies Saved from Abortion in 40 Days for Life
With just a week to go in this 40 Days for Life campaign, 373 babies have been spared from abortion, reports Life News.
Across America between Ash Wednesday and Easter Sunday, pro-life Christians stand in front of abortion mills — legally, peacefully and prayerfully – offering literature and help to those women seeking abortion.
The total number of children saved since 40 Days for Life started as a coordinated campaign in 2007 has now reached more than 13,000! Praise God for what He has done!
Bible Verses Will Be Featured on Buses in the UK
Buses in the UK will feature quotes from Scripture this Easter season as part of a campaign called the “Quote Jesus” bus campaign, reports Christian Today.
Scripture verses will be displayed on 75 of London’s popular Routemaster buses. Verses like “Everyone who lives and believes in Me will never die,” “In my Father’s house there are many mansions,” and “I am the way, the truth and the life,”
Howard Conder, founder of Revelation TV and the man behind the campaign, said “The Bible is a book of hope and this generation is missing out because it has little knowledge of what the Bible has to say.”
Jeremiah 33:3 says, “Call to Me and I will answer you and tell you great and unsearchable things you do not know.”
Man Who Exploded Bomb in Russian Subway Identified
Russia’s Investigative Committee has identified 22-year-old Akbardzhon Dzhalilov, a man linked to radical Islamic terror groups, as the man who launched the suicide bombing on a subway train on Monday in St. Petersburg, Russia, killing 13 other people, reports Fox News.
Detectives said they found his DNA on a bag holding a second bomb in a nearby subway station — which crews defused before it could explode.
Gayle King Interviews Ivanka Trump Concerning Disagreement with Her Father’s Policies
In an interview this morning on CBS, Gayle King spoke to Ivanka Trump about criticism that she does not publicly disagree with her father on some of his policies.
GAYLE KING: “Why isn’t Ivanka speaking out? Where is she on Planned Parenthood? Where is she on gay rights? Where is she on the rights of women? Where is she on climate change? You’re being held personally accountable for not speaking up. What do you say to your critics?”
IVANKA TRUMP: “I would say not to conflate lack of public denouncement with silence. In some case it’s through protest and it’s through going on the nightly news and talking about or denouncing every issue in which you disagree with. Other times it is quietly, and directly, and candidly. So where I disagree with my father, he knows it, and I express myself with total candor. Where I agree, I fully lean in and support the agenda and hope that I can be an asset to him and make a positive impact. But I respect the fact that he always listens. It’s how he was in business. It’s how he is as president.”
Special Report on Controversy Around Trump’s Surveillance Accusations
And now a Special Report.
The Unmasker has been unmasked, reports Fox News.
Less than two weeks before sources said it was Susan Rice who requested to unmask the names of Trump associates caught up in sensitive intelligence reports, former President Barack Obama’s national security adviser said she knew “nothing about” surveillance allegations.
Listen to the conversation between PBS’ Judy Woodruff and Susan Rice back on March 22nd.
JUDY WOODRUFF: “We spoke earlier this evening with former Obama White House National Security Advisor Susan Rice. It was her first interview since leaving the White House. I began by asking about the allegations leveled today by House Intelligence Committee Chairman Devin Nunes that Trump transition officials including the president, may have been swept up in surveillance of foreigners at the end of the Obama administration.”
SUSAN RICE: “I know nothing about this. I was surprised to see reports from Chairman Nunes on that count today … So today, I really don’t know to what Chairman Nunes was referring. But he said that whatever he was referring to was a legal, lawful surveillance and that it was potentially incidental collection on American citizens.”
JUDY WOODRUFF: “Right.”
SUSAN RICE: “And I think it’s important for people to understand what incidental means. That means that the target was either a foreign entity or somebody under criminal investigation, and that the Americans who were talking to those targets may have been picked up.”
Susan Rice doesn’t exactly have the greatest credibility when it comes to speaking the truth.
She infamously went on five Sunday morning talk shows in the wake of the Benghazi terror attack to claim the assault was spurred on by a little-known YouTube video, an allegation that proved false.
Rice also said that former Taliban hostage Army Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl served with “honor and distinction” in June 2014, soon after his release from enemy captivity. Seven months later, Bergdahl was court martialed on charges of desertion and misbehavior before the enemy.
Fox News reported that the names, once unmasked by National Security Advisor Susan Rice, were widely disseminated through the intelligence community – and to some in the Obama White House.
The Blaze reports that this is further evidence to prove Trump’s accusation of wiretapping, or surveillance more broadly, against former President Barack Obama.
This has been another Special Report. I’m Adam McManus.
Iraqi Christians Participate in “Peace Walk” to Call for End to Violence
Christians in Iraq will take part in an 80-mile ‘peace walk’ during Holy Week to urge an end to violence in the country and around the Middle East, reports Catholic News Service.
These Christian towns which were once flourishing and have formed the bedrock of centuries of Christian history, were recently liberated from the brutal control of so-called Islamic State militants.
Crackdown on Christianity Continues in China
China’s government under President Xi Jinping continues to crackdown on Christianity.
Two house churches have been raided and members detained by government officials in China, reports Christian Headlines.
According to Christian persecution ministry China Aid, more than 10 police officers interrupted Christians who were praying at Olive Church. The authorities accused church members of worshipping in a church building which was not legally registered with the government.
Olive Church had been targeted by government authorities in the past as well. In July 2016, officials took 30 church members into custody.
North Korean Woman Sold in China Comes to Christ and Risks Her Life for the Gospel
A North Korean woman who was sold as a sex slave in China and then imprisoned risked everything – even her life – to return home and share her Christian faith with her family, reports the World Watch Monitor.
After graduating high school, Myoung-Hee went to the Chinese border, swam across the river and left her home behind. She trekked into China until she came to a village. However, what happened next was shocking.
“I was caught by human traffickers and sold to a Chinese farmer,” she revealed. “He wasn’t as bad as most Chinese men who buy North Korean women. I had a child with him, but I could never feel at home in his family.”
Her mother-in-law also lived with them, but Myoung-Hee often felt she behaved suspiciously.
She recalled: “Some days she left without saying where she was going. One night I followed her. It was a long way before she reached a place where some kind of meeting was going on. I called after her. She was surprised to see me, but then invited me to take part. It was a Christian meeting, which made me uncomfortable because I had always been against Christianity. But my curiosity got the better of me and I decided to stay. I actually found myself wanting to learn more about God.” She eventually converted to the very faith she once despised.
After embracing Christianity, Myoung-Hee felt compelled to return home to North Korea and share her faith with her family. She eventually persuaded her Chinese family to allow her to leave.
While attempting to cross the border, the young woman was arrested by a military patrol and sent to prison. The treatment prisoners endured at the hands of the Chinese guards was horrific.
“When I saw how the other prisoners and I were treated – as if we weren’t human – I felt like giving up,” she said. “I worried a lot in prison, thinking I would never see my family again.”
While in prison, Myoung-Hee relied on her faith to give her hope that she could be reunited with her family. Over and over again, she repeated Bible verses she had memorized, especially Psalm 62:6-7 – “He only is my rock and my salvation; He is my defense; I shall not be moved. In God is my salvation and my glory; The rock of my strength, And my refuge, is in God.”
After a few months in the camp, the prison guards found out where Myoung-Hee came from, and she was transferred to a camp closer to her home town. The young woman patiently waited for an opportunity to escape.
“One night the guards were drunk and they hadn’t locked the doors,” she recalled. “I sneaked out and ran. My heart was pounding so fast. I didn’t stop running until I saw a sign pointing to my home.”
Myoung-Hee was reunited with her family, who were overjoyed to discover she had embraced their faith.
“It was the most joyous experience ever,” she said. “We were so happy to see each other. For the first time we worshipped God together as a family. I also attended small gatherings of other Christian families.”
Eventually, Myoung-Hee decided to return home to her Chinese family and share her faith with them.
“My husband and son had to hear the Gospel too,” she said. “It was a dangerous trip. I could have been arrested again and punished. But nothing could extinguish my passion for Christ.”
Today, Myoung-Hee lives in South Korea with her family, including her Chinese husband and son – who both became Christians.
“I will never forget my childhood,” she said. “There are so many Christian parents in North Korea who cannot share their faith with their children. It breaks my heart. I was once a victim of this too. But thanks to other people’s prayers I found God in the end. And thanks to the prayers of my mother-in-law, I survived prison. My life story testifies to the power of prayer. I hope it’s a call to all Christians to join in prayer so that God will bring grace and justice to North Korea.”
For over a decade, North Korea has ranked no. 1 on Open Door USA’s World Watch List of countries where believers face the most persecution.
“Worship of the ruling Kim family is mandated for all citizens, and those who don’t comply (including Christians) are arrested, imprisoned, tortured or killed,” reads the report. “Entire Christian families are imprisoned in hard labor camps, where unknown numbers die each year from torture, beatings, overexertion and starvation. Those who attempt to flee to South Korea through China risk execution or life imprisonment, and those who stay behind often fare no better.”
Canada May Add Gender Identity to List of Protected Classes
Gender identity could be added to Canada’s list of protected classes under the Canadian Human Rights Act if the Canadian Parliament passes a bill, reports Religion Today.
“The enactment also amends the Criminal Code to extend the protection to transgendered people against so-called “hate propaganda”
But free speech rights advocates are worried the bill could be used against Christians.
And that’s the World View in Five Minutes.