It’s Thursday, September 23rd, A.D. 2021. This is The Worldview in 5 Minutes heard at www.TheWorldview.com. I’m Adam McManus. (Adam@TheWorldview.com)
By Jonathan Clark
Myanmar Army shelled 20 homes in Christian-majority Chin State
The Chin Baptist Churches USA report a Chin pastor in Myanmar was killed by the country’s army last week.
Over the weekend, the army shelled nearly 20 homes in Myanmar’s Christian-majority Chin State.
Pastor Cung Biak Hmun of Thantlang Centennial Baptist Church went to help one of his congregants save their burning home. That’s when the army shot and killed him.
The army’s attacks have forced thousands of villagers to flee to India.
Christians in Myanmar continue to face increased persecution since a military coup in February. Open Doors lists the country as the 18th worst in the world for the persecution of Christians.
Australia to build first nuclear-powered submarines
Last week, the U.S., the U.K., and Australia agreed to the Aukus pact.
The historic Asia-Pacific security pact allows Australia to build its first nuclear-powered submarines. The U.S. will provide technology for the project.
China quickly decried the pact as a “Cold War mentality” in the region.
The pact also angered France which lost a $37 billion deal to build 12 diesel-electric submarines for Australia.
Tennessee high school football players led prayer after game
High school football players in Tennessee led a time of prayer after a game last week.
The prayer after the game between Upperman High School and Stone Memorial High School was precipitated by a recent ruling from Putnam County Schools administrators. The ruling told teachers and coaches they could no longer lead times of prayer at games.
Bob Vick, an alum of Putnam County Schools, posted a picture of players praying, which has gotten thousands of interactions. Vick said, “Satan’s power was defeated tonight, as the threat of legal action to forbid prayer after the game was overwhelmed by player-lead prayer supported by parents and fans in solidarity on Overall Field. God bless the Baxter and Stone players for their faith and courage.”
1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 says, “Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, in everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.”
Biden’s southern border a disaster
The Biden administration is trying to deal with nearly 15,000 migrants at the U.S.-Mexico border.
Many of the migrants are from Haiti and have fled from the devastations of earthquakes and political violence.
Officials have started deporting thousands of them back to Haiti; however, officials are also releasing many of the migrants into south Texas.
Florida introduces Heartbeat bill similar to the Texas one
Florida’s Republican State Rep. Webster Barnaby introduced the Florida Heartbeat Act yesterday.
The bill is similar to the heartbeat bill recently enacted in Texas.
The act bans abortions on babies with detectable heartbeats, which typically starts at about six weeks.
Like the Texas law, the Florida bill leaves enforcement up to private citizens who can sue abortionists under the law. That particular aspect of the bill makes it more difficult for an abortion provider to sue the state since the state is not the one enforcing the law, but citizens are instead.
66% of college students think it’s acceptable to shout down a speaker
The 2021 College Free Speech Rankings report found that 66% of college students say it is acceptable to shout down a speaker to prevent them from speaking on campus. And 23% say it is acceptable to use violence to stop a campus speech.
In the study, students were more likely to identify with liberal values than conservative values. Students were also more likely to show intolerance for conservative campus speakers.
Only a third of students say their college makes it very or extremely clear that it will protect free speech on campus.
Did Trump scare Americans away from Christianity?
A Pew Research report responds to speculations that President Trump, with his significant support from Evangelicals, somehow pushed Americans away from Christianity.
But the report found that more White Americans began identifying as Evangelical Protestants than stopped doing so between 2016 and 2020.
The report also found the share of non-White U.S. adults who abandoned the born-again/Evangelical label in recent years is offset by the share who adopted it.
Two corrections to yesterday’s newscast
And finally, two corrections from yesterday’s newscast.
First, we reported yesterday that the number of CDC-reported U.S. COVID-19 deaths topped 675,000 this week, surpassing the number of deaths during the 1918-19 influenza pandemic in the U.S.
However, the influenza pandemic was still much worse when compared with the U.S. population at the time. The Spanish flu killed about 0.6% of the population, while the COVID-19 pandemic, even using the CDC numbers which might be artificially high, has killed only 0.2% of the American population.
In another correction to yesterday’s newscast, we reported that Japan holds the record for the oldest man ever, Kane Tanaka, at 116 years, 54 days. That may be the record in the Guinness World Records. However, it’s certainly not the oldest on record.
Genesis 5:27 says, “So all the days of Methuselah were nine hundred and sixty-nine years; and he died.”
Close
And that’s The Worldview in 5 Minutes on this Thursday, September 23rd, 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.