It’s Christmas Eve, Friday, December 24th, A.D. 2021. This is The Worldview in 5 Minutes heard at www.TheWorlview.com. I’m Adam McManus.
By Adam McManus (Adam@TheWorldview.com)
Christmas not to be celebrated in China
As Christmas is tomorrow, the Chinese Communist government is using the pandemic as an excuse to prevent churches from celebrating Christ’s birth.
According to Radio Free Asia, local authorities in Shandong, Anhui, and Guangdong have restricted religious activities during this time. Pastor Chen from a house church in Guangdong said that a local public security officer has already informed his church about the banning of a Christmas gathering given the pandemic.
He said, “My hometown does not allow us to gather. It is Christmas, yet we cannot even gather. For instance, in places like Henan, the government uses the pandemic as an excuse, so Christians there can only gather virtually. In-person worship has been banned.”
Another pastor in Shandong said there is no Christmas nor the atmosphere for celebration. The reality is saddening. According to him, “Before Christmas, [we have been] asked to not have any activities, same with other churches outside. We can only do it secretly.”
A Christian shared that since 2018, Chinese authorities would send directives to state-owned enterprises and schools asking them not to celebrate Christmas. And, in recent years, many Chinese shops stopped selling Christmas lights and Christmas trees to the local population.
Ironically, there are more than 3,000 companies that sell Christmas merchandise in China to the West even though the Communists don’t allow their own people to celebrate this so-called “Western holiday” which originated in the Middle East.
Biden plans to run for re-election if in good health
In a Wednesday night interview on ABC’s World News Tonight, anchor David Muir asked President Biden this question.
MUIR: “Do you plan to run for reelection?”
BIDEN: “Yes, but look, I’m a great respecter of fate. Fate has intervened in my life many, many times. If I’m in the health I’m in now, if I’m in good health, then, in fact, I would run again.”
MUIR: “If that means a rematch against Donald Trump?”
BIDEN: “You’re trying to tempt me now. (laughs) Sure, why would I not run if Donald Trump’s the nominee? That would increase the prospect of running.”
Dow Jones up after Omicron COVID jitters
The major averages rose for a third day on Thursday as investors looked past earlier jitters about the spread of the omicron COVID variant, reports CNBC.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average added about 270 points, or 0.8%. The S&P 500 rose 0.8% as well and sits less than 0.2% from its record high. The Nasdaq Composite gained 1%.
Christian Congressman Madison Cawthorn is getting a divorce
Madison Cawthorn, a Republican congressman from North Carolina, announced Wednesday that he and his wife of just eight months have mutually decided to get a divorce, reports the Christian Post.
In a statement Wednesday evening, Cawthorn said, “When my wife Cristina and I were engaged, I was not a member of Congress. I felt called to serve and we both agreed that I should run. Our victory was unprecedented, but overnight our lives changed. That change has been both hectic and difficult, it’s neither the pace nor the lifestyle we had planned for.”
He added, “From the outset, we committed to make things work, to fight for our marriage, and seek counsel for balancing the enormity of such a transition in life. Together, we realized that balance was not attainable, and that we had irreconcilable differences between us. While it was an enormously difficult decision, Cristina and I have mutually decided to divorce.”
Cawthorn, age 26, and his wife, Cristina, got married on April 3, 2021, on the seventh anniversary of the car accident that left him partially paralyzed and needing the use of a wheelchair.
At the time, Cawthorn tweeted, “On April 3rd of 2014 my life changed. A car accident put me in a wheelchair and dashed my hopes for the future. On April 3rd of 2021 my life has once again changed. Marrying Cristina Bayardelle, now Cristina Cawthorn is the greatest honor, privilege and adventure of my life.”
Mark 10:6-9 says, “But at the beginning of creation God ‘made them male and female.’ For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh.’ So they are no longer two, but one flesh. Therefore, what God has joined together, let no one separate.”
When Cawthorn became a Congressional candidate, students at Patrick Henry College signed an open letter opposing his candidacy. It said, “Cawthorn’s time at Patrick Henry College was marked by gross misconduct towards our female peers, public misrepresentation of his past, disorderly conduct that was against the school’s honor code, and self-admitted academic failings.”
World Magazine covered that story.
Christmas is the loneliest day for singles
And finally, Christmas may be a time for family and happiness, but it’s a little different if you’re sitting at the singles table. A new survey of 1,500 single British adults finds Christmas actually beats out Valentine’s Day as their loneliest day of the year, reports StudyFinds.org.
The survey, commissioned by the dating app, Plenty of Fish, and conducted by OnePoll, also found that 40% of singles feel the Christmas season shines a spotlight on their relationship status. Overall, 34% of singles say they spend more time at home alone during the winter months and 49 percent say they’d feel more excited for Christmas if they had a significant other.
All this family time also means answering a bunch of uncomfortable questions from concerned relatives. In fact, 27% of singles say their family always asks about their love life over Christmas. Another 20% of singles get questions about when they plan to “settle down” and 17% say their family wants to know all about their dating schedule.
“The Lord God said, “It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper suitable for him.” (Genesis 2:18)
Close
And that’s The Worldview in 5 Minutes on this Friday, December 24th in the year of our Lord 2021. 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.