Thursday, August 23rd, in the year of our Lord 2018.
By Jonathan Clark
Turkey coerced Christians to sign a “religious freedom declaration”
Turkish religious minority leaders were forced to sign a declaration that they do not experience religious oppression in their country last month, or face consequences, according to International Christian Concern.
The World View spoke to Claire Evans with the organization about the religious freedom declaration.
“So, on the one hand, what’s happening, is that the authorities, they actually requested according to a local Christian leader, that non-Muslim religious leaders issue a statement denying religious persecution in Turkey. And then, a few days later, they requested that the leaders be called in for a special meeting with the President’s spokesman. These leaders, Jewish, Christian, and whatnot; they were fearful that if they went into this meeting without issuing a statement, then something would happen that would trigger severe backlash.”
Please keep the body of Christ there in your prayers as they face increasing pressure to be silent about their faith.
Joshua 1:9 says, “Be strong and of good courage; do not be afraid, nor be dismayed, for the LORD your God is with you wherever you go.”
One Chinese Province: Stop limiting the size of our families
Northwest China’s Shaanxi Province released a report this year calling for the end of the country’s two-child family planning policy and encouraging policies to increase the birth rate, reports Life News. It is the first province to do so.
This comes as China’s State Council considers scrapping their birth limit policy, a 40-year policy where women faced steep fines and forced abortions for having children over the limit.
Hawaii Attorney General: Churches should shut up during election!
Hawaii Attorney General Russell Suzuki issued a letter last month seeking to silence churches by threatening their tax-exempt status if they speak out on political issues during the election season. Alliance Defending Freedom challenged Suzuki’s misleading information in a letter on Monday.
If you’d like to call the Hawaii Attorney General or email him through our transcript today at www.TheWorldView.com.
Meanwhile, God has sent Category 4 Hurricane Lane towards the islands of Hawaii. Dangerous flash flooding, mudslides, and coastal flooding are expected this week.
Rape-conceived people upset with Heartbeat Law
Iowa’s recent Heartbeat Bill outlaws the murder of unborn babies whose heartbeats can be detected, usually around six weeks. However, the bill has exceptions in cases of rape, incest, and fetal anomalies.
Last week, the pro-life group, Save the 1,challenged the exceptions of the Heartbeat Bill in court. Rebecca Kiessling, the organization’s founder and herself conceived in rape, told the court, “We challenge the exceptions within the Heartbeat Law as being unconstitutional, not because they are too limited, but because they target our very lives.”
ISIS Terrorists kill American couple on Afghan border
Tragically, a young American couple was brutally murdered by ISIS terrorists along the Afghan border last month. Jay Austin and Lauren Geoghegan quit their jobs last year and commenced a 369-day bike trip to see the world, reports CBN.
Austin had posted on his blog that “evil is a make-believe concept.”
Responding to the sad news, evangelist Franklin Graham posted, referencing 1 Peter 5:8, “Be assured, evil does exist in this world; God warns us in His word that Satan is prowling like a roaring lion and we are to be on guard.”
Facebook to Activist Mommy: We’re sorry
Facebook recently reversed their decision to suspend the account of Elizabeth Johnston, Christian conservative mother and blogger at the Activist Mommy, for violating so-called “standards on hate speech.”
Johnson told The Christian Post, “I am very grateful to have that personal contact inside Facebook, but it’s upsetting to see so many conservatives and Christians, who don’t have those insider contacts, getting banned and discriminated against and having no recourse.”
California Leftists didn’t like billboard featuring Bible
Despite having their billboards taken down featuring evangelist Greg Laurie holding a Bible, the 29th annual Southern California Harvest Crusade drew over 100,000 people last weekend.
Over 9,000 people made professions of faith during the event.
Laurie appeared on Fox and Friends, defending the Bible.
“Why is it, all of a sudden, offensive to even reference this book? You think about the lives that have been impacted by this book. How our country was impacted by this book. Universities like Yale and Harvard and the Salvation Army all started by people who believed the Bible was the Word of God. Martin Luther King believed the Bible is the Word of God. Those who advocated the abolition of slavery were inspired by what they read in the Word of God. So, instead of being offended by it, maybe more people ought to read it and see what it has to say.”
(You can watch Greg Laurie’s message on video here.)
Laurie had everyone hold up their Bibles and declare, “We are not ashamed of the Word of God. This message has been sent to us from Heaven.”
Paul said in Romans 1:16, “I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes.”
Plane lands with no front wheels
In God’s providence, the pilot of an LC Perú plane successfully landed at a Peru airport on Sunday without front wheels after a gear failure, reports Newsweek.
Despite landing amid flames and sparks, all 59 passengers and five crew members survived without injuries.
And that’s The World View in 5 Minutes.
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Trump: Turkey cannot buy Pastor Brunson’s release
The Trump administration rejected an offer by Turkey to release imprisoned American Pastor Andrew Brunson in exchange for the U.S. dropping billions of dollars in fines against one of Turkey’s major state lenders.
Trump tweeted last week the U.S. will “pay nothing” for Brunson’s release, and will only apply more sanctions on Turkey if he is not set free.
Yesterday, Brunson’s lawyer said he plans to appeal to Turkey’s constitutional court for the pastor’s release after being rejected by a lower court last week.