Friday, February 19th, in the year of our Lord, 2016.
By Kevin Swanson
The big question that everybody is asking about the South Carolina primaries on Saturday is, “Where is the evangelical vote going to go? Will it be Trump, Cruz, Carson, or Rubio?” Don Flowers, the pastor of Providence Baptist Church in Charleston, told The World View that evangelicals are divided in their commitment to immigration, pro-life, and religious liberty issues: “There is a group of evangelical ministers in churches in the state who are very concerned about the immigration issue, wanting a more Christian view of immigration. Jesus said, ‘I was a stranger, and you welcomed me,’ but how does that relate to ‘we want to build a wall and not let anyone in’? The pro-life camp in South Carolina has always been strong and still is strong—the religious liberty is showing itself in new and different ways but continues to be a hot-button issue.”
Wednesday’s poll put Donald Trump ahead by 18% in the Republican race for president. Now yesterday’s news points to another poll that has Senator Ted Cruz two points ahead of Trump. The heart of the king is in the hand of the Lord, and so are the varying opinions of the people.
“The king’s heart is a stream of water in the hand of the LORD; he turns it wherever he will” (Proverbs 21:1).
The Christian church is growing in Nepal, despite political changes in that nation. While the nation’s new constitution refuses to acknowledge a Hindu state religion, the ban on evangelism and conversions is still intact. The Gospel is getting out, however. Samaritan’s Purse recently sent a chartered 747 airplane loaded with supplies to Nepal to provide aid to outlying villages, some of which did not believe that they would survive the winter. Christian Aid Mission reports that 500,000 Nepalese have signed up for a correspondence Bible course—that’s about half of the country.
A Chinese kindergarten teacher has been released after serving 2 years in prison for participating in a Christian school. The state took issue with the curriculum produced and used by the Christian school. Cheng Jie was accused of participating in illegal business practices.
The West Virginia state government is considering a bill that would prohibit dismemberment abortions. Karen Cross, legislative coordinator for West Virginians for Life, said that this is only one small step in the pro-life battle in her state: “It’s a step in the right direction. Dismemberment abortion is common. It’s a brutal method of killing a live, fully formed, unborn child by tearing her limb for limb. And in West Virginia we believe this barbaric tactic must end.” She expects the bill to pass the legislature, but the governor’s signature is still up in the air.
A new blockbuster, Deadpool, broke nine box office records over the last two weekends . . . Life Site News called the film “extreme sexual perversion.” The film’s producer used the term “pan-sexual.” And, the Bible calls it “giving themselves over to sensuality for the practice of every kind of impurity with greediness” (Ephesians 4).
The South Dakota legislature is considering a law that would require transgendered persons to use the restroom that corresponds with their gender at birth. However, the Republican governor has not committed to sign the bill as yet.
Talk show host Glenn Beck is taking some heat for acknowledging God’s providence in the death of Justice Scalia. In his words, Beck said, “Perhaps God allowed Scalia to die at this time to wake America up to how close we are to the loss of our freedom.”
Now the Roman Catholic pope is questioning Donald Trump’s Christian faith. When asked about Trump’s plans to build a wall on the Mexican border, the pope said, ”A person who thinks only about building walls, wherever they may be, and not building bridges, is not Christian.” Later, he said he would give Trump the benefit of the doubt.
Kudos to a Sonic restaurant in Missouri for putting stickers containing Bible verses on food orders. It’s causing a bit of a stir on social media, but the parent company is not commenting. The verses of choice: John 3:16 and Revelation 21:1, which says, “Then I saw ‘a new heaven and a new earth,’ for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and there was no longer any sea.”
National Geographic is about to air a roundtable discussion on the existence of God. The discussion is centered on research conducted by anthropologists and psychologists, indicating that the human brain can recognize God’s existence even if the individual was never taught about God. The National Geographic program, entitled “The God Brain,” will air February 21st.
National Geographic is verifying what the Apostle Paul said in Romans 1:19-20: “Since what may be known about God is plain to them, because God has made it plain to them. For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that people are without excuse.”
And that’s the World View in Five Minutes.