It’s Wednesday, May 17th, A.D. 2023. This is The Worldview in 5 Minutes heard at www.TheWorldview.com. I’m Adam McManus. (Adam@TheWorldview.com)
By Jonathan Clark
Possible life sentence for Pakistani Christian widow
On Saturday, a court in Pakistan released a Christian widow on bail. She faces blasphemy charges against the false religion of Islam.
Bibi worked for a school where she was asked to clean out a storeroom full of paper. She allegedly burned the paper which students said included pages from the Koran. Bibi cannot read, and was just carrying out the school’s instructions. Now, she could be sentenced to life in prison.
Blasphemy charges are used to target vulnerable individuals. Azad Marshall with the Anglican Church of Pakistan told Morning Star News, “The allegation itself is nothing short of a death warrant, and we continue to pray for [Bibi’s] safety.”
Exodus 22:22-23 says, “You shall not mistreat any widow or fatherless child. If you do mistreat them, and they cry out to Me, I will surely hear their cry.”
Thailand’s political victory over military-backed government
On Sunday, opposition parties in Thailand won a landslide victory against the country’s military-backed government.
The military has effectively ruled Thailand for decades. Most recently, the country’s Prime Minister led a military coup in 2014, ousting the elected government.
Now, the opposition parties control about 60% of Thailand’s parliamentary seats. They are calling for sweeping changes, but face an unelected Senate chosen by the military. In particular, the opposition is calling for an end to a law that prohibits insulting the monarchy, saying the military uses it to curtail free speech.
Google, Amazon, Microsoft, PayPal, & Disney oppose free speech
Alliance Defending Freedom released their second-annual Viewpoint Diversity Score Business Index on Tuesday.
The report scored U.S. companies on their respect for free speech and religious freedom.
The best score was 50% for Fidelity National Information Services. The rest of the companies scored 25% or below. Coming in at 5% or less, some of the worst companies included Alphabet, the parent company of Google, Amazon, Microsoft, PayPal, and Disney.
California churches victorious in abortion ruling
Last Friday, Alliance Defending Freedom announced that California has agreed to pay $1.4 million in attorneys’ fees for its abortion coverage requirements.
Four churches challenged the requirement to fund abortion in their healthcare plans. Two court rulings sided with the churches.
Jeremiah Galus with ADF said, “For years, California officials, in collaboration with Planned Parenthood, have unconstitutionally targeted faith-based organizations. This is a significant victory for the churches.”
Texas legislature: Public schools can have chaplains
Last Tuesday, the Texas House of Representatives passed a bill allowing public schools to have chaplains. The bill already passed the state’s Senate last month.
The legislation says, “A school district or an open-enrollment charter school may employ or accept as a volunteer a chaplain to provide support, services, and programs for students as assigned by the board of trustees of the district or the governing body of the school.”
The bill now goes to the desk of Republican Governor Greg Abbott. The state is also considering legislation allowing prayer in school and requiring the Ten Commandments to be displayed in every single classroom.
Speaking of God’s commandments, Deuteronomy 6 says, “You shall teach them diligently to your children. … You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates.”
When parents are united spiritually, teens follow suit
Pew Research released information from recent years on how well parents pass on religious beliefs to their children.
When parents have unified religious beliefs, their children generally follow suit. Over 80% of Protestant, Catholic, or unaffiliated parents had teenagers who believed the same way.
For children over 18, Pew reports similar results. Adults generally retained the faith of their parents when their parents had unified religious commitments.
However, the transmission of religious beliefs was less predictable for those raised in religiously divided households. About 20% of adults were raised in such homes.
Christian obstetrician warns against Abortion Kill Pill
Today, as I guest host for Kevin Swanson on Generations Radio, I interview Dr. Ingrid Skop, a pro-life obstetrician who discusses the dangers of the Abortion Kill Pill. 53% of mothers who abort today choose chemical abortion over surgical abortion.
Not only does it kill the baby, but women experience four times the risk of complications as surgical abortion!
SKOP: “The abortion industry tells them, ‘It’s natural. It’s safe and effective, safer than Tylenol. They can have an abortion in the ‘comfort of their own home.’ Well, we discussed already how horrible the process is for these women. Their bathroom has now become the abortion clinic. But it’s not comfortable and it’s not safe and it’s not all that effective.
“One out of 20 women, their body cannot completely express all the dead pregnancy tissue. And so they continue to suffer until they find a doctor who is willing to perform the surgery that they need.”
Listen to my 25-minute interview at Generations.org/radio.
Alabama Christian couple celebrates quadruplets’ birth
And finally, a Christian couple from Alabama welcomed quadruplets into the world last month.
Michael and Hannah Carmack were hoping to give their daughter a sibling. In God’s providence, they got the incredibly rare experience of having two sets of identical twins.
Initially, the thought of quadruplets was daunting. But after meeting with their pastor, Michael and Hannah felt strong and united on what God had chosen for them.
Evelyn, Adeline, David, and Daniel were born at 27 weeks. They’ve needed special help with eating, so they’re still at the hospital. But the newborns are doing well and expected to go home next month!
Psalm 127:3 says, “Behold, children are a heritage from the LORD, the fruit of the womb a reward.”
Close
And that’s The Worldview in 5 Minutes on this Wednesday, May 17th in the year of our Lord 2023. 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.